Kandy

We are on our way through Kandy for the third time. Kandy is in the lower foothills clustered around a small man-made lake. There is a famous temple here which supposedly contains one of Buddha's teeth. It is not on display or available for scientific scrutiny. It is kept under lock and key in a jeweled chest which is occasionally paraded in front of the devoted believers. People line up to look at the room in the temple where it is kept. Of course foreign tourists have to pay a hefty fee to get in the temple. We did and I was underwhelmed. There is a very nice museum of Buddha next door which I found more interesting.

Kandy has a serious traffic congestion problem. There are too many cars and not enough roads. The whole town rests in a carbon monoxide fog. The noise is horrible. Despite all that we have a certain fondness for the town. There is a very nice hillside park or should I say "patch of jungle "  within walking distance of our hotel. It is home to many forest birds and animals. Kandy also boasts  a pretty decent botanical gardens which was started during the British colonial period. Of course it has a lot more interesting things to see and do if you take your sightseeing more serious than we do.