Our bus travelled along a main road, so I spent a lot of time just watching fields, houses, shops, road-side stalls whiz by. It seemed like the vegetation just incrementally got more rainforest like…tall trees with understory, plants with dense large dark green leaves….filtering light to the ground with hosted low lying plants. It seemed to get more tropical too.
We visited a small woodworking shop where we learned about the different types of wood available in Sri Lanka - an explanation of ebony, teak, mahogany and other forms. We were also shown how the traditional paint is made using what was called ‘the rainbow tree’. A small group of wood filings is put in a glass of water and the water turned red….adding metal, calcium carbonate turned it blue and other additions turned it purple, and yellow - this was the traditional way that colour was made to decorate frescoes and carvings in the country and on the higher end stuff is still done. The difference between acrylic and traditional is shine…the colours appear as vibrant but acrylic has a shine, while traditional is mat finish. There were some beautiful pieces and I selected some wooden discs painted in a mandala pattern…I hope to frame them in one frame to hang on the wall as a memento of the trip.
A little further down the road we came to Matale, and a local spice garden. It hosts a variety of herbal plants that are used for Ayurvedic medicine. We enjoyed explanation of aloe Vera (not local but introduced); cinnamon, sandalwood, and others. This was topped off with a demonstration and test of some creams, lotions and oils and a short massage! It was most relaxing….before being taken to the ‘pharmacy’ where you end up spending more than you expected! I have a number of bottles and jars to take home and test…along with a ‘recipe’ book.
We arrived in Kandy around 2pm - just in time to check into our rooms and then head to the bar for a quick lunch and drink. Today (13th April) is Singhalese New Years Eve and the country is mostly closed for the new year holiday. No alcohol can be served (we managed to stock up the day before)!
After a brief rest, Rob, Liarne and I went to watch the cultural dance in the Red Cross Hall. We had front row seats and were entertained for a full 60 minutes with drumming, dancing by both males and females in traditional dress - which included gymnastic displays of fast spinning and tumbling and the performance concluded with fire dancing and walking over hot coals. It was a jam packed hour - visually and aurally very stimulating….getting out into the cooler air at the conclusion was welcome!
We then walked to the Buddhist Sri Dalad Maligawa - otherwise known as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It is an important shrine which houses a relic of Buddhas tooth, taken from his funeral pyre. The tooth is housed in a series of seven caskets - the outer dome shaped casket - from a distance looked to be silver and encrusted in jewels. There were hundreds of worshippers, dressed in white who were lining up to view the tooth housing and lay offerings and make prayers. This was upstairs, while downstairs drummer drummed and a flute like instrument were played…it was quite a moving experience - the music, smell of incense and excitement of the crowd all combined to make me feel like it was a special occasion.
Afterwards we walked around the temple and saw the old Parliament.
It was then onto dinner at a local ‘fusion’ restaurant - I had coconut mango prawns - drilled and cooked in a curry sauce and served with rice. We had been told there would be no alcohol due to the holidays - however to our surprise we could order drinks. There was a lovely young man playing live music - contemporary soft rock…we convinced him to play Sweet Caroline…and all had a dance on the dance floor before heading back to flop into bed!
AMbagasthenna village - hotel and tea plantation owner Mr Thilina
Lunch - home cooked meal made by Mr Thilina Mother
Tea plantation - cultivation and try Sri Lanka tea
Local cops, sustainable farming and ancient landscaping
Sunset
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