Kandy, Sri Lanka, Part 3

Here are more photos taken

Gateway to the main part of the complex

Devotees entering the main building housing the sacred relic. We observed the short procession of devotees while we were walking around the complex and respectfully watched from a distance so we won't get in their way.

Intricate relief carvings

This building is off-limits to the public including tourists

Another photo of the gateway

Beyond the closed gate, one can marvel at the gigantic statue of the Buddha on what is likely among the highest peaks in Kandy

Three-wheelers in the form of these tuktuk types

Another view of the streets of Kandy with the giant Buddha seemingly watching from above.

I am still reviewing the photos I took in Sri Lanka and the photos shared to me by friends who also took a lot of photos while we were there. I will post more soon!

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Kandy, Sri Lanka, Part 2

Here's a continuation of the series on Kandy, the former capital of what was a kingdom in Ceylon/Sri Lanka. The following photos were taken at the Sacred Tooth Temple complex.

I forget exactly where this staircase leads to but it is not a temple but a residence of people taking care of the temple complex

One of many gateways leading to the Temple of the Tooth

Intricately designed doorway

Signs explaining the entrance to a sacred area and asking visitors to remove footwear and head gear as a sign of respect.

Buddha image surrounded by flower, incense and money offerings

One of the small temples spread around the complex

Pathway leading to another Buddha image covered by a curtain

A very old tree that probably was witness to a lot of events in the complex

A devotee prays beside one of the Buddha images at one of the smaller temples in the complex

There are curtains covering some of the images to physically separate the devotees from what are likely to be images being preserved. I recall similar images designated as 'national treasures' or 'national cultural treasures or artifacts' in other countries such as Japan, Thailand and Korea.

More on Kandy soon!
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Kandy, Sri Lanka - Part 1

Here is a series of late posts featuring photos I took when we had an excursion to Kandy last year. The city of Kandy is the former capital of Sri Lanka or Ceylon, as the British called the country. It is located at the center of the island on top of a plateau that somewhat makes the climate cooler than most parts of the country. Kandy is also home to perhaps Sri Lanka's most sacred site - the Temple of the Tooth, which houses the tooth relic of the Buddha.

Typical buses in Kandy are not air-conditioned. These are mostly old British-made Leyland buses.

Students walk to and from their schools using uniforms similar to what students in the Philippines use.

Students crossing the road are assisted by traffic enforcers or police

Old building repurposed for offices and shops - the architecture seems familiar and similar as those in Intramuros or other old districts in other cities in the Philippines

Gate to St. Paul's Church

Bell tower of St. Paul's Church - the church is Anglican and located to the west of the Temple of the Tooth. It is on sacred grounds as it is located within the temple complex.

Candle offerings at St. Paul's

Sign at the office of the Department of Archeology

More on Kandy and Sri Lanka in the next posts!
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A short tour of Colombo - Part 1: Sri Subramaniya Kovil Hindu Temple

My recent travel to Sri Lanka allowed me to go around parts of the country. Of course, we had to do a tour of Colombo even before we set out to see the attractions beyond. One of my friends engaged a local who approached us as another friend was securing a simcard. We ended up with hopping into a tricycle (tuktuk) and doing a half-day tour of the city. Our first stop was Sri Subramaniya Kovil Hindu Temple.

A view of the temple as we approached it on a tricycle

We parked not far from the temple and I took this second photo

One is awed by the details on the building and how well-preserved it is despite the years of use

Up close to the temple, one is simply amazed or at awe about the details that from this angle seems to rise up to the skies. And did you notice the form of the clouds at the upper right of the photo? :)

We didn't go inside the temple though we did take a peek from the main door. Our guide and one of the people inside were waving for us to go in but we respectfully declined. We though we might appear too touristy and might offend worshipers though they might be used to tourists having a look inside this sacred place.

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On airline food - Manila to Colombo via Singapore

Traveling to Sri Lanka via Singapore was my preferred route over the ones via Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok. Though the last two are great destinations. I bet KL is despite haven't being able to go there yet. I have been to Malaysia and by land but went to Melaka. And I have been to Bangkok many times before. But I consider Singapore as another home; perhaps a close third to Japan's second. And Changi is the best airport in the world, and great for layovers like the one I made between Manila and Colombo. Here's a few photos I took of the inflight meals on Cebu Pacific and Sri Lankan Airlines.

We were running out of seats for the Manila-Singapore leg of our trip so I bought tickets that included a meal. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to change the meal from the default choice so we ended up with Beef Bulgogi for breakfast.

It wasn't bad and could pass off as tapsilog (tapa/beef strips, sinangag/fried rice and itlog/egg)-like meal but without the egg and on the spicy side.

The Singapore - Colombo leg of my trip was on board Sri Lankan Airlines. This was a legacy carrier and not a low cost carrier like Cebu Pacific. In fact, Sri Lankan Airlines is part of the One World alliance so I was able to credit the miles to my JAL card.

I chose the fish and noodles with the broccoli instead of the chicken curry and rice. I was worried by stomach won''t agree with the curry and we still had hours of travel ahead of us. True to form for a legacy carrier, the food was better than what we had at Cebu Pacific even though we were at economy class.

Overall, I thought the food was okay for both legs of my Manila-Singapore-Colombo trip. The Singapore-Colombo leg even had excellent tea after our meal. What would you have expected for a Sri Lankan carrier? They do produce the best tea in the world!

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First impressions of Sri Lanka at the airport

They say a country's gateway provides travelers or visitors a first impression of the country. The following few photos and my observations pretty much describes my first impressions.

Upon clearing immigration, travelers are greeted by duty free stores lining up along the corridor to the baggage claim area

These were mostly shops selling liquor/alcoholic drinks and appliances.

The previous observations on duty free shops showed me what were popular items for returning Sri Lankans who likely wanted to get something upon their arrival to bring to their families. Those included household appliances like TVs, stereos, refrigerators and washing machines, and souvenir items like whiskey and brandy that would be something to share with families and friends (for celebrating their return). This seems to me as a scene from the Philippines at Manila's international airport in the 1980s and 1990s when overseas foreign workers (OFWs) returned from abroad to take their vacations from their work there. Cigarettes, liquor and appliances were also popular at the airport where the prices of these items were significantly lower due to their being duty or tax free. Perhaps the only other item as popular for returning Filipinos at the airport were chocolates balikbayans (returning Filipinos) bought for their children.

That said, allow me to add another impression made upon deplaning at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Instead of heading towards the terminal, we deplaned on the tarmac and was taken to the terminal by bus/transporter. This was much like the local airlines at NAIA Terminal 3 where domestic flights were commonly served by transporters connecting aircraft with the terminal. As one colleague traveling with me observed - parang sa atin lang (it's just like in our country) - upon seeing a bus waiting to take us to the terminal as we deplaned.

Passengers deplaning from our Sri Lankan  Airlines plane

A view of passengers deplaning from the rear door of the plane to an awaiting bus

Another view from the bus of passengers and crew deplaning from the front door

More on Sri Lanka soon!
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Sri Lanka!

I just arrived from a recent trip to Sri Lanka. Although I was there for a conference, I made sure I was able to go around to a few places including the old capital in Kandy (Sri Lanka's capital is Colombo). That means a lot of photos taken when I was there.

We arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport via Sri Lankan Airlines through Singapore Changi.

I will be writing about Sri Lanka and some of its attractions in future posts. Abangan!

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