KANDY AND COLOMBO
My parents, my mother's brother and sister, my wife and I visited Sri Lanka during the Diwali weekend. We had a memorable 3 days. It was my uncle who spotted a deal that Sri Lankan Airlines offered : a package of 4 nights and 3 days in Sri Lanka for Rs. 28,000 for a couple, including the air fare and at least 3 star accommodation. Some information is available at http://www.srilankan-holidays.com/general/in_to_srilanka.htm#. He arranged to make the booking and it was decided that we would visit Sri Lanka during the Diwali holidays. My mother's sister came from Mysooru on Thursday morning.
On 15-Oct-09, after double checking (and triple checking !!) the doors and the locks, geyser and LPG connections, we left home at 5 p.m. to catch the flight scheduled at 9:15 p.m. We thought we could reach by 6:15 p.m., but we had not reckoned with the Bengaluru traffic. Our cab driver chose the ring route from the Jnanabharati campus at Kengeri, which was new to us, instead of the route within the city via Mekhri circle. He thought the ring road would enable us to reach within the hour. However, the traffic at Nagarbhavi was tremendous : it looked like a VIP was passing by and we were stuck in the signals, with frustration creeping among all of us.
It got to our driver, who zoomed at 75 kmph, on a stretch where the maximum was only 60 kmph. A couple of traffic policemen stopped us and told us in a tone which brooked no argument that the speed limit was 60 while we were travelling at 75. Our driver sorted the issue out but the delay was another precious five minutes ! We were just nearing the Hebbal flyover at this point and it was well past 6:15 already.
The situation was akin to a cricket team entering the slog overs with a asking rate that is beginning to climb ! To extend the analogy, the chasing team was still in a strong position, but at the same time the possibility of losing was real !
This was my first visit to Bengaluru International Airport and the drive from the flyover was a delight. We may as well have been in Dubai or any other advanced city. In hindsight, had we come via Mekhri circle, we may have reached faster. It was around 7:20 when we actually reached the airport.
I am pleasantly surprised at the "phoren" look of the airport ! I noticed that the roof of the airport has the same curves that make up the logo of the airport. The duty free shop is also par for the course. My uncle says that the Hyderabad airport is even more impressive. Overall, I rather like the new airport at Bengaluru.
The checking in and immigration formalities were over soon and we had waiting time of nearly 30 minutes. I picked up an Outlook magazine at Crosswords. We boarded the plane on schedule and were greeted by "Ayubowan", the Sri Lankan equivalent of "Namaste". At 9:15, the plane took off smoothly. I expected a rice dish, but instead we got sandwiches. This was a disappointment ! The in flight magazine Serendip had articles about Sri Lanka which I read eagerly. We barely finished filling in the disembarkation card when the announcement of landing was made. Colombo is a mere 70 minutes away by air from Bengaluru.
One formality at Colombo was the declaration of health to counter the H1N1 flu. Colombo airport is pretty big, but it looks like the airport is aging : there were no cups for the drinking water and there were only two TVs in the departure lounge. At the immigration counter, all of us got visa for 10 days.
Our guide Sunil was present with a sign bearing my wife's name, much to her surprise. Since her name was the first that was picked up, all bookings were in her name and she was asked to sign on our behalf in the hotels that we checked in. I kept teasing her about the additional responsibility for all of us that she now had ! Another family, a couple with their 3 year old girl also joined us in the tour. They were stuck in locating their baggage and hence were delayed in joining us.
We were out of the airport only at 11:45 a.m. or so. Bandaranaike airport is also away from the city, just like the Bengaluru airport. The nine of us were put in an air-conditioned 18 seater van. Sunil took the seat next to the driver and used a microphone to make announcements. The road to Colombo gave us our first idea about the city. Traffic was minimal but the signals were still working. An even bigger surprise awaited me when the driver of our van, Ajith, stopped at these signals ! One point that struck me was the number of statues of the Buddha that were present on the roads of Colombo. There are different ways of demonstrating faith and the city's way of showing it was with a profusion of statues of Buddha surrounded by coloured halos of lights. There was also an extremely heavy security presence that night. I saw army men patrolling the streets. It looked like there was an army presence every 100 metres or so. Sunil informed us that the security was due to the Asian Cooperation Dialogue which was being conducted in Hotel Galadari (http://www.galadarihotel.lk/).
Galadari was also where our accommodation was arranged. By the time we got the room keys and checked in to our respective rooms, it was 1:15 a.m. on 16-Oct. All of us slept well on the luxurious cots in the hotel.
The next morning, a pleasant surprise awaited my wife and I when we looked out of the windows of our room : the waves of the Indian Ocean lapped the bank just 200 metres away from our hotel ! All 6 of us got ready by 9:00 a.m. and assembled in the restaurant on the Ground Floor of Galadari. The buffet breakfast comprised Sri Lankan dishes, corn flakes and other usual choices like toasts, juices and cornflakes. What delighted us was the "Indian corner" serving upma and idlis ! I tried string hoppers, a staple food in Sri Lanka and also Kiri baath (photo and recipe available at http://www.infolanka.com/recipes/mess1/10.html !). After breakfast, we walked along the beach near the hotel. The place is rather like Marine Drive in Mumbai.
Just after 10 a.m. we checked out and left for Kandy. The other family with us were also from Bengaluru and spoke Kannada. We settled into the 3 hour drive comfortably with the young daughter taking a particular liking for my wife. The route was along the A3 highway and the landscape is very similar to Kerala, with one town just blending into another. http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710012065674434 shows one such landscape. My wife observed that apart from the drivers of motorbikes, even pillion riders wore helmets. Most of the cars in Sri Lanka are long cars primarily from Nissan and Toyota. The A3 highway is narrow, but well maintained.
As we passed different villages, Sunil named one village as "Pineapple Village", another as "Cane Village". As the names indicate, the specialties of the villages were selling pineapples or articles of cane. He also pointed out a "Toy village" where there were many rubber and plastic toys were being sold, rather like the wooden toys of Channapatna on the way to Mysooru. We saw a "Clay Village" where articles of clay like pots, lamps, etc. were sold. We also found a "Cashew Village" !
At 12:15 p.m., we reached Pinnawela in Kigalle province. There is an elephant orphanage here, described at http://www.tourism-srilanka.com/pinnawela-elephant-orphanage.html. We were charged Rs. 500/-, which is rather expensive. On the positive side, there were at least around 50 elephants. Sunil pointed out one elephant which had lost a front leg. The elephant moves about independently but Sunil pointed out that it was a hunchback, since the body weight is balanced on three legs. The sight was a tragic reminder of how conflict and war affect the innocent - whether it is people or even supposedly mighty animals. http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710431501542386 shows this elephant.
There was also a blind tusker with grand looking tusks, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709862604515778. When it was feeding time for the baby elephants at 1:15 p.m., we moved to the enclosure. The two baby elephants easily drank two bottles of milk in continuous gulps ! One of them neatly used one of its front legs to grip the trunk of a palm tree and used the other to eat the kernel, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709891300779090. I was amazed to see this kind of co-ordination in elephants !
Sunil organized lunch for us at Elephant Park. He requested us to take the corner seat, which provided us a view of the Maha Oya river on one side and a track leading to the banks of the river on the other side. The real surprise came when we were eating fried rice and more than 20 elephants peacefully walked along the track to the river for their "daily bath" ! The sight of the majestic animals slowly trudging along the path was a highlight of our trip. http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709920335660818 and http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709947970998786 show the bathing ritual. Few of the elephants walked across to the other bank and began tearing down a palm tree ! Until we left, they were unsuccessful.
We reached Kandy at 3:30 p.m. and stayed at Chaaya Citadel, http://www.chaayahotels.com/nhotel.cfm?hid=Chaaya Citadel. The facade looks impressive, particularly in the night. I tried to capture it, but I shook the camera as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709981028855746. Most hotels soar to the sky ; the Citadel on the other hand sprawls horizontally, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710457237692658. In the evening my wife and I walked in the hotel campus, exploring the hotel and we saw the Maha Eliya river flowing along the hotel. We ate dinner at the Citadel, where getting vegetarian food took longer than expected. We settled for a Thai rice dish and breads also.
I went for a walk the next morning. It was misty and the hotel looked lovely, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710485870449522. I liked the sight of a boat crossing the river in the hazy morning, visible at http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709989155969378.
After breakfast, we left for our Kandy tour. At 10:00 a.m. we reached the Buddha Tooth Relic temple. The temple has a golden roof that gleamed in the morning sun. Sunil told us the legend and mythology associated with the temple. A lake adjoins the temple. By this time, my digital camera was completely discharged and I had forgotten to bring the charger. In a sense, it was a relief ! I did not have to think about taking photos any more :-) However, I do regret that I don't have good photos of the lake :-( Information on the temple is available at http://www.sridaladamaligawa.lk/. There was a huge crowd at the temple. We could see young and old ladies and gentlemen carrying flowers. This was yet another demonstration of the faith of the people in the Buddha, in addition to the statues that we saw. We saw young couples bringing their infant children to the temple for blessing.
The tooth relic is placed in a golden casket and we saw the opening of the casket in the morning. In the complex, there is a library in an octagonal shaped building, which we visited. In addition, there are a couple of temples also. Sri Lanka is famous for gems. After stopping at a point to see the lake and the shimmering golden roof, we went to a gem and jewellery store. We saw a short video on how gems are mined.
We had requested Sunil to find us a restaurant that served Indian food for lunch. He duly stopped at a place that served a decent Indian buffet. We returned to the hotel at around 2:30 p.m. and relaxed until 4:30 p.m. My wife and I prepared and drank tea in our room and then we were off to see the botanical gardens.
The cost of Rs. 600/- for the entry ticket for foreigners is exorbitant. The gardens are 147 acres long and to people from Bengaluru who have seen Lalbagh in all its splendour, the price is too much ! I certainly thought so when we entered the gardens and saw the grass and the trees. My impression changed when we entered a hall with orchids.
The colour of the orchids and the sheer variety was a pleasure to see. My wife likes flowers and the sight of so many exotic flowers delighted her no end. My father who also has the proverbial green thumb was also impressed. Until now, it was he who named the plants in the garden, on a couple of occasions also correcting Sunil. However, he was impressed by the display of orchids ! http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710538645498114, http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710530778067650, http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710547053360594, http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710548811505794 and http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710552569397906 taken on the Nokia 6020 VGA resolution camera shows the flowers in all their glory. Necessity breeds invention and here, though the photos were taken only in 640 X 480 resolution, in my opinion they are decent !
There was also a tree which looked like upside down candles were hanging from it, rather like the candles in Hogwarts' Grand Hall in the Harry Potter movies ! A photo is available at http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710557116426594. There is also a double coconut tree, whose coconut fruit contains two coconuts, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710560601195010.
Sunil took us to a cultural program where we saw traditional Sri Lankan dance and music. Like all folk cultures, the dances and music had their own charm. It gave us a good insight into Sri Lankan life in the villages. Again, the similarity with Indian lifestyle was evident. After this, we returned to the hotel, ate dinner and retired for the night. We had requested Indian vegetarian dishes and the waiter and cook had arranged for it. The staff at the hotel were courteous and friendly towards us.
On the next morning, after eating breakfast, we headed back to Hotel Galadari in Colombo, reaching by 1 p.m. Sunil stopped for lunch at Amaravathi, an Indian restaurant. To our surprise, we heard Kannada in the restaurant. Another group from Bengaluru had the same idea as we had and had come to Sri Lanka !
We visited the Gangaram temple in Colombo in the evening. The temple is pretty ancient and contains a tall statue of the Buddha. The elephant in this temple has tusks that were the most spectacular that we saw in our trip. Next, we visited the Independence Memorial in Colombo. Since it was Sunday, the shopping district was closed. However, we did find few small shops that were open on the Main Street. We walked on the road, shopped for a few souvenirs and then returned to Galadari. It helped that my mother knew enough Tamil to bargain with the shopkeepers, most of whom speak Tamil !
My uncle, wife and I walked along the beach in the evening. The breeze was a delight and I recalled the beaches in Mumbai where I grew up. The walk was exhilarating.
We ate dinner at Amaravathi and bade Sunil goodbye, since the flight was at 7:35 a.m. next morning. All of us went to sleep early. and we got up at 3:45 a.m. It had rained in the night but even at 4:45 a.m. there were people on the roads already, waiting for buses and trains. Our check in formalities took time and there was barely enough time to get our breath back after completing the security formalities.
We were back in Bengaluru by 9 a.m. One good innovation I noticed was the infra red cameras that look out for fever and possibly serve as an indication for H1N1 infection. This is a good idea that needs to be extended.
So we were back home after a memorable three day trip. Since the last couple of days, people I know are asking me how the trip was. When I considering that the fact that we spent less than Rs. 20,000 per head which covered the air fare, luxurious accommodation in Colombo and Kandy, meals, tickets and also gave us wonderful memories of remarkable orchids, sights of the elephants bathing, etc. this was money that was well spent !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
My parents, my mother's brother and sister, my wife and I visited Sri Lanka during the Diwali weekend. We had a memorable 3 days. It was my uncle who spotted a deal that Sri Lankan Airlines offered : a package of 4 nights and 3 days in Sri Lanka for Rs. 28,000 for a couple, including the air fare and at least 3 star accommodation. Some information is available at http://www.srilankan-holidays.com/general/in_to_srilanka.htm#. He arranged to make the booking and it was decided that we would visit Sri Lanka during the Diwali holidays. My mother's sister came from Mysooru on Thursday morning.
On 15-Oct-09, after double checking (and triple checking !!) the doors and the locks, geyser and LPG connections, we left home at 5 p.m. to catch the flight scheduled at 9:15 p.m. We thought we could reach by 6:15 p.m., but we had not reckoned with the Bengaluru traffic. Our cab driver chose the ring route from the Jnanabharati campus at Kengeri, which was new to us, instead of the route within the city via Mekhri circle. He thought the ring road would enable us to reach within the hour. However, the traffic at Nagarbhavi was tremendous : it looked like a VIP was passing by and we were stuck in the signals, with frustration creeping among all of us.
It got to our driver, who zoomed at 75 kmph, on a stretch where the maximum was only 60 kmph. A couple of traffic policemen stopped us and told us in a tone which brooked no argument that the speed limit was 60 while we were travelling at 75. Our driver sorted the issue out but the delay was another precious five minutes ! We were just nearing the Hebbal flyover at this point and it was well past 6:15 already.
The situation was akin to a cricket team entering the slog overs with a asking rate that is beginning to climb ! To extend the analogy, the chasing team was still in a strong position, but at the same time the possibility of losing was real !
This was my first visit to Bengaluru International Airport and the drive from the flyover was a delight. We may as well have been in Dubai or any other advanced city. In hindsight, had we come via Mekhri circle, we may have reached faster. It was around 7:20 when we actually reached the airport.
I am pleasantly surprised at the "phoren" look of the airport ! I noticed that the roof of the airport has the same curves that make up the logo of the airport. The duty free shop is also par for the course. My uncle says that the Hyderabad airport is even more impressive. Overall, I rather like the new airport at Bengaluru.
The checking in and immigration formalities were over soon and we had waiting time of nearly 30 minutes. I picked up an Outlook magazine at Crosswords. We boarded the plane on schedule and were greeted by "Ayubowan", the Sri Lankan equivalent of "Namaste". At 9:15, the plane took off smoothly. I expected a rice dish, but instead we got sandwiches. This was a disappointment ! The in flight magazine Serendip had articles about Sri Lanka which I read eagerly. We barely finished filling in the disembarkation card when the announcement of landing was made. Colombo is a mere 70 minutes away by air from Bengaluru.
One formality at Colombo was the declaration of health to counter the H1N1 flu. Colombo airport is pretty big, but it looks like the airport is aging : there were no cups for the drinking water and there were only two TVs in the departure lounge. At the immigration counter, all of us got visa for 10 days.
Our guide Sunil was present with a sign bearing my wife's name, much to her surprise. Since her name was the first that was picked up, all bookings were in her name and she was asked to sign on our behalf in the hotels that we checked in. I kept teasing her about the additional responsibility for all of us that she now had ! Another family, a couple with their 3 year old girl also joined us in the tour. They were stuck in locating their baggage and hence were delayed in joining us.
We were out of the airport only at 11:45 a.m. or so. Bandaranaike airport is also away from the city, just like the Bengaluru airport. The nine of us were put in an air-conditioned 18 seater van. Sunil took the seat next to the driver and used a microphone to make announcements. The road to Colombo gave us our first idea about the city. Traffic was minimal but the signals were still working. An even bigger surprise awaited me when the driver of our van, Ajith, stopped at these signals ! One point that struck me was the number of statues of the Buddha that were present on the roads of Colombo. There are different ways of demonstrating faith and the city's way of showing it was with a profusion of statues of Buddha surrounded by coloured halos of lights. There was also an extremely heavy security presence that night. I saw army men patrolling the streets. It looked like there was an army presence every 100 metres or so. Sunil informed us that the security was due to the Asian Cooperation Dialogue which was being conducted in Hotel Galadari (http://www.galadarihotel.lk/).
Galadari was also where our accommodation was arranged. By the time we got the room keys and checked in to our respective rooms, it was 1:15 a.m. on 16-Oct. All of us slept well on the luxurious cots in the hotel.
The next morning, a pleasant surprise awaited my wife and I when we looked out of the windows of our room : the waves of the Indian Ocean lapped the bank just 200 metres away from our hotel ! All 6 of us got ready by 9:00 a.m. and assembled in the restaurant on the Ground Floor of Galadari. The buffet breakfast comprised Sri Lankan dishes, corn flakes and other usual choices like toasts, juices and cornflakes. What delighted us was the "Indian corner" serving upma and idlis ! I tried string hoppers, a staple food in Sri Lanka and also Kiri baath (photo and recipe available at http://www.infolanka.com/recipes/mess1/10.html !). After breakfast, we walked along the beach near the hotel. The place is rather like Marine Drive in Mumbai.
Just after 10 a.m. we checked out and left for Kandy. The other family with us were also from Bengaluru and spoke Kannada. We settled into the 3 hour drive comfortably with the young daughter taking a particular liking for my wife. The route was along the A3 highway and the landscape is very similar to Kerala, with one town just blending into another. http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710012065674434 shows one such landscape. My wife observed that apart from the drivers of motorbikes, even pillion riders wore helmets. Most of the cars in Sri Lanka are long cars primarily from Nissan and Toyota. The A3 highway is narrow, but well maintained.
As we passed different villages, Sunil named one village as "Pineapple Village", another as "Cane Village". As the names indicate, the specialties of the villages were selling pineapples or articles of cane. He also pointed out a "Toy village" where there were many rubber and plastic toys were being sold, rather like the wooden toys of Channapatna on the way to Mysooru. We saw a "Clay Village" where articles of clay like pots, lamps, etc. were sold. We also found a "Cashew Village" !
At 12:15 p.m., we reached Pinnawela in Kigalle province. There is an elephant orphanage here, described at http://www.tourism-srilanka.com/pinnawela-elephant-orphanage.html. We were charged Rs. 500/-, which is rather expensive. On the positive side, there were at least around 50 elephants. Sunil pointed out one elephant which had lost a front leg. The elephant moves about independently but Sunil pointed out that it was a hunchback, since the body weight is balanced on three legs. The sight was a tragic reminder of how conflict and war affect the innocent - whether it is people or even supposedly mighty animals. http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710431501542386 shows this elephant.
There was also a blind tusker with grand looking tusks, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709862604515778. When it was feeding time for the baby elephants at 1:15 p.m., we moved to the enclosure. The two baby elephants easily drank two bottles of milk in continuous gulps ! One of them neatly used one of its front legs to grip the trunk of a palm tree and used the other to eat the kernel, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709891300779090. I was amazed to see this kind of co-ordination in elephants !
Sunil organized lunch for us at Elephant Park. He requested us to take the corner seat, which provided us a view of the Maha Oya river on one side and a track leading to the banks of the river on the other side. The real surprise came when we were eating fried rice and more than 20 elephants peacefully walked along the track to the river for their "daily bath" ! The sight of the majestic animals slowly trudging along the path was a highlight of our trip. http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709920335660818 and http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709947970998786 show the bathing ritual. Few of the elephants walked across to the other bank and began tearing down a palm tree ! Until we left, they were unsuccessful.
We reached Kandy at 3:30 p.m. and stayed at Chaaya Citadel, http://www.chaayahotels.com/nhotel.cfm?hid=Chaaya Citadel. The facade looks impressive, particularly in the night. I tried to capture it, but I shook the camera as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709981028855746. Most hotels soar to the sky ; the Citadel on the other hand sprawls horizontally, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710457237692658. In the evening my wife and I walked in the hotel campus, exploring the hotel and we saw the Maha Eliya river flowing along the hotel. We ate dinner at the Citadel, where getting vegetarian food took longer than expected. We settled for a Thai rice dish and breads also.
I went for a walk the next morning. It was misty and the hotel looked lovely, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710485870449522. I liked the sight of a boat crossing the river in the hazy morning, visible at http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394709989155969378.
After breakfast, we left for our Kandy tour. At 10:00 a.m. we reached the Buddha Tooth Relic temple. The temple has a golden roof that gleamed in the morning sun. Sunil told us the legend and mythology associated with the temple. A lake adjoins the temple. By this time, my digital camera was completely discharged and I had forgotten to bring the charger. In a sense, it was a relief ! I did not have to think about taking photos any more :-) However, I do regret that I don't have good photos of the lake :-( Information on the temple is available at http://www.sridaladamaligawa.lk/. There was a huge crowd at the temple. We could see young and old ladies and gentlemen carrying flowers. This was yet another demonstration of the faith of the people in the Buddha, in addition to the statues that we saw. We saw young couples bringing their infant children to the temple for blessing.
The tooth relic is placed in a golden casket and we saw the opening of the casket in the morning. In the complex, there is a library in an octagonal shaped building, which we visited. In addition, there are a couple of temples also. Sri Lanka is famous for gems. After stopping at a point to see the lake and the shimmering golden roof, we went to a gem and jewellery store. We saw a short video on how gems are mined.
We had requested Sunil to find us a restaurant that served Indian food for lunch. He duly stopped at a place that served a decent Indian buffet. We returned to the hotel at around 2:30 p.m. and relaxed until 4:30 p.m. My wife and I prepared and drank tea in our room and then we were off to see the botanical gardens.
The cost of Rs. 600/- for the entry ticket for foreigners is exorbitant. The gardens are 147 acres long and to people from Bengaluru who have seen Lalbagh in all its splendour, the price is too much ! I certainly thought so when we entered the gardens and saw the grass and the trees. My impression changed when we entered a hall with orchids.
The colour of the orchids and the sheer variety was a pleasure to see. My wife likes flowers and the sight of so many exotic flowers delighted her no end. My father who also has the proverbial green thumb was also impressed. Until now, it was he who named the plants in the garden, on a couple of occasions also correcting Sunil. However, he was impressed by the display of orchids ! http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710538645498114, http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710530778067650, http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710547053360594, http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710548811505794 and http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710552569397906 taken on the Nokia 6020 VGA resolution camera shows the flowers in all their glory. Necessity breeds invention and here, though the photos were taken only in 640 X 480 resolution, in my opinion they are decent !
There was also a tree which looked like upside down candles were hanging from it, rather like the candles in Hogwarts' Grand Hall in the Harry Potter movies ! A photo is available at http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710557116426594. There is also a double coconut tree, whose coconut fruit contains two coconuts, as seen in http://picasaweb.google.com/kiran.suma/Upload?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr2qK2b8-25PA#5394710560601195010.
Sunil took us to a cultural program where we saw traditional Sri Lankan dance and music. Like all folk cultures, the dances and music had their own charm. It gave us a good insight into Sri Lankan life in the villages. Again, the similarity with Indian lifestyle was evident. After this, we returned to the hotel, ate dinner and retired for the night. We had requested Indian vegetarian dishes and the waiter and cook had arranged for it. The staff at the hotel were courteous and friendly towards us.
On the next morning, after eating breakfast, we headed back to Hotel Galadari in Colombo, reaching by 1 p.m. Sunil stopped for lunch at Amaravathi, an Indian restaurant. To our surprise, we heard Kannada in the restaurant. Another group from Bengaluru had the same idea as we had and had come to Sri Lanka !
We visited the Gangaram temple in Colombo in the evening. The temple is pretty ancient and contains a tall statue of the Buddha. The elephant in this temple has tusks that were the most spectacular that we saw in our trip. Next, we visited the Independence Memorial in Colombo. Since it was Sunday, the shopping district was closed. However, we did find few small shops that were open on the Main Street. We walked on the road, shopped for a few souvenirs and then returned to Galadari. It helped that my mother knew enough Tamil to bargain with the shopkeepers, most of whom speak Tamil !
My uncle, wife and I walked along the beach in the evening. The breeze was a delight and I recalled the beaches in Mumbai where I grew up. The walk was exhilarating.
We ate dinner at Amaravathi and bade Sunil goodbye, since the flight was at 7:35 a.m. next morning. All of us went to sleep early. and we got up at 3:45 a.m. It had rained in the night but even at 4:45 a.m. there were people on the roads already, waiting for buses and trains. Our check in formalities took time and there was barely enough time to get our breath back after completing the security formalities.
We were back in Bengaluru by 9 a.m. One good innovation I noticed was the infra red cameras that look out for fever and possibly serve as an indication for H1N1 infection. This is a good idea that needs to be extended.
So we were back home after a memorable three day trip. Since the last couple of days, people I know are asking me how the trip was. When I considering that the fact that we spent less than Rs. 20,000 per head which covered the air fare, luxurious accommodation in Colombo and Kandy, meals, tickets and also gave us wonderful memories of remarkable orchids, sights of the elephants bathing, etc. this was money that was well spent !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
ALL COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS ARE ACKNOWLEDGED
AS THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR OWNERS.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Comments
Post a Comment