Toothless wonder

Trip Start Nov 01, 2006

179

Trip End Oct 31, 2007

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Where I stayed

Prassana Village Inn

(Kandy hotels)

Flag of Sri Lanka Kandy, Sri Lanka
Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Yesterday morning we had our first experience of Sri Lankan buses on a 3 and a half hour journey from Negombo to Kandy. The journey was fine until the last half hour in which we sat in traffic and could have walked in half the time if we'd known where to go. The absolute highlight of the journey was pulling into Kandy centre and seeing stall after stall selling ripe, juicy mangoes. We love mangoes and had been so disappointed when we got to India and discovered they weren't in season. So we're in heaven now and are stuffing ourselves with them. (R)
We've just been to the Temple of the Tooth which supposedly contains one of the Buddha's teeth. We didn't discover whether it was an incisor or a molar because we were too stingy to pay the tourist-discriminatory entrance fee. We managed to have a quick peek through the archway though, catching a glimpse of the relic's home guarded by elephant tusks. Apparently the tooth is anyway only shown to very important visitors and I don't think we qualify. Today is a Buddhist holiday, being a full moon day, so the place was heaving. Tonight we are having a huge slap-up meal prepared for us at our guesthouse, the Prassana Village Inn. The owner is extremely hospitable and after the hot and tiring journey yesterday it was a relief to be able to send the rickshaw tout on his way after the first few unsuccessful attempts to find us a room. We're hoping to organise a 'car and driver' for a couple of days to enable us to get round the main cultural sites quickly so that we have enough time to enjoy the hill-country and beaches of the South (both apparently musts).
So far, we're finding Sri Lanka a little easier to negotiate than India (particularly Northern India). The differences are sometimes subtle but there nonetheless. Some niggly criticisms though: there are still people who are willing to take advantage of you. Visiting the Buddha on the hill this morning, we were ushered into a room by one of the attendants who insisted on tying a small piece of cotton round our wrists for 'good luck'. Of course afterwards the donations plate was being held out....

01 Kandian Peacock Dance

We politely refused explaining that we'd already paid the admission fee. This sort of thing happens a lot in India as well but we'd hoped we might be leaving it behind. It's not a major problem - it just has a tendency to make you suspicious of everyone and sometimes means you unwittingly cause offence to (the majority of) people who are well-meaning. Generally though, we're having a great time and a quiet drink and some food in The Pub last night was a highlight; mainly because the waiter wiped our table when we arrived, we didn't have to wait half an hour for Rachel's Arrack cocktail, and the loos were very, very clean. Hooray! (T)