The Beach Tour - Sri Lanka 2013 - Tooth Temple, Eclectic Hotels, Surprise Roadside Massages and MIA for 24h

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Kandy is a pretty city nestled into the hills surrounding a lake... it was the last capital of the Singhalese Kingdom, which fell to the British in 1815. They defied the Portuguese and Dutch for 3 centuries but the Brits managed to prevail. Kandy is situated at about 500m, so the climate is slightly cooler and dryer than the coast. If was very pleasant actually. The lake in the center of town was actually a creation of the last ruler of the Kandyan Kingdom.

We were off to a good start in Kandy we had a lovely Chinese (yes you heard me right - Chinese) dinner at a funky restaurant called “Slightly Chilled”... This is THE hangout in Kandy - the views are killer!

We started out our day in Kandy after a lovely breakfast at our guesthouse. We decided to see the Garrison cemetery first. This is a really interesting place. There are 163 graves (all Brits) that died in Sri Lanka... the ages of those that died were so young... Living to the age of 30 at that time meant you were old! Some of the stones had details inscribed as to how these individuals met their fate.. some were attacked by wild elephants, while others simply were “reckless” by wearing damp clothes and catching ill. Anyway - it was a beautiful spot, lots of restoration here...

We arrived at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic just before 9:30am, just in time for the puja - official opening of the shrine - for offerings and/or prayers (There are only certain times of the day that you can view the relic). In order to enter the temple, your shoulders and legs had to be covered. This meant that Barry had to wear a sarong! Don’t worry - I have pictures 😊 It was tie-dyed purple! As I mentioned in my last post, The temple holds the sacred tooth of the Buddha. It was allegedly snatched from the flames of the Buddha’s burning funeral pyre in 483 BC and smuggled into Sri Lanka during the 4th century. The tooth travelled around Sri Lanka, for a bit, stolen and brought back to India, retrieved again by a King, avoided being burnt by the Portuguese (apparently they stole and burnt a replica tooth), and finally ended up in Kandy. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is like the Mecca for Sri Lankan Buddhists in that they must make at least one pilgrimage to the Temple, as worshipping here improves ones Karma...You don’t actually get to see the tooth, it is in a heavily guarded gold casket shaped like a dagoba.

Anyway - it was a pretty magnificent compound. The original temple was constructed in 2 parts, 1687-1707 and 1747-1782. Unfortunately, in 1998 a terrorist bombing caused severe damage to the building, so there has been a lot of reconstruction and modernization. Anyway - it was a very cool site... there was also a Buddhist museum attached, which i found fascinating. They had artifacts from all over asia - following the origins of Buddhism in India to present time. We went for lunch at this Sri Lankan chain called Devon’s... we had 2 entrees and soup and 2 large bottles of water for $6.... and the food was actually really good! I had chicken curry with rice, which customarily comes with 4 kinds of veggie curries as well, and Barry tried the Chicken Byriani.



After lunch, we strolled down to the Palace Park - it is located way up in the hills and was a bit of a hike, but worth it! It was a beautiful, peaceful garden overlooking the city. we strolled around, took in some breathtaking views, and even came across some playful monkeys! We walked by this fountain in which about 5-6 Monkeys were playing... they were jumping in , splashing each other, and one even pulled the other’s tail as he tried to pull away! They were hilarious! I wish I could have captured that on video 😊

Next, we wet to explore Helga’s Folly - I’m going to quote Lonely Planet on this one because I love how they put this... “If Gaudi and Dali set out to work on building a horror-house hotel, Helga’s Folly would be the result”. It is by far the most over the top/surreal hotel/art gallery in Sri Lanka. It is also located high up in the hills with some killer views of the city... The hotel itself has been around for over 80 years, but its present state and is a creation of Helga da Silva... her tastes reflect a world filled of 1950’s Hollywood celebrities, artists, writers, and politicians. Every room in the hotel is decorated with photos, antiques, and general items of intrigue such as skeletons, monkeys, wigs - you name it!... grand wrought-iron candle stands show evidence of many years of use and every time you turn around, you cant help being excited as to what you will find next! There was a bit of an eerie/spectacular ambiance - we came early afternoon, we wanted to have a drink and poke around the hotel... the hotel was empty except for a couple having lunch in the restaurant. As we were wandering around, (and having our drink) there was 1950’s jazz music playing on a gramophone... so picture sitting in a deserted, eclectic hotel, having a drink to 1950’s jazz - it was just strange... If attached some pictures to help 😊 The Stereophonics apparently even wrote a song about their stay there...

After Helga’s folly, it was late afternoon and we needed a break, so after a quick nap back at our guesthouse, and then off to see the Kandyan dancers at the cultural center! This was definitely a highlight as we got to see traditional dances and costumes from all over Sri Lanka, even the Devil/Mask dance which I guess is rarely performed. The ended with some fire swallowers that walked across hot coals! It was actually pretty good!

For dinner, we treated ourselves to a nicer dinner, this time at the Royal Bar and Hotel... This little gem dates back over a century and like the St. Andrew’s hotel in Nuwara Eliya, it hasn’t changed a bit... given that I had received some good news from back home, we also decided to celebrate with some beer - not a lot of beer, and we’ve drank beer on other nights - this beer was particularly strong... I woke up during the night with a slight headache that i attributed to the beer... drank some water, took some Advil and went back to bed - we had a 100km ride ahead of us the next morning and I wanted to be well rested/hydrated... I still felt a bit sluggish in the morning, but nothing I thought I couldn’t handle so we trudged on... My headache got worse as the day went on and I was cursing myself for having that 750cl beer! The roads were not the greets coming out of Kandy - the A5 highway was in bad shape with no shoulders and steep drop offs, not fun when you have busses whizzing by you!

wWe made a surprise stop at an Ayurvedic herb garden where the proprietor shoed all kinds of herb, spices and resulting Ayurvedic medicines that are derived from the plants. it ended with a free 15 min massage - PERFECT! my headache actually disappeared for a bit! After our surprise stop - we kept rolling along and my headache returned... it was getting worse... We finally made it to our guesthouse and I showered and lay down... next thing I know my head feels like there is a locomotive running through it and I have a fever of 38.5. I was in so much pain I couldn’t even open my eyes... Now if this had happened back home, I probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but because we are in a tropical climate, and my educational background allowing me to know probably too much for my own good about tropical illnesses, I started to get a bit concerned and made Barry take me to the Dr. Again, hospitality at it’s best - Sameera, the hotel manger arranged a tuk tuk for us, the guy took us there, waited for us and took us back. The trip cost me a whipping $8 including meds and I only waited 20 min!!! The Dr suspected just a viral fever, but didn’t want to rule out things like Dengue, so send me back with some Tylenol and said if it lasts more than 2 days I need a blood test. 24 hours later, I can finally open my eyes and look at a computer screen.. In the meantime, I missed all Sygiriya, a UNESCO heritage site has to offer :*(. Oh well... Today, while I am 100 times better than I was yesterday - my throat is quite sore and I suspect I have an infection. So instead of cycling into Anuradhapura, I hired a van while Barry rode in. I went to a pharmacy and picked up some antibiotics that I know will work on my throat infection, so hopefully tomorrow I should at least be able to do some sight seeing. After Barry got in , we had some lunch and I’m just going to chill for the rest of the afternoon... I guess there has to be some kind of health drama at some point in the trip! West Africa is was the rabies scare... Good times!

Anuradhapura is one of the ancient cities in Sri Lanka, and was actually the first capital and one of the best historic sites in the country..... Will let you know all about it in my next update!

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Comments

[RENanDREW]

Helga's Folly...
I'm adding that to our list for when we eventually visit Kandy - sounds hilarious! :)