Day 5 - Welcome to Kandy Land

Fun and Games at the markets of Kandy

A sleep in is always nice, but it did mean that we were saying goodbye to the luxurious Amaya Lake Hotel. After a couple of the boys had some of their possessions handed back to them by hotel staff (an unfortunate trend that seems to be developing among the tourists). 

The fines from players for their indiscretions on tour so far.

We all got on the bus ready for a two hour ride as promised by our guide, Ravi. On to the Matale Spice gardens and with some driving that would have made Daniel Riccardo sit up and take notice, Damindah our driver had us there in one hour.

Dr. Merven wondering if we can get Damindah to drive the Barker Northern Beaches bus.

Some in the group thought that this experience may hold no interest or relevance. However, the knowledge that was dispensed by our guide on health, cooking and general interest will hold the tourists in good stead when they leave the nest in 15-20 years. The highlight for the group was tasting the vanilla and cocoa infused tea (aka Milo) and then the shoulder, neck and arm massages with some infamous red oil. Some presents were purchased for parents and it was onto the road to Kandy. A quick stop for some tourists to buy some ‘genuine’ Polo shirts and some of SL’s famous elephant pants. Coach Toth thought he’d treat Mrs. Toth to a genuine Burberry handbag until a staff member quoted a non-negotiable price of 750 USD… Coach Merven bought 2.

The unfortunately named elephant pants - just 800 rupees.

You could see we were close with the build-up of traffic and increased use of car horns. Kandy is the largest city in central SL and is set on a plateau surrounded by mountains. Its population of 125 000 seemed like a lot more when we disembarked the bus and were given an hour to have lunch and test our bargaining skills at the markets. Some did well (Coach Toth bagged some classy golf shorts for 300 rupees) while others may have been taken for a ride (Ryan paid 1600 for his ‘real Mike’ slides and Coach Thomlinson actually had the price doubled on him for a SL cricket shirt – true story).

Who are those three good looking roosters by Kandy Lake?

Local vendors helping the tourists with their cricketing skills.

The group had to alight the big bus and hop into mini’s to reach the hotel, high in the hills of Kandy. The tight windy road made the squeamish jump around a little, but the Amaya Hills hotel proved worth it (as can been seen from the pics). After checking in, a swim, some table tennis, team meeting and dinner followed. The boys are anxious to prove themselves against the might of St. Anthony’s tomorrow.

Balcony view from the Thomlinson suite (and every student's room as well...)