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I took a local bus from Sigiriya to Kandy, which took me around 3 hours. It was a chicken bus ride with no AC, but I still had an enjoyable time looking out the window and observing the locals. Some people on the bus were also travelers, so I felt safe. I paid only 290 lkr ($0.98 USD) for the entire 3 hour journey! It was extremely cheap!
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Kandy
Similar to Colombo, Kandy was a bustling big city. I spent one full day in Kandy to explore the area. I was originally planning to hike the Knuckles or go on a short hike nearby, but I was told leeches can attack people during the rainy season, so I spent a full day in the city. I had a busy day while I was in Kandy since I only had one day to explore AND most importantly, I volunteered the day to create online content for City View Hostel Kandy as a volunteer with Worldpackers. As a work exchange, the host provided accommodation during my stay in Kandy.
Snippets of Kandy through my eyes!
Duties as a Volunteer
My role was to help create a post on Instagram about the city of Kandy so that the hostel I volunteered for (The City View Hostel) could gain more visitors. I spent a day exploring the city on my own and then took photos, and videos of me talking about the locations/landmarks I visited so that I could post on the hostel's Instagram stories later on. Luckily, it was not raining, so I was able to get good photos and explore the city with ease. I went to the Central Market in Kandy, then headed to the Kandy Lake, saw the temple, and explored downtown Kandy. It was nice to check out the Ayurvedic Pharmacy (they sell spices, supplements, etc. ) and the spices/herb shop.
Connecting with the Host
Manoj, the hostel manager, was my host! He was really kind and warm-hearted person. I arrived in the evening, but he was generous to show me around the city a bit so I knew where to explore the next day. We also took time to explore the oldest hotel in Kandy (Queen's Hotel) and dropped by the hotel's tea shop. Manoj told me about tips and tricks on how to order plain tea and we spent some time talking about things, which was great!
Manoj showed me the Queen's Hotel museum and we grabbed tea afterwards at the hotel's tea place.
Although I only spent two nights in Kandy (one full day), I had a great time exploring the city under the guidance of the local host that I met, and it was so easy to connect with Manoj while getting to know the city better. It would have been nice if I could have hiked the Knuckles, but still staying in the city was wonderful too. Kandy had so much to offer, from temples, the nature, city views, etc., and I loved how unique the city was. It was a quick stopover, but definitely worth visiting in Sri Lanka!
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