I spent a week in Sri Lanka in November 2005. I stayed at the Hilton in the city and enjoyed the time there. I felt reasonably safe but I did not venture out at night. There are some small casinos in Colombo. On one day you may want to take a quick tour of the city of Colombo. I walked a good deal of the city on foot and felt safe. There were a lot of armed guards but in recent years things have been quiet there. Hindus and Buddhist have quarreled in the past but they tend to be two of the most peaceful groups on the earth. The primary religion is Buddhism so there are a lot of Buddhist temples.

I took a three day tour visiting the ancient cities. I liked best the Sigiriya Rock Fortress and The Cave Temples of Dambulla. They are about a three hour drive from CMB. I don’t know if you could arrange for a quick one day tour there.

You could also view the Tsunami area about two hours south of CMB, but I did not do that since I live in Florida, USA, and had enough destruction with the hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.

I consider Sri Lanka “India Lite.” You get a good feel of Indian type food and culture with less stress. I enjoy traveling to India, but I found Sri Lanka a lot less crowded and less stressful.