SRI LANKA, BEAUTIFUL GARDENS and MORE, Part 1: A Guest Post by Susan Kean

Sri Lanka, Buddhist Temple.

My friend Susan Kean and her partner George went on a trip to Sri Lanka in March, touring the island country with a focus on plants and gardens. Susan has graciously shared her impressions and photos with The Intrepid Tourist. Thank you, Susan! Her report is in two parts. The second half will post next week.

We arrived at Colombo airport, Sri Lanka on a Sunday afternoon on a direct flight from Heathrow. We were a little late as the plane detoured around the airspace over Iran, etc.

Muthurajawela Mangrove Reserve

Our first experience was a boat trip a mangrove area to look at the plants and wild life.

There are just four of us in the group! The next morning we packed up and drove (they drive on the left) about two hours to Sigiriya in a beautiful national park area. 

We saw various monkeys chasing around the vegetation, which is very lush with all kinds of interesting trees and flowers.

Sigiriya Rock

We walked around the bottom of the Sigiriya rock, a fortress built in 477 AD. It is 1000 steps to the top. We decided to leave that climb until the next time!

View of the Knuckles Mountains.

We then spent two nights in Kandy. It is in higher country and we enjoyed magnificent views, interesting flowers and extraordinary butterflies in large numbers.

We visited a spice farm and learned how nutmeg, cloves, cardamom grow. Spices are a big industry in these parts.

Labyrinth in the Royal Botanic Garden.

The water lily is the Sri Lanka national flower.

Flower of the Cannon Ball tree. Fruits are about the size of coconuts. We are seeing lots of them too.

We spent time in the Royal Botanic Garden and saw all kinds of plants, many familiar to California gardeners

Flowers are presented at the shrine of the Buddha's tooth.

Lastly we were taken on a tour of the Buddhist Temple and learned about the Buddhist faith. We took our shoes off and hats to walk through.

Buddhist Temple.

The colors of the flag represent the five ethical guidelines of Buddhism. Respect life, Abstain from theft and fraud, refrain from sexual misconduct, speak with honesty, and do not get intoxicated. Summarized as the path to a successful life is through wisdom, ethical conduct and mental discipline.

Part 2 will post next week.