Kandy

Kandy is the ancient capital of Sri Lanka, and it is still a large and busy city. There are still one or two remnants from its colonial past (railway station, jail, odd hotel) plus the famous Temple of the Tooth, attractively sat on the large artificial lake.

Kandy also benefits from being in the Hill Country - not quite so hot and a more scenic backdrop. See?

 So onto the Temple of the Tooth. Irritatingly for the tourist the two most important rooms are not open for most of the day. I do have a DVD to make up for this.

I particularly like the golden elephant pillar capitals

 Perhaps the most idiosyncratic features of this bit of Buddhist architecture are these decorative bits of paving at the bottom of the steps.

That would have been my lot, but on being driven round the tank, I persuaded the driver to stop and let me take my life into my hands by crossing the road and take some photos across the lake. Well worth the (not inconsiderable) risk.

But the best reason for visiting Kandy in my view is to go to the Botanical Gardens. I am afraid another colonial legacy, but this one is better maintained than most, in part as it seems to be a favourite spot for young affluent courting couples. The gardens really are a tranquil spot amidst all the noise and traffic of Kandy.

 My previous post will have suggested that I don't think you can have too many photos of elephants. This one will make you realise that one cannot have too many photos of orchids. Come on, who doesn't like orchids?

And that was just the orchid greenhouse. The rest of the gardens are attractively landscaped.

And although not quite up to Kew Gardens, Kew doesn't have resident monkeys.

 A nice Japanese Garden Why not?

 And the international award for weird tree shape goes to...

 King coconut palm