Kandy
Our first day in Kandy would be a very cultural one. We did the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Temple of the Tooth Relic, taken around a gem museum and went for a tuk-tuk ride downhill!
Given how tired the girls were getting with all the walking, when we arrived at Royal Botanic Gardens our guide suggested that we hire a golf car (with driver) to take us around. We took his advice, as it also meant that we got to see all part of the gardens. It is a very beautiful place.
After the gardens, we stopped off at a “gem museum”. Our guide told us that the museum part would be interesting (and educational), but to remember to haggle if we wanted to buy any gems. We were taken into a small room to watch a video about how gems are discovered, excavated, shaped and polished, then taken around an exhibition room, showcasing gems from around the world – our guide was right, it was very insightful. Then came the “hard sell”, we were put under pressure to buy something.
Funny side note – when you have kids, they always say something at the most inappropriate time. In this case, Lucy was being pressured to buy a pair of blue sapphire ear rings. To close the guy off, Lucy said “I don’t really wear jewellery”, to which Katelyn stepped in, “Yes you do Mummy, you’ve got lots of jewellery at home”. Thanks Katelyn! (facepalm)
Next we went to the Temple of the Tooth Relic, a highly precious Buddhist shrine. (Read more about the history of the Temple of the Tooth Relic here). The girls gave a floral offering and we looking around the museum, all very impressive!
Getting back to the guesthouse we fancied a swim, which we could do at a neighbouring hotel (one of the Cinnamon franchise places – very nice too). To get there we jumped in a tuk-tuk, going downhill, it was a fast ride!
Breakfast at Villa Rosa were quite special, Lucy enjoyed a full Sri Lankan style breakfast each morning – very adventurous. The girls & I opted for the “Western breakfast”; bread, fruits, bacon & egg.
Our second day was much more relaxed, after breakfast Lucy went down to the market with the guesthouse staff (they were buying food for lunch/dinner), while the girls & I chilled out – playing chess, reading books – well, I was actually writing blog posts.
Later in the afternoon our guide picked us up to see the 88ft-high Buddha, then take us to a traditional Kandyan dancing show.
When we got back to the guesthouse, we heard news that my business partner’s baby had arrived – congratulations to Rich & Jo and a special welcome to Willow!