Kalutara Temple (Kalutara Vihara)

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Kalutara, Sri Lanka

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Tuk-tuk trip to the Temple

by MichaelJM

Nottingham, England

February 24, 2011

Best of IgoUgo We’d first seen the large white illuminated stupa at night, from the train station, after our return from Galle. It looked particularly impressive and I marked it down as a place to visit. It was only going to be a Tuk-Tuk journey away from the ...Read more We’d first seen the large white illuminated stupa at night, from the train station, after our return from Galle. It looked particularly impressive and I marked it down as a place to visit. It was only going to be a Tuk-Tuk journey away from the hotel so it seemed an ideal visit to do one afternoon. So on a day when the cloud took over from the sun we headed out of the hotel to pick up a tuk-tuk. As I’d already done a shorter journey from the station to the hotel I knew the best price for the journey would be 200 rupees and as soon as we got out of the gate the drivers were speaking with us. I quickly explained that we needed two tuk-tuks and that I would pay each one 200 rupees to take us to the temple.

"400 rupees" one of the drivers said. "No, 200 is what I’ll pay". He looked annoyed and we started to walk up the lane, in search of a better deal, where I knew other drivers were parked. We’d only made it a few yards when two of the Tuk-Tuks from outside of the hotel drove past us and I assumed that they were going to tell the other drivers about my attempted negotiations, but they crossed the railway line and waited for us. As soon as we crossed the line they welcomed us by saying "200 rupees, deal?" We didn’t argue but clambered in to the cabs and were soon heading off down the lane with my friend in the second cab shouting "follow that tuk-tuk".

I was intrigued to know why the change of heart and so asked our driver. He explained that the man who we first negotiated with was the "boss for the day" but that his jurisdiction only applied up to the railway line. As soon as we crossed over they were free to negotiate on their own behalf!

Once again our journey by tuk-tuk was exciting as we weaved in and out of the traffic to make the best time. Our friend didn’t stand a chance as we had the Michael Schumaker of the Tuk-Tuk world as our driver and had disembarked and paid for our lift by the time they arrived at the temple. The temple is on both sides of the road and we’d entered at the smaller site. Of course we had to remove our shoes but I’m now prepared for this and placed them immediately into my bag. There’s no fee to enter the temple nor do they tolerate guides, so we were very much on our own and much to my surprise no attempts were made to extract money from us during our visit.

The smaller site was a hive of activity with "the faithful" chanting mantras to various idols around the temple grounds. High up in the trees (central to a Buddhist temple) monkeys looked down on us. The smell of incense was incredibly strong, although not over-powering, and the reason was self-evident. You see worshippers don’t light just one incense stick at a time they light bundles of 20 or thirty. So those along with the candles and burning scented oil generate a fair bit of heat and a wide range of aromas.

We’re able to cross the busy road by way of an underground passage way that takes us close to the entrance of the main temple. This is the one with the huge stupa that we’d seen from the train a few nights earlier. An attendant welcomes us with a cheery wave and points us in the right direction. The temple is not overstated and there are discreet stone carvings of elephants and smiley Buddhas on many of the pillars. A very steep flight of steps leads us to the area of worship where once again we are met by the pungency of hundreds of incense sticks. The view across the river is superb from up here and once again I’m struck by the number of families that are around, jointly paying respects to Buddha. There’s no organised worship but they are clearly reciting from pre-ordained chants.

We walk around the huge stupa – not by design but by default as the entrance is all the way round the circle. At one point I was assuming that the entrance was barred to us, but was pleased to see that access was open and unimpeded. In side this massive dome was a large centrally placed Buddha with many smaller ones at its base – centres for silent worship I guessed. At some of these "stations" gifts had been left and most had a selection of flower petals on the tables. Around the outside of the dome was the story of Buddha and his enlightenment. It was a story which was gory in places with hands being chopped off and bizarre killings. It was interestingly very different to the story that we’d read in picture form in Kandy.

I’m now encouraged to do a little bit more reading about Buddhism.
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Tuk-tuk trip to the Temple