Chaaya Citadel Kandy

... down factories. Passing the yards of the single story cottages, people were soaping up and showering under the trees, neighbouring rice paddies with farmers already out and working in the early morning freshness, lone buffalo wallowing in the paddy.<br><br>At Peradeniya our one-toothed driver, Desa greeted us as we emerged hot and sticky from the train. We drove through the bustling town of Kandy to our hotel, the Amaya Hills, sitting high above the ...

... folk. Then it was back via lumpy roads to NE with rain pouring down! I had to put my jumpers back on and a waterproof, but the water seemed to get into every pore! I couldn&#8217;t stop shaking when we got back and was keen to get something to eat and get off to bed. I really didn&#8217;t feel well at all and left all my packing for my early leave, til the following morning! This was definitely out of character for me, so I knew I wasn&#8217;t well!<br><br>I was up ...

... to spoil the setting, with the very famous Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) sitting on one side. Town planners have definitely got it right here, with no ugly buildings around the lake area. And because there are hills around most of the lake, it gives a smashing setting, with trees rising up towards the clouds and lush vegetation in between all the discreet buildings.<br><br>Unfortunately, my guide book didn&#8217;t mention anything about Monday ...

... of time it took us to get there (much, much more). Ready to start the loop to see the other nearby temples we asked around for directions. The book said take a left through the rice paddy fields but the entire area is surrounded by fields so there wasn't a clear path to take. I think we spent about an hour starting in one direction only to talk to someone else and head in the opposite direction before we finally gave up. There are awesome ...

Friday was a typical school day. The kids pre-school kids were cuter than they had ever been and the after school kids were hyper as anything I have ever known. Must have been that Friday feeling! The following Saturday though, we began our Smile Staff Field Trip to the hills! A relatively modest 6am start (once again I had been expecting a 4am start but I think that Anne beat them down to 6) saw us along the road to Kandy. Saturday was a long but a brilliant ...

... the 2 girls at the botanical gardens (no interest for me -- i kill plants) i got dropped of in the centre of Kandy to do some shopping and get on the internet. At the first cafe the power went off after about 5 minutes and didn't look like it was in a hurry to come back on so i went to the market and wandered around the fruit, veg, fish and spice section. I went to another internet where this time after about 10 mins the power ...

... of the Tooth remains unclear, it remains an object of supreme devotion for many Sri Lankan's. Legend has it that when the Buddha was cremated in 543 BC at Kushinager in north India, various parts of his remains where rescued from the fire, including one of his teeth. Some of the outer buildings are also of interest. The Alut Maligawa (New Shrine Room) was built to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's death. The ...

... succession of colonizations by the Hindus, Portuguese, Dutch and British, they withdrew into very depth of the country. Others survived as seasonal workers on the fields. Today the chieftain, at least, seems be a very respected man. I note that he possesses nearly one hundred cows.<br><br>When we arrive back in Mahiyangana, Siril insists on showing me his temple. The fact that I am interested exclusively in the Veddas irritates him enormously. It is already eight o'clock ...

... meant every time we heard a whoop of delight or cheers something good was coming (which for me was very handy) I am now fully versed in the rules of the game (I think) and have been told by so many people here that the final will be Sri Lanka Vs. Australia and Sri Lanka will win that I am starting to believe it I am shattered today as we did not get back until 1am and I am used to being in bed by 9pm ( 10 at the very latest ) Sri Lankan is a very early to ...

... beach and past a small shanty fishing village. Most of the villagers here base their living on fishing, and I was lucky enough to watch a couple of dozen fishing boats come in with the days catch. Huge brown sails were hoisted in and nets were dragged onto the beach with hundreds and hundreds of small fish. They might have been mackerel, but I asked one of the fisherman and he just looked at me with one of those I-have-no-****ing-idea-what-the-hell-yo u-just-said looks you get so used to ...