About Negombo
Sitting on the west coast of Sri Lanka at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, Negombo is known for its long wide sandy stretch of beach with big black crows swooping its' shores or snuffling up the scraps from the fishermen cleaning their day's catch. A major city, it is the hub for its centuries old fishing industry with a fishermen's market held early in the wee hours of the morning that is a sight to behold. Negombo has a large bilingual population of Roman Catholics known as Tamils who have their own Tamil dialect. The city is the major commercial hub in the country and the administrative center. For its innovative and tech savvy youth trying to create their way out of sometimes poor circumstances, coworking spaces have given them the place to go to where they can mingle with other likeminded souls and have reliable Internet to keep them connected to the wider world.
Negombo has a long history with the remains of a 17th Century Dutch Fort now a prison for the naughty folk. The lagoon that feeds into the Dutch-era Hamilton Canal is lined with fishermen's huts that are draped with nets, whilst the waters are smothered in colorful fishing boats. It is a beach town only 10km from the Bandaranaike International airport. There are plenty of decent hotels on the beachfront, eclectic cafes for people watching and slurping on espresso, plus enough cute boutiques and shops to keep the shopaholics happy.
In the heat of the summer do make sure you have some flip flops on if you intend to run over the sand, as it will be blazing hot. Negombo is probably not on many nomads' radars, but if you happen to need to get some work done, you will have the chance to hang out with its dynamic youth in collaborative bliss in a coworking space.