Tuna
Saturday 17 August 2013
We had such a lovely sleep last night, both passed out by 8.30pm and slept for a solid 9 hours.
A cushy 10am start and we walked across the road. This is not as simple as it might seem. There are pedestrian crossing but all he drivers tend to ignore them. You have to pick the right moment when one of the drivers hesitate and then stride out, hoping other will stop. Never try this is front of a bus or three-wheeler, they are a law unto their own, you’ll get run over. However as it festival time, there is a policeman at every corner and crossing direction traffic and helping the masses of people cross.
So on the other side of the road is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
Here lies Buddha’s tooth, encased in a gold casket in the shape of a dagoba. The queue for to see this snaked out and downstairs. Everyone was going to see it, it is Saturday but it is also the middle of the Kandy Esala Perahera, the country’s biggest religious festival. So we joined the queue, which was anything but orderly. You just move, jostle, push and shove like everyone else. If you have a problem with people encroaching on your personal space or other people touching you, then this isn’t the place to be. So for around 40 minutes we were in this teeming mass of people, in contact with every person around you. Everyone is pushing to get to up the stairs to view and say prayers to the Relic, no waiting patiently for your turn. The pushiest people were old ladies and small children. It is really the parents that use their small child to gain distance. Once we got there, you are then rushed past the Relic at speed, I think we managed about 10 seconds but we were getting being told to move along. You can then view from further afar the Relic and take photos. Unfortunately so is everyone else, but with some pushing and shoving, and using The Albatross’ height we managed to get a glimpse and a photo. Whilst we were trying to do this, there is a wave of people pushing along and you do well just to remain standing and in one spot. Finally we just gave in and ended up out of that part.
We went to the Octagon, which house the oldest books written on wood. Slight less heaving in here. You also got a great view of the oldest house in Kandy, still standing and looking pretty good.
Out and around the corner we dropped in to see the Rajah Tusker Hall where there are the stuff remains of the Rajah, the Maligawa tusker. Outside is the current tusker of the festival, alive and unstuffed.
Our next stop was a Gem Shop, it is on the technical list of things we can see. It is also accredited by the Sri Lankan Tourist Board so that anything you buy there is the real deal and is guaranteed to be what you bought (ie, not a fake or modified cheaper rock). Everything is really lovely and beautiful. We casually enquired on one really nice ruby bracelet, it was about AUD$6,000. Safe to say, The Albatross didn’t hand over the credit card to let me buy it. We left empty handed.
We had to stop at the local supermarket on the way to lunch. Our driver guide, Ernest, had all of his toiletries (razor, soap, aftershave, deodorant, etc) nicked from his room in the Driver’s quarters. That’s crap!! This is the first time it has happened to him. The lodgings for the drivers at Queen’s Hotel are pretty shabby to begin with (often there are bed bugs). Come on guys you can do better.
Next stop lunch at a favourite little South Indian restaurant of our driver guide Ernest. Delicious.
We walked back to the hotel for a rest before evening festivities.