Day 4 - Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

Sri Lanka is world famous for their train system and beautiful countryside, so we originally planned to take the train from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya.  This morning we changed up those plans to visit the Temple of the Tooth.  This shrine is a reliquary for a left tooth of Buddha, discovered in the ashes after his cremeation.  It reminded me of seeing the crown jewels.  It was very crowded with a lot of sensory input and a long line.  We got a glimpse into the sanctuary where the tooth is kept and then swept along.  The new sanctuary had paintings explaining the long history of the ownership of the tooth and the museum offered related artifacts. The context and relative calm were helpful. We enjoyed a walk around the botanical garden before lunch at a roadside restaurant that Sunda recommended.  Tea is big here, with vast plantations.  We visited one near our evening  destination and revelled in the cool weather so high up in the mountains.  Nuwara Eliya sits at 1868 meters.  We are dinner at a Thai restaurant at the Grand Hotel which looks like an old English colonial era hotel (because it was one -  built in 1827)  Our hotel, the ramp, was a few blocks away, was a modern B&B with our first working TV of the trip!  We caught a few minutes of The Titanic before bed.

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