Inside the presidential palace now full of Sri Lankans

People have been posing for photos inside the presidential residence

Rashmi Kavindhya says she never dreamt of stepping inside the Sri Lankan president's official residence in Colombo in her lifetime.

A day after massive crowds forced their way into one of the most protected buildings in the country, thousands of people like Ms Kavindhya have thronged to see the sprawling compound.

It is an imposing piece of colonial-type architecture that contains several verandas, meeting rooms and living areas, a swimming pool and a huge lawn. Saturday's dramatic events forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee.

"Look at the opulence and richness of this place," said Ms Kavindhya, who came with her four children to the president's residence. "We live in a village and our house is small. This palace belongs to the people and was built with people's money."

Thousands of men, women and children were attempting to enter the compound and some of the protest organisers were controlling the crowd. Sri Lankan police and special troops just stood in a corner and watched the proceedings quietly.

As people wandered from room to room, everyone wanted to capture the moment by taking selfies, in front of teakwood desks and paintings, and in living room areas.

Broken chairs, broken glass from windows and pots were strewn around some parts of the buildings, a reminder of the chaos and the confusion soon after crowds forced their way into the compound.

"It's a dream come true for me to see a palace like this," said AL Premawardene who works in an children's amusement park in the town of Ganeamulla.

"We are waiting in long queues for kerosene, gas and food, but the Rajapaksas were leading a different life."

Protest leaders have already said they will not leave the official residences of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe until they finally leave office.

Despite the danger of a stampede as crowds surged forward to see the building, heavily armed troops and special police officers stood back while volunteers from the protest movement controlled the visitors.

The swimming pool attracted much attention. Families were standing around admiring the pool filled with brown water. Onlookers clapped and shouted when a young man jumped into the water where protesters had been filmed swimming on Saturday.

"I feel sad," said Nirosha Sudarshini Hutchinson, who was visiting the compound with her two teenage daughters.

"A man who was elected president in democratic way had to leave in such a shameful way. We are now ashamed of voting for him. People want them to return the money they stole from the country."

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One of the most popular places appeared to be a four-poster bed where a group of young men lounged. The island nation's main languages, Sinhala and Tamil, along with English could be heard along the corridors. The excitement among the visitors was evident.

Outside the mansion, on the manicured sprawling lawn, hundreds of people - Buddhists, Hindus and Christians - were milling around. A family was very casually having their picnic on the green lawn, where they would have never been allowed to sit 24 hours ago.

Sri Lankans feel their months-long protest finally has led to the removal of their country's leaders, who they blame for the economic meltdown. A glimpse of the lifestyle of their leaders makes them even angrier.