Srilanka Ayubowan ! ( Srilankan greeting meaning May you live long! )

This summer of 2014 we visited Srilanka. A land of Buddha, rich cultural heritage,vast beaches, amazing flora and fauna, colonial styled houses, Ceylon tea and much more...

Though we spent 6 days,7 nights, we have covered only the south west of Srilanka. I will try to squeeze in as much as possible in this post. As we stepped out of our aircraft inside the Srilankan airport, we were welcomed by the calm and serene idol of Lord Buddha and this was followed by many other Buddha idols we found en route our travel, in this beautiful country.

Our first stop over was at Kandy. We visited  the famous Sacred Tooth Relic Temple of Buddha also referred to as the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Sinhala). It is located in the palace complex of the former king of Kandy. It is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Brillant artwork inside the temple.The ceilings and the walls none is spared!

We had a beautiful sunset view of the temple.The temple premises was lined with flower stalls and the lotuses made for a visual treat.

In Kandy we housed in The Cinnamon Citadel. Let me also share some amazing interiors of the hotel.

The cushions make for a pretty sight!

A perfect way to idle away time

The background is covered with handmade mats

Art behind doors of our room

The lobby was decorated with  brass artifacts

The pinnawala elephant orphanage is very close from kandy and was a day trip. kids had fun feeding milk to little elephants.And the momma... that's me, had double fun, what with lines of shop selling colourful wares.

Look at the baby elephant

Elephants bathing , unmindful of the tourists watching them!

Now some pics for the shopaholics ....Elephant dung is used to make paper products. This is really like producing a treasure trove from wastes.

How happy I am!

A treat for the shopper in you!

Our next halt was at Taj Bentota and Taj manages a private beach. Looking back we had a wonderful time on the beach as a family. A much needed break for all of us.

Gaze on all the snaps below and take a virtual tour of Bentota with me. Let me begin with the Taj Interiors.

The Taj property set amidst lush greenary

Kids had a wonderful time running around the vast property

Magnificent setting

Huge chandelier drops

Gorgeous wood work  and the panelling on the ceiling

The entrance to the hotel

Having a gala time!

Srilanka is a place for all. The adults can relax and take it easy. For the kids, it has beaches, zoo, elephant camp ( the kids are always in awe of these beasts), water sports, coral reefs, turtle hatchery etc.

We also visited Hikkaduwa which is a famous place for sighting coral reefs. It is also a popular international destination for board surfing. That day was a high tide day and it felt as if our little boat was somersaulting on the waves. A bit scary it was but was worth while. even managed to get a small coral reef from one of the boatsman who gifted it to my son.

Hikkaduwa is supposed to house 70 varieties of multi coloured coral.

The turtle hatchery is another major attraction.The Green turtle,Oliver Ridley,Star turtles are a few of them.It is a part of turtle conservation,thus saving them from extinction.

Patterned!

I know this post is getting longer and longer and it is a image heavy post. I think I  will do a second post to do complete justice.
So watch this space for more. The next post will focus on various handicraft of Srilanka, Laksala the government Emporium, Gemstones of Ratnapura,Galle fort, Ambalangoda mask factory and antique shops. Stay tuned folks .Will be back soon.