Day 5- Dambulla to Kandy

We said goodbye to our wonderful hosts in Dambulla and continued on our adventure heading towards Kandy. Our first stop was Aluvihare temple in Matale. It is a rock temple but is known as the place that the doctorine of Budda was written. We were shown how they used palm leaves and a needle to write the book and were given a souvenir palm leaf with our names on it to take home. Next stop was a Hindu temple Sri Mathumariamman. We were super excited about visiting a Hindu temple as we loved all the Hindu temples in India but after arriving we quickly realized this was a little different. It was very brightly coloured and a bit kitch for our liking. We walked around the temple and then headed out to the main road in Matale and it was very busy. We found Jerome doing some shopping and I quickly lost Rudi who had run across the road for some photos. Jerome told us this was the longest road in Sri Lanka! Next stop was a spice garden where we were taken around and shown the different trees and plants and got to test out a few, smelling, tasting, head shaking!! We learnt what different spices are good for and their uses. We then got a free massage which Rudi and I got the giggles throughout. Was very relaxing though except for the finger cracking! Rudi tested out the hair removal cream so now has a bald patch on his hand! We visited their shop and bought some massage oil and citronella spray! Back on the road and as always I needed the toilet so we headed for Kandy and decided to have lunch and a toilet break. We went up a few flights of stairs and were seated on a balcony over looking a river. Right in front of us was a man probably 3 stories up on two thin planks of wood rendering a patch of wall. It was interesting to watch but also a little scary. He gave us a few cheeky smiles as he worked away soaked as it started to pour rain! There was no Sri Lankan rice and curry on the menu so we opted for a vegetable biryani and Rudi the chicken biryani. When it came out it looked like KFC chicken...it smelt like KFC chicken and according to Rudi it tasted like KFC chicken! There was a KFC just down the road so we discussed whether they got yesterday's left overs! Haha. Let's just say it was the worst meal we had so far. Jerome then took us to a gem factory where we watched a video to see how the gems were mined, walked around the museum looking at the different gems and cuts, walked through a replica mine and then into the shop...Rudis worst nightmare! Jerome was on my side saying that if he loved his wife he should buy me something but we left empty handed but enjoyed admiring the beautiful jewellery...not so much the hassling to buy! Our day had been busy but we decided to go to the Botanical gardens for a couple of hours to finish off the day. Jerome dropped us and about 30mins into the gardens it started to pour. We had no umbrella or no raincoats. The trees sheltered us quite a bit so we wandered around taking photos of the biggest bamboo we have ever seen, some amazing shaped trees that looked like they could come alive and wrap you up in their branches at any minute and a monkey stampede as they seeked shelter from the rain. We decided we couldn't hide from the rain any longer so we wandered back getting absolutely soaked but since it wasn't cold it was ok. We found our way back to the car and Jerome was there waiting for us laughing at the drowned rats he saw before him. "Did you not have an umbrella, I have one here in the car!" Some help that was! Anyway we headed off in the dark thinking we were going to our hotel but when we pulled up it didn't look like a hotel. We got out unsure of what was going on and Jerome told us this was his house! We were welcomed inside by Jerome, his wife and daughter. We then met his mother and father in law. We talked for awhile but his daughter was very shy. They then told us to sit at the table and uncovered a spread of Sri Lankan sweets! Expecting them to join us we sat down but no one else did. They told us what all the food was and said it was all for us! I'm sure it was enough to feed a family of 6!!!! We tried a bit of everything and it was all very yummy... I have no idea what we ate except Rudi had the giggles when I clarified one sweet with them called something like 'assme!' It was slightly uncomfortable being watched by 5 strangers as we ate the unknown but they were so happy to have us in their home and refused many requests to sit and eat with us. They made us the best pot of tea...very sweet and packed us doggy bags to take back with us to the hotel! It was quite late now so we said goodbye and Ayubowan to Jerome's mother and father in law and got back in the van with his wife and daughter who came along for the ride! We drove through the city centre which was quite busy and lit up and up a windy road to our hotel. We dropped off our bags and headed upstairs to check out the rooftop view, waited over half an hour to order a beer and then gave up and went to bed! What a busy day!