KANDY

Kandy is famed for sacred Buddhist sites, including the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) shrine, celebrated with the grand Esala Perahera annual procession (festival of the tooth) which usually falls in July or August

https://lakpura.com/pages/kandy-esala-perahera

I've seen videos of it, with the elephants draped and covering with canopied Sudan chairs, but underneath, weak, shackled underfed, its horrid to see, PETA is always trying to fight against it

. https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/sri-lanka-elephant-abuse/

apart from this abhorrent part there re lots of other fun activities,. it mainly consists of a parade of musicians, dancers, singers, acrobats and various other performers accompanied by a large number of caparisoned Tuskers and Elephants parading the streets in celebration of a religious event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSrh3IsbnRg

the bus dropped me off near the old prison/garrison . it was hot. I got a tuktuk to the area were my hostel was in. wasn't that cheap, but with my heavy bag, the heat and unsure where exactly to go, tuktuk was the best option. was a bit of a cheap area, the hostel check in was on the second floor, and I unfortunately was on the 4th, bit of a hike up! but those sharing my room were nice and I chatted away to them, one girl was telling me about how her travel plans had been affected due to covid, and recommended some facebook solo female travel groups to me as we were chatting about couch surfer and travel. I went to charge my iPad and found it wouldn't charge, it needed a new lead, though my phone was ok. I read online tat you needed an iPad one, so I would need to wait for Andrew to return the next day and not use it until then. annoying!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g304138-Kandy_Kandy_District_Central_Province-Vacations.html

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/450/. UNESCO CITY

Kandy is a UNESCO world heritage centre due to its history and many old colonial buildings. it also is the home to the famous "temple of the tooth" one of the most religious temples in the whole of the country.

KANDY CLOCK TOWER

I went for a stroll later on that night seeing some lovely lit up temples and getting a feel of the area. it wasn't the best hostel, hot humid bathroom, the upstairs had a patio area were I sat and drank coffee while some others had a drink and played cards. with Andrew arriving the next day I found somewhere else to go to that not only included breakfast but also a free mini tour. i washed and walked there early the next morning. it wasn't the best, warm stuffy with only 1 plug which wasn't suitable for mine and a poor fan. also there wasn't a bathroom in the room. we later decided to change and booked one closer to the Main Street that offered tours and cars to places.

I drank some coffee and went on the tuktuk tour, their living/reception area/dining outside was nice, chilled. though the rest of the place was hot humid, grotty and not the cleanest nor tidiest.

it was just me and the driver, he took me up the hills looking over the city stopping outside the big white buddha on the hill (had to pay to get it) known as the Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue

Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue

the old prison.

after this we went to the other side over looking the lake, the old palace, temple of Udawattekele and temple of the sacred tooth to the "Kandy Viewpoint" before he dropped me off at "prince's park" nearby where I strolled leisurely admiring the flowers. I then headed down passing the lake and heading towards the temple. my 3 quarter lengths were deemed inappropriate, so I went back to change and also changed hostel, to another cheap nearby hotel which was upstairs and offered a complimentary fresh cold juice on arrival, this was needed as it was very hot!

Sri Lanka is known fo its gems, in particular it's garnets (my birthstone), so there are a lot of nice jewellery shops to browse! there's a gem museum on can visit and also the tea museum up on the hills

TEMPLE OF THE SACRED TOOTH

I changed and headed back towards the temple. I went in a side gate as I was exploring the surroundings! haha. Ornately decorated inside around the main shrine area, there was more temple shrines in the ground and a museum area full of ancient carvings. I was nearly caught when I tried to into a barrack like area looking for the toilet, I told them I had lost my ticket and after I used the toilet headed towards the exit gates. strolling along the waterway.

must be covered. no shorts skirts, need t-shirts and trousers or else they won't even consider letting you in, male or female

1000-1500 SLR entrance fee

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/sri-lanka/the-hill-country/kandy/attractions/temple-of-the-sacred-tooth-relic/a/poi-sig/450797/357477

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/temple-of-the-tooth

along the banks I spotted a few monks just resting and meditating,

https://www.thecommonwanderer.com/blog/best-things-to-do-in-kandy-sri-lanka

The Church of St Paul

the Anglican church of Saint Paul sits just outside the Temple of the sacred tooth, completed in 1848, it holds services on Wednesdays and Sundays.

I explored the area a little and stumbled upon a quiet hindu temple not to far from where I was staying

RED MOSQUE

also not too far from where I was staying, its a renown sight and worth looking out for, Andrew arrived later and got us tickets to ELLA - the issue is they are often hard to get/sold out as locals buy them in bulk for a cheaper price and sell them on, we had to pay extra and go to an agent to get it. we then went to a local barber in a back street, they were all really friendly and I tried a head massage where they put some serum /oil in your hair and give it a crazy frisking. it was quite stimulating and nice. good to encourage hair growth.

we organised a car to take us to Polonuara and take in some sights on the way for the next day. an early 6am, more expensive but direct, convenient and helps us see what we want as it can be a little awkward getting about otherwise.