Sri Lanka's Temple Trees and View

After Cochin we continued on our journey to Sri Lanka round the tip of India at Kanyakumari and arrived at 0600 hours on New Year's Day 2004 at Galle. How wonderful to arrive in Sri Lanka for my first visit on the first day of a new year! We disembarked from the ship on the 3rd January in Colombo and we privately started an eight day holiday into the interior. Whilst at Galle we had visited the old Dutch Fort and a folk museum and had a walk along the beaches in the south. The cruise passengers were also taken to visit a tea garden and its factory and had lunch in a rather faded old manager's bungalow that would have seen its hey day in the time of British rule. It was an enjoyable last full day of our cruise and I felt a lump in my throat as the piper Martin played us out of Galle's harbour after such a happy time.

Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawela

We loved Sri Lanka and managed to visit the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage en route to Kandy which was so natural and enchanting. Elephants are the national animal and it was wonderful to see them everywhere. Kandy itself is a pretty city and we were impressed by the Temple of the Tooth (of the Lord Buddha) and a superb cultural evening of dancing. The following day we visited one of the renowned jewellers called Balasuriya and enjoyed the tour of their gem mining exhibition and museum housed within their showroom and manufacturing premises. We bought some lovely rings. Our driver and guide Premodh took us to a vantage spot from which to look down on the whole city and the lake - the countryside all around is so lush. Truly this island is a garden paradise filled with exotic wildlife and the most beautiful birds. Everywhere one looked there were colourful creepers and flowering shrubs and trees and

Kandy and The Temple of the Tooth

it needed no real special effort to observe the plentiful and exotic bird life. The Botanic Gardens are both interesting from a gardener's point of view and a pleasure in which to stroll, with some truly unique specimens like Napoleon's Crown and the Coco de Mer in both genders. Lunch was very welcome and that was followed by a visit to an Ayurvedic Herb and Spice Garden which again was especially intriguing for us keen gardeners.

Sri Lankan tea pickers

We arrived at Kandalama in the late afternoon and were entirely captivated. The hotel building is stark but the architect was required to incorporate it into the landscape and now that it is ten years old the hotel can hardly be seen. It is somewhat minimalist and the interiors I find a bit like airport lounges yet I love the incorporation of the rocks and huge boulders within the interior or in the passages, and the jungle comes right up to the walk ways and then falls away beneath the balconies. The dawn chorus was enchanting with the sun rising over the huge lake, which is really a man made 'tank', with an elephant walking silently by with her 'passengers' aboard, whilst the cacophony of bird song filled the air next to the balcony. Imprudently I left my tea tray on the balcony and went for a shower, but had mercifully remembered to shut the sliding door; when I reappeared a small monkey was calmly sitting in my chair trying to drink a cup of tea!

Sunset at Kandalama Hotel

The sunsets were memorable and we managed to capture some on film. We went on a two hour elephant ride through the scrub jungle in the late afternoon and were 'aboard' at the time of sunset; standing in the shallow area of the lake sitting on an elephant filming the sunset was very special. The three swimming pools are a delight and one in particular as the evening light turns to dark is so evocative with a flautist playing, sitting cross legged on the nearby rock as the light fades and discreet lighting brings reflections to the pool, it looks as if in its infinity it is part of the huge lake. Dining out under the full moon was quite lovely too with the star studded sky and the jungle noises all around us. The food overall is good and the staff try to please and are so friendly, Sri Lanka is generally a very friendly place. We visited one of two wildlife parks nearby to see wild elephants. This was a splendid outing and we were fortunate in seeing quite a few elephants along with other wildlife, including a crocodile, monitor lizards and jackals. Driving home towards the setting sun with the breeze blowing in one's hair looking at the sights and sounds all around was lovely.
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