Kandy was very hot and busy. We were glad we stayed in a lovely hotel outside and visited the tranquil CWGC cemetery as well as the extensive Royal Botanical Gardens with its many fabulous trees.
We drove ( well, our driver Ruwan did!) from Gal Oya to Kandy with some fine views along the way.
Arriving around 1pm we were shown to beautiful rooms, the Harispattu Suite, in the grounds high above the forest with a lovely terrace and a fine view over forested hills to the mountains. We had a beer and peanuts and didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon, exploring the grounds a little before excellent cocktails and dinner.
I enjoyed the small pool. I had it to myself and it was close to our room, it was really nice at the end of a hot day to take a dip in the cool water.
I was so glad we stayed here rather than in Kandy which is an extremely busy, noisy city.
There were some lovely birds here, though difficult to photograph in the dense foliage.
On our final morning I had a Sri Lankan breakfast. The staff, who were all really lovely, were very anxious that it might be too hot for me, though I'd asked for a mild one, but it was fine, in fact I couldn't taste any really hot spiciness. I thoroughly enjoyed it! There were plain and egg hoppers, coconut sambol, dahl, chicken curry, caramelized onions and a spicy tomato mix.
Kandy is an extremely busy and noisy city. The main attraction is the Temple of the Tooth.
The Temple of the Tooth is Sri Lanka's most sacred shrine. It houses what is said to be the top right canine of the Buddha.
Legend has it that the tooth was smuggled into the country in the hair of a princess from Orissa in the fourth century. It was housed in a number of shrines around the country before finally coming to Kandy in 1592. A two storey temple was built to house the relic and this now forms the core of an inner temple within a much grander three storey structure built by King Vimaladharmasuriya a century later. Later kings expanded the outer temple and added a moat.
The tooth is held in a series of richly jewelled gold caskets kept in a small chamber with an embossed metal front within the second storey of the temple.
The tooth itself is almost never taken out, especially since a suicide bomb attack in 1998.
The timber canopy of the temple is beautifully painted.
The New Shrine Hall has a large gold Buddha surrounded by smaller white Buddhas and elephant tusks. In the main body of the hall are a number of plaques and banners describing the history of the tooth in Sri Lanka and miracles associated with it.
We went into the single-roomed museum where the preserved body of a huge tusker, Raja is kept. We also visited the Tooth Relic Museum which does not allow photography. The history of the tooth, from its removal from the Buddha's cremation ashes to its arrival in Kandy is detailed in one set of exhibits. There are also many items which were left to honour the tooth. I'm afraid we found it a bit boring.
Alongside the Temple of the Tooth is a building known as the Queen's Bathing Pavilion, right on the lake, perfect for the royal ladies to bathe.
We were supposed to meet a local guide for a food tour but she was late and kept postponing and changing the meeting place so after half an hour we gave up on her. It was very hot and we'd already had a lot of local dishes, fruits, etc. and we decided we'd much rather get out of the city and pay our respects at the CWGC cemetery.
A lovely tranquil place, well-looked after with, as always with the CWGC, a helpful information board.
Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was at the time) suffered only one attack, in April 1942. This was by the Japanese who were worried that the Allied Eastern Fleet would attack their convoys sailing from Singapore to Rangoon with reinforcements and supplies for their forces in Burma. They attacked the two naval bases at Colombo and Trincomalee. Greatly outnumbered the Allies suffered substantial losses, but successfully defended the island which was not attacked again. The damage was quickly repaired and Ceylon became a maritime power in the Indian Ocean..
There are 203 burials in the Kandy War Cemetery of which 107 are British, 6 Canadian, 23 Indian, 23 Ceylonese, 35 East African, 1 French and 3 Italian.
Image on the left: In the foreground the grave of K/111 Corporal Margaret Alder Sykes, Women's Territorial Service (East Africa), 13th May 1944, Age 23.
Behind is that of Flight Officer Betty Helen Stewart Cochran, Women's Auxiliary Air Force, 8th October 1945, Age 30.
Image on the right: the only grave from the First World War, that of 1778 Lance Serjt. L.H.R. Gray, Ceylon Planters Rifles, 15th September 1914, Age 21.
Afterwards we went to the Royal Rest House Peradeniya for an extremely welcome ice cold Lion beers served in ice cold glasses accompanied by fries and ketchup! I'm sure they thought we were eccentric but they really it the spot.
Napoleon's Hat
Opposite the Royal Rest House was the entrance to the Royal Botanical Gardens which we visited after our rest.
The gardens are vast, covering almost 60 ha, with 4,000 indigenous and exotic species, including some endemics which are extinct in the wild.
Ruwan had hired a buggy and excellent guide for us so we really managed to see a lot, though I imagine it is also a very nice place to stroll around.
The Napoleon's Hat tree is quite something. A native of tropical West Africa it has lovely red and yellow flowers and is named for Napoleon Bonaparte. The plant family to which the tree belongs was named in 1804, the year of Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of France. Fittingly the flowers are in the shape of a crown, hence Napoleonaea Imperialis and Napoleon's Hat! 1
It was a great visit, so many amazing trees!
