The Dambulla rock cave temple was built by King Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C. It is another World Heritage site and most impressive. A couple of days ago I was unable to show you frescoes but today I can how some amazing ceiling and wall paintings. These are not frescoes as they were painted on a dry surface. The collection of sculptures was also impressive and we have learnt about the various postures and also about the enlightened Buddhas and those not yet enlightened. There are several temples created within the cave overhang of the big rock face.
Our next stop was the Spice Garden at Matale. The extremely knowledgeable guide gave us many hints for healthy living whilst taking us around the well laid out garden. Hints like not eating pineapple on an empty stomach to not drinking water an hour before or after a meal! The collection of spice trees, how the spice is obtained and how it is used was very informative. Many were surprised to find that nutmeg and mace come from the same tree.
We were horrified to hear that chocolate will become extinct because they are now making synthetic chocolate as it is cheaper to produce.
We sampled a spice tea, tested some lotions made with spices and several of the group experienced a massage with spiced creams.
Later we made a short stop at the Noritake factory where they had a New Year Sale. This was followed by a visit to gem lapidary where we saw how sapphires are mined and cut. They had some beautiful pieces in the showroom, especially the star sapphires.
Last stop was the Kandy Cultural Show. A short show with traditional Kandyan dances, attractive costumes and lively music showed us another side of the Sri Lankan culture.
The fire walkers were amazing, but none of us wanted to take it up as a hobby.
This island often known as The Pearl of the Indian Ocean, has had many periods of change. In more modern times it was been known as Seylan, then Ceylon and then in 1972 it became Sri Lanka. With its many changes it has also had different capital cities, two of which we have already visited. Today we are in Kandy which was the last capital of the Kingdom of Ceylon. This was prior to British rule. In Kandy there are many buildings from the British era. We are now getting into the mountains and the weather is a little cooler.
Every evening we dine together at extensive buffets in our hotel. The array has many of the traditional Sri Lankan foods, some other foods to suit the clientele and a great sweets table. Despite the mountain climbing we are wondering how we will fit into the plane seats on our return home, but we are not letting that bother us!
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