In the morning, my host served up a sumptuous breakfast, made by the domestic help. I walked out to the main road and hopped onto a bus getting off at the lake shore rather than the city centre, so that I could walk the semi-perimeter. The fare was only 15 LKR.
A driver stopped and reversed, causing a bit of traffic blockage in the process and got my attention. I told him I wasn't local, thinking he wanted directions. Actually he was offering his chauffeur services. No luck with me.
The lake is lined with premium hotels that are in another price bracket. Maybe if I visit again, I'll enjoy some creature comforts.
Naturally, I encountered waterfowl.
A place to have egrets.
Sri Lanka is a birdwatcher's destination, particularly in the national parks.
A telephoto shot of the other side of the lake with the Temple of the Tooth in the background.
The artificial island.
The head of the lake and the buildings fronting it.
From here it was a short walk to the markets.
One part of the market is devoted to apparel and personal goods.
The produce section was more interesting to me. One of the walkways. Some traders tried to interest me in tea. I wasn't sure if they would pass quarantine and anyway I don't drink that much tea.
Spices I think, not sausages.
Grains and pulses.
Dried fish.
Confectionery.
Fruits.
Outdoor section, pineapples and bananas.
Bananas galore.
Colourful vegetables.
Large selection here.
Avocados were cheap from my point of view, about $1/kg, but none of the fruits I handled would ripen before I left Sri Lanka so I had to give up that idea.
The market entrance.
The clock tower in the town centre.
From here I wandered through several streets in the shopping district where mundane things were being sold. Then I lunched in a shopping centre and rejoined the lake on the north side.
I eventually decided that I wasn't that interested in the relic in the Temple of the Tooth to join the crowds, even though it's the top Buddhist attraction in Kandy.
So I took some pictures through the railing and continued my perambulation around the lake.
Part of the temple complex.
Nice views.
Yes, confirmed that it's an island.
Cormorant I think.
This pelican.
Don't look now, he's taking our picture.
At this point, a monkey ran towards me and tried to grab my shopping bag, which contained bananas and manioc chips. He missed but his claws poked holes in the bag. I've turned the incident into a cartoon.
Finally back to where I started.
I returned to the city along the southern side, bought some fruit and snacks, cooled off and had a coffee in the shopping centre. Then I had a late afternoon meal. A thunderstorm erupted after I finished, so I had to wait it out before hailing a tuk-tuk back to my lodgings.
After a shower (I took lots of those) and a nap I walked into town in search of lunch, to look at the market, and to get cash from an ATM. The market was a modest affair, selling produce, household goods and clothes.
Bananas were plentiful, of course. The varieties here are smaller than the Cavendish I'm used to but likely fresher because not transported long distances.
Cempedak can also be seen in a corner of this shot.
Papayas are also common. The most common fruit drinks were papaya, pineapple and mango.
A selection of colourful clothing.
The main street of Tangalle, a modest affair.
None of the ATMs I tried could dispense cash. Impossible to decipher from the messages what was wrong: communications error, card not accepted, insufficient cash, or any of many explanations.
I didn't have luck finding a decent place for lunch, and eventually settled on a bar-restaurant near the guesthouse. The fish curry was watery and had few pieces. Only the papadums saved the meal from being tasteless. Maybe the cook was a stand-in in the slow season.
In the evening I decided to dine at Cactus Lounge, inspite of it being a couple of km outside town. If walking back was too strenuous, I could always hail a tuk-tuk. The "lounge" was a modest affair, just 5 tables and a rudimentary kitchen near a beach. But the grilled prawns, salad and shoestring fries were quite good, though the sauce was on the salty side. This went down well with lime juice.
I ended up walking all the way back in the dark, aided by my smartphone torch. As a reward, I found an ATM, again of Commercial Bank, that dispensed cash. I also stopped at the supermarket again and bought a soursop and a couple of small mangoes. I saw a familiar brand, Kandos chocolate, that was once sold in Malaysia. I wondered how they could run a chocolate factory in a tropical country, you need a cool climate so the chocolate can easily solidify without refrigeration. The history on their website showed that they were founded in Kandy, in hill country. That explained it. The letters dos in the name are the initials of the founders.
