22.09. - Elephants 🐘 and Kandy

New day, new luck. Unfortunately, I still had to deal with back pain. However, as soon as we started moving, the pain subsided. So, we got up, got ready, and started the day. After asking about hot water the previous evening, we were finally able to take a warm shower. There was a separate switch for the water heater, which we had to figure out. So, we took a shower and then had breakfast. Shortly after 9 am, a little late as usual, we headed towards the Millennium Elephant Foundation, which was about 1 hour away from Kandy. When we arrived there, it was bustling with activity. Several tourist buses were unloading and we definitely weren't the only ones. As soon as we entered, we were offered the premium entry package with elephant riding. Since neither of us wanted to support it and it was advised against in many guidebooks, we declined. We also had the feeling of being ripped off as tourists. It was supposed to be a foundation for former working elephants or sick animals. Well, let's put the strict moralist aside for now. We opted for package 4, which included all the options except riding. A guide begrudgingly led us through the museum in 5 minutes, speaking a combination of English and German. We already felt rushed again. We then went to the feeding area, where you could buy a feeding tray for a fee of 200Rb. The elephants 🐘 looked really good and didn't have a "sad face" (glassy or very cloudy eyes) like you usually see in circuses. We bought a basket, which Stephan should feed first, as I had some respect for the pachyderms. So, I took photos of Stephan while feeding and quickly realized that it looked quite fun. So, after a short time, I said, "I want to do it too!". We switched positions and the basket was quickly empty. Now it was time for us to go to the bathing area, where the smallest elephant, Rooja, was already waiting. He was born and raised in this foundation with his mother. We took off our shoes and went into the warm river. The elephant was already in the river and I poured water over him and scrubbed/petted his back with the help of a coconut shell. He seemed to enjoy it, as he quickly started spraying water fountains in my direction with his trunk. Then we switched and it was Stephan's turn to give the pachyderm a proper 'rubdown'. But he spared him and just gave him a water shower. As a finale, both of us had a picture taken with the caregiver and the elephant, and we added a tip for the caregiver, and everyone was happy. After that, we took some time to explore the museum in more detail. We cleared up a few remaining questions we had. Lastly, we sat by the river for a few minutes and watched a French couple who were now bathing the elephant. She was very excited about it, and the caregiver had something special planned for her. When the elephant stood up, she sat on its back and was completely showered with water from its trunk. Not just once, but several times. It was very funny to watch, and she wasn't mad about it either. We bought a small wooden elephant and left the foundation. Next door, we visited a paper factory that made paper from elephant dung. Almost everything was done by hand with a little help from machines. The manufacturing process was very informative. The factory manager showed us everything and explained a lot. Many young women were employed in this factory, and when asked if they ever switch positions, the answer was "No". That means everyone does what they are supposed to do and doesn't take on tasks of others. We saw this as perfect assembly line work. Well... different countries, different customs. The products were very well made, and we couldn't resist buying a calendar and a note box for 10€. Okay, it's for the women and the elephants (hopefully). When we got back to our driver, we continued our journey towards Kandy. On the way, we suddenly stopped at a jewelry store. Oh no, here comes the sales event. Okay, we went along with it. So, we went into the store and immediately they showed us an ancient video about gem mining in Sri Lanka. Then we were guided through the sales room and annoyed by the salesperson. Soon enough, we had enough and said no to everything and left. Back in the car, it only took 5 minutes and we were in front of the next store. Here you can see woodcraft and buy something if you want. This was the final straw for Stephan. We didn't want that, and Stephan made it quite unfriendly clear to our guide. Finally, we headed towards downtown Kandy. As announced before, Linda needed shoes! At the largest shopping center in town near Lake Kandy, our driver dropped us off in shopper's paradise. We had 2 hours to explore everything and find the desired object, new shoes. So, we went into the center and started searching. It was very maze-like and not very organized. Well, on the second floor, we found the first shoe stores. The result was, maximum size 7 (39-40), unfortunately a bit too small for me. So, the topic was already on the verge of being discarded, when we found a store called "Glitzer" (Glitter). It was like a department store, and in the shoe department, they had shoes in the right size and style. Hooray, mission accomplished! Additionally, we bought two Sri Lanka shirts in XXL for Micha and Stephan, but they turned out to be much smaller. On the upper floor, we had a snack at Burger King, which was not very cheap compared to other places. After that, we visited Lake Kandy, which was artificially created in front of the Tooth Temple. We didn't find it particularly special, but it was okay. We had 30 minutes left, so we wanted to quickly buy ice cream from the supermarket. This ended up taking up all of our time. The cash register hardly recognized any items, and the staff was not the quickest. I helped with packing and stored water and cookies in the bag and took the ice cream in my hand, which was quickly devoured outside the center. Almost on time, we walked to our driver who was waiting for us in the parking lot. We considered whether a visit to the Tooth Temple made sense. He said it's only worth it if you go for the ceremony because that's the only time you get access to the golden stupa where the tooth is kept. Since it didn't fit our schedule, we decided against it and instead drove to the Buddha statue on the opposite mountain. For a small fee, we took some pictures and were able to climb up the back of the Buddha statue almost all the way to the top. From there, we had a comprehensive view over Kandy. After taking a few pictures, we went back to the car and drove through the city past the prison and up one of the many hills. There was another viewpoint overlooking the city. Now we had successfully passed the time until the "Kandy Dance", a traditional but very touristy dance performance. The show took place in a relatively old theater, and the dancers were not the youngest or most attractive, but they were full of enthusiasm. We don't really have a traditional dance in Germany, do we? We found the show somewhat amusing and entertaining. After the show, there was a fire dance, and then we drove back to our lake hotel, completely exhausted. The lovely housekeeper had cooked a delicious meal again, and for dessert, we had ice cream. After that, we wrote our reports and fell asleep listening to an audiobook.