After a tiring two matches in the heat, this was a day of culture and travel as the team headed south this morning to Sri Lanka's second city, Kandy. This was not before we met five special friends at a nature reserve. All 25 members of the touring party were treated to an elephant ride, with 5 people per elephant! The hour long lap of a local lake was an experience few will forget: sitting atop a majestic creature, feeling its huge muscles shifting beneath you, and dipping your toes during the half-way point as the elephants wandered into the water for a cool-down.
Following this, we stopped off at a wood-carving workshop, as well as a local clothes outlet. Souvenirs and (some slightly questionable) sarongs were purchased in equal measure. Arriving in Kandy, our colonial hotel - which functioned as a hospital during the Second World War - offered some R&R in the form of a lovely pool overlooking Kandy lake.
As the sun set over the lake, we strolled towards a local cultural show, where we were treated to traditional Kandyan dances, thumping drums, plate-spinning, and more. The event culminated with a spot of fire breathing, followed by fire walking!
From the Kandyan cultural centre, it was a brief bend around the lake to the much-revered Buddhist Temple of the Tooth. Buddhists from far and wide flock here to view the relic of the Buddha's own canine which was salvaged after his cremation. Our tour guide Tikire is fast growing a reputation for his humour and breadth of knowledge, and all tour members now have a richer sense of both Kandy's Buddhist and Colonial past.
Tomorrow brings a 35-over fixture against a local district side.
A cheeky tuk-tuk ride to visit a family friend in Kandy.
