Kandy Town..
All the main streets, streets like Colombo Road, lead off from that North Western corner of the Lake. It's a typical Asian scene with shops as far as the eye can see, selling everything saleable, and not. Tyres, car parts, snacks, toys and gifts and of course the stuff mass produced in a Chinese factory passed off as local craft, tourist trinkets. Plenty of mobile phone and gadget shops but not too many eating places. Bake houses are popular here and all have attached a snack bar or a larger room where customers can sit and take tea. Actually finding a canteen or cafe that sells rice and curry, or anything that resembles a substantial meal is proving surprisingly difficult, so I'm going to settle on one of those bake house joints and have a veggie rotti or two, maybe three since they're only 15p each. A cup of tea with milk is another 15p so I have 2. Actually it's all filled me up nicely, but still, I'm surprised at the lack of cafes, even restaurants. Perhaps the nearby Pizza Hut and KFC have taken away substantial trade! This is a good place to watch the locals for a while. They saunter in and take their seats, usually three in a group, sometimes a singleton elder. Plain tea then the waiters will bring a tray with a selection of breads, essentially flat breads wrapped around a spices filling. Could be dahl, various meats and of course vegetarian concoctions. One thing though, all are very spicy in the main, so I am told.
A few religious buildings are dotted around the town, some smart some not so. The Islamics are represented with their large prayer hall whilst the Buddhist folkes have a giant Buddha figure perched atop a nearby hill and in full view of just about anywhere in Kandy. Tamils and Hindus all have their own, less conspicuous churches.
The place could do with a lick of paint as is common in the Indian sub-continent regions. Lack of investment and maintenance sadly gives this town a rather shabby appearance, but at least the streets are clean. Yes, no strewn garbage, piles of trash on every corner or dog poop to step in! Still on the look out for some kind of cafe that sells a meal as I make my way back towards the lake and the Star Light guest hous. It's dark, temperature has dropped to that typically of an English summer daytime, about 16deg c with a slight breeze - pretty near perfect I would say.
All the main streets, streets like Colombo Road, lead off from that North Western corner of the Lake. It's a typical Asian scene with shops as far as the eye can see, selling everything saleable, and not. Tyres, car parts, snacks, toys and gifts and of course the stuff mass produced in a Chinese factory passed off as local craft, tourist trinkets. Plenty of mobile phone and gadget shops but not too many eating places. Bake houses are popular here and all have attached a snack bar or a larger room where customers can sit and take tea. Actually finding a canteen or cafe that sells rice and curry, or anything that resembles a substantial meal is proving surprisingly difficult, so I'm going to settle on one of those bake house joints and have a veggie rotti or two, maybe three since they're only 15p each. A cup of tea with milk is another 15p so I have 2. Actually it's all filled me up nicely, but still, I'm surprised at the lack of cafes, even restaurants. Perhaps the nearby Pizza Hut and KFC have taken away substantial trade! This is a good place to watch the locals for a while. They saunter in and take their seats, usually three in a group, sometimes a singleton elder. Plain tea then the waiters will bring a tray with a selection of breads, essentially flat breads wrapped around a spices filling. Could be dahl, various meats and of course vegetarian concoctions. One thing though, all are very spicy in the main, so I am told.
A few religious buildings are dotted around the town, some smart some not so. The Islamics are represented with their large prayer hall whilst the Buddhist folkes have a giant Buddha figure perched atop a nearby hill and in full view of just about anywhere in Kandy. Tamils and Hindus all have their own, less conspicuous churches.
The place could do with a lick of paint as is common in the Indian sub-continent regions. Lack of investment and maintenance sadly gives this town a rather shabby appearance, but at least the streets are clean. Yes, no strewn garbage, piles of trash on every corner or dog poop to step in! Still on the look out for some kind of cafe that sells a meal as I make my way back towards the lake and the Star Light guest hous. It's dark, temperature has dropped to that typically of an English summer daytime, about 16deg c with a slight breeze - pretty near perfect I would say.
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