Another couple of hours north on winding roads took us to Kandy. The drive took us through more of the tea-growing region, and past little vegetable stands on the side of the road.
On the temple grounds there are a few shrines, and a Museum of Buddhism with contributions from all the Buddhist coutries in the the world.
Upon leaving the museum it started to rain very heavily, and even with an umbrella we got totally soaked. We went into the nearest restaurant to have a late lunch and dry off.
While walking to the temple we had passed a cultural center, and people were selling tickets to a Sri Lankan cultural show, and we bought a couple. After eating at the restaurant it was time to go to the show. Fortunately by this time the rain had let up. The show featured traditional Sri Lankan dancing, and fire walking.
After the show we walked into town a bit. I found the tuk-tuk drivers and vendors to be quite aggressive, literally following you for blocks while they pestered you the whole time. I'd never experienced anything like it elsewhere in Sri Lanka. We bought a bit of food to take back to the hotel.
Kandy is a big city in the centre of the country, with a lot of traffic, and noticable air pollution. The main sight to see here is the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple, which is supposed to house a tooth of the Buddha. There is a lake in town near our hotel, and we walked along it toward the temple.
Inside the temple, the tooth relic is inside a shrine that people were worshipping and offering flowers too. We bought flowers, and as we climbed up the stairs to the shrine, people would stop and touch the flowers as if getting a blessing from them, knowing that they were offereings.
Upon leaving the museum it started to rain very heavily, and even with an umbrella we got totally soaked. We went into the nearest restaurant to have a late lunch and dry off.
While walking to the temple we had passed a cultural center, and people were selling tickets to a Sri Lankan cultural show, and we bought a couple. After eating at the restaurant it was time to go to the show. Fortunately by this time the rain had let up. The show featured traditional Sri Lankan dancing, and fire walking.
After the show we walked into town a bit. I found the tuk-tuk drivers and vendors to be quite aggressive, literally following you for blocks while they pestered you the whole time. I'd never experienced anything like it elsewhere in Sri Lanka. We bought a bit of food to take back to the hotel.
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