Thursday, February 13, 2014

The tooth of Sri Lanka

Kandy is up in the mountains of Sri Lanka. Not sure I like it much -  lots of traffic, bus diesel fumes, and very narrow sidewalks with fences on the sides so cars aren't bothered by human obstacles. They clearly don't want pedestrians.

But otherwise Sri Lanka feels like India 2.0. Much cleaner, far more organized, neater buildings, no visible poverty (so far), almost no honking. These people even blink their indicator lights before turning! That would be absurd in India.

Kandy does have a tooth, and a huge beautiful temple built to house the tooth. You can't actually see the tooth, it's enshrined in gold vessels which are also hidden from view. It is said that whoever has the tooth, rules Sri Lanka. You are not allowed to have your photo taken in front of the tooth. The tooth, you see, is Buddha's, saved from his funeral pyre.