Kandy and Environs

On By Mick CanningIn photographs, Sri Lanka, travel

A few pictures from Sri Lanka, today. I have only had the pleasure of one visit there so far, but it is another place that I should like an opportunity of returning to at some point. These ones are all from the time that we spent around Kandy, Sri Lanka’s second city up in the hills of the Central Province, and which enjoys a much cooler climate than that down in Colombo.

106a

On the bus to Lankatilake. Like most of the rest of the Indian subcontinent, the cabs and interiors of buses, taxis and lorries in Sri Lanka tend to be dedicated to placating whichever deities preside over traffic accidents and mishaps. The majority in Sri lanka, like this one, are Buddhist.

082

Lankatilake Buddhist temple, some 10km SW of Kandy. The temple also has a Hindu shrine incorporated in it.

094

Inside the Buddhist shrine.

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Bodhi tree at Lankatilake temple. Bodhi trees are to be found at all Buddhist temples, and are all descendants of the tree that the Buddha achieved enlightenment beneath, 2500 years ago at Bodhgaya, Northern India. Properly, they are Sal or Neem trees. Only the ones descended from the original Bodhi tree are called Bodhi trees.

098

Lotus flower in the tank at Lankatilake. As in India, ‘tank’ refers to any artificially created body of water, from temple pools all the way up to reservoirs.This tank is a small, circular construction, and can be seen on the left in the photo of Lankatilake above. With its roots in the mud, its stem growing through the water and its beautiful flower in the air, The lotus has special significance to Buddhists – it represents the true nature of beings, who rise through samsara (the suffering of this world) into the beauty and clarity of enlightenment.

096

Hindu temple entrance at Lankatilake.

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Dagoba at Lankatilake. ‘Dagoba’ is the name used in Sri Lanka for the structures known elsewhere as pagodas. They are usually built around a holy relic of some sort.

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Here in this shop in Kandy, you can get postcards and masks, false teeth and gramophone needles, shoes and Buddhas, elephants and exhortations to love Jesus. Something for everyone, really.

200a

The Departure Board at Kandy station. We were waiting for the 3pm train to Colombo, departing from platform 3.

 

119

Beautifully carved and painted ceilings in the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy.

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Entrance to the shrine room, Temple of the Tooth.

134

Moonstone, Temple of the Tooth. A moonstone is a richly carved stone, frequently placed at the bottom of a flight of steps. It is semi-circular in shape.

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Door, Temple of the Tooth.

33 thoughts on “Kandy and Environs”

  1. Ah memories; we had a great time in Sri Lanka including a few days in and around Kandy a couple of years ago. The cool climate was delightful. I remember the Temple of the Tooth too. When \I say the Dagoba I thought ‘Stupa’ and then read your explanation. When I looked it up they are on e and the same though Dagoba is the sinalese and the images look more like dagobas than stupas. We live and learn!

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  2. I like the shot of the lotus flower. It seems like you can see the reflection of the clouds in the water, but maybe that’s something else.

    It’s nice to see your thoughts and photos from this amazing part of the world.

    Over at my blog, I joked in the comments section that you might have been the mysterious man I met in Darjeeling. Just kidding, of course. But it would be funny to run into a fellow blogger while abroad!

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      1. Haha! Yes, I remember this post. I was so relieved that you didn’t kill anyone. I know I come close to committing the act every time I leave the house. Travel seems to bring out the worst–and sometimes best–in our fellow humanoids. Myself included, I have to admit.

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  3. A country I always felt an affinity with, for some inexplicable reason, and yet I never have visited it. I think the Home Office were advising against travelling there for a number of years, but a Sri Lankan lady friend told me that was nonsense. If I had to choose another country to be born in, in another life, I instantly would choose Sri Lanka, and yet I can’t explain to myself why. o_O

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    1. It was dangerous whilst the civil war was happening, but is perfectly safe now. Interestingly, I always had a hankering to visit India, but I’m sure that it was down to various books I’d read and programs I’d seen over the years. When I did finally visit, I loved it. Perhaps you should make the trip to Sri Lanka!

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