Kandy

The first day in Kandy I strolled along Kandy Lake - in my colorful Indian scarf I was a real sight to many Sri Lankans. In the hustle and bustle of Kandy, I met up with Katrin, the solo German traveller I had met in Negombo. We visited one of the most important temples in Sri Lanka, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. Apparently, a tooth of the Buddha is kept here. Sri Lankan Buddhists believe they must come here at least once in their lifetime; this will considerably improve their karma. Frankly, I was not impressed, primarily because the ambience did not convey much spirituality. Pilgrims were sitting on the floor praying, while the masses were pushing through. We continued to a much quieter place, a big Buddha statue up in the mountains that we had spotted from the city. Behind the huge white statue, a monk was snoozing in the shade. Some nice views on the city with its lake and the surrounding mountains.

I spent the afternoon in the Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya. When my mom called, I just spotted a monkey. When she called the second time, I was surrounded by hundreds of flying foxes (no kidding!). The many rare trees were as spectacular. I discovered a potatoe tree and a cannon ball tree. I rested in the dome of the giant Javan fig tree. Most of the 60 hectare garden is kept wild and when you go off the beaten path, you find a romance behind every tree. On the way back, my tuk-tuk driver invited me to a coconut. After returning to my guest house, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep instantly in my sleeping bag (I am actually at times a bit cold up here). While dreaming of flying foxes, my driver returned to bring my sun glasses that I had forgotten in his tuk-tuk. Where do you find such honesty?

Exotic fruit?

Flying fox!
Cannon ball tree
First monkey!
Potatoe tree
Giant Java fig tree