I was in Kandy for one year stint as an expatriate in year 1998. Kandy is a small, serene and hilly city with a big man-made lake in the center. Its climate is perfectly nice for me. Ooops..Tamil Tiger suicide bombers bombed the temple of the tooth few days before I arrived at the city.

Kandy is like Mecca to Muslim, a holy city visited by many Buddhist worshippers especially on 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar. The rooftop of the temple is coated with the gold sheet.

The annual grand parade or processing in somewhere June or July is an unforgettable event, not found in other part of this world. Singhalese dancers in traditional gears performing traditional dance and music in acrobatic movement to entertain bystanders and a platoon of elephants carrying Buddha tooth is truly eye-opening experience. This grand processing usually last for three long weeks!

Wesak day is a big celebration day to Singhalese people. Almost every house is decorated with lantern made from the bamboo and white paper.

Kandy botanical garden is a beautiful and magnificent tropical garden. Watch out for the countless of fruit bats hanging upside down on the treetop. Bad thing is foreigners need to pay 10 times more entrance fee than local folks.

Bull carts and elephants are still a mode of transport to some local people. Don't be panic when you see elephant is blocking your four wheels car. Lastly, I hope my friends in Sri Lanka can email me and keep in touch.

By NKKhoo

Malaysia