We set our alarms for 6:30am and went down to the restaurant for breakfast before 7:30am. It was about 21C and overcast. It looked like it had been raining.
This time, we decided to sit on the outdoor deck. Soon after sitting down, we saw a mongoose scurry past. Several others emerged from the bushes from time to time to grab a piece of dropped food. When I stood up to take photos, black crows would swoop down on the table. The first time, they got away with my croissant.
Suzy went back to the room before me. It took me ages to get her to open the door when I returned - I knocked and knocked. I eventually had to send her a text message. It turned out she had been sitting on the balcony looking at a couple of fascinated birds with long beaks on a nearby balcony.
Most of the group left on the bus at 9am to go into town for a shopping expedition. I wasn't feeling up to it (I was quite dizzy) and so I stayed behind at the hotel. Besides, I'm not keen on shopping.
Soon after returning to our room, I was sitting in an armchair reading my iPad when a monkey jumped onto the balcony railing. Before I'd had a chance to grab my camera, it had disappeared. I made a mental note not to leave the door open to the balcony.
Neil had organised with the hotel reception for a tuktuk to pick me up from the hotel at 12 noon to take me to the Queen's Hotel where he had booked for lunch. I arrived there at 12:30pm as planned. The tuktuk driver was in frequent contact with Neil to coordinate a meeting place near the hotel.
Some of the others were already waiting there in the plaza opposite the hotel and the others arrived in the restaurant soon after.
This is a high-class hotel with a very good restaurant. It was another enjoyable buffet. Once we caught a wine waiter, I ordered a Lion beer again and Suzy had a G&T.
After lunch we were to visit the Temple of the Tooth across the road from the hotel. This is a religious memorial that contains one of Buddha's teeth. The building was constructed about 400 years ago. It is a stonework structure set in a large area near the lake. After passing through the entrance (with separate entries for men and women), we walked through an extensive lawn area.
They have a strict dress code - you need to cover your shoulders and knees. One bloke in our group bought a sarong from a nearby street stall and another bloke had a pair of long trousers in his backpack.
Before entering the building, you need to leave your shoes with a shoe check office. Then you walk through a puddle at the bottom of the stairs to cleanse your feet. The stonework was pretty hot on the feet on the way to the water.
It's obviously a very popular destination for local people because it was quite crowded. Most people were dressed in white but there were a few monks in crimson robes. Many people were praying on the floor. On the way in, most people bought flowers and then left them on a large counter on the top level.
After leaving the temple complex, some of us went on a tuktuk tour of the city while others went back to the hotel. The tour took us through the traffic and up the hill to a lookout where we had a great very of the city including the lake, tooth temple, Queen's Hotel and Buddha on mountain top.
Next, we drove down the hill to the central markets. The driver gave us the option of going to the market where local people shop or to the international shopping centre where you pay a whole lot more for exactly the same goods. We went for the first option.
This is a two-level building built around a quadrangle containing a garden and lawns. They sell the items you would expect including clothing, leather goods, food and spices. Suzy spent some time buying goods in a clothes store on the upper level.
Our next destination was a cultural show at 5pm. The tuktuks got us there just in time. There must have been a few hundred people in the audience.
The show lasted for almost an hour and consisted of drums, dancing, singing, chanting, acrobatics, fire sticks, spinning, etc.
Suzy had ordered a ring at the shopping expedition and the shop was resizing it for her and promised to deliver it to the cultural show - which seemed like an odd arrangement. Anyway, the ring was there after the show and it fitted nicely.
On the walk back to meet our bus, we saw a group of tourists taking photos. It turned out the had spotted a pelican sitting on a branch of a large tree next to the lake. I naturally joined the group of photographers.
Back at the hotel, we needed a shower before dinner. After the shower I asked Suzy to take a photo of my bruised leg. The bruise was very large and the graze looked nasty. It wasn't a pretty sight.
Suzy sent another email to the travel agent telling them that Neil had been putting in a lot of effort to keep us happy. It was a positive email thanking them for following up on her earlier email. In fact, Neil was very trying - in every sense of the word.
At 7:30pm, we had drinks with the group on level 2 in the main building near the bar. There was live music next to us.
Then we moved into the restaurant for dinner. As usual, they were offering a buffet but this time they had a series barbecues set up outside on the terrace. We wondered whether the barbecue idea was a nod to the fact that today was Australia Day.
It was a great meal. I ordered a South African Shiraz wine this time called Tall Horse. The label had a drawing of a giraffe.
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