Kandy

Sorry everyone for the lack of posts! This past weekend gone by we decided to explore the delights of the hill country and headed off to Kandy for a couple of days. On the way there we took the train, which I believed would a) be faster and b) ensure us seats, a completely faulty notion that was proven wrong on the journey. We spent about 40 minutes in a corner sat on top of our bags whilst the pungent smell of the toilet (which we sat right next to) wafted towards us way too often. Surrounded by legs and just generally being really awkward and uncomfortable, we made the most of the situation by pulling out music and accepting that we would spend the rest of the train journey with our legs intertwined and arms flailing about with every screeching halt. Luckily enough this was not so, and soon there was room for us to stretch out. A couple of us enjoyed the amazing experience of sitting on the door of the train dangling our legs off the sides, letting shards of grass hack at our feet as the train dragged itself through the countryside. 

Kandy's lake

The highlight of that weekend was visiting the elephant orphanage. It took about an hour and a half to get there and cost everyone 2000 rupees (except for Mark, who had his passport and volunteer card and, after claiming he was a resident in Sri Lanka, got in for 100. Pro tip: follow his example when you're here). The orphanage looks after elephants that have retired or have been hurt- there is one that stepped on a land mine and lost a leg, and he would not have been able to survive on his own. However, it was blatantly obvious that it was a massive source of money making. As soon as we arrived we saw a pen with two baby elephants tied up in chains and people feeding them bottles. The rest of the herd were all chained together so that tourists could approach them. Don't get me wrong, they have a great routine and they are looked after- many wouldn't have had a chance in the wild- but the chains were seriously unnecessary. You can stand in awe of elephants at 500m away- they are no more impressive if you're right in their faces.

The orphanage visit was followed by a trip down to the local stores, which sold a variety of elephants in all different shapes, sizes and materials. You could even purchase notebooks and boxes made out of elephant dung (due to my fetish for notebooks I indulged in the former. Contrary to what everyone believed, the books do not smell.). After looking for a place to have a meal (Pablo was fuming since he was forced to walk around with a packed lunch which he was dying to eat for 2 hours!) we rushed back to Kandy for a dance show, which involved the typical dances of the area plus some men walking on burning-hot coals and rubbing fire on themselves. The amount of tourists took me by surprise- the city was full of them waiting to enjoy the festival. 

Cobra charmer

The following day some of the luckier people went to visit the Temple of the Tooth, which claims to hold one of Buddha's teeth. Which is in a gold casket so nobody can actually see it. Robbie and Pablo were refused entry because their trousers weren't long enough. I'd run out of money by this point so I accompanied them through the pouring rain to find a place that sold cigarettes and a shelter where they could smoke them; no easy task, since smoking in public is illegal and due to the festival it was virtually impossible to find places that sold tobacco or alcohol. Once the quest had been successfully accomplished we went to a mall and drank some lovely ceylon and ginger tea, and then joined the others for our bus journey back home.

Other than the fact that there were 3 people to a bed which made sleeping a bit of an odyssey, it was a very enjoyable weekend. I'm looking forward to going back at some point.