Tales from Sri Lanka

The weekend is here! Well kinda…we have taken an early mark and skipped cleaning the beach to head to Kandy. Kandy is the capital city of the hill country and is a good five hours drive from Kosgoda.

Only half an hour into our travels we head inland and immediately there is a noticeable change in scenery. Instead of sand and palm trees, we pass rubber tree plantations, lush greenery and paddocks of rice paddies, all set amongst a backdrop of hills and rivers. Everything is wet, green and lush. We are definitely in monsoon season here.

The small villages we pass are also very different. There are a number of mosques littered around the place and when school comes out at about midday all the children in their white uniforms, some with veils on and other not, spill onto the street and are bright contrast from the green backdrop surrounding them. In one village, there are cows grazing in a makeshift paddock, which is actually a round a bout in the middle of the road.

Driving in Sri Lanka takes a certain about of bravery. Sri Lankans love to overtake each other and the rule seems to be the bigger you are, the more you can overtake. So even if there is a car or a tuk tuk coming in the other direction, it really doesn’t matter. If you are bigger, say in a mini-bus like we are, then they have to swerve to avoid you. This is a little scary when encountering the number 69 bus, which goes from Colombo to Kandy. The huge white buses (at least 20 years old) are jam packed with people, and they love overtaking.

After a few hours of driving we stop at the elephant orphanage, which is on the way to Kandy. We make it to feeding time and walk around the large park to see the elephants up close. They are really beautiful creatures and the babies are especially cute. Although, it is quite disturbing to see a number of them in chains. We don’t stay long at the orphanage, as Dudley wants to rush us to lunch. We don’t quite understand what the rush is all about, until we sit down at our table, and notice that below us is a huge river and in it are hundred of elephants taking a bath. It is an amazing feeling to be sitting and eating your lunch 100 meters away from an elephant having a bit of a dip.

It is then back on the road, and we eventually hit Kandy at about 5pm, which is bustling with life. We drive past the central and vegetable markets, the prison, the botanical gardens, the huge man made lake and the temple of the tooth – it looks great! We check into our hotel and are in heaven. It has a/c and hot showers! Luxury!