Kandy

Very often I am asked by people why I like Kandy so much, sometimes they put the question the other way around, when they ask, why I hate Colombo. Its pretty hard to explain to a person who has not been there, but on the other hand I don't have to explain this to a person who had lived there.

Kandy lake at sunset

The reasons cover the entire spectrum of human life, starting from the people, climate, surroundings and the list goes on. People from Colombo never fail to question, "so why aren't you being in Kandy?". But then the only weakness of Kandy is that its not a commercial hub, so to make a living most people opt to go to other places. But they still live with found memories of the times they had there and never fail to go back to Kandy at every given chance.

Colours at the Kandy lake

I just made this comparison, out of those who come from different parts of the country to work in Colombo its the people who had lived in Kandy who make sure they rush back there whenever given a chance, just go on a Friday to the fort railway station or the bus stand you would see it, its only the queue to Kandy is crowded , where as others rather tend to stay back as they doesn't seem to see much differences between staying in Colombo and their hometown.

Kandy lake (on extreme left and extreme right) and Kadugannawa in the middle

I am sure, I am going to get some critical comments from some people of Colombo (btw how do u call them colombians? ), bring it on I am ready to face the music.

Read my past post in taking a train journey too, http://balagowri.blogspot.com/2010/01/train-ride-from-kandy-to-colombo.html

Digana

Himalayan Heights - hSenid Certified Trekkers at Sarankot

Just after having lunch, we packed up our backpacks and started off on the hike to Sarankot. The ascend was very smooth, we took breaks, Krishna bought a bag of oranges and we ate them on the way. While ascending we could see alot of people paragliding from the peak and taking a ride all the way up to the Pokhara lake.

Sarankot over looking the Pokhara lake

We went and checked into a small lodge at the peak, the range was very cloudy and the hopes of seeing the sunset over the himalayan range was fading. We decided to make our way to the peak and sit there and see whatever thats visible. We reached the view point at the top. While waiting for the clouds to clear we were talking to an old couple from Finland. While we were freezing in the cold weather, they told us that its a perfect summer day for them and its "hot" when compared to the -40 during the winter. Next like any typical Finish they started the nokia boasting session, later on H commented, they sounded like the owners of Nokia. Thanks to apple we could make some fun out of them, this prompted them to tell us, "you know nokia is working a secret project to build a rival to iphone". Lets wait and see how informed they were?!

Sarankot sun set

Slowly the clouds started to clear and each peak teased its way to brightness. A feeling of real sense of joy rushed into the system. It was turning out to be memorable. The beauty of the annapoorna range was beyond comparison.

Holy Mountain

The holy mountain also referred as the fish tail was majestic and it had a sense of attraction. No wonder many had tried in vain to conquer its peak and fallen in the process. It looked really mysterious and was a monument of curiosity. It was beyond comparison when a guy standing there was explaining and ranking most of those peaks in the worlds highest list. The sunset was glorious the colours over the range changed to different shades, peaked and then faded into darkness.

Sun set colours

We went to the lodge, and was forced to have the dinner in lamp light. Dinner today was a bit more special it was served with spirits and the usual joy of being the non-spirited at a spirited place and listening to all the scoops didn't happen as expected. These guys were pretending and the poaching happened on the non-spirited. It doesn't always go according to plans :D

Sun rise colours

Then we slept at almost a make shift place and woke up to make it to the view point in time for the sun rise. The place was crowded and then when the sun rose from the east the light was falling on the annapoorna range on the west. The rays falling on it gave almost an effect of slowly unveiling the himalayas for us. It was almost a spiritual experience to have seen the sun rise. I have taken pics of sunrise in many countries, but this was beyond comparison, It was indeed a once in a life time experience, you wouldn't feel like making a decline, the feeling was beyond comprehension, you feel the world would stop and allow you to be there and let you admire the beauty of nature. A feeling of eternal satisfaction embraced the soul.


After the sunrise, we had a modeling session, and we managed to take the cover page for Harsha's autobiography and the other person it was a picture for the matrimonial advertisement :D

Autobiography pic

Then we make made the descend downhill. It was faster. In the next episode it will Devi's fall and Street festival.

Valley as seen from Sarankot