Today I arrived in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Now unlike candy, which is sweet and lovely, this place leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I was here five minutes and I already didn’t like this place. Kandy was suggested to me by, let’s see…. oh yeah, everyone!! Every tuk-tuk driver, local Sri Lankan, or fellow traveler I have met has told me to go to Kandy. I’m here, but where’s the sweet treat at the end of this suppose of rainbow.

I arrived here late in the day because of a late start in a Negombo and a long, bumpy and windy three-hour bus ride into the mountains of Sri Lanka. After I slowly regained blood flow to my legs from the trip, I went out in search of my guesthouse.

My first choice was closed, so I found another reasonably priced place. It wasn’t as bad as the place in Negumbo but it surely comes in second. I didn’t want to deal with trying to find a third place so I just decided to stay.

A street vendor in Kandy, Sri Lanka

I’m extremely tiered today and I’m really starting to feel the effects of all my travels. I’m sore and mentally worn out and I think I just need to plant my self in one spot for a little bit and just rest. However, I’m not sure if Kandy is the place to do it. I plan to stay here a few days but we’ll see.

After I unpacked and freshen up a bit, I walked down into the town to find some dinner. I passed all the venders cooking meals for locals in the alleys and headed for the restaurant called the Muslim House Hotel, which isn’t a hotel at all. I have read that this is the best place in town and have been looking forward to eating here since I have arrived in Sri Lanka. When I arrived I found a table and asked for a menu.

I’m still learning the food here but I knew I wanted to stay away from curry which I have eaten bucket loads of since I have arrived here. I ended up choosing the chicken marsala dish and anxiously waited. My meal arrived and within two bites I was shooting fire out of every hole in my head. It was so damn hot and spicy!! I instantly got a headache and wondered if I brought my Tums on this trip. As I sat and waited for my tongue to fall out of my head I quickly tried to separate all the hot portions and doubled up on the rice in an attempt to salvage the meal. After a few more bites I taped-out and asked for my check.

As I wondered back to my guesthouse leavening a trail of sweat from my forehead, I planed out my attack when I reached my room. I get there and instantly grabed my water and Tums. I downed the Advil and started chewing the chalky relief in hopes of making the madness stop.

I’ve decided that the sooner I go to bed the sooner the day will end. Hopefully, tomorrow brings a sweeter day.