More Kandy

Edward describes the Temple of the Tooth as a fine old Buddhist temple where in the inner sanctum...are kept some valuable jewels and a real tooth of the Buddha; but as the functionary who keeps the key was absent, though we went twice we could not gain admittance. Today the Temple is a huge tourist attraction for locals and foreigners alike, being one of Buddhism's most significant sites. We visited in the afternoon, initially planning to stay for the early evening ceremony that takes place daily. However, when it became apparent that that occurs in a hot, airless internal area that was going to be incredibly crowded, we decided to leave that to those to whom it would have more significance than us.

Temple of the Tooth.

Edward also visited a coffee plantation and took a keen interest in the cultivation process and the economics of the industry. He describes it as one of the most desirable investments to be met with. Certain it is, that the coffee planters boast of very great success during the last few years, and seem to be all prosperous, and in easy circumstances. As a man with an eye to the main chance I suspect Edward may have been mulling over the possibility of making an investment himself. Fortunately he didn't because about a decade later, Sri Lankan coffee was hit with a rust that wiped out most of the plantations.

The view from Amanda Hills Hotel. The golden roof just to the left of centre and in front of the tree line is the Temple of the Tooth.

We visited the local Tea Museum which provides a very good overview of how one coffee planter, James Taylor then turned to tea planting, which with the marketing of Thomas Lipton, then became the mainstay of the Sri Lankan economy. They also provided a very nice pot of tea as part of the tour.