After our usual buffet breakfast in the Eidelweiss restaurant we set off in the car around 10 am heading north towards the Matale district which is part of the cultural triangle formed between Kandy and the other ancient capital cities of Sri Lanka. We were on a road we had not taken before, but it was just like all the others we have seen so far, that is narrow, winding, hot, dusty and very busy with many crazy drivers! As always the road was lined with many small shops selling everything you can imagine with shanty style homes and temples of various kinds crammed in between.

After about an hour we reached our destination which was the monastery of Aluvihara which occupies a number of caves. It is famous as the place where the most important Theravada Buddhist doctrines were first committed to paper in the 1st century BC, written on leaves of the ola palm in an ancient script called Pali.

On arrival we climbed a steep staircase, paid our 200 rupees per person entrance fee and left our shoes on the rack. Here the fun started because the ground was so hot from the sun that it burned our feet and we were constantly dancing about looking for shade and cooler ground! Luckily for us, most of the monastery occupies a series of caves which are lovely and cool inside. The caves are highly decorated and beautiful with lotus flowers on the ceiling. A couple of them had large reclining Buddhas and were very peaceful. The offerings of flowers left a lovely scent in the air. One of the caves is quite gruesome and depicts the afterlife with sinners undergoing horrific punishments, being chopped to pieces and tortured in various ways. Lovely!! Another cave is dedicated to an Indian scholar and depicts him at work. We also went and saw the library which contains such manuscripts as remain. Sadly the greater part of the priceless library was destroyed by the British in 1848.

We really enjoyed our visit to the monastery as it was very different and interesting. Even better, in great contrast to our visit to the Temple of the Tooth, it was very quiet with no more than a dozen other visitors looking round which made the whole experience much more pleasant. We finally retrieved our shoes which was a blessing for our poor, burnt feet. Hashan thought this was funny as he says Sri Lankan people have very tough feet and do not feel pain from the burning ground. We do, unfortunately!!

Somewhat surprisingly there was an ice cream van parked in the monastery grounds and we all had a vanilla ice cream cornet at 25 rupees each (about 12.5p). Delicious!

We retraced our journey to Kandy and returned to the hotel looking forward to a quiet afternoon catching up. We took our lap tops and sat in the first floor lobby area where we were cooled by the breeze blowing through which was occasionally strong enough to slam the veranda doors and blow papers everywhere. It was thirsty work so we started with a special T20 cocktail called 'off cut' and went on to another T20 special which was three Lion beers for the price of two so all in all a pleasant afternoon thanks to the cricket!

Around 5 o’clock, as it started to get cooler, we drove up the very steep hill close to our hotel to take a look at the giant Buddha statue which we can see from the hotel window. The large, white statue is 88 feet tall and very imposing as it stands 850 feet above Kandy city overlooking the lake and facing the sacred Temple of the Tooth. There is a small temple at the bottom of the statue so you need to remove your shoes but the sun was now low in the sky so no burnt feet! We were sold our tickets by a very efficient young boy who solemnly worked out our change for us. We climbed up to outside staircase almost to the top of the statue and were rewarded with some amazing views of the city and lake below. It was well worth a visit and we were pleased we went.

Afterwards we drove down to Kandy Lake and joined dozens of other people taking a stroll around the lake in the cool of the evening. We walked past the grounds of the Temple of the Tooth and past many stalls selling flower offerings as well as small cafes and hotels. On the lake side we passed the old ruined bath house. There were many water birds and a small boat was taking people for rides. Slightly incongruous, we saw a British style red pillar box standing on the bank. We enjoyed our fairly brisk evening walk and it took us about an hour to complete the circuit. It was completely dark by the time we returned to our starting place at the boat house.

Back at the hotel we ate a fairly average evening buffet accompanied by a two piece band playing western 80’s music. We shared a very nice bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, our first wine since we arrived in Sri Lanka!