Aurora - Singapore to Cape Town 4

Thursday 24 March – Colombo, Sri Lanka

We had a private tour booked for Colombo so we had to rise very early and be ready to leave the ship as soon as it was cleared – around 7am.

After a quick breakfast we went down to the Deck 4 gangway  to await the clearance announcement but were asked to go up a deck until they were ready. On the dockside our guide was waiting for us and our friends soon joined us. We squeezed into a Nissan people carrier - where I soon discovered my feet are too big and I had to sit sideways all day!

Cacao pods

Our first stop was at an Ayurvedic garden where a doctor showed us the plants and we all got a free massage - back and neck for me – in the hope of selling us the products. I did by a couple of items. Then it was back in the bus where, due to high traffic the guide decided to take us to Kandy first. Apparently today, as well as being a Saturday, had been declared an auspicious day to get married! We drove for three or more hours through villages and larger towns.

I can understand why some people hate the Indian subcontinent for its dirt, heat and dust but I found the whole route fascinating.  The traffic was horrendous, even my Thai friend was appalled!! Three lanes of traffic on a two-lane road, including a wild mix of tuktuks and buses, cars and motorbikes, all interweaving through each other. There was even a full-grown elephant being led along the road at one point.

 

We crossed the Colombo to Kandy railway several times, and eventually arrived in this city of pilgrimage. We set off walking into the temple complex. Before entering the Temple of the Tooth we had to remove our shoes and leave them at the entrance kiosk. The paving was scalding hot despite being regularly hosed down, and I was glad to be wearing socks – others had bare feet! We had been warned before leaving the ship that the temperature was forecast to reach 41c and tarmac might melt.

Once in the Buddhist complex it was cooler. We walked up and down steps, along corridors and through anti-rooms, among people offering flowers. We were told to remove our hats and never turn our backs to the Buddha.
 

Lunch venue

Back to the car and to a nice hotel with restaurant for lunch, where I had a Sri Lankan omelette. Next to a gem factory where, naturally, my friend and I bought sapphire rings each (silver with a grey star sapphire for me)!!

Then we faced the long drive back to Pinnawala and my highlight of the trip - the famous elephant orphanage. The guide was reluctant to take us there at all by now as it was getting late but we insisted - fortunately Aurora was staying in port until late that evening. We finally arrived but sadly it was not what I expected. we had missed the elephants walking down to the lake to bathe and those we did see were chained up for the night - we were told adolescent males needed restraining or they would be off after females! I did pick up a branch and hand feed a young elephant, although he didn’t think much of my offering and tossed it aside!

It was a very long drive back on a different route through rice paddies and villages till we reached a motorway, arriving at the ship at 8.10pm. On the way the guide pointed out a partial eclipse of the moon. My friend shot off to look at dockside stalls while I returned for a desperately needed shower. After dinner, we just managed to catch the final 30 mins of local dance groups performing on board before falling into bed. We sailed at 11.30 pm.