Sri Lanka Trip - Day 9 : Falling sick

Sheung was worried that being right next to the Tooth Temple on Vesak day could mean noisy celebrations right through the night. It was not the pilgrims that proved to be a problem but the noisy birds. At about 4am, they started making so much noise that we woke up and had difficult getting back to sleep.

We had breakfast at the bakery of Queen's hotel. Even though Queens hotel is a top-end hotel, the bakery offered pretty cheap food. After that we walked past the Tooth temple to check out the handicraft center and the Buddhist Publication Society and found them closed. Then we took a bus (bus 633, Rs15 per person) to the highly rated Peradeniya Botanic Gardens and was quite anonyed to find that the entrance fees had been inflated again (Rs600 per person, compared with Rs300 in the guidebook. The tourist entrance fees had all gone up much more than the the rooms and transport prices quoted in the Lonely Planet). It is quite a fine garden. The main attraction of the garden was suppose to be the avenue of double coconut palms (coco de mer) which boast of the biggest nuts of all palm trees. I was not impressed though, and found the giant Javan fig tree far more impressive.

I must have caught a bug or something and was starting to feel feverish. It was a little difficult to enjoy the garden, walking in the heat of the harsh sun and feeling feverish cold. After we headed back to Kandy, I popped a few Panadols and went to sleep in the hotel while Sheung went for an Ayuverdic massage.

I was feeling much better in the evening after a nap. We went to a Chinese/Indian restaurant and had some Indian food. It was the most expensive meal for the whole trip (about Rs1300), though I must admit the food was pretty good and the portions were generous (we were not able to finish the food). Sheung wanted pork but were told that on Poya days (Full moon days), they were "not supposed to" serve meat. So he ended up with a fish dish (I don't understand why fish did not qualify as "meat").

After that, we made another rounds through the city again and looped round the parameter of the lake again. The night after Vesak seemed more like a party night rather than a night for spiritual observance. Young people would wander around in groups making merry, many wearing masks more suitable for Halloween night. Many would get in a pick-up or lorry, singing along to loud dance music. It was a bit of a street party.