Kandy

We attended the Anglican Church, Christchurch, leaving the hotel at 7:30 for an 8 o’clock mass as they called it . The church, built in 1870s, was small and charming and there was a congregation of about 40 to 50 people there. We were the only foreigners and the priest was very pleased to see us. We returned to the hotel by 9:30 am we enjoyed our breakfast outside although it was a tad chilly but they lit one of their gas heaters for us.

DJ picked us up at 11 am And it was an almost 3 hour drive to Kandy during which I became very tired and slightly sick. We passed through several towns which have been inundated by floodwater on November 23 with up to 8 to 10 feet of water and we could see the ruins of some of these properties plus many landslides. We arrived at the hotel and we were shown into a room which was very dark inside and even David felt he could not survive there. A pleasant receptionist said she would investigate the possibility of another room and came back with an assistant manager who seemed insulted that we should find his room too dark and he tried to bully us into staying there. But eventually he conceded that he did have a room upstairs and David looked at that and decided it would be infinitely better, as indeed it was as it had two extra windows which made all the difference. But the whole experience left a sour taste in our mouth. Having been almost asleep on arrival I woke up during this episode and decided not to have a nap, but to go for a swim which I did.

And then we set off again with DJ at 4 pm driving around the lake of Kandy. Going first to a cultural dance show in a large local theatre. There were about 15 different dances and some of these were quite spectacular with juggling tricks, as well as spectacular costumes and face masks. The grand finale was walking on fire.

Then we walked to the nearby Temple of the Tooth, this supposedly housing a genuine tooth from Buddha. This was really crowded and we had to queue up for a long time to be able to pass the inner sanctum in which the tooth was housed. This was only on show for about 20 minutes twice a day but our timing was immaculate and we were the last few groups to get to see it.

Back in the hotel we got changed and went for our pre-order dinner at 8 pm. We were unimpressed by this, especially a stir fry of fish which we felt have been cooked in advance and was certainly far from sizzling. So we had a long chat with the manager who was very agreeable and I do not think we will suffer from lack of service for the rest of our stay. After dinner we sat in the two armchairs outside our room and I dictated this diary and then read for a while.

We were awake early and had a cup of coffee and listened to the radio. Then I went for a swim before breakfast which was really refreshing, and the sunshine was falling at right angles to the pool which was good for swimming. Breakfast was fine, good fruit and juice and then granola and yogurt for David and eggs Benedict for me.

We left the hotel at 10 am with DJ and we were driven to the Botanical Gardens. Here we walked for 90 minutes which was quite pleasant but nothing really outstanding and the orchids were not in the right season for flowering. At the end of our walk somebody pushed us off the path and David slipped on some really slimy mud which covered the bottom of his trousers, his shoes and my shoes and socks. Luckily there was a tap near the footpath and we were able to unzip the bottom of his trousers, wash his feet and wash the bottom part of the trousers under the tap. They had to dry in the car for the next few hours We then drove to a vantage point overlooking the town with the Temple of the Tooth and Anglican church and a large lake which have been there since the 12th century.

Then on to a wood carving venue which we thought would just be men carving masks but it was really a wholesaler who sold carving of elephants. We were shown the different sorts of wood used in the carving. Also how they used natural colours, scraping a special wood, adding the scrapings to water. Then by adding metal to the brew the colour would change. They could get a wide range of completely different colours using basic chemistry. Some of the elephants were taller than I am and some were made of Ebony. We were left to wander in the huge showroom but nothing had a price on it just a code. I particularly liked the pastel painted elephants. While David apparently liked the six different types of mask: they were made out of a very light wood. So they was nothing like the masks that were carved for centurions in the Philippines.

Our final stop was a Sapphire shop where we were shown a video on how the stones were mined in really primitive, dangerous conditions. We then were shown craftsman polishing the gems and the setting them in gold or silver according to a design sheet. The salesman tried to sell us something but failed miserably! We were back at the hotel by 2 pm and spent the afternoon lazing and swimming.

Once again we were asked to choose our meal around 5 pm but David refused saying that if we gave an order it would be cooked in advance like yesterday; and they accepted this. When it got dark, we took a glass of whiskey round to the large roof area overlooking the pool and this was most pleasant. David ordered a curry for supper and I had lentil soup and a roti : but this was nothing like what I expected - it was a spicy rice pile accompanied by very hot, spicy chicken, which certainly looked and had the consistency of beef. But the waiter insisted it was chicken! Luckily David had some plain rice with his curry and I could eat this with an egg that was balanced on top of my spiced rice. After dinner we sat outside our room and enjoyed the pleasant night light.

The Caskets that contain the relic. One only gets a very quick view of it for maybe 3 seconds

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Singhalese kings. The Temple of the Tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic. The tooth followed a long trail of moves to keep it safe, until it reached this Temple in Kandy

Priests conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings. The Kandy Esala Perahera, is conducted annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic. This is what we saw.

The tooth relic is encased in seven golden caskets which are inlaid with precious gemstones. The casket represent a stupa; the procession casket which is used during the Kandy Esala Perahera is also displayed in the same chamber. In April 2025, the Temple of the Tooth held a public exposition of the tooth relic that drew approximately 450,000 devotees in a single day with queues stretching nearly 10 km . Severe overcrowding and fatigue resulted in four deaths and more than 300 hospitalisations, primarily due to heat exhaustion.


The Temple of the Tooth is beside the gold roof	We walked past the building on the lake, removed our shoes, ...	..and joined the long queue to see the casket with the relic	The queue wound past a gold buddha on the ground floor..

	Then up the stairs. We were in the slower queue that goes closer	..to the casket	The casket is normally hidden behind closed doors

But for short periods daily you can shuffle (quickly) past	..that doorway, and see the casket		The tooth is inside this casket


The Royal Palace	Botanical Gardens


Orchids in the Botanical Gardens

The town from a viewpoint	On surrounding hills a large stupa ..	.. and a giant Buddha

A gem stone seller with the subtlety of a time share seller	The carved elephant wholesaler	Our guide was clearly expecting a cut from any sales