Sri Lanks R & R part 2

We decided to do a day trip down to Galle, about 18 km south of Hikkaduwa. It was definitely worth the trip. We met a local while waiting for the train and he helped us by organising a tuktuk driver to drive us to different places in Galle. The total 5000R including a tip was quite cheap considering he was with us for about 45 km (we paid per km).

The rain came down during the last day and a half before heading back to Colombo. Unfortunately the 2 bedroom exotic apartment (more like a bach) we were staying at had no lounge so we had to retreat to our bedrooms. Don't get me wrong, there were long periods of dry weather in between the heavy showers and it wasn't cold. We even managed to walk along to the train station on our last day before another shower hit.

Getting to the Unique Towers Hotel in Colombo was a challenge because of  tuktuk drivers increasing their prices for tourists. After arriving, Raymond's 10.30pm transfer was organised along with a driver to take us to Kandy (the train we were hoping to catch was fully booked), then we wandered off for a final dinner at Pizza Hut. It was definitely not up to the usual NZ standard for quality and service.

We loved spending those few special days with Raymond and hope to see him again before another year passes. I will admit that Tony can't have the same in depth "league conversations" with me that he had with Raymond. Maybe he'll visit Cairo inshallah. 

Spotted this small Hindu temple squeezed between some shops.

The temple for this standing Buddha is built into rock.
Inside are beautiful paintings and statues of Buddha's life as
well as an enormous resting Buddha.

Pole fishing tourists. Not sure they caught anything.

Outside the second gate of Galle Fort.

This new Hindu temple is not far from the train station
and has taken 5 years so far to build. 

Tony and the caretaker cleaning up rubbish on the beach
outside our apartment. He buried the rubbish in a hole
he dug. Tony's went into the bin.

View from our bedroom door during a shower.

 The morning of the 16th we were transported to Kandy which is over 100km north east of Colombo. We arranged with the driver to stop at the elephant orphanage but ended up at the Millenium Elephant Foundation in Pennewala. Paying 2000R each hopefully went towards the upkeep of the elephants because both the mahouts and the helper staff expected tips as well. When we questioned the driver for the second time about the orphanage he told us this one was more fun because you couldn't ride the orphan elephants but you paid just as much to see and feed them... which is what we wanted to do in the first place. It was a shame we couldn't get a refund and leave.

The Anna Shanthi Hotel was a lovely little hotel, owned by a Sri Lankan and his Australian wife, only 5 minutes walk from the Kandy Lake. It was only about 30 minutes to walk into town so we spent most of our time walking in Kandy. Even though we only had one full day and the afternoon of our arrival day, we managed to fit in a lot. We found a couple of really good cafes to eat at and managed to dodge Burger King too. Even though we missed the big festival for the area there were still celebrations happening that we were able to observe in the Sri Dadala Maligawa, the Tooth Temple. Our other highlight was our walk up to Sri Maha Bodhi Maha Viharaya which is on the hill overlooking Kandy.

Kandy Lake.

Sri Maha Bodhi Maha Viharaya Temple. This Buddha is
88 feet tall and overlooks Kandy.

The view from the foot of the Buddha back towards Kandy.
Our hotel was at the far end of the lake.

Kandy has a modern city mall as well as the market.
Makarel, prawns and lake fish are sold here.

Monitor lizards, turtles, numerous birds, lake fish and monkeys
share the lake area with the local people.

Monkeys make themselves right at home in the trees
and on house rooves.

The costumes and dancing at the cultural show were beautiful.

 Outside Sri Dadala Maligawa, the Tooth Temple

A golden Buddha inside Sri Dalada Maligawa.

The rear view from the last photo. The walls are lined
with golden elephant heads and large paintings showing the story
of the Buddha's Tooth.

Our final day in Sri Lanka has been spent travelling back to our hotel in Negombo. The Gateway Hotel is a little bit of luxury before heading back home to Cairo tomorrow morning. We were even upgraded from a standard to a superior room. Lots of TV channels - rugby league and cricket have been covered.

Even though we were constantly hit up to reach into our wallets we did enjoy Sri Lanka. The people we have met have been very friendly and helpful. All have had some degree of spoken English which they had either learnt in school or through their interaction with tourists. My highlights were the range of  food on offer, the beautiful Buddhist temples and being up close and personal to the elephants. There were really only two disappointments - the inconsistency with tuktuk prices (even with the "government approved" ones) everywhere we visited and the rubbish on the beach at Hikkaduwa. Sadly the rubbish on beaches seems to be a recurring observation...

Our summer is just about at an end. We started our journeys through Morocco, Portugal and Sri Lanka at the end of June. We've experienced so much packed into these two months and yet it's only been a taste of the world we live in. "Where shall we go next holidays?" I started to wonder as we drove towards the end of this chapter this morning ...