Arrived in Kandy at around 2pm just in time for the rain! I thought I’d try my hand at bartering with the tuk tuk drivers - turns out I’ve lost my touch and I’m very rusty. (It didn’t help that I had no clue about the currency conversion here either, lol!)

My 50 rupees didn’t work and we had to pay 200 rupees, not best pleased even though thats around 90p (bloody expensive!)

The hotel wasn’t far up the road from the train station, seemed super nice and had a cracking view from the rooftop pool and terrace of the Kandy town and the surrounding mountains! Just what the doctor ordered - trees, mountains and a spot of rain from the big fluffy clouds everywhere!

We googled a few rooftop bars and headed across town to the slightly chilled cafe overlooking the lake, on the way Ellie had her bum touched or stroked by a Sri Lankan man. She thinks maybe because she’s smiling at everyone and giving off the wrong impression haha. They’re not going near me, I must have that resting b**** face on me again!

The first Lion beer went down a treat, when you can feel the coldness hitting every spot until it gets to the bottom of your tummy! - Yummy!
We got stuck into some grub and sorted a plan of action out for the next few days and headed back a little earlier partly because we were absolutely shattered and partly because Ellie was a little scared to walk home in the dark incase he bottom got stroked again, haha!

Our plan for day 2 was to get up at 5am and walk up to the White Buddha on the hill behind the hotel to see the sunrise, this didn’t go exactly to plan because I fell asleep at 7.30pm and El not far behind, both of us thinking that the other had put an alarm on... well we hadn’t lol. The almost 13 hour sleep did us good though, it just means we had to switch our daily plans around.
As if I left the hotel thinking I was feeling fresh after such a long kip last night, that feeling wasn’t going to hang around very long... 12km round trip walk to the Royal Botanical Gardens was on the cards! (It’s making me tired writing about it)

There was only one road that took us there, quite pleasant (as much as it could be) with tuk tuks slowing down every few yards to ask if you wanted a lift or the buses honking to see if you want to jump in. They laughed at us when we told them we were walking like it was a huge deal or they didn’t believe us westerners.

The gardens were so relaxing, trees and plants from everywhere around the world not sure how they are surviving with the different climate change though?
We seen lots of different animals from fruit bats s***ting on us to terrapins in the ponds and monkeys chasing us (those things are not pretty when they’re running at you! Even if they were running. For their safety from a none the wiser dog) we found a stalker ... of course! He wanted to walk with us until we said ignored what he said and shouted “monkeys” then he seemed to walk on a little. Although for the rest of the time that we were in the gardens he would walk one way see we were going the opposite and turn around after us or walk passed us if we stopped and wait in the distance - another creep. When we thought it was about time to tell where to take himself we tricked him into thinking we had left. Although we went back in and found a cafe over looking the green for us to have lunch, it was like sitting in Pontypool Park :) ....not!
Yummy Sri Lankan lunch with lots of different sharing pots! We also stopped to watch some guys with a piece of string looped over a high branch and a net being held on the ground by a few others - pulling avocados off the tree and catching them. They are everywhere here and so so big!! I canny wait to try them!!

We headed back, thought we would be brave and take the hike instead of a tuk tuk. Saw a military parade taking place, a little scary with the scramblers and the officers wearing baraclarvas on them holding guns ready to shoot. We made a brave alcohol run too - a little different to Dubai, as it was in a supermarket but you had to purchase it from the liquor counter. Safe to say Sri Lankan men are not used to women let along western women queuing for a few Lion lagers on a Saturday afternoon! Haha.

Our calves managed to get us back to the hotel - just about. I had the biggest knots in them I could barely walk they were so tight :( a few cool ones on the roof at the freezing cold pool was on the agenda before going to ‘The Pub’ later on for some grub and unfortunately no Wales v Ireland rugby game because the WiFi was not working. But we managed to find another friend that wanted to grab coffee in some random coffee shop tomorrow (not going...) and get scared to dead by cockroaches climbing out of the pavement and drains on the way home.. I’m not talking baby cockroaches I’m talking the size of your middle finger and as fat as two fingers put together... those big ass ones that fly or never die when you stand on them. Screeched and screamed all the way home much to the tuk tuk drivers and policemen’s entertainment - gave me the creepy crawlies all night!

A tidy 24,000 steps walked today... no wonder I can’t move my calves. We still plan to get up at 5am in the morning to walk to the white Buddha for sunrise!

....Day 3 in Kandy, Day 2 of attempting to get up at 5am for the sunrise walk to the White Buddha. Day 2 was also the second failed day of getting out of bed at 5am! The alarm went off, Ellie said “do you think ta a good idea in the dark?” (I think the stroke of her bum and the cockroaches have scarred her a little of the nighttime in Kandy haha) that was all I needed to here to turn the alarm off and turn over to go back to sleep!! Beauty!

7.30am re-wake up call, with a coffee in bed a few mini bananas for breaky!
I had to zap Ellie’s bites with this little electric shock gun that she brought along, it was so much fun haha! Some people would say I’m a saddest... honestly I’m not! (Eye roll)

We had to walk the hill to the White Buddha temple after a banana brekky in bed. Very hot and very sweaty and the calf’s did not enjoy it either!! I’m not sure why they’re so tight but I can barely lift my bloody leg to walk without them pulling. The views at the top were worth the walk, we get a little awkward as there was a women at the top preying to the Buddha, it sounded like she was screaming and crying absolute agony throwing her arms in the air. It was a little ummm... different to see I suppose. Not for everyone!

Of course more walking to do - around the lake and a quick stop in ‘The Garden Cafe’ for what we were hoping was some Sri Lankan curry but the little dirty around the edges with sticky tables and food brushed onto the floor, Cafe was only selling snacks at midday so we tried the vegetable roti’s and they were deeee-licious! Maybe not the best thing for two touch and go tummies as they had probably been sat around for a little while this morning in the glass counter (First of many tummy update: the Tummy’s aren’t feeling dicky and no looseness as of yet :) so all squiffy and ready for more spices and grubby food haha)

Of all things to spot on a lake... we weren’t expecting to a big fat humungous water lizard x2 sunbathing on a dead tree trunk! Especially not in the middle of Kandy in the mountains anyways!
Back to the hotel for a well deserved lazy afternoon at the pool but not before we found a friend of course! He was a fire dancing teacher and wanted us to see his Hall that had a ‘special traditional Sri Lankan dance’ this evening for the prime minister of the country... but not without a twist of wanting us to buy a ticket and some souvenir elephant print trousers - we knew it was too good to be true!

For dinner we popped to a little Sri Lankan restaurant we spotted earlier, they sat us by the window. I loved the little friend they tried to come in through the window for a bite to eat. Not! The bloody crow was massive and just like Dubai not a care in the world to humans. Yukky things! He could have taken the chicken dish, they left the black gristle and veins on it which put me off immediately - strict veggie after that dish tonight, BOFF!
Went to the sacred temple of the Buddha’s tooth relic this evening and watched the ceremony, there’s one thing that those tusks are not and that is of a Buddha.. more like 8 very large poached and now dead elephants.
Ellie wasn’t allowed in at first because she had a slit in her skirt but not to worry captain manerin! Ellie the little genius popped her earring into her dress to use them as safety pins, not sure the lady security guard quite approved of the make shift hold but it amused the men and that got us in to the temple lol.

A beer and (a donut for Ellie) before bed which made her extremely hyper and resulted in us singing a lot of random songs, if anyone could hear us which they probably did they must have thought we were blind drunk or strangling a litter of cats.

Another 17500 steps in the bag today - my calf’s want to leave my legs and find somewhere else to set up shop right now. They absolutely hate me!

Moving day tomorrow, the first one of the trip. Feeling a little anxious but excited and also ready to go to the next place. I’m sure we will be fine when we get there...