When I was planning my trip to Sri Lanka I knew that I must visit Kandy. The Botanical Garden is world famous for its orchids and a temple with a tooth - and not just any tooth but Buddha's tooth?? Count me in!! Kandy is known as the cultural centre of Sri Lanka and is a must visit in the country.
Upon our arrival in Kandy we had lunch at Sthree craft shop and restaurant - an initiative that helps local women and children which G Adventures supports.
I tried eating the traditional way except I should have used my other hand because the right one is used for attending to the other end....oops. My bad. But trying to eat with my left hand would have resulted in me wearing my food.
We had the lunch menu...can you guess which was which? Dessert was the Gurd and treacle....may look disgusting but it was good!
We then visited the Temple of the Tooth. The temple was originally built between 1687 and 1707, however, it was badly damaged during the colonial wars against the Dutch and Portuguese. After the war, the temple was reconstructed in stone from its original wood structure. In 1998 it again was damaged from a bomb by Hindu Tamil separatists.
Okay that's all fine and dandy but where's the tooth I can hear you asking. Hmmm...good question. It was supposedly removed from the Buddha's funeral pyre and was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 A.D. hidden in the hair of a princess of all things. It was brought out on the backs of elephants (which are sacred to the Buddha) during an annual festival but the tooth hasn't been out of the casket since 1990 due to unrest. And no, I didn't see it...in fact truth be told I didn't even see where it was. I know, go to the Temple of the Tooth and don't see the tooth...go figure...but seriously, it would be pretty distasteful looking.
The interior was just beautiful.
Nope, it's not in here...I checked!
I believe the tooth (known as the Sacred Tooth Relic) is behind a door hidden behind this wallhanging. I don't recall being told where it was while on the tour - then again I could have been busy taking photos. Sometimes I am a pretty bad tourist. While tours can be good I do prefer wandering on my own and sometimes when I get tired of "the crowd" I go off "into the Laurie zone". Any introverts out there will understand.
From there we walked along one side of the lake before getting back into the van to go up the hill to our hotel. I caught up on washing out "smalls", hung them on chairs on the balcony and then relaxed on said balcony with my kindle keeping a beady eye on the monkeys that were jumping on and off the many electrical and telephone wires crisscrossing all over the place. Didn't want one taking off with my unmentionables after all! (though would have made a cool picture!)
Oh did I mention it was Valentine's Day? We went out for dinner that evening (had grilled chicken...no picture so it mustn't have been that special!) and were serenaded by a group of musicians. The best part? They sang "All My Loving" and us oldies (which was a good portion of the group) all sang along. Fun!!!
Breakfast was upstairs and this was the view from the veranda outside the dining room...beautiful!!!
We then went for our Ayurvedic massage. Every one of us opted for this experience and it was interesting. We were all separated by curtains and slathered down with oil to an extent that I felt like a chicken about to go on the grill. Let's just say just about every inch of your body was massaged....well I can't speak for the guys! It wasn't unpleasant......and I think we all felt better afterward. I must say that our hair looked as if we hadn't washed it in a month and for the rest of the day we got a few raised eyebrows from tourists who hadn't had this unique experience.
Next it was off to the Commonwealth War Cemetery. One of the members of our group served in the British forces and made it his mission to visit all the Commonwealth war cemeteries wherever he visited. So we all went along. It was a poignant experience and I am glad I did it.
I had to take a picture of a Canadian grave from the Second World War.
The group of us with our tour leader Sam in front. Sadly one of us was missing - he was ill and had to fly home to England. We all had oily hair but mine looks particularly fetching.
Then it was off to the Botanical Gardens. The origins of the garden date back to the 14th century but it was officially established around 1750. It is world renowned for its orchids and attracts about two million visits annually. Because it is so big it wasn't crowded at all.
Near the entrance of the Gardens.
The orchids were amazing...
Monkeys were scampering all over the place. These ones seemed more interested in just hanging out together rather than trying to steal our "stuff" so that was good!
I've never seen so many bats in one place before...creepy.
It brought back memories of when I had a bat as a (very) temporary roommate. Nothing like waking up to hearing what you think is a ceiling fan and then think "wait a minute, my ceiling fan is in the kitchen, not in the bedroom...". Cue turning on the light, shrieking, running out and slamming the door behind you, jumping on the computer to google "how to get rid of a bat" and spending the rest of the night on the living room sofa. It safely exited into the night the evening of the next day. with some assistance..spent the day who knows where...I prefer not to know.
Interesting how these trees had been bent with the wind.
And that was Kandy. We were in and out in 24 hours...not sure what a longer visit would have accomplished. I had thought of Kandy as an idyllic quiet city although I am not sure why. Let's just say...it wasn't!!!
I still have lots more to share about Sri Lanka. Stay tuned!
Upon our arrival in Kandy we had lunch at Sthree craft shop and restaurant - an initiative that helps local women and children which G Adventures supports.
I tried eating the traditional way except I should have used my other hand because the right one is used for attending to the other end....oops. My bad. But trying to eat with my left hand would have resulted in me wearing my food.
We had the lunch menu...can you guess which was which? Dessert was the Gurd and treacle....may look disgusting but it was good!
We then visited the Temple of the Tooth. The temple was originally built between 1687 and 1707, however, it was badly damaged during the colonial wars against the Dutch and Portuguese. After the war, the temple was reconstructed in stone from its original wood structure. In 1998 it again was damaged from a bomb by Hindu Tamil separatists.
Okay that's all fine and dandy but where's the tooth I can hear you asking. Hmmm...good question. It was supposedly removed from the Buddha's funeral pyre and was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 A.D. hidden in the hair of a princess of all things. It was brought out on the backs of elephants (which are sacred to the Buddha) during an annual festival but the tooth hasn't been out of the casket since 1990 due to unrest. And no, I didn't see it...in fact truth be told I didn't even see where it was. I know, go to the Temple of the Tooth and don't see the tooth...go figure...but seriously, it would be pretty distasteful looking.
The interior was just beautiful.
Nope, it's not in here...I checked!
I believe the tooth (known as the Sacred Tooth Relic) is behind a door hidden behind this wallhanging. I don't recall being told where it was while on the tour - then again I could have been busy taking photos. Sometimes I am a pretty bad tourist. While tours can be good I do prefer wandering on my own and sometimes when I get tired of "the crowd" I go off "into the Laurie zone". Any introverts out there will understand.
From there we walked along one side of the lake before getting back into the van to go up the hill to our hotel. I caught up on washing out "smalls", hung them on chairs on the balcony and then relaxed on said balcony with my kindle keeping a beady eye on the monkeys that were jumping on and off the many electrical and telephone wires crisscrossing all over the place. Didn't want one taking off with my unmentionables after all! (though would have made a cool picture!)
Oh did I mention it was Valentine's Day? We went out for dinner that evening (had grilled chicken...no picture so it mustn't have been that special!) and were serenaded by a group of musicians. The best part? They sang "All My Loving" and us oldies (which was a good portion of the group) all sang along. Fun!!!
Breakfast was upstairs and this was the view from the veranda outside the dining room...beautiful!!!
We then went for our Ayurvedic massage. Every one of us opted for this experience and it was interesting. We were all separated by curtains and slathered down with oil to an extent that I felt like a chicken about to go on the grill. Let's just say just about every inch of your body was massaged....well I can't speak for the guys! It wasn't unpleasant......and I think we all felt better afterward. I must say that our hair looked as if we hadn't washed it in a month and for the rest of the day we got a few raised eyebrows from tourists who hadn't had this unique experience.
Next it was off to the Commonwealth War Cemetery. One of the members of our group served in the British forces and made it his mission to visit all the Commonwealth war cemeteries wherever he visited. So we all went along. It was a poignant experience and I am glad I did it.
I had to take a picture of a Canadian grave from the Second World War.
Unknown soldier
The group of us with our tour leader Sam in front. Sadly one of us was missing - he was ill and had to fly home to England. We all had oily hair but mine looks particularly fetching.
Then it was off to the Botanical Gardens. The origins of the garden date back to the 14th century but it was officially established around 1750. It is world renowned for its orchids and attracts about two million visits annually. Because it is so big it wasn't crowded at all.
Near the entrance of the Gardens.
These are standard school uniforms for all Sri Lankan children - the government pays for the uniforms.
The orchids were amazing...
Monkeys were scampering all over the place. These ones seemed more interested in just hanging out together rather than trying to steal our "stuff" so that was good!
I've never seen so many bats in one place before...creepy.
It brought back memories of when I had a bat as a (very) temporary roommate. Nothing like waking up to hearing what you think is a ceiling fan and then think "wait a minute, my ceiling fan is in the kitchen, not in the bedroom...". Cue turning on the light, shrieking, running out and slamming the door behind you, jumping on the computer to google "how to get rid of a bat" and spending the rest of the night on the living room sofa. It safely exited into the night the evening of the next day. with some assistance..spent the day who knows where...I prefer not to know.
Interesting how these trees had been bent with the wind.
And that was Kandy. We were in and out in 24 hours...not sure what a longer visit would have accomplished. I had thought of Kandy as an idyllic quiet city although I am not sure why. Let's just say...it wasn't!!!
I still have lots more to share about Sri Lanka. Stay tuned!
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