Poya day in Kandy

We had breakfast on the terrace overlooking the city, Dalhousie, and the mountains. Breakfast consisted of pancakes with coconut, rotti, a kind of toast with egg filling, toast, bananas and tea. Our hosts spare no expense :o) Today is a full moon (poya day), so shop opening hours and bus schedules are roughly equivalent to a Sunday. Fortunately, we had no trouble finding a local bus from Dalhousie to Hatton, from where we had to change to a new local bus to Kandy. Using the local buses is very easy and quick. They run frequently and people are good at helping us find the right bus for us. We are getting good at jumping on "on the fly". In total, it took about 4.5 hours to get there, and it cost Rs 90 per person. Yes, transportation is cheap in this country, but they also fill up the buses well. The stretch from Dalhousie is beautiful. You pass the big lake just outside the city, thousands of theme parks and beautiful mountains in the background. Kandy was the capital of the country until the British decided in 1815 that they wanted to control the whole country. Previously they had only controlled parts of the island. They changed the capital to Colombo, which is still the capital today. Kandy is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains, lots of trees and with a lake in the center of the city. Several hotels are located on a hillside overlooking the city and lake. It is highly recommended to stay up here. A 10-minute walk takes you back down to the city center. The "main street" between the lake and the clock tower is full of restaurants and bakeries where you can easily and cheaply satisfy your hunger. Here you can also find something other than the usual rice & curry that is so popular in the country. How about trying paratha or samosa... On a poya day, many Buddhists - and tourists - visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. In short, one of Buddha's teeth is kept here. It's only displayed every 4 years, so usually you only see the gold casket that holds the tooth. In 483 BC, the tooth was taken from the dead Buddha. It then traveled from India, smuggled in the hair of a princess to Sri Lanka, taken by the Indian army back to India, returned to Sri Lanka with the help of King Parakramabahu II, and carved by Portugal who burned the tooth. It is alleged that Portugal stole and burned a copy as the real one is kept in a safe place. Some also say that it is not the real tooth that can be seen in the temple... It is kept in a safe and secret place. The Main Market offers replica brands, souvenirs, kitchenware etc. It seems the vendors are very used to tourists as they are pushy. The selection is not impressive compared to counterfeit goods from other countries. This is the first place in this country where we have met so many beggars. Poor women, men with no arms and people with mysterious illnesses that make their heads grow wild. We bought bread for a woman. She put it in the bag and reached out her hand for money. Did she have a family back home that she wanted to share the food with or are they only interested in money?