Where glass-swathed skyscrapers soar, and buzzing urbanites bide, Colombo is indubitably crowned the metropolitan city of Sri Lanka but is never far away from its olden golden roots — the atmospheric Pettah Market being a living testament to the fact. Clamouring vendors galore and stalls bursting with everything from fresh produce to electronics, textiles to jewellery — the atmosphere is brimming with colour, smells and sound — all of which join forces to treat you to a shopping experience where authenticity is at its finest in the Indian Ocean island nation. Shopping isn’t only what visitors to the bustling marketplace have to savour, but also a glimpse into the local way of life, which, without a doubt, is just as fascinating as the shopping itself.