Day 8 – Kandy

The Amanda Hills wanted £15 to wash our sweaty tee shirts, knickers and socks. No way Jose ! So we located a laundry that washes clothes by the kilo and set off to find it. After half an our of getting lost in central Kandy we got a tuk tuk. You don’t have to use Uber or ring a mini cab, tuk tuks are iniquitous and make up a large percentage of all the traffic. Negotiating a price is a pain in the behind, but I feel I always need to get the price down at least 20% to keep my credentials as a serious traveller. After asking a few other drivers, our driver located the laundry and we deposited our smelly carrier bags, 1.8 kilos for 300 rupees, about £1.50. My self esteem was enhanced enormously by saving a few quid.

He then took us on an exciting drive to the Temple of the Tooth, the most sacred site in all Sri Lanka which attracts a multitude of pilgrims and tourists. The cool interior is peaceful and fragrant, pilgrims bring sweet smelling flowers as offerings to lay before the shrine. Security is tight, since the Temple was bombed by the Tamil Tigers in the 1990’s.

The Temple is a group of buildings including several museums of Buddhism. One building is dedicated to a huge stuffed elephant, the remains of the tusker Raja. He carried the Tooth is a procession once a year for fifty years, and was held in great affection by Sri Lankan’s. But now he’s well and truly stuffed. The grounds of the temple are quiet, shady and peaceful, and a haven in the centre of the bustling city, which is the second largest in the country.at the entrance you buy a ticket (if you are a foreigner) and leave your shoes at a special hut and walk around barefoot. Inside the floors are smooth, cool hardwood, outside the paving stones are scorching hot! So we squealed and dashed for shade to find the cool slabs. The monkeys in the gardens are kept at bay by fire crackers, which are very alarming when you don’t expect them.

To escape the heat we walked uphill to the Uddawatakele forest sanctuary. It was formerly a royal forest for  the Kings of Kandy, but is now a public reserve. There are many different species of huge tropical trees, monkeys,  Barking deer and evidence of pigs, but none visible. The map we were given was useless and we couldn’t find the Lady. Horton Drive that was supposed to go round the forest. So we used the Lady Graham Drive instead. I’m sure these dead wives of colonial governors wouldn’t mind.