Day 4: 2nd Mar, 2015
After a heavy breakfast at Paradise Inn, we left for Kandy. Kandy is just 100 kms from Sigiriya. Kandy was the last capital of the King's era. Kandy also comes in the cultural triangle consisting of Sigiriya and Anuradhapura as well. The route is scenic with forest cover and spice gardens. En route our driver stopped at a spice garden where you are taken on a spice garden tour by walk. A guide takes you all around the plantation showing you various herbs and spices and their uses. There is no entrance ticket here. At the end you are taken to a shop where you can buy products made from the spices and herbs. We felt the rates of the products were a bit on the higher end. But do remember to tip the guide who takes you on a walk as that is what everyone does. we again stopped at a temple on the way - Muthumariamman temple. It looked like a Tamilian temple with the main temple belonging to a goddess and various other small temples of different deities. After this we continued with our journey to Kandy.
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| Muthumariamman temple |
It was almost 12:30 PM when we reached Kandy and we had booked Hotel Hilltop. The hotel is located on a small hillock with some rooms having a Kandy Railway station & the city view and some others having the pool view. We had our rooms facing the pool. The rooms were spacious and artfully done. The hotel details can be found in my last post.
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| Room at Hotel Hilltop |
We relaxed for a while and then went for Kandy sightseeing. The driver took us to a view point from where you could see the whole city. Then we went to a Batik workshop. The Batik process was explained in detail and we were shown the various baths in which the cloth is dipped to get the different colors and designs. Then we were taken to a shop where we could buy Batik work fabrics. The Sri Lankan way of draping the Indian Saree is entirely different. I wanted to try one and I was discussing the same with my mother when one of the employee of the store, offered to drape the saree so that I could take a snap. It was a really sweet gesture and I was more than more than happy to do so..!! The lady draped the saree and I was happy posing for a snap..!! The people in Sri Lanka are really sweet and do their best to help you enjoy your stay in Sri Lanka. After lunch we were back at the hotel.
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| View point from where the whole city is visible |
In the evening we were off for a walk around the Kandy lake. Kandy has a beautiful lake situated in the heart of the city. You can go for a walk around the lake. It is situated next to the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple. You can also spot some ducks and birds like Cormorant, Kingfisher etc.
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| Kandy Lake |
Then we visited the famous Tooth Relic Temple (Sri Dalada Maligawa) which has Lord Buddha's tooth. This beautiful temple is the most sacred place for Buddhists worldwide. It is also believed that whoever holds the relic, holds the governance of the country. There are beautiful golden carvings inside the temple. Also, the upper floor door is made of ivory. The temple provides you with a CD containing interesting videos on the temple and Kandy.
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| Tooth Relic Temple |
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| Inside the Tooth Relic Temple |
Kandy being the cultural capital, Kandyan dance is very famous and do visit the cultural centre near the temple to watch this dance form. Also Kandyan drumming is well known.We walked past the government souvenir shop, Laksala and I couldn't resist the temptation of shopping! We shopped for some masks which are very famous in Sri Lanka and they are really artistic. We also got a painting of Lord Buddha and some key chains. Laksala is a good place to shop for with an assurance that the products will be genuine and worth the price. It has a vast variety of souvenirs ranging form key chains to leather chairs as well. Time just flew around the beautiful Kandy lake and it was the end of another day in Sri Lanka.
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