Kandy...Sri Lanka

We left Colombo for Kandy, Sri Lanka’s second largest city, early as we had a train to catch. We already had our tickets in second class reserved and they were quite comfortable....

The train station was quite empty and calm compared to the ones in India...

And cleaner...

One of the pluses of second class are the open windows that allow for better views and picture taking...

Waiting for the train...

Man and temple...

As we left the city the countryside became greener...

Rice fields...

Jungles and mountains...

The flat rock in the distance is one of the most famous in the country, Lion’s Rock and often a climber’s destination...

Lots of green everywhere...

The train runs on a very narrow track that leaves little room on the sides in places and hanging out of the train is quite the thing to do...

I managed to hang out the window...

The train going around the turns...

Kandy is a city that is surrounded by hills and we were fortunate to stay in a beautiful homestay in one of the hills about 3 km outside the city. It had a huge terrace and the views were amazing both during the day and at sunset...

The neighbourhood corner store...

Don talking to the neighbours who were trying to drive the monkeys away...

Kandy is a city of approximately 140,000 so not too large but very busy as it is the capital of the Central region of the country and a major transportation hub...

It has modern malls...

And busy street markets...

In the Center of the city is Kandy Lake also known as Kiri Muhuda or the Sea of Milk,it is an artificial lake built in 1807 by King Sri Ranasinghe. It made for a pleasant stroll one morning, about 3 km around...

We saw very few tourists and lots of locals as we walked around...

School was just getting out so there were lots of parents and school children around...

Ulpange or Queens Bathing Pavilion is situated partly in the waters of the Kandy Lake. The wives and concubines of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe used the pavilion when bathing in the lake. After the British captured the city they added another storey and used the building as a library. It is currently being restored...

Right next door to the lake is the Temple of the Tooth...

Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple and is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. It is a sacred site for Buddhists and there were many worshippers there..

Many carrying beautiful flower offerings...

Entering the Temple...

Offerings...

The temple enshrines relics of what is believed to be the actual teeth of the Buddha. After Buddha was cremated, his four canine teeth were taken from the ashes. These teeth are regarded as the holiest relics of Buddhism. However most pilgrims are not allowed inside the inner sanctuary where the tooth is held. So after offerings the pilgrims sat on the floor in the direction of the sanctuary and offered prayers....

We also sat and enjoyed the quiet and reverence of this place, it was a nice relief from the heat and the noise of the outside.

The temple is located on the Royal Palace grounds which are also quite peaceful. The palace was the royal residence of the Sri Lankan monarchy for generations with the last king to reside in it being Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1798-1815)

More places to pray and light candles...

Washing our feet as we enter and leave the temple...

After our religious outing we stopped at a very cute cafe...

Another day we took the local bus just outside the city to the Royal Botanical Gardens. These stunning gardens were once reserved exclusively for Kandyan royalty. Today, even commoners are allowed in to enjoy the most impressive and largest (60 hectares) botanic gardens in Sri Lanka. Though one thing that irks us everywhere we go in Sri Lanka are the entry fees for foreigners which are often 10 to 20 times more than locals pay. There have been places we refused to enter because of the fees but we did pay this one.

There were lots of locals enjoying their gardens...

Lots of couples and families like this one having a picnic...

There were wide expanses of green...

Walks through towering trees...

A suspension bridge...

Bunches of students studying English whose assignment was to talk to as many people as possible and get their autograph...

 Conceived originally in 1371 as the Queen's pleasure garden, it was developed by King Kirti Sri Rajasinhe (1747-1778) where royal visitors were entertained. It was converted into Botanical Gardens in 1821, by the British during the deputy governorship of General Sir Edward Barnes, six years after fall of the last King of Sri Lanka.

Beautiful colors...

Even the cows and bats were peaceful, though those bates were huge! 

Such a gorgeous spot to visit and so well maintained...

Sri Lanka is proving to be a very green country with lush vegetation everywhere. Since Kandy is the beginning of our trip into the Hill Country we expect that this will continue. 

We enjoyed our stop here as we did a lot of walking which we enjoyed and it was very easy to get around. We think that Sri Lanka will prove to be less challenging than India. We shall see.