Day 11: KANDY (Buddha's Tooth Temple)
Monday, July 1, 2013
Last night we set the alarm clock at 6 in the morning with the idea of enjoying the sunrise from our balcony, but the day has dawned cloudy and the only thing we have been able to confirm is that the views from the Skydale, despite the clouds are impressive! There is no better way to start the day in which we will finally know the famous Buddha Tooth Temple.
Views from our hotel in Kandy
About 7 in the morning we went down to breakfast in the room downstairs at the reception and if last night we already sensed that the views had to be incredible, now, seeing them live, we have no words.
Awesome breakfast at our hotel in Kandy
We have breakfast with peace of mind, because today, although we have planned a full day visiting Kandy city, we have enough time to take it easy.
After filling the stomach, we talked to the Skydale staff to call us a tuk tuk to take us to the lake of Kandy.
We wait for you at the door of the hotel and in less than 10 minutes we have it there. But before we ride, we ask the woman and after a while of negotiation between them, she tells us to pay her 200 rupees. We cannot complain, because knowing the path of yesterday, this price we know is more than reasonable.
It took us to reach the lake of Kandy just under 5 minutes and just leave us on the farthest shore of the city, we find a visit from the Minister of Education of Sri Lanka in a hotel.
Everything is adorned for the occasion, with policemen watching and at the same door, boys and girls, dressed for the moment and performing local dances.
Yesterday a video clip and today this ... we are in luck 😉
Reception of the Minister of Education in Kandy
Here we stay for a while as an initiation of our first day of travel in Kandy city and we wait for the minister to arrive to see at least the beginning of the reception.
After being here for a while, we began to walk along the bank of the Kandy Lake until we reach one of the most famous Buddhist temples in the world, the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha.
Walking through Kandy Lake. Views of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha.
Walking around Kandy Lake
We take a look from the outside and seeing that it is still very early, we decided that it is better to first know a little of the center of Kandy then return and, with all the tranquility, visit the Buddha's Tooth Temple.
Upon entering what is the center of Kandy city We realize that this city is very different from the rest of the cities we have known so far.
Kandy It is much more chaotic, but it is not a messy or annoying chaos.
Strolling through the streets of Kandy
Chaos controlled in Kandy
At the beginning of our walk we are not too clear where we want to go, so with the peace of mind of having a couple of days here, we simply go for a walk, to observe and above all to soak up everything we can.
Kandy streets
Color in Kandy
While we continue walking through the streets of Kandy city It starts to rain, not with intensity, but it is a fine and annoying rain that makes us decide that it is the ideal time to try the famous Kandy Bakery!
One of Kandy's many Bakery
We ordered a couple of cakes, tea and coffee for 520 rupees. This time the account has been higher than usual! Only the cappuccino is 300 rupees! 😉
Mmm ... cupcakes in a Kandy Bakery
The truth is that the cakes lack some sweetness, but they are good and more on a day like today, that we are taking the morning with peace of mind.
We had a good time here, watching people go by and protecting us from the rain.
Definitely Kandy It is much more touristy than Ella or Nuwara Eliya and since we have reached the most touristic part of the city, we have already been stopped by several guides and several people offering their services.
About 11 and a little in the morning we see that the rain has stopped a lot and since it is not annoying, we take to the street to continue traveling Kandy city.
Being the first walk we take we are not too oriented and just walking a few meters, we see that we are at the doors of the Buddha's Tooth Temple, so seeing what time it is and that the weather is a bit cloudy, we think it is the right time to visit and get to know a little more of one of the most famous Buddhist temples in the world.
We pay 1000 rupees per person at the entrance and enter the most sacred place of Kandy city and of Sri Lanka.
Entrance of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
Before entering the Temple area proper, we leave our shoes in a corner and prefer not to use the booths prepared for tourists.
In Asia we have learned that the feet not only serve to move, here we have learned to “feel” with them…
Entering the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
The Buddha's Tooth Temple It opens from 5.30 in the morning until 20h in the afternoon and to enter you have to do it with long pants and covered shoulders.
The building is classic European style, erected under the mandate of King Vira Narendra in the first decades of the s. XVIII.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Sri Lanka
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The octagonal structure and the moat were added by order of King Rajasinha, the last monarch of Kandy.
The main building of the religious complex, Vahahitina Maligawa is rectangular, with white walls and slate roof and inside there is the chapel that keeps the relic, which, however, can not be seen, since it is inside an urn of Gold in the form of a small dagoba.
Vahahitina Maligawa at the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
Images of Vahahitina Maligawa in the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
"Feeling" in Vahahitina Maligawa in the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
The atmosphere in the Buddha's Tooth Temple It is something difficult to explain and that we cannot say something different from what you have already read or heard.
For us it is one of the most special sites of Sri Lanka.
Behind the chapel is passed to another annexed chapel, more modern and three-storey, the Alut Maligawa, where a collection of bronze Buddhas is exhibited.
Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
At the north end of the complex is the Audience Hall or Magul Maduwa, completed in the 19th century during the reign of the last monarch.
The sizes of the wooden columns that support the roof, of the same material, are typical of the carvers of the so-called Kandy period.
Audience Hall of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
Increasingly impressed by everything we are seeing, we continue visiting the site until we reach a room where we can see a spectacular collection of Buddhas.
Details of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
We intuit that the end of our visit to the impressive has arrived Buddha's Tooth Temple and as we usually do in all the places that go deep, we turn, one last time before we leave ... this time we leave with an image that we will always remember ...
Praying at the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
From here, just at the exit, we see that we have the Museum of Buddhism and seeing that it is still early and this type of museums have always interested us, we decide that we cannot resist.
Buddhism Museum at the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
So after paying the 500 rupees at the entrance and continuing to “feel” with our bare feet, we ask a guy at the entrance to give us some explanation about the museum.
Explaining everything we saw or everything we talked to Kumar would be too long and possibly devoid of interest for someone who has not seen the museum.
We cannot take pictures inside, but we can ensure that we take every detail we saw with us.
It had been a long time since we had that sense of satisfaction after a visit.
We are inside the museum for more than 1 hour and a half and at the exit, after giving a tip to Kumar for having taken us through the path of Buddhism and giving us some books on Buddhism, for our interest shown. We leave with a smile from ear to ear and with some purchases that we make when leaving at the store they have.
We can only tell you that if Buddhism is something that you find interesting, you cannot miss this visit in Kandy.
Leaving the Museum of Buddhism at the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
We are going to pick up our shoes and head towards the 4 Devals. In front of the main building of Buddha's Tooth Temple there is an enclosure that houses other small sanctuaries, bodhi trees and dabobas of very old appearance.
Temple of the Tooth of Buddha in Kandy
At the entrance we leave our shoes again, to “feel” again and a man begins to explain to us everything we are seeing. As the information we have in this area is quite scarce, we willingly agree to accompany us in the travel.
First we find a chapel, the Natha Devale, dedicated to the protective deities and whose foundations date from the fourteenth century.
Natha Devale
It stands on a raised platform. It is one of the four Devales of Kandy.
Natha Devale
Very close to it we find the Pattini Devale, which is dedicated to the Goddess of Chastity, while the one dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu is north of the enclosure of the Buddha's Tooth Temple.
Finally, we find the Kataragama Devale, dedicated to the God of the Murugan War, located on Cross Street.
The 4 windings
Enjoying !!
This last visit we make in the morning we have been going on Kandy It reminds us of how fortunate we are to be able to live and know all these things that have been so long in our dreams.
Views of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha
Bodhi tree
It's a little after three in the afternoon when we give a tip to the man who has accompanied us and we leave the premises in search of a place to eat and rest for a while.
Offerings at the exit of the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha
Before deciding on a restaurant to eat, we take advantage of the fact that we are very close to the post office, to be able to take some postcards that we have bought and thus fulfill one of our usual “obligations” on all trips.
Sending postcards from Kandy !!!
After this break of a few seconds and just looking to the right we see a Pizza Hut ... and who can resist that? We certainly do not!
Pizza Hut in Kandy
Here we ordered a plate of pasta, a pizza and three coke for 1911 rupees. Light is twice as expensive as normal! Checked in 99% of the places of Sri Lanka 😉
After resting for a while and seeing that we don't have too much time until it starts to get dark, we go straight for another walk around the kandy city And we also take the opportunity to make some purchases.
We decided to go touring Lake Kandy and we started to do it by the part closest to the Buddha's Tooth Temple.
Kandy Lake
And although it seems a lie because until now the sky was an incredible blue, in less than 5 minutes it clouds and starts to rain like this morning. It is not a rain that prevents you from continuing to walk, but it is the perfect excuse to return to one of our Bakery rescuers and have a strawberry milkshake and a good cup of tea for 245 rupees. This tea has been one of the cheapest since we are in Sri Lanka.
This is life!!!
Having tea at Kandy
We leave the Bakery when it is sunny again and the sky looks bright blue again and we go to a tuk tuk stop to negotiate the route that takes us to the Buddha that is seen from many points of the city and from which We intuit we will have a magnificent view!
After a little haggling, we reached the agreement that it will take us for 400 rupees, including waiting for the visit and returning to the starting point in the center of Kandy.
We started the journey across the streets of a city that as we said before, we find it more chaotic than any other in the country, but at the same time it has nothing to do with those known in previous trips, such as those in India that were extremely chaotic !
After about 10 minutes of travel, we start to climb the slope of the mountain and in another 10 minutes we are at the foot of the Buddha that dominates the impressive kandy city.
We leave our shoes again and pay the entrance of Rs 200 per person.
We go up the stairs and the views of the city are increasingly more impressive.
Kandy Buddha
Awesome views of Kandy
As we go up, we have better perspectives not only of the city, but also of the Buddha himself, in which we observe that on the back of the Buddha there are more stairs that allow us to reach the top.
Details of one of Kandy's Buddha chapels
Kandy Buddha
Before finishing uploading, we take a look at a store that has books and different things, among which we see monks' robes, the bowls they use to eat ... All these things create a lot of curiosity, but we understand that at no time is something "Materialist" that falls within our concept of "souvenir".
Amazing views of Kandy
We climb to the top and after visiting the temple and enjoy unbeatable views of the city, we return to our tuk tuk and collect the shoes paying before 100 rupees.
We take the trip to ask the man if he knows someone who has a taxi and can be with us the 3 days we need to travel the Cultural Triangle.
We have an idea of the prices for what we have read in various forums and travel blogs and as we have seen a fair man with the tuk tuk price, we thought it would not be a bad idea to ask him. It does not take a minute to tell us that he does know a boy and after standing on the shoulder and calling him, he confirms that he will come to talk to us in a while.
In 5 minutes comes a young boy who after giving all the data of the route through the Cultural Triangle we want to make and the stops we have in mind, during the 3 days we will be in the Triangle, gives us a price of 22,000 rupees.
He has killed us here! We had references as we said before a blog, two years ago and they were 30,000 rupees !! And it has given us first best price ...
The negotiation we had in mind has dismantled us! 🙂
Thinking that it is not right to haggle too much, we make a small negotiation and lower the price to 20,000 rupees, at which point we are completely convinced that it is a price more than fair for both of us.
We close the deal and we will come to pick us up at our hotel in Kandy, the day after tomorrow, at 8 in the morning.
** Update: Upon receiving many requests by email asking us for the details of the driver who made the route through the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka We have decided to publish them so you can contact him directly:
KANDY HERITAGE TOURS - CHAMINDA
Mobile: +94 0712108210
Email: [email protected]
Skype: kandyheritage
If you write to him, tell him that you have taken the contact of the blog of Street Travelers, so it will make you a good price 😉
It may seem a bit late, but knowing the stops we want to make, and knowing the schedules, he has told us that this is the best time and so we save an early bird.
We gave him 2000 rupees and before leaving we asked him for the price he would give us if we want to spend two more days with him: an entire one in Anudaphura and take the fifth day to the Negombo airport from where we have to catch a flight at 11 at night .
He tells us that this last section has never been done and he does not know what price he can give us, telling that he also has to return after the airport to Kandy.
We agreed to call us at night to give us the price of those last two days to see if we are interested, although the first 3 we left them closed.
Very happy with the price, we continue with our tuk tuk to the center of Kandy, now that it is getting dark to turn around the Lake of Kandy, now that it is cool and the light is spectacular.
Amazing views from Lake Kandy
Dusk over Kandy Lake
Dusk over Kandy Lake next to the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha
It takes us a little more than half an hour to travel around Lake Kandy and on this tour it is the first time we meet several tourists that we imagine take advantage, like us, the cool of the afternoon to take this pleasant walk.
After a complete tour of Lake Kandy and seeing that it is time for dinner and we are not too hungry for having eaten so late, we decided to go back to helping a bakery for the third time today!
We eat a couple of cupcakes, with a water and a juice for 380 rupees.
While we are having dinner, Chami has called us but we have run out of battery on the phone, so we will have to wait to get to our hotel in Kandy to be able to call us and finish negotiating the days we will spend in the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka.
After this dinner and rest for a while, we take a tuk tuk to take us to our accommodation in Kandy for 400 rupees.
This morning it cost us 200 rupees to bring us to the lake, so counting that it is now uphill and we are at the opposite end of Lake Kandy, we consider it not a bad price.
As we ascend the hills of Kandy We are thinking about how complete it has been today.
Upon arrival at Skydale, we call Chami and close the 5-day deal for 32,000 rupees !! Great!! We already have a car with a driver for our tour of the Cultural Triangle and transportation to Negombo airport!
Last night and the windows of our balcony were filled with fireflies like the ones we saw in Tanjung Puting in Indonesia.
Tonight as soon as we lie down we see them again ...
Buddha's Tooth Temple
Day 12KANDY (Botanical Garden)
