Day 6 A day out in Kandy

We were woken by birdsong around 6 a.m as usual, it was lovely to sit on our balcony for a while before breakfast and the heat and humidity built.

The entrance to our hotel

We had an early start and set off at 8 a.m for the Temple of the Tooth, which houses the most important Buddhist relic in Sri Lanka. It was a crowded and atmospheric visit. The smell of incense mixed with jasmine flowers hung in the air. People wear white as a sign of purity.

Raj, the royal elephant until the 1980's, was stuffed and now has pride of place in the museum. Around the room are photos depicting his life.

Around the grounds

Then into the modern temple

Where the story of the Buddah's tooth is depicted on the walls

On into the main temple to join an evergrowning queue of people waiting in the increasing heat and humidity to give their offerings to Buddha

A table set wth some of the offerings

The door to the relic opened at 9.30 a.m No photos allowed. Then a ceremony of drummers began, this lasted for an hour but we only stayed for a few minutes

The outside of the main temple

The stalls selling offerings

We then drove to a gem museum.

A walk past the people cutting stones and making jewellery

With the obligatory shop after a talk about mining the gems. There were some spectacular pieces. I resisted the urge to buy though!

Then to visit athe botanical gardens

Stopped in a supermarket to buy lunch then back to the hotel, which is up a couple of very steep hairpin bends. The driver is so skillful. We had a couple of hours rest before heading out, past this viewpoint over Kandy,

Dressed up