Esala Poya

Today is a poya, or full moon day, so there are throngs of people in the temple, where I’ve just come from. Have no idea how many people are going to be at the perahera tonight, but there’s no way I’m going to sit on the street all day waiting – not with the fumes from all the cars and buses. Will just try my luck later. I’ve seen the perahera three times (haven’t been for the past few nights), so I don’t need to have a prime position. Just want to be there for the atmosphere.

Will be a little sad to leave Kandy tomorrow as the place has grown on me, but it’s time to move on. I only have just over a week left in Sri Lanka and would like to see a few more places before I leave. Tomorrow I’m catching a train through the hill country to a small town called Ella, where I’ll spend a few days, and will then head down to the coast – first to the pilgrimage town of Kataragama and then along the coast to Galle before heading back to Colombo for my flight home on the 29^th. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here 3 weeks already.

The past few days I did some exploring of some of the countryside around Kandy and yesterday I visited 3 well-know temples west of the city. Beautiful countryside. I got lost a few times, but people were always very helpful and pointed me in the right direction. Even got a lift at one point. The friendliness and kindness if Sri Lankas is something I’ll always remember about my trip. There are con-artists around, but they’re easy to spot and overall the overwhelming majority of people are fantastic. I’m deeply indebted to Barbara, the woman who runs the place I’ve been staying at, and Judith’s friends Derek and Ayra. They’ve been fantastic and have made my stay in Kandy all the more special.

Am not sure when I’ll be posting next – probably not until Galle, which I should be in towards the end of next week. Until then…