Foreign Policy Magazine

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Arthur Wamanan on where to rub shoulders with hipsters and eat spicy curries.

interview by AMANTHA PERERA

COLOMBO HAS MORE than earned its reputation for chaos. Sri Lanka is not even a decade removed from a 25-year civil war, during which the capital endured frequent suicide bombings and security forces were ubiquitous, staging raids and blocking roads. Colombo is no longer threatened by mass violence, but its residents are anything but idle. Political leaders regularly organize demonstrations in public squares. Last summer, thousands of trade unionists protested government efforts

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