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Today we went to Kandy, the second largest city in Sri Lanka. First thing this morning we went to The Temple of The Tooth, considered to be one of the most important Buddhist temples and is home to the tooth relic. The relic is kept in a room which is only opened 3 times daily for puja - a ceremony where the relic is paraded around the temple accompanied by traditional drumming. once the golden covered relic is in place in the temple the Buddhists then move to the temple to make offerings of flowers to Lord Buddha. The buzz in the temple was amazing, the atmosphere was something else. Everyone around us seemed so excited and in awe of this ancient tradition. Throughout history it has been said whoever is in possession of the relic was believed to have the right to rule the island as well as the religious dimension.
The temple itself, once inside, is highly decorated but is really quite small. There are many artefacts in the surrounding buildings uncovered over many years. I was really surprised by the quality of some of the wooden carvings surviving so in tact from the 13th century.
There
is a large section of one of the museums dedicated to a Tamil Tiger bomb blast in 1998 - causing much damage, the buildings have since been restored, but, the evidence remains. There is tight security to get in, all bags are searched and everyone must pass through metal detectors. Again they're pretty strict in terms of covering up, but, we were prepared for that anyway.
The temple was originally part of a massive royal palace complex - some of the buildings have survived and most have been converted into museums, each containing artefacts recovered over centuries. We didn't go in all of them as it would take forever to get round, but, we did get to see some of the original architecture and finds from 13th century including one of the original window frames, which probably sounds a bit naff, but was really interesting. There are many examples of intricate carvings in wood and ivory along with 100's of Buddha statues of varying sizes.
After leaving the temple we went to the botanical gardens in Kandy, I'm generally not a massive fan of gardening and couldn't tell you the difference between a weed and a plant, but
it was really pleasant. We were given a couple of hours to wander round. I've taken dozens of photos of impressive brightly coloured plants - I couldn't tell you what any of them are, but, they look amazing. There is a large area in the gardens devoted to bamboo, there is an enormous patch where loads of bamboo trees grow and if you're going to the gardens I'd say it's worth a look.
We followed signs to the canteen to go get a brew and actually found a ourselves in what we think was the staff canteen! It was pretty odd and 3 cups of tea came to somewhere around 60p! It gave us a real view of the place and not the tourist view... We did later find the proper tea room, which was pleasant enough but a bit run of the mill and dull. Think I prefer slumming it!
Later in the afternoon we had some free time to walk around Kandy city, what an experience that was! It's absolutely nuts, traffic comes at you from all directions, it's a bit grimey, busy and hot but some of the old colonial buildings are beautiful. Anyone visiting
the city needs to be a bit wary of some of the locals - some guy tried to scam us by telling us he worked in the hotel we're staying and he would take us to some attraction somewhere, I assume he was going to take us to his brothers, cousins, mates or some other persons shop and not let us leave until we parted with some cash. We basically told him to sod off and headed in the opposite direction! Most of the shops in the area are tiny and sell the essentials for locals, you can really see western influences though - I guess it's much like Egypt, I've seen a KFC and Pizza Hut today!
After that bonkers experience we headed off to a jewellers, they gave a demonstration of how the locals find gem stones, clean them up, cut them and sell them for a nice profit. Again, if you're going to be buying gems here I'd really try and sound out a guide or someone who can steer you toward the better deals.
We went to the Kandy viewpoint late afternoon, it gives a terrific view of the city and the lake (man
made) which lies on the outskirts - a good photo opportunity and gives you a better idea of the size of Kandy. Whilst there we saw a wedding party, we'd seen a few throughout the day and couldn't work out quite why - apparently today was a lucky day to get married and it seems lots of people did. Everyone looked immaculate and all were happy to have their photo taken by us random tourists!
Last stop of the day was to see a traditional cultural dance performance in what looked like a church hall... Everyone was wearing traditional Sri Lankan dress, playing drums and dancing around. There was a guy spinning plates and loads of acrobatics going on. It finished up with a bit of fire walking, which at times was a little close for comfort as we were on the front row. It was all pretty basic, but, good entertainment all the same. If you get a chance to go and see it, I'd recommend it just to see some of the local traditions.
Tour people update: the mental guy today decided to take his trousers off in the mini bus!! After we'd left the temple this morning having had to wear trousers, he got changed in the seat next to me, after sitting there in his undercrackers for 10 minutes he decided he'd best put some shorts on... I swear this guy is getting more and more nuts every day. There have been a few other things I'll fill you in on another time. Keeps things interesting though! FYI, I'm not sitting next to him tomorrow!
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Sharron
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Mental Guy
I think he sounds fun!