A day around Kandy

Waking up at 6am I was eager to get underway and cleaned up ready for breakfast, a mix of toast egg and jam with coffee. My car and driver were ready to go before 8am and we were off…
Stop one - The Botanical garden
The botanical garden is a MUST in Kandy - it is 87acres of incredible variety with something for everyone - I was limited to one and a half hours but I found myself running out of time. Most memorable was finding ‘Giant Bamboo’ which grows to over 15m tall and towered over many surrounding trees (This is the equivilent of a 4 storey building!!) There were also a range of trees and flowers from around the world in well managed grounds - even had a range of lawn grasses laid out in a sunshine pattern, there was a suspension bridge over the longest river in Sri Lanka, which shook with every step and almost led to my camera getting a free bath!! And finally a wonderful ‘Orchid house’ - This for me is the piste de resistance as it reminded me of my grandads enthusiasm for orchids - it is a fabulous fusion of colours embroidered within a small building. Lovely is the only word to use and I remained captivated within its walls for more than ½ hour.
Stop two - The Elephant orphanage
Another MUST see in Sri Lanka for many - it houses over 80 pacaderms who are treated to a bath in the local river every day and fed within an open area for visitors to come within touching distance. However you feel about the treatment of animals it is a magnificent site to see a herd of elephants bathing within a natural environment (river), they seemed contented and ignored the public for the whole except when presented with bananas which they greatfully consumed as cameras clicked in all directions. It was clear that there was great intelligence behind their eyes in the way they recognised what was wanted by the handlers and how they played with items around them with their trunks. The babies were particularly playful and at feeding time would down large bottles of milk and tear into tree sized chunks of bamboo. I felt privileged to be able to stand amongst these majestic animals and would recommend the experience, but come in the morning to avoid the tourist rush…
Stop three - The Temple circuit (Embekka Devale, Lankatilake Temple and Gadaladeniya Temple)
A drive away from the main roads takes you down single track roads with plenty of pot holes, however, on the positive side coffee beans grow wild along with pepper by the edges of the road!! We pass padi fields and small settlements as we drive to three important Buddhist and Hindu temples - the first is the Rock Temple to Buddhism which is carved out of granite and is a tranquil spot with small pond complete with purple lotus flower and stupa (Walking over the granite with no shoes of socks on is a hot business... I stopped too long to photo the pond and burnt my feet a little 0_0, they are ok now :) my advise is best to keep moving). The image of Buddha in meditation is found within the temple itself and the entrance is protected by two large hand carved doors, one opens to the sound of drums and the other to the sound of a flute!
The second temple is a brick built affair with wonderful vaulted ceilings held in place with nothing but gravity and clay… Images of Hindu dieties are found within alcoves around the central clay building.
Finally the wooden temple is a mix of Buddhist and Hindu imagery with hand carved pillars depicting mythical beasts or daily life activities and the ceilings are decorated with lotus flowers. The sheer quality of the carvings are breathtaking and a guide will take you through there history.
The whole area around the three temples are centres for wood carving and brass work and this is reflected in range of craft stores arranged along the roads and around the temples.
Stop four - Traditional dance show (Kandy)
Arriving in time to have coffee before entering I find a seat near the front and watch the skill and elegance of a range of dancers who demonstrate local traditional movements and at one point balance plates on spikes while dancing. The finale is a fire show with fire eaters and fire walkers.
Stop Five - The Buddha tooth relic temple
Walking to the temple I find a shoe store to place my boots in the guard of volunteers and pass through security to enter the temple grounds themselves - the imagery inside is breathtaking with images of Buddha throughout his life and sitting Buddha statues showing different rupas. I took the opportunity to light a lamp outside in the grounds of the temple and although I did not see the tooth relic itself I felt honoured to be invited onto the sacred site.