Travel from Sigiriya to Kandy today. On way see guys washing their elephant in the river. While it is “owned” by them and hence chained on 1 leg, it appears to be well treated. They washed him as he lay on his side in the river and they scrubbed him with a brush. They gave me the opportunity to go down to the river side and pat him. Big thrill. Not sure how they use him, but there are elephants being used for rides which is a bit sad. Then next stop at spice gardens where we were taken on a guided tour of the gardens with explanations of the various spice and herb plants together with their uses in cooking and medicine. Then a short talk on the various spices in their processed forms followed by a neck and shoulder massage using the various oils for those that wanted. Judy did and loved it. Voluntary payment for massage. Lastly to the shop of course and Judy only spent $20. Lunch at that place before taking off for Kandy. My turn for the diarrhoea today which I think might be by the curry breakfast. Might need to be a little less adventurous. Of course we did have the king coconut again yesterday.
On arrival at Kandy visit a gem factory with explanation of mining and processing methods then of course the shop. Judy bought nothing! Then attended a fantastic cultural show with lots of drumming and dancing. Extremely energetic dances. Finale was fire walking show.
Next to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth in which is supposedly housed one of Buddha’s teeth! Special service today in which the small room containing the gold casket in which the tooth is housed, is opened. Devotees (and many tourists) file past a small doorway and get a few seconds to peer into the room at the very golden casket. Sounds a bit odd but quite interesting and associated with the evening service with lots of drum banging and wind instrument. Other parts of the temple house golden Buddha statues and an interesting library of 1000 year old books made of paper made from leaves of a pandanus like tree. Also a big room contains gifts made to this temple from Buddhists from around the world including a big golden Buddha sent from Thailand.
Been raining all day, often torrentially so now to hotel with very wet feet. Very nice hotel of the Cinnamon chain. Very modest dinner for me - no curry tonight. More of Kandy tomorrow.