Sri Lanka
March 2016
Kandy
Offerings at the Tooth
Relic temple in Kandy…
The Tooth Relic temple...
Yes, Buddha’s tooth is in there somewhere…
Prayer time at the next
door Hindu temple…
Cooking up the delicious kottu roti…
Container upon container
of tea leaves at the Ceylon Tea factory…
… sampling
their finest…
Gadaladeniya Temple, built on (and
within) a granite rock…
Embekka Divale…
Lankatilahe Temple…
The Botanical Gardens outside
Kandy…
Big Buddha overlooking
Kandy…
Bored banana man at Kandy
market…
The bizarre Helga’s Folly
hotel, where Adams Family meets Rocky Horror Picture Show…
G&Ts at last at the
colonial Royal Hotel…
Habarana
On the way to Habarana we stopped at the decorative Matale
Hindu Temple…
We stayed at the
beautiful Galkadawala Forest Lodge…
The nearby lake…
On our way to Sigiriya…
Up and around the famous Sigiriya (Lion) rock…
600 year old original
frescos…
Lion’s paws carved from
the rock face. The lion’s head has
since eroded away…
Sunset walk through the
rice paddies…
Thomas, the dog, trying
to negotiate his way past the cows…
Elephant lookout hides
amongst the rice paddies to prevent the trampling of crops…
Preparing the seven
vegetable curry…
The ruins of the ancient
city of Pollonaruwa…
Replacing your footwear
after walking on the scalding holy ground around the stupa…
This reclining Buddha was
carved out of the granite rock…
Mihintale
The journey from Habarana to Mihintale…
Wood apples. Add a touch of chilli
powder…delicious!
Around the sacred site at
Mihintale…
This Sinhalese writing
carved into the granite rock lists the compensation for each
form of employment within the
region.
An ancient
hospital…complete with oil bath…
Around the ancient ruins
of Anuradhapura…
The original Bodhi tree
in Sri Lanka, said to be 2,500 years old…
Bentota
The train from
Anuradhapura to Bentota…
The house of Sri Lanka’s
late and great architect, Geoffrey Bawa…
Brief Garden – the home
of Geoffrey Bawa’s late brother Bevis…
A rare black lily…
Bentota beach…
Huge Buddha at Kande Viharaya Temple (the
largest in Asia, note the size of the people at the base!)…
Jostling to get a glimpse
of the blue-faced Vishnu
and to give their offerings…
Galle Fort
Bentota to Galle by tuk-tuk…
The lighthouse at Galle
Fort…
Galle Fort walls…
Before 5:30am, fishermen
are perched on these sticks to make the most
of the morning fish
abundance. Needless to say, we didn’t get there in time…
The picturesque Yatagala Raja Maha temple set
amongst the rocks outside Galle…
Another old Bodhi tree
(2,300 years old for this one) grafted from the original Bodhi tree in
Anuradhapura…
The distinctive leaves of
the Bodhi tree…
The temple ceiling is
actually painted onto the overhanging rock face…
One stage of a man’s
life.
Who knew mini-tennis was so revered…
The Japanese Peace
Pagoda…
Spending the afternoon at
Jungle Beach…
… complete
with whole barbecued red snapper…
A remnant of colonial
times past…
Our last night in Sri
Lanka and our 8th wedding anniversary with G&T’s aplenty at the Fort
Printers Hotel…
