Matale and Kandy--More Hospitality, Temples, and Scenery

In Matale, at the entrance to the
largest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka

We wake up every day not knowing exactly what has been been planned, other than what city we might be in.  We know that it will be good, but we are learning that it is always way better than expected.

And that was the case with Matale and Kandy.  It felt refreshing to get out of the muggy climate of Monkey Camp in Polonnaruwa and into the coolness of a higher elevation at Matale.  Sri Lanka is about a third the size of Oregon, but in that small size it is packed with huge a variety of scenery, culture, and history--and always friendly and hospitable people.

Sri Lanka's largest Hindu temple

In Matale, Sri, our Rotarian host and an electrical engineer, took us to the largest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka.  That afternoon, he and Rotarian plantation owner Sanjaya led us through through pine forests and tea plantations to a 5,000 foot high mountain with an expansive view, followed by a fun dinner of local savories and coconut whiskey.  Rotarian Suthagaaran (Sutha), who hosted us the past three days, joined us.

Detail of sculptures on the tower

Saturday, Sri and his wife treated us to a dosai breakfast (one of our favorites!), then he drove us on a tortuous one-lane rough road to a waterfall for an even better view, but the last 100 meters were socked in with a chilly mist.

We also toured a spice garden and some Buddhist caves.  Long day!

Saturday evening, Sutha's mom cooked a fabulous South Indian dinner, and we were joined by another Rotarian from the Matale club, a lieutenant with the police department.  We tasted tested Jonnie Walker Extra Dark and White Label, but they ended up being more than just tastes.

Our 2,000 foot climb through tea bushes to the top

We made it.  But many tea pickers climb this
height and distance every day.

Breakfast of Champion at Sri's home

It's fun when it bounces and swings!

The mountains are cool and beautiful

A fun and tasty dinner party

At the Buddhist caves in Matale

Sunday we were privileged to observe a special ceremony at his Hindu temple, the a cultural show at the Mahatma Gandhi Center.

A special puja ceremony at Sri's Hindu temple

Then on to Kandy, where we were met by Rotarian Tissa who took us to a Buddhist monastery for a private audience with a high level Buddhist monk who got us special VIP entry passes into the venerable Temple of the Tooth, a sacred pilgrimage for Buddhists from all over the world.  It is believed to contain a tooth from Lord Buddha.

An audience with His Holiness, but
we couldn't understand a word he
said over the course of 45 minutes
with tea and snacks

Inside the museum portion of the Temple
of the Tooth

Offerings on the outside of the inner temple

The tooth is on the upper floor of the structure
on the right

The Temple of the Tooth complex

The outer area in front of the vault that
contains tooth

Our room on the corner of  The Queen Hotel,
circa 1925, overlooking the lake and the
Temple of the Tooth. Nice, but a lot of traffic noise.

View from our balcony with
Sri

Today we head up into the hill country and the high plains where the colonial British cooled off and supposedly drank a lot of gin.  We know it will good, but it will probably be much better than we expect.

(Note:  I've posted additional photos and a video on Instagram and Facebook.  If you aren't on Facebook, you can still see almost everything by simply going to Instagram and seaching for @kelemenron.)

'What We Can, While We Can!"