Ayubowan (a sinhalese greeting), it’s been along while since the last blog post! All thanks to Sri Lankan Airlines, I managed to go for this leisure trip! It was a trip for their top agencies and a very good one to share with.
The business class seats are pretty affordable, comfortable and they also come with 40kg of baggage, to fill your tea, nuts, fruits, clothings etc! I failed to maximize my 40kg due to the lack of time. hehe
For this trip, we were in the good hands of Mr Kumarasiri, an experienced tourist guide, who could communicate in Sinhala, English and Japanese!
We reached Colombo (Bandaranayake Int Airport) on 29 Oct in the night, to be chauffeured to our hotel at Jetwings Lagoon in Negombo (half hour away from the airport). This iss quite an artisan designed villa by Geoffrey Bawa, the bathroom is the most impressive imho! The morning view in Negombo was great, just a little short of the sunrise shot. =D
Before we started our journey to Kandy, we stopped by to checkout the Jetwings Blue property. This is the one property I would want to stay the next time I visit Sti Lanka! Look at the muah chee sandy beach, I almost took a bite of it!
It was a couple of hours of drive to Kandy, so we had 2 breaks along the way. We bought popular Devil cashews (chilli baked) from some roadside shops (1400rps for 500 grams). You will pay much more if bought in the city. We also met a snake charmer with his pet monkey as well as had a fresh juice from a King coconut.
The rain slowed down traffic, slowed us down and rendered us sleepy…. Next thing, we have reached Kandy. lol
Kandy’s supposed to be chilly but as Mr Kumarasari have advised, the weather’s a lil wonky these days. It was not hot but a little humid.
We checked into OZO hotel for the night to prepare for the trip to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic next morning.
There was some time left before the night ends, we went for a full body massage, which turned out quite unexpected. We were kinda drenched in some herbal oil from head to toe! A first yet last time experience for me as the smell is too overwhelming for me when we left the parlour, still pretty much soaked in oil. Yes, everyone looked very oiled up for tomorrow’s itinerary =D
The next day’s plan was to enter the inner chamber to get closer to the tooth relic. However, there is a specific time and uniform code before one can enter. DO CHECK with your guide before planning to go into the inner chamber, they can advise you the time + dress code (totally white) + barefoot. We had the will and the time but not the dress code. Thus, could only walked pass the corridor, 3 meters away from the inner chamber. There were many devotees who hang around to pray near the chamber after placing their offerings, which shows holiness of this temple is, on a non-peak day. The tooth relic gets shown to the public every 6 years and the last time was in 2009. It could be open in early Jan 2016 this time.
We proceeded to make our way back to Colombo to do our last minute shopping in the city before the top agent appreciation dinner in the night
Clothing are very cheap and affordable in Sri Lanka, good quality too! I reckon they could be real products with slight defects during production. I paid 9 bucks for a fine piece of Superdry Polo Tee! Got a couple of tops plus some for Missy Lauren too. Last pit-stop was to the supermarket to get Dilmah teabags that are about 1/2 price of what we pay for in Singapore.
I would have more to share if not for the bad weather that scrambles up the itinerary but everything happens for a good reason! That’s all I have to share.
Auyubowan my friends!
View of Colombo city. So dazzling until my image had some camera shakes
Group photo from of our the agent’s phone
Jetwings Lagoon impressive toilet
Jetwings Lagoon super long pool
The hot weather makes Impressive skies for photography
A buggy to bring us from the hotel room to the entrance. Big yaaaa
Another group shot from an agent’s handphone
Taken on the bus while travelling from Negombo to Kandy
Jetwings Blue. The place I will want to stay when I revisit SriLanka
My local brudder
Felix and me getting a selfie
MuahChee sand!
Richard busy choosing his cashews
Friendly local by the side, who didn’t ask for any money even after I took a shot of him. =D
Buying Cashews in KILOs
The Cashew girls selling by the road sides, in their color dresses that stands out with the green foliage behind them
The snake charmer, his cobra and his monkey (with a silly haircut)
Cocoa
Green Snail
King Coconut!!! Not very sweet, quite unlike what we use to take in SG
The tour guide was saying… without the traffic police, the roads have lesser jam. LOL!
Reached Kandy!
The big lake in Kandy
Ozo hotel
Sunrise at the top of OZO hotel
Reaching the temple of the sacred tooth relic!
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic – Ever since 4th Century A.D,when the Buddha’s Tooth was brought to Sri Lanka hidden from sacrilegious hands in an Orissan princess’ hair, the Relic has grown in repute and holiness in Sri Lanka and throughout the Buddhist world. It is considered Sri Lanka’s most prized possession.
Offerings by the devotees
My favourite shot in Kandy!
Fruits are extremely cheap in Sri Lanka!
The Hoppers! Must try in Sri Lanka. We all love it!
In Colombo, Overlooking the Indian Ocean
Buying some unique cotton fabric that cannot be purchased in Singapore easily, I heard.
Selfies with the agents and the airlines. =D
BIGBert 