Elephants Are Sweeter Than Kandy

Let me begin by explaining this post’s title. I would argue that elephants are cooler than most things in this world; the same is true for the city of Kandy. Elephants win!

We made the trip to Kandy because it is home to the Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known as “Temple of the Tooth.” This very famous and historic Buddhist temple houses Buddha’s tooth. Sri Lankan legend states that the tooth was recovered after Buddha’s cremation. We had to see it for ourselves!

We got into town late on Friday and went straight to bed – we knew we had an early morning on Saturday! The best time to go to the Temple of the Tooth is in the morning, for two reasons: 1- like everywhere in Sri Lanka, Kandy is insanely hot. Plus, mountains surround the city, so the humidity and lack of breeze combine for extra hot days. 2- the morning service starts at 9:30. What better way to see a temple than in action?

We arrived just before 9:30 at the temple in our appropriate dress code: shoulders and knees covered, and we left our shoes outside. I will mention, however, that Meadows was wearing a Bill Murray t-shirt. Only Meadows would bring Bill to temple! Hundreds of people, both locals and tourists, poured into the temple with us. All of the locals carried flowers as offerings.

When we initially walked in, men were playing drums in the central area downstairs. The drums pounded so hard that my heart skipped a beat every time they hit! The tooth is stored in a two-story sanctuary; the drumming ceremony occurred in front of the sanctuary downstairs.

 

We made our way upstairs to a long hall, which is the closest visitors can get to the tooth. You can tell from the photos: it was so unbelievably crowded. The majority of people were locals, and everywhere we went was shoulder-to-shoulder packed with people. In this room, the local folks could veer off to a separate lane, where they could “view” the tooth’s sanctuary. [The tooth is actually contained in a box at all times, so I don’t feel robbed of a viewing experience.] The tourists remained in the long hallway where all of the flower offerings were left. You’ve never seen so many flowers!

 

We made our way through some other rooms, which feature other beautiful gifts and artifacts. There are a few common themes throughout the Buddhist temples: elephant tusks, Buddha statues and GOLD. The architecture and artwork is so beautiful!

We entered my favorite room last. Here, images depict the story of the relic around the room. Meadows and I really enjoyed reading about the history and different homes and owners of Buddha’s tooth.

We departed the temple grounds and decided to walk around the Kandy Lake. The temple is just next to this rectangular lake in the center of the city. We were so hot and trying to cool down (too sweaty for any photos of us at the temple!).

Now, I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, but I felt confident that we had exhausted all that Kandy had to offer. After walking around for a bit, we encountered countless peddlers and continued sweating. We weren’t interested in the “cultural dance,” which most other tourists attend; and it was way to0 hot to spend the afternoon at the botanical gardens (as if I could even drag Meadows there anyway!). We headed back to our resort in the mountains and explored there.

Staying in the mountains overlooking Kandy meant we were much cooler and we had a beautiful view of the sunset! We had cocktails during sunset and headed for a fabulous Sri Lankan dinner afterwards.

 

On Sunday’s drive back to Colombo, we stopped at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. This was by far the best part of the weekend! We arrived just in time to see all of the elephants heading back from playing in the river. Meadows was singing “Elephant March” from Jungle Book the entire time!  This one’s for you, Dows:

There were roughly 50 elephants within our sight, and each of them was utterly charming. These elephants are comfortable with humans, so there was no need to feel threatened (although I was still a bit nervous – I mean, they’re HUGE!).

We got to pet the elephants and watch them interact with each other. At one point, an elephant walked up to Meadows and just sort of sniffed him – it was incredible!

Established in 1975, Pinnawala takes in orphaned baby elephants and lost adult elephants, and it boasts the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. These are Asian elephants we’re talking about, so this means: smaller ears, shorter in height and less wrinkles than their African counterparts. They also have smaller family groups and are more fluid in their associations than African elephants.

I am obsessed with elephants, so this was one of my favorite things we’ve done in Sri Lanka! It was so rewarding to visit a welcoming home for previously lost and lonely elephants.

 

Some additional elephant facts:

• All elephant families are matriarchal
• Elephants killed 50 people in Sri Lanka last year
• People killed over 200 elephants in Sri Lanka last year