I feel like I’m losing a long surviving battle. Every time I feel like a circus mammoth in a tiny round r.c drain, I wish that I’m floating away to a surprisingly unknown place. At this very moment, Sri Lanka seems to be a very worthy place to begin with. An island, a very clean and beautiful island full with devoted Buddhists. Am very grateful that there are at least 8% of Muslim in Sri Lanka. These Muslims made our journey in Sri Lanka a lot easier and meaningful. Not that we do not enjoy the word adventure, but across adventure that we met trustworthy brothers and sisters. Alhamdulillah. Am so thankful that Allah is together with us throughout our journey.
This is an unplanned trip. Before we go, we only discussed on where to go and how to go. The main point was how to travel “cheap” to a place where we have never been to. We bought the flight tickets about a year before. We knew about the Air Asia sales and clicked buy. It’s for only RM311.00 return. How wonderful!
First stop was to Kandy. We arrived in Colombo around 7.00 in the morning, 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. Well, now that air asia is improving. There are two main transportations that are cheap and affordable for budget travellers like us. By train and bus. Arrived in Colombo airport, we hired tuktuk to Fort Railway Station in Colombo, LKR1300. Train ticket is LKR210, about RM6 all the way to Kandy. Smile.
The ticket, it has to be returned back to the officer at the end of each journey. We were hoping to keep it.
Kejap tak nampak....
Kejap nampak...yeay!!! itu ke arah 3rd class yg kurasakan lebih selesa dr 2nd class...
Pintu ke 2nd class seating.
Saya suka vendor2 di dalam keretapi, sgt menceriakan perut dan seleraku.
Our first breakfast in Sri Lanka, Vadai! love!
Macam-macam rotti ada...
Fish Rotti...style roti canai dibalut jadik samosa dan diisi ikan atau sayuran.
Kandy is a legendary place. The Kandyan Kingdom stood up repeated attacks from Portuguese and Dutch to the dark centuries throughout their independence and final invasion by British. It is the last ancient kingdom in Sri Lanka and that what makes Kandy a worth visit. It is all about history as Kandy preserved ancient artifacts, religious activites and cultural traditions.
Kandy is a small town eventhough it is the second largest city in Sri Lanka. The scenic Kandy Lake that lies at the centre west end of the city brings out the charm side of Kandy. Perched next to the lakeside is the Temple of Tooth. It is part of the Royal Palace Complex and believed to house the only surviving relic of Buddha, the tooth. UNESCO declared the temple as world heritage in 1988.
Overlooking the Kandy Lake
Waiting for Tuktuk
Part of the temple floating on Kandy Lake
One of colonial building in Kandy
Our first day in Sri Lanka was comical. Almost got cheated by a guy claiming that he owns a guesthouse that looks more like a haunted house to us. Hihi. Asked him to send us back to the city centre where we saw a ‘Muslim Hotel’. And please people, hotel in Sri Lanka doesn’t really mean a definite hotel, a restaurant is also a hotel. This is the first time I’ve known this, is this common?
Well, we argued with this guy and he called us crazy women, blah..blah..blah..., and off we went....to the Muslim Hotel (confident level kena tinggi yer kengkawan, sangat confident yang Muslim Hotel ni ada bilik nak disewa...padahal jual roti je). We asked the said boss of the hotel for any room available. And he said no, there are no rooms here, but, he can helped us get one for the night for only LKR1000. Ehem! I was so excited because that was so damn cheap!. Anyway, later we waited for our tuktuk to send us to our room and surprisingly enough, it was a warm cosy family home with friendly kids smiling, waiting for us.
Later that day, we hired the same tuktuk...the specially rempit type of driver (the real enjoyment of riding tuktuk), to bring us around the city. The city tour includes Kandy Lake, Temple of Sacred Tooth and viewing Kandy City from top of the hill.
Entrance to one of the Temple with huge buddha sitting on top of the hill.
The huge Buddha can be seen from Kandy City.
Praying.
K.eli at Kandy Lake
Kandy City
Roti Canai style Sri Lanka
I missed the Chai!
Fish Rotti, macam roti canai balut kan?
Our lunch in Muslim Hotel
Duit sebelum habis, kena eksen dlu...
Our dinner, makan freee....
Nasi goreng
Our cosy stay
...and the smiling kids, tengok yang kecik tu, so cute...e
Excited tengok gambar sendiri
Nekma and giant fig tree in Paradeniya University
Kesedihan dan kempunan tak dapat masuk Botanical Garden, layan smiling kids punya pasal...kih3.
We planned to visit Botanical Garden in Paradeniya before leaving for Ella. Unfortunately, due to some unavoidable reasons (since that we are staying in someones’s home, and we are officially their guests...and it’s for free!! So...yup, we’ve spent the whole morning with our new sri lankan friends). We left Kandy by 12.45pm train for wonderful scenic journey to Ella. The ticket cost around LKR190 per person.
