Sri Lanka: Day 2/Night 3

Having rested up, we were out early to beat the Colombo morning rush-hour traffic to make our way towards Kandy. We drove for about three hours straight passing lots of green views of the land until we got to the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage.

The elephants were so cute and I could have watched them play and bathe in the water for hours, I think. I’ve always had a love of elephants, from the time I read Babar to seeing National Geographic shows on them. They’re majestic to me. It was a very touristy spot, so a few people were begging and there were stores along the road selling typical touristy items, but in general it was a quiet affair.

From there, we made a stop at Luckyland Spice and Herb Garden where we got a tour of the different herbs and spices that are grown and used for herbal medicines. Within seconds I was accosted by a mosquito (of course), so that was a great selling opportunity by putting some balm and citronella oil on it to ease the pain, which worked wonderfully. So, I bought that plus some hair remover that they claim after three uses (once a month), it will prevent the hair from returning for 3-4 years. We shall see….

This area of the world is also known for its Batik fabric designs. I had been wanting to buy something made of Batik as I also had bought fabric during my trips to Cambodia and Thailand. So, though I thought I could find something ready-made, I ended up getting some fabric that I could use to make skirts out of. I’d take a picture, but as I’m using some fabric for gifts, you’ll have to wait. 😉

We finally stopped for lunch at a tourist restaurant called DJ for a “traditional” Sri Lankan lunch. The food consists of rice, dhal, and different curries. My stomach rebelled after the first few meals…. 🙁

Our last stop was the most dangerous of the whole trip and our stay there caused us to push our itinerary a bit because we took longer than Anton had anticipated. Now, C had done her research on jewelry and gems. So, she was fully prepared to look into the blue sapphires that are only found in Sri Lanka. I, on the other hand, never buy jewelry for myself or anyone for that matter and had no intentions of buying anything. We stopped at Sifani, which strangely similar to “Tiffany’s”. They gave us a short video explanation of the differences in semi-precious and precious stones. All very interesting. Then, it was time to “look around”. I wasn’t really wanting anything, but I perused…. There was a ring I liked, but I didn’t really need a ring, so I just kept it in mind as something I could look for someday. I was almost done looking at everything, safely keeping my wallet in my purse, when I spotted a necklace…. It was a design i really liked and had seen something similar before months, maybe years before and liked. However, it was very gaudy for me. I like simple. So, after they had me try it on, I said no, it was too much. They said they would adjust it if I liked, but it was still too much, but as I looked carefully at how it was designed, it dawned on me that something new could come out of it….

I like unique things. So…I asked for adjustments and they said they would do it. Just as I agreed, I also decided to get the ring I liked since it was still in my thoughts and put a matching amethyst stone in it instead of the sapphire it had. Craziness! But, I was pleased and they were willing to change the design and have it ready for pick-up on our way back to Colombo….If only the story ended there….

In any case, for this day, we drove to the outskirts of Kandy city to the Chaaya Citadel hotel, which was quite nice. I decided to try an Ayuverdic massage, which is famous in the area and I love my massages. However, it’s an experience I never need to have again as I came out completely soaked head-to-toe in heavy oil and not really feeling relaxed as they haven’t quite got down the relaxing ambiance of a spa just yet….

Still, a very full day was had and a good sleep needed!

More to come…

-T