Kandy!
 

The Citadel that has much to offer:

by Prasad Abu Bakr

It was a four full long hours drive from Polonnaruwa where the driver took a turn at the Giritale junction through the road running parallel to the tank which takes one to a new highway that connects Dambulla to Mahiyanganaya.

It was a fabulous drive, the new highway leads you to Dambulla where the Rock Temple is and as you approach it the view of the larger than life Buddha statue kind of engulfs you from afar.

Take a left on the Kandy road and one is almost racing through a stretch of colourful vegetation. I stopped thrice for different reasons but with one subject tagged onto them.

Food! The first time to quench my thirst with a cup of 'Beli Mal'. The dried flowers of the Bael tree brewed in hot water as one does to make cup of plain tea. Its rejuvenating and really wakes your tired body up, specially if you are travelling. Then it was to eat piping hot Chinese Rolls at a way side kiosk and later to buy the boiled corn cobs to munch on the way.

It was almost 2.30 in the afternoon when I arrived at 'Hantane Shadow'

Where it is 'Solitude and Tranquility at the Edge of a Forest Reserve' according to the promotional brochure and that's exactly what it is as one would discover during ones stay. With chalet styled rooms and a dinning area attached to a patio which faces the swimming pool where one can take a dip in the chilly waters after tired day of excursion. As Kandy never runs short of excursions on any given day.

Lunch was a homely spread of rice and curry (food is made to order to suite your palate) Its an ideal location to go trekking if one is into that kind of adventurous activity.

But i decided to take break after the days drive from Plonnaruwa and do all my exploring the next day (not that there was much for me to explore in this familiar hill capital) But Kandy in a way has the capacity to offer travellers many opportunities to do what they like doing most, even shopping for that matter, which I discovered the next day while I was in the city.

It was the 28th of December, almost the tail end of the year and it was showing. The visitors to the Maligawa had grown four folds as it was the year end school holidays too, then there were the shoppers.

Though the hill capital is mostly a Buddhist stronghold as has been unfolded in the annals of history. But still it has been a routine all over the country to shop at years end, probably as there are many offers at shop to by at reduced prices owing to the seasonal sales.

I enjoyed another visit to the Dalada Maligawa, which is a must even if you visit Kandy for the hundredth time. I probably photographed it as many as that so many times I suppose, as its glorious architecture and the inspiration that it engulfs you with immediately makes you respond in such a manner. That is if you are a keen photographer of such subject matter.

Colombo street is another favourite of mine where I like to take a slow walk through looking at the many old buildings stretched from one end of it to the other.Amazingly it is the only street in Kandy lined with so many liquor bars. Though it also concentrated on vegetable vendors and grocery shops.

The Municipal market place is another 'must visit place' for inspiration. Beautifully piled up vegetables and fruits and an aura of an old colonial structure all adds up to that feeling of the need to be inspired.

The multitude of concentrated shops hawking goods ranging from clothes to other necessities on the opposite direction of the market is also an interesting place to walk through. One can come across a few bargains if one look closely at what is on sale.

The Kandyan Arts Association is a kind of a 'one stop shop' for the handicrafts produced in the region. Its the whole of 'Naththarampotha' which is a Handicraft Village, nestling away from the city, put in a nutshell.

However after a long day I manged to return to the retreat around 6.00 pm and watch the birds return to their nests crackling the whole area with their chirpy noises. Dinner was a set menu consisting of a starter, soup, main course which was a choice between Roast chicken with gravy or Crumb fried Seer fish, both dishes accompanied by coleslaw and boiled vegetables.

Followed by a delicious dessert named Fruit Rayfa. A sponge cake base topped with gelatin, custard sauce and sprinkled with crushed pieces of nuts, plums and diced fruits. Both the chefs who are hotel school graduates with a wide experience behind them gives 'Hantane Shadow' the much needed boost which any hotel depends upon where food is concerned.

Hantane Shadow is around 20 minute drive from the city up the Heerassagala Road, turning off at Kingswood College on the ol Peradeniya Road or near the Randlers Hill rail stop on the new Colombo Road. The next morning after a filling Sri Lankan breakfast, with its authentic home made taste consisting of String hoppers, Kirihodi, Pol sambol and Ambulthiyal fish.

My next destination was every one of us 'practically' want to chill out. Nuwara Eliya! The Englishman's invention and what we all know as 'Little England' Probably what the Britishers of our colonial past created for themselves to run away to when they became 'home sick'.