Eye Kandy - Sri Lanka's pretty city

Colombo station
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I got the heck out of Colombo after a lunch with John.  John is one major character.  He had more tales to tell than anyone I have ever met.  It was the dark side of Sri Lanka.

The train ride up to Kandy was in an observation car with ancient fans keeping us from melting.  The view as we climbed up through the hill country became truly amazing.  The views are straight out of Queen Victoria's time.  There is literally no sign for a vast mountainous area of modern times.  No electrical wires, No clear cuts, no giant antennae blinking.  The most unspoiled view I have ever seen.  ONe of the advantages of a country that is stagnating because of its political turmoil.  There are roadblocks, cordoned off blocks of streets and military everywhere.  The infrastructure of this place seems very worn.  The roads are potholed.  The public buildings are dirty.  It is a socialist republic and so everyone has some form of healthcare and education.  Everyone also has to stand in long lines.

The veranda at Blue Haven in Kandy. Lovely place to birdwatch and have breakfast
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Kandy turns out to be a city of small neighborhoods strung around hills.  A lake sits right downtown where the palace and the temple of the tooth reside on the shoreline.  I had a full day of it.  First my driver Priwata dropped me off at the largest botanical garden in Asia.  147 acres of trees from everywhere that was first planted in the 1850's.  Then on to the Elephant Orphanage where I got to pet a baby elephant as it nursed.  The elephants washed in a pond and threw dirt on themselves then I got to watch a male attempt to mate with a reluctant female.  I tell you with a shlong that big I can see why she might be shy of getting it on.

Lankan Ladies strolling through the botanical garden
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We stopped for lunch at a Sinhalese buffet.  The food reminded me of Indian with a lip burning punch.  We then stopped at a gem 'museum' aka sales room with a very interesting video room where they show the entire process of digging a hole and lining it with logs then stuffing the sides with fir to absorb water.  They dig up the gravel and filter it for the gems.  I was then tempted to buy a beautiful star ruby that had the most clear lines of any star sapphire I have seen.  But the cost was out of my league.

One of many flowering trees
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The evening I saw an athletic performance of folk dance that included back flips, butt shaking and fire walking and that was followed by a visit to the final palace of the King of Kandy who held out against the British until the mid 1800's.  Next to it sits the temple of the Tooth.  First you give up your shoes and get a pat down by the police then you stand in a line of people and  are shuffled along hurriedly past this window where a big silver stupa covered in silver chains supposedly covers the Buddha's left molar.  After you are rudely shuffled out of the way you filter out to a room of devotees praying as they sit on the floor.  Then you can actually stand in back of where the line passes the tooth and you can take all the photos you want.

The parks are trysting places for young lovers. The one in Colombo was downright soft porn. Talk about your heavy petting!
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I nearly poisoned myself by eating at a mom and pop place near the internet cafe.  I should have been warned away by her humpy dog.  She made me a big plate of fried rice which looked good until I took a whiff.  OH My God.  It really stank.  I shoved all the meat away and attempted to eat some of the rice covered in catsup.  I stomached about 5 bites then spent the rest of the night paranoid that I would wake up with some form of dysentary.  Luckily I awoke still functioning properly.