First weekend trip in Sri Lanka to Kandy City

Today's my first wekend trip in Sri Lanka! Decided to go to Kandy as it is only 3 hours away from Colombo and can be easily reached by the railway train. Other places which would require a combination of trains and buses to get there would probably be too complicated for the first weekend.

Snacks at Colombo Fort Station platform

As it was our first time taking the railway train in Sri Lanka, we were rather unsure of which part of the platform to stand. We bought the second class tickets so we wanted to stand in the area where it would be easier for us to look for our seats when the train arrives. The train was delayed and arrived late.

Just moments before the train arrived, a mute man came up to us and looked at our train tickets. He saw that we got 2nd class tickets and directed us to the correct section of the platform to wait for the train. When the train arrived, even before it stopped, he hopped on to the train and signalled for us to get on as well. It was quite shocking because I didn't know we had to get on to it even before the train stops! It's like hopping on to a moving train :O Anyway, we also didn't know that the seats are not reserved, so it's a first-come-first-serve basis. You basically have to rush to fight for a seat! So, at this point in time, the mute man "fought" for a seat for us. Then, when we were seated, he reached out his hand, asking for money. At this point in time, I didn't know how to react. My first natural instinct was not to give money because I'm rather paranoid that the moment I take out my wallet, he would snatch it and run away or something like that. When the train was about the move off, he had no choice but to just get off the train, without getting any money from us.

However, the moment I saw him walk off, I felt that I should have just given him some money! It was just my first time experiencing it in Sri Lanka and hence, I didn't really know how to react in that situation. However, when the train moved off, I felt that I could have just given him some money to help him in whatever way I can! He's probably doing this also because he can't really get any other jobs?

Arrival at Kandy Station

First thing we had to do was to fill our tummies! We went to The Empire Cafe which was near Kandy Lake and is ranked #8 on TripAdvisor! I got this homemade porridge which was basically oats with fruits. As usual, got whatever that looked healthy on the menu. The first few mouthful tasted good, but I got sick of the taste really quickly.

Homemade porridge with fruits

Waihan's Chicken Carbonara which I think wasn't nice

Kandy Lake

Temple of the Tooth

The Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is believed to house the tooth of Buddha.

An elephant being chained outside Temple of the Tooth. I wish they treat their elephants better. I feel so bad for this elephant.

After visiting the Temple of the Tooth, we decided to try out another restaurant called The Garden Cafe. I wanted to try string hoppers with curry, but they only have curry after 4pm and we were there at 330pm. Hence, I settled for an omelette instead.

Innocent looking omelette that ended up to be the oilest and yuckiest omelette I've had so far. Maybe the other food at this place is better, but the omelette sucks :/

Cupcakes in a random cafe around Kandy

For our accommodations in Kandy, we were very lucky to have found and booked this place called Camarin Residence. It's the best place you can stay in Kandy at an affordable price! The owner is also really kind who upgraded our room for free and gave us free breakfast :)

Look at how big our room is! I slept on the double bed while Waihan slept on the single bed. Super comfortable that we both slept for 11 hours.

View from our balcony

#SriLanka #Kandy #Travel