Laugfs changed my life. Bizarre photo-related run ins with their staff aside, this little yellow attempt at a supermaraket has made more of a positive contribution to Colombo life and particularly Colombo-night life than just about any other institution, shop, club, website or venue. (I’m referring to the 24 hour sun-up Laugfs on Havelock road)
That’s not on account of its selection of slightly wilted vegetables, its haphazard layout and eclectic choice of processed meats (if you want a supermarket Keells and Cargills will always be better bets) but because of the quite extraordinary fact that it is opened 24 hours a day. In a city which still largely goes to bed by 11 pm and where too much is closed by midnight the fact that you can pick up a tub of ice cream, some bacon, eggs and juice at 3 am is a revelation.
After a night out, when your2 party encounters a sudden mixer shortage, for crazy late night baking and just on your average night when you’re hit by a 2 am craving for toblerone having a range of supermarket-stuffs available at every hour of the day is a pretty awesome convenience. They also have a pharmacy which, as far as I know, is the only one in the city(save the government osu-sala at Union Place) that is opened after 11pm. This amenity may well have proved to be quite literally life-saving. There’s just something comforting about knowing you have the option of grabbing chocolate, a tin of fish, a slice of cheese or some panadol regardless of where the sun happens to be positioned. Opened in 2006 this remains Colombo’s boldest step toward becoming a 24 hour a city. It may not be the best-supermarket but it’s quite literally a must visit after 11 pm.
