They see the tourists coming

Our spice guide shows us nutmeg

We felt like seasoned travellers heading off for dinner. I had already turned the outside light on. That had been one of our errors on the previous night. We also started our evening a little earlier, knowing we are now “gently” getting up earlier and earlier over the next few mornings. Also, we had now done this trip a few times and finally made it without deviation, hesitation or repetition.

A couple of Tanqueray gins and we were set up. Then on to the red wine. I was nudged by the guy next to me at the bar, alerting me to the fact their wines were expensive. “We paid £38 for their cheapest wine yesterday” I’m not too sure why they were surprised. Most countries will charge a price until folks no longer show up. Why should Sri Lanka be any different? Plus they are importing all wine.

We went off for dinner earlier than the previous  day knowing we were going to be up early tomorrow. Oh my, it was something of a bun fight. Buffet meals are unruly as there’s rarely a system, or if there is, different nationalities are following their own systems…or not. It was largely an action replay of the previous night. However, the difference was, we now knew how all these curry dishes had been made. The buffet had been put into sections, largely based on the relevant countries which frequent the hotel. The vegetarian curry section seemed to be the least contested. Result. We were fairly smug when we got back to our room on the first attempt. Yes, we’ve got this.

Idyllic breakfast location

It was a cool 22 degrees on our way to breakfast this morning. Off we set and before we knew it, we lurched into each other. Nick going right, me going left. I was correct. Blimey, this place really could do with some signage, or maybe that’s how they get their entertainment, secretly watching all their guests going in all directions. By the time we checked out of this particular serene hotel, at 9am, we were already up to 26 degrees. Whilst checking out, a German lady commented on how much she liked my shoes. This made me laugh as they are Waldlaufers, which are German. I told her this but she maintained she’d never heard of the make. Shoe off to show her. “Oh, Waldlaufers” wasn’t that what I’d said?

Atulah, being the perfect gent that he is, removed the headrest in front of me so I have a bullseye view of the road. Something I came to slightly regret later in our travels when we got to Kandy. We’ve all chosen our seats in the minibus. Leah is riding shotgun, Ronnie is behind Atulah, Nick’s opted for the single seat so he can sprawl and I had a double seat behind Ronnie. I found I was looking around the obstacle that was the headrest in front of me . The thought of days of travelling, straining around the seat in front of me, didn’t fill me with any joy. Now I have the cockpit view but two seats back.

Our drive today was 70 KM, which doesn’t sound bad after what we did on our first big run, but today has been through major cities and very slow. Add into the equation it’s Saturday and bedlam ensued.

We drove past the dedicated economic centre. Often, we’re told there is a 1Km long queue of farming lorries waiting to offload their wholesale goods. Prices throughout the country are dictated from here. We drove past Dambulla Temple again which was so busy and bustling, with cows, dogs, tuk tuks, buses, pretty much every mode of transport, on the road. Oh, and of course, stacks of people.

We commented on the huge amount of monkeys everywhere and Atulah told us that as of last week, they are now being injected with birth control due to their high volumes or they are being sold to Thailand for their parks..

Our first stop of the day was Makale Heritage spice and herb garden. 80 acres of pure tranquility (and of course the inevitable monkeys). Here we had a top-speed lesson in pretty much every spice available and how it can cure virtually every ailment. This was a fascinating talk by a very enthusiastic guide which we really enjoyed.

We were each treated to an expert massage from a group of students who pummelled our neck, face, arms and hands. Then of course the obligatory sales pitch into the pharmacy where we dutifully purchased a variety of lotions and potions to make us young and beautiful. Apparently. All at an exorbitant price.

From the tranquility of the gardens, we drove through Makale. This is primarily a Tamil region and was very busy with the main mode of transport being tuk tuks. We noted that the only time there were any traffic jams was when there were police “directing” the traffic.

If we thought Makale was busy, Kandy was in another league. Absolutely crazy mental, with no rules other than everyone goes in the direction they fancy and all you have to do is avoid each other.

On to our next port of call, a gem factory where we were given a very interesting of the gems and how they’re cut and polished. Then, as we’ve learnt to expect, the inevitable shop and the hovering assistant.

By this time we were all flaking and Atulah located lunch for us. Oh no, not another buffet lunch? Nick and I had just popped to the loo and by the time we got to our table, Ronnie and Leah had evidently had the same thought and asked if we could simply have a menu and choose our own lunch. Result.

Revived by sandwiches and a beer, we were off to the wood factory. There was a very brief explanation about the woods used, but now the locals weren’t hiding the real reason why you were there. To buy, obvs. We commented on how expensive everything is. I don’t know why, but we all thought prices would be on a par with India. Not so. Over the years they have seen folks like us buy and have just increased the prices. I get it that wine is expensive, as it’s imported, but not items they are making locally.

We were then settled into our seats for an hour’s cultural show of dancing, singing and then outside for flame throwing and fire eaters.

The drive today has been very tiring and slow as there was so much traffic. By the time we arrived (7pm) we were exhausted from the utter sensory overload we had experienced. However, the hotel is stunning and we look forward to having a couple of nights here. We were all in agreement that Atulah’s advice had been the best. The itinerary had been rearranged, but the positive side to that means we don’t have to go back on ourselves tomorrow and go through all that traffic again.