Our base of operations, The Lanka Supercorals.	Climbing an old water tower...	...to get an overview of the town.	Hikkaduwa's busy town centre.
It was April, actually.	George VI ruled 1936-1952...	...so the central Post Office seemed a safer bet.	Elections were held during our stay, and political rallies were noisy.
One could get used to breakfasting on the beach.	Food was available in any price bracket...	...like these delicious garlic prawns at Lady Hill in Galle.	Building is done with local technology and materials.
In the afternoon, a pleasant stroll on the "jungle side" of town.	A nice lake is within walking distance. Spelling tends to be fairly liberal in Sri Lanka.	The heat can be rather exhausting for Europeans.	There was no crowding on the beach.
This miner will hardly get much of the profits...	...when Ceylon's legendary blue moonstones change hands.	Traditional boats made from mango-tree trunks are widely used.	The old Dutch fort at Galle is a World Heritage site.
Many Lankese are said to be superstitious about photography, but these monks were happily taking pictures of each other.	Presumably the crime rate is low.	The myriads of temples often display moral lessons in sculpture groups.	The west coast was surprisingly badly hit by the tsunami in 2004.
A passing train was washed off the rails.	1270 passengers died. And 249 "villages" - another characteristic typo.	Unlike the Swedish, the Lankese don't fear being reminded of their mortality. The wrecked train is on display at Hikkaduwa station.	The moment we got on the train inland, the monsoon hit the west coast. When it rains, it pours. Here we change trains in Colombo.
The railroad to Kandy passes through a very scenic landscape.	At the stations, hawkers offered everything from coconuts to colouring books.	The Olde Empire, our hotel in Kandy, had a distinctly colonial atmosphere.	Every self-respecting Buddhist temple must have a Bo tree, which is revered and ceremonially watered.
Priests and monks guard the sacred eye tooth of Buddha. The incessant drumming adds an exotic touch when you are sitting on the 150 years old verandah of your hotel...	...eating a ripe durian fruit and watching the monkeys scurry about on the roofs. By the way, the stench of the durian is not as bad as rumour has it, nor is the taste so very delicious.	It seems that everyone who owns a typewriter automatically is a lawyer or notary public.	Herbal medicine is held in very high esteem in Sri Lanka. However, this plant was not for sale.
A drive-in elephant wash on the road to Perawala.	Elephants are very fond of water and bathe every day if they can.	But most of the time they are just hanging around, unless they are made to work.	I would have to be desperately ill to even consider visiting this crummy clinic.
It is surprisingly difficult to get good tea in Ceylon - the local taste dictates a bitter brew mixed with milk. This shop in Kandy had good stuff, though.	Sri Lanka is the Buddhists' Vatican state. Even the Hindu temples have Buddha statues.	Kali represents a fearsome aspect of Hinduism, but other gods in the same temple prefer sacrifices of candy bars wrapped in flowers.	In the Sinharaja rain forest, trees and roots grow to strange shapes.
The Peradeniya Botanical Gardens were founded in the year 1371. Trees have had time to grow big.	The first cosmonaut, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, is one of very many celebrities who have visited the gardens.	In this artificially sharpened image of a tombstone in the old Kandy cemetary, you can read "Killed by an elephant".