20 December 2009 - The train ride from Colombo (Fort Railway Station) to Kandy is approximately 2 ½ hours. Once we reached Kandy station, we hired a tuk-tuk to get us to The Pink House. Yes, that’s what the guesthouse is called – The Pink House. No, the house is not pink, maybe it used to… just maybe.. not sure though. Even though the guesthouse looks a little quaint, we had a great hospitality treatment. The owner was a very friendly and helpful lady, whom never failed to asked us if everything was ok.
In the middle of Kandy town lies Kandy Lake. It is a man-made lake created in 1807 by the last Sinhalese king of Kandy. It is situated by the side of the Tooth Relic Temple which is the main attraction within Kandy town. The temple is believed to house the left upper canine tooth of the lord Buddha himself. This precious relic attracts white-clad pilgrims, bearing lotus blossoms and frangipani, every day. The big ceremony where they parade the golden caskets comes either July or August every year. It is said that the final night procession is the most spectacular event in Kandy. More than 50 elephants parade the city accompanied by the drummers, dancers and chieftains.
View photos of Kandy.
19 Dec 2009 – After an hour transit at Kuala Lumpur, we reached Bandaranaike International Airport in Negombo at 1010hrs. A 3-wheeler (or more commonly known as tuk-tuk) cost us around Rs2,500 to Juliana Hotel in Colombo.
Little did we know that Juliana Hotel was a popular place for “night activities” with the locals. But the hotel was more than decent and look not a little bit dodgy. And fortunately, there wasnt any unpleasant encounters. After venturing around the area, we met up with Sarindar and wife for dinner. Discussed with them if our route planned around Sri Lanka was a doable trip. He agreed with a tour agent whom had advised us earlier at the airport that we should do a reversed route as what we had planned.
And so we head off to Kandy the next morning to visit the ancient ruins and temples, followed by the cool hill areas and end our trip along the southern coast to enjoy the sun, sand and the sea…
