Madurai in Tamil Nadu to Colombo, Sri Lanka

We'd enjoyed our stay at the Heritage Madurai and what we'd seen of this busy, vibrant city over our short stay.

But our next exotic adventure was awaiting us so we boarded our Air Sri Lanka flight around 3.30pm yesterday and it seemed like no time at all (55 minutes max) and we'd arrived at Colombo Airport, Sri Lanka. 

The beautiful old Galle (sounds like gawl) Face Hotel in Colombo is a destination in itself. Founded by the British colonisers in 1864 they say it is one of the oldest hotels east of Suez.

There was great excitement on our arrival due to the presence of Prince Edward (Earl of Wessex) and Countess Sophie.They are here for the Independence day celebrations and are staying at the hotel. Last night I caught a glimpse of the Prince standing in the reception area of the hotel's fancy dining room (but closed for the night to other guests).

This is where we had breakfast this morning - facing the Indian Ocean (but no sign of the Prince).

Our guide and driver for Sri Lanka gave us a brief tour of the old part of the city this morning. The traffic made it difficult because preparations for Independence Day on the 4th February have meant there are big contingents of the army and navy lining the streets, practising for the big processions planned for the holiday.

Fittingly, our first stop was the Independence Memorial Hall, located at Independence Square in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. The monument commemorates Sri Lanka's independence from British rule (4th February 1948). Our guide told us it fell into disrepair during the Civil War years, but since the war ended in 2009 a lot of restoration work has been done. It looks very well cared for today - indeed the whole city looks modern, clean and full of construction sites and new developments (a lot are funded by the Chinese government apparently).

 The statue is of the first prime minister of independent Sri Lanka "the father of the nation".

 After battling a few more traffic gridlocks our next stop was the 120 year old Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple, which we found quite an eccentric place - part tourist attraction, a place of worship as well as being a place of learning - and a hoarder's paradise - very unusual .....

 One of the beautiful entry moonstones of this temple ......

 The sacred Bodhi Tree ....

The monks at this temple have collected a huge array of artifacts, precious objects and kitschy junk. It's fun to look at in small doses but they badly need a Buddhist friendly hoarder therapist!

 This Buddha is made of a solid piece of emerald, coated in gold (a gift from Thailand).

 Some street scenes taken from our Toyota van..........

 The streets were lined with beautifully maintained weaponry and well kitted out soldiers - in preparation for the Independence Day celebrations.

 Back at the hotel, facing towards the Galle Face Green we watched as one of the Police Force elephants was loaded onto a lorry, having played its part in the parade rehearsals ........

 It was lovely to have most of the afternoon to enjoy this beautiful hotel ...........

A day in Madurai

After our late night at the temple last night it was a bit of a stretch to be up and on the move at 5.30am this morning for a guided walking tour around the small laneways of the old city.  We had to get going this early (before sunrise) to see some pretty special sights..... 

This is when the women of the household prepare their front entries with special drawings (Kolams). They use a loose white powder and no brushes - all free hand. The drawings are supposed to bring prosperity to the household and keep the women's minds and bodies agile!!

These busy laneways also support a large population of cows and goats. They're milked early in the morning and allowed to roam the streets during the day, amongst all the traffic and the city mayhem.

 We watched this lovely lady milk her goat into two tin cups and deliver them (immediately) to the men in this fruit shop. Talk about fresh and warm!

 There is a strong coffee culture here - small cups of sweet frothy milk coffee drunk standing up Italian style! We joined the throngs of men (mainly) and enjoyed a hot spicy donut with our coffees as an early morning pick me up.

 Our walking tour included the early morning market streets ......

 A favourite haunt of the foraging cows ......

 Beautiful sandalwood oil .........

And how to move a mountain of chillies .....

We had a short break and a shower back at the hotel before heading out for our next tour - back to the Meenakshi Temple for a good look in the light of day.

This pic is of just one of its four main gate towers .........

 People like to take garlands of flowers into the temple to make offerings to the many Hindu gods and goddesses.

 Visitors to the temple use these powders to mark the centre of their foreheads - to help them focus their prayerful thoughts. Red denotes prosperity.

 It seems like a joyful place. People are happy and excited and they sit in the temple in family groups and eat snacks and take selfies. Lots of the locals want to take our photo too (especially of Sophie - can't think why)!

 Then time for marsala chai, a delicious samosa (or two) and our pick of Indian sweets - giving us just enough energy to embark on the next round of sightseeing .......

 All this food was ridiculously cheap: There are just under 50 rupees to the AUS dollar so those samosas were about 26 cents each. My box of hand made sweets cost about $2.40.

Madurai also has a royal palace - erected in the 1600s by the very enlightened king Thirumalai Nayak. Only the central part of the original much larger palace remains standing today.

 We admired the fusion of Islamic, Hindu and Roman styles .........

 Last stop was the busy fresh flower market in the newer south side of Madurai city.  The flowers all seemed destined to be temple offerings (just like in Bali).

 Sophie was popular in the flower market too!

 I loved the way these two women had "whispered" their chooks to be so well behaved in amongst all the mayhem of the market (they really aren't dead chooks, just sitting there all broody).

It was a big day for us hardy tourists - but one that revealed some of the magic of this amazing city - so glad we've seen it!