Cultural Kandy

This was part of a 14 night tour that took us all over Sri Lanka Starting at the Beach resort of Negombo through to the cultural triangle We travelled by air conditioned minibus and there was 5 people in our group of different nationalities Two brits, two Aussies and a Spanish lady ( who had a mistrust of people that drank milk) Plenty of banter ,laughs and travel memories

We left the Jetwing hotel in Dambulla and then we drove just over 2 hours to Kandy.

On route we stopped at a spice Garden which is huge part of Sri Lankas cultural heritage. I managed to purchase some natural products to take home ( which are actually really good) Kandy is a lot busier and we noticed more people about as it the gateway between the tea plantations and the cultural areas it is also the second largest city in Sri Lanka. There is more traffic here and also a train station but still maintains a laid back atmosphere Kandy was our last stop in the cultural section where we visited the temple of the tooth which is thought to be that of buddha taken from his funeral pyre We managed to see the pooja ceremony which involved drummers and dancers. This would be the end of the cultural part of the tour Our hotel in Kandy use to be an old theatre and was high above the town with spectacular views floor to ceiling windows to take in everything The Grand Candyan Hotel was indeed Grand Kandy had a beautiful botanical gardens which is def worth a visit with its birdlife and selection of orchids with trees plantation by royalty and famous leaders who have visited over the years .

In Sri Lanka there are a lot of precious stones mined and we were able to visit a gem museum and see the different types of precious & semi precious stones found on teh island and I treated myself to some earrings

Kandy also has a train station which is a great way to get about in Sri Lanka we took the train from here to Nuwara Eliya which travelled through tea country although it was three and a half hours it passed really quickly and it was really scenic passing villages and terraced hill sides