Today was spent seeing the sights of Kandy. Started off early to get to the Temple of the Tooth in time to witness the food offering ceremony….unfortunately so did every tourist in Kandy so it was packed and difficult to see. The ceremony is held daily as locals bring offerings of food to the monks. It has to be held early in the day as Buddhist monks cannot eat after midday. Within the temple complex there are a number of other important sights including t...

Breakfast at the homestay was fine for those who can eat eggs – unfortunately that is not me so had to settle for a cup of tea. Not a good homestay experience. I think they might not have done it much so don't involve the guests in their daily living. We were left feeling a bit disappointed – more like intruders rather than guests!! First stop this morning was for an elephant ride at Habarana. Was a first for many in our group but as I had done sever...

Left our hotel for a short drive this morning to Polonnaruwa - driving through beautiful lush green countryside to reach this ancient site where 3 major kings have reigned. One of them had 300 wives but was infertile so no children!!! This ancient site was a delight to walk around wit some very well preserved building to be seen including the palace of the 2nd king, the audience hall and a Hindu shrine. Polonnaruwa was once the capital and is also the second mos...

Started this morning by finishing our visit to some sights in Anuradhapura that we missed yesterday. First stop was the Sacred Bodhi (Bo) Tree – home of an offspring of the tree where Buddha found enlightenment. This was bought from India by Sangamitta, the daughter of the great Indian emperor, Ashoka, who had sent his son Mahinda (who we learnt about yesterday when visiting Mihintale) to spread Buddhism to Sri Lanka. It is one of the most important places ...

Up at 0600 to start our tour today. Left Wattala and headed along the west coast of Sri Lanka traveling through all the small towns which all seem to run into each other. Its hard to tell where one finishes and the next begins. There are no highways up this way just a narrow road with trucks, buses, cars and the little 3 wheeled vehicles all vying for position on the road. We get glimpses of the ocean as we drive through very pretty countryside. The weather is ni...