Kandy-land and Other Sri Lanka Destinations
by Sarah Ann
for Saturday, August 3rd
Today was our first day in Sri Lanka! We woke up around 8:20 to go eat breakfast. We slept in Negombo, which is a suburb of the capital, Colombo and right by the airport. We were really tired from getting to our hotel so late the night before. Our hotel had made us a homemade breakfast of bananas, toast, papaya, papaya juice, and omelets. It was good. Then we got in our van we had hired. Today was mostly a driving day.
Two hours later, we were back in the car. We started driving up the mountains, since Ella is in the mountains. It was gorgeous. Although we were in the mountains, there were still houses along the way and there were often people walking along the road. It was pretty, but remember how I said it was all curvy roads? Well I got really motion sick. We had to pull over to a little shop. After resting a bit, we got back in the car. There were often monkeys on the side of the road.
It was evening when we got to our hotel in Ella in what is known as Hill Country. We drove down some really small roads. Then a tuk-tuk from our hotel met our van because our van couldn't drive any further. When I saw that tuk-tuk, I couldn't imagine how we were all going to fit in it. But he just threw our suitcases in the back, and we all four climbed in the small seat. Christian had to sit on my mom's lap. He was nervous as we bumped down the really steep road. I thought: well, this is certainly an adventure! But I like adventures!
At our hotel, we ordered a small dinner. While we eat at our hotel, we see the most fantastic view. Our room is small, but it has a balcony that overlooks another pretty view. I’m excited for more Sri Lankan adventures!
for Saturday, August 3rd
Today was our first day in Sri Lanka! We woke up around 8:20 to go eat breakfast. We slept in Negombo, which is a suburb of the capital, Colombo and right by the airport. We were really tired from getting to our hotel so late the night before. Our hotel had made us a homemade breakfast of bananas, toast, papaya, papaya juice, and omelets. It was good. Then we got in our van we had hired. Today was mostly a driving day.
The drive was really interesting. In the beginning, we
passed through villages. Almost every woman was wearing a long skirt, and there
were quite a few men wearing them too. It had lots of open-air shops. Pretty
soon we were out of the big villages. There was no interstate the whole drive,
and so we drove on small curvy roads the whole time. There were often cows on the
side of the road. Another interesting thing is the driving. Like in many of the countries we've been in, people aren't always attached to the road laws, and there is often a lot of honking. But unlike in the US, it wasn't an unfriendly honking. It was more like "Coming through!".
a little store on the side of the road along our drive to Kandy
along the way, we saw people moving this elephant. Elephants cause a lot of property damage in Sri Lanka
We stopped in Kandy, which is known as the cultural capital
of Sri Lanka, three hours later. Our first stop was lunch. We found a place where
lots of locals were eating. Just like in the US how there are certain breakfast
foods, Sri Lanka has set things to eat for each meal. For lunch, everyone eats
curry. My mom and I decided to split a curry and a fried rice. The serving size
was huge! They brought out way more food then we could eat. We then headed to
the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The temple is believed to hold a piece of
one of Buddha’s teeth. Sri Lanka is 70% Buddhist. The temple is considered to
be more authentic then the one in Singapore. It was a complex of lots of
buildings we explored. It was really neat, but also really hot. You have to
take off your shoes, so our feet were hot.
eating lunch in Kandy
inside the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy
another picture of the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple
Two hours later, we were back in the car. We started driving up the mountains, since Ella is in the mountains. It was gorgeous. Although we were in the mountains, there were still houses along the way and there were often people walking along the road. It was pretty, but remember how I said it was all curvy roads? Well I got really motion sick. We had to pull over to a little shop. After resting a bit, we got back in the car. There were often monkeys on the side of the road.
There were monkeys everywhere along the side of the road!
It was evening when we got to our hotel in Ella in what is known as Hill Country. We drove down some really small roads. Then a tuk-tuk from our hotel met our van because our van couldn't drive any further. When I saw that tuk-tuk, I couldn't imagine how we were all going to fit in it. But he just threw our suitcases in the back, and we all four climbed in the small seat. Christian had to sit on my mom's lap. He was nervous as we bumped down the really steep road. I thought: well, this is certainly an adventure! But I like adventures!At our hotel, we ordered a small dinner. While we eat at our hotel, we see the most fantastic view. Our room is small, but it has a balcony that overlooks another pretty view. I’m excited for more Sri Lankan adventures!
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