We left Singapore Changi Airport at about 1 a.m. in the morning and arrived in Katunayake Airport at about 2 a.m. local time. We took a taxi from the airport to go and pick up our van which would be used for our grand yatra during the next 10 days.
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Toyota Light Ace we used for the grand yatra |
Our first destination was the elephant orphanage at Pinnawala. We were there too early. We waited for a while then found out from the local resident that it would only open around 8:30 am. We decided not to waste a few hours waiting for it to open. We moved on to the next town.
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| Elephant Orphanage |
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| Waiting for the Elephant Orphanage to open |
We drove to Rambukkana to have our first breakfast in Sri Lanka in a small Muslim restaurant. It was a simple breakfast, nothing special. However, the black coffee was nice except that they did not filter off the coffee powder. We needed to wait for the coffee powder to subside before we could drink it.
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| Breakfast at a Muslim restaurant |
On the way to Kandy, we visited the Engineering Faculty, University of Peradeniya, formerly known as University of Ceylon. This is where my friend John graduated from.
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| Engineering Faculty, University of Peradeniya |
From University of Peradeniya, we went over to the Royal Botanic Gardens, renowned for the collection the variety of Orchids. It was formed by Mr Alexandar Moon in 1821. It is being visited by 1.4 million people every year. The gardens have more than 300 varieties of orchids and other plants.
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| Inside Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya |
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| Orchid House in Royal Botanic Gardens |
The suspension bridge in the gardens is built across Mahaweli River. Mahaweli River is the longest river in Sri Lanka, more than 300 Km. The area of its basin is about one sixth of the total area of Sri Lanka.
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| Suspension Bridge in Royal Botanic Gardens |
After spending about an hour in Royal Botanic Gardens, we went to visit Olde Empire Hotel in Kandy. We were supposed to stay in this more-than-100-year old hotel for our very first night in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, it had started its renovation works about a week before we left Singapore. Nevertheless, we still went to visit this hotel as it is also adjacent to the famous Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic which was also in our itinerary. The hotel will be back in full operations on Nov 1, 2010.
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| View from the 2nd floor of Olde Empire Hotel in Kandy |
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| Sambar deer head in Olde Empire Hotel |
We left Kandy at about 2:00 p.m. for Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya. As we drove higher and higher along route A5 in up country, the air outside the car became cooler and cooler than the aircon in the van. We switched off the aircon and wound down the car windows.
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| Up Country Scenery |
At about 4-5 Km from Nuwara Eliya, we took a short break at Labookellie Tea Center to enjoy a free pot of tea and their famous chocolate cake. The cake was delicious and full of aroma. The cake was not oily at all as if it was baked without any butter. I wonder how they did it.
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| Labookellie Tea Center |
The Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya was built by a homesick British coffee baron in 1885. At 6,800 feet above sea level, the air outside the hotel is chilly.
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| Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya |
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