Travels of the Three Kingdoms in Sri Lanka (Part 3) From Ragama to Kandy

Kandy Railway Station

Kandy Post Office

The next day, we got up early in the morning and started a tuk-tuk trip with the hotel owner . This is the part that Ms. Liu still remembers. The reason why she never forgets it is not because of how enjoyable it was, but because she... , I couldn’t help but laugh as I wrote this, leaving some suspense and reading on.

Small museums along the way

The first stop was a small hill. Saranga and another tour guide took us up the mountain. There were many different Buddha statues along the way up the mountain. The tour guide told us the story of Sakyamuni's enlightenment based on the Buddha statues along the way.

Climbing to the top of the mountain, there is a white temple that is being repaired nearby. There are many ancient murals inside. It is a pity that the stories about the temple and the Buddha statues that I heard at that time have been forgotten. I wish I could change my mind every time I travel. Be more knowledgeable, but after all, it is just a good wish.

After leaving this hilly area, we came to a large tea garden. Saranga first took us to visit the tea garden, and then took us to a tea processing factory, where there are various tea making techniques.

Of course, after visiting and tasting tea, it is inevitable to buy some tea to go back to. The tea processing factory is crowded with Chinese tourists, and most of them are carrying several large boxes of tea to take back. Every time you can witness the strong purchasing power of the Chinese people in places like this.

The salesperson kept explaining to us in broken Chinese what gold tea is, what silver tea is, what black tea is, and what green tea is. I was confused and thought that the sales here are really good at selling tea.

As for me, I finally bought three small boxes of tea, keeping two boxes for myself, and planning to send the other box to Dave. The rhythm of guiding consumption began with the tea garden.

Processed tea with tea ingredients

I bought three boxes of tea and took N photos

At noon, we went to a local farmhouse for self-service. Generally speaking, 200 rupees per person was not a big deal. The store owner was quite conscientious, and the little girl happily took a photo with us.

A photo with the girl from the farmhouse

The only photo of the herbal garden—medicinal pineapple

The fun really started in the afternoon. Ms. Liu will definitely hold me and talk about this for several years.

Our first stop in the afternoon was the herbal garden. It sounded harmless to humans and animals. An "expert" lying on a rocking chair in the herbal garden saw us coming and quickly got up to introduce us to various herbal medicines in the garden. Some of them were common but not very common. I don’t know if they have medicinal uses, but some of them are plants unique to Sri Lanka. I listened and translated for Ms. Liu. Next, the "expert" showed us a magical ointment, which can be applied on the arm. After a few seconds, the hair will be removed by wiping it with paper. Ms. Liu and I were stunned.

Seeing us like this, after introducing the plants in the herbal garden, the "experts" led us into a small room filled with bottles and jars of herbal products. They enthusiastically promoted these Sri Lankan "miraculous medicines" to me, which I had heard about for a long time. Sri Lanka’s herbal medicines are very famous and bear the name of Buddha, so naturally we were convinced. Because my mother has a hemangioma, I hope that there will be suitable medicine that can help cure the hemangioma. The "expert" recommended a large bottle of medicine that I didn't know what it was, saying that it would be very helpful. The bottle costs 4,000 rupees. I heard it was helpful and bought a bottle without thinking. Ms. Liu was fascinated by the aloe vera cream recommended by the "expert". She applied a little on her hands and looked in the mirror and felt very good. The "expert" said that after using it for a long time, she would become "just like a queen." , Miss Liu covered her mouth and laughed when she heard "just like a queen", and immediately bought a set of money. I remember that it cost about 8,000 rupees to buy a set. At that time, it seemed that the rupees were not enough, and the "experts" said that if we don't have enough, we can use RMB to make up for it. I was shocked at the time. The RMB is so strong and is used in Sri Lanka. Ms. Liu probably didn't expect that in addition to making tuk-tuks, she would have to spend extra money, so Didn't prepare much cash either.

We were stabbed by one person like this. I did it for medical treatment, and Ms. Liu did it for beauty. These two mentalities are probably common among people in the world. Let me spoil the final fate of the large bottle of unknown Chinese herbal medicine and the out-of-print aloe vera cream in advance. In the end, Ms. Liu went all the way to help me bring my human flesh back to China. My mother saw that this thing has no shelf life. Is there any estimate? What are the ingredients and the brand? They said I was going to poison her, so she didn’t drink it and threw it away. As for Miss Liu's aloe vera cream, it didn't take long to dry up. Many years later, when Miss Liu thinks about the dried aloe vera cream and what the experts said was "just like a queen", she can grit her teeth and scold me, and then laugh out loud. laugh.

Miss Liu spreads her wings

After leaving the herbal garden, we came to the Jialan Buddha Statue, which is a famous local giant Buddha. When we get to the giant Buddha, we must take off our shoes and cannot wear sleeveless clothes. The administrator there also gave me a particularly feminine purple silk The scarf is draped over the body. I checked some guides on the Internet today, and it was said that the White Buddha only looks more impressive from a distance, but in reality it is not worth seeing. In fact, it is not as unbearable as imagined.

The Big Buddha is still very majestic when viewed up close. With the sunshine at that time, it really feels like the Buddha's light is shining all over the place. There is also a watchtower near the Big Buddha, where you can see the panoramic view of Kandy. Miss Liu and I climbed up to overlook Kandy. The feeling is still very good.

View of Kandy from the watchtower

The next stop was a gem museum, and it was another place that made Ms. Liu shed tears. Girls are full of yearning for beautiful things. No matter how tough Ms. Liu is, she can’t control her money when she sees these bling bling things. bag. Ceylon is rich in gemstone resources and is one of the five largest gemstone producers in the world. It is known as the "Gemstone Island". Historically, Sri Lanka’s gem and jade practitioners often accounted for 1/3 of the country’s population, and the southern 2/3 of the island was rich in cyan or colorless sapphires.

We first visited and learned about the process of mining and polishing gemstones. Of course, this was all foreplay. In the end, Ms. Liu and I were taken to the store upstairs, where the counter was filled with colorful gemstones. When I saw it, I really wanted to buy one for my mother, and then I called my mother. My mother said: "No, don't waste money. That's it, hang up!" I just guessed. Seeing this result, she gave up the idea. At this time, Ms. Liu was already trying to wear them one by one. Looking at herself in the mirror wearing colorful gems, she felt that she wanted them all, but she was short of money. In order not to be spoiled later, I can only choose one with a moderate price.

The salesman looked at Miss Liu and seemed to have found a gem. He said in broken Chinese: "This is aquamarine, very beautiful, very beautiful!" You can imagine the scene, Miss Liu was overjoyed again, and after some bargaining, she lowered the price from 20,000 rupees to 15,000 rupees. Miss Liu counted the money in her wallet, gritted her teeth and said, "I want it!" The salesperson took out the POS machine with a smile and gave it to Miss Liu to swipe. The moment she swiped the card, she was doomed to be in dire straits. Finally, Aquamarine gave her a necklace. Miss Liu put it on excitedly and said, "Let's go!"

Many years later, Miss Liu looked at the rusty chain and lamented that there was nothing wrong with the gems. Why was the chain so inferior?

The last stop was a relatively famous Dutch hotel in Sri Lanka. I don’t know whether it is really famous or not, at least that’s what Saranga said. There is an old-fashioned and weird atmosphere here which is quite unique. There are various black and white photos from the last century hung up, and as you go deeper, there are bats hiding in the darkness.

If we live there, we probably can’t afford it, but it’s okay to walk around and look around. We ordered the cheapest soda pop, which can be considered as a contribution to the place. After a day of heavy bleeding, we didn’t dare to buy anything else. We had to use this place as our photo shooting location.

In the next article, I will talk about how we met some Israeli girls and went to Lion Rock together, and how we were forced to go with Jack and ikoomi to a small town near Galle Fort and take a bus to Galle Fort. , crazy photos will bring a perfect ending to the memories of Sri Lanka!