Breakfast at this place is
toast, jam, eggs, coffee/tea, and a fresh fruit juice. It was very nice. We have noticed that this seems to be the standard breakfast at most of the hotels that we stay at. After brekky we pile in the van and head to Sigiriya, an ancient temple complex around the base of a giant rock that juts out of the ground over three hundred and eighty meters. About half way up there was a walkway where the monks who lived there painted goddesses on the walls. It is hard to imagine how the got up there.
At the very top there were giant lion paws. The giant paws are what remains of a massive lion sculpture that was the main entrance to the kings palace. The palace complex on the top of the boulder was really amazing. The views were three hundred and sixty degrees and you could still make out the place where baths and other chambers used to be over one thousand years ago. It was incredible and definitely the best thing we had seen in Sri Lanka so far. The walk up the rickety stairs was frightening but the walk down was worse. The wind was a cool relief but felt like it might blow you away too. We did get to see some buddhist monks coming for a visit. Their bright orange sheets wrapped around them and their bald heads, they are quite a sight to see at such a beautiful place like that. We finish up by checking out the museum and getting picked up by our driver.
toast, jam, eggs, coffee/tea, and a fresh fruit juice. It was very nice. We have noticed that this seems to be the standard breakfast at most of the hotels that we stay at. After brekky we pile in the van and head to Sigiriya, an ancient temple complex around the base of a giant rock that juts out of the ground over three hundred and eighty meters. About half way up there was a walkway where the monks who lived there painted goddesses on the walls. It is hard to imagine how the got up there.
At the very top there were giant lion paws. The giant paws are what remains of a massive lion sculpture that was the main entrance to the kings palace. The palace complex on the top of the boulder was really amazing. The views were three hundred and sixty degrees and you could still make out the place where baths and other chambers used to be over one thousand years ago. It was incredible and definitely the best thing we had seen in Sri Lanka so far. The walk up the rickety stairs was frightening but the walk down was worse. The wind was a cool relief but felt like it might blow you away too. We did get to see some buddhist monks coming for a visit. Their bright orange sheets wrapped around them and their bald heads, they are quite a sight to see at such a beautiful place like that. We finish up by checking out the museum and getting picked up by our driver.
On the road between Sigiriya and the Golden Buddha temple in Dambulla we stop at a stand where a woman is boiling corn by the side of the road. We hop out and she serves us three ears of corn, one each and one for the driver. The corn kernels are a bit harder than fresh corn and it has a nice texture and I also get a king coconut opened. After the corn and coconut my wife decides to get a watermelon cut up so we sit down and dig in. While we are sitting there a monkey comes down a takes a bite out of watermelon the shop owner has on display for sale. To mine and my wife's surprise, she grabs a slingshot and starts firing rocks at it. We were thoroughly entertained.
Our next stop is the Golden Buddha temple where there are also some caves with buddha statues. With the climb at Sigiriya just completed we were not super excited about climbing stairs again to see some buddhas but after we get to the top it was worth it. The caves are painted all over and have tons of buddhas of all sizes that appear to be hundreds of years old. There are also pools with lotus flowers growing through out the temple complex. By the end of the tour of this temple we were tired and were happy to get to the van and get in the a/c and relax.
As we are on our way out of town we speak with the guide and discuss staying in Habarana at the same place as the night before and take the two hour drive to Poloanarua the next day instead. We all agree that this is ok but me and my SO also say that we will have to make sure we get a room with hot water. When we get back to the hotel they eventually give us a better room with hot water and a/c this time.
We had bought a few beers at the store on the way to the hotel so with hot showers taken and laundry washed and hung we could relax and have a drink in the nice air conditioned air. It was recharging after the struggle the last few days. The next day we woke up rested and refreshed. My wife leaped back and nearly knocked over a table in the room when she found a frog under one of her bags. It was hilarious. She also found a missing sandal in her bag that she thought she had lost. For days we were calling the hotel in Mount Lavinia and asking if they had the sandal. I told her she had too big of a bag if she was losing footwear in there.
We had bought a few beers at the store on the way to the hotel so with hot showers taken and laundry washed and hung we could relax and have a drink in the nice air conditioned air. It was recharging after the struggle the last few days. The next day we woke up rested and refreshed. My wife leaped back and nearly knocked over a table in the room when she found a frog under one of her bags. It was hilarious. She also found a missing sandal in her bag that she thought she had lost. For days we were calling the hotel in Mount Lavinia and asking if they had the sandal. I told her she had too big of a bag if she was losing footwear in there.
Breakfast is good like the day before and then we get on the road to Poloanarua, which is an ancient city with roots maybe more than two thousand years old and ruins from about one thousand years ago. It reminds me of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. There are tons of buddha sculptures scattered around temple and city ruins spread around hundreds of acres. Our driver has to drop us off at sites for an hour or so at a time and then pick us and drop is at the next. That's how big the place is. It is really incredible to think that we are walking ruins of palaces and baths and sellers stalls from so long ago where people lived there day to day lives. It feels like it would to walk around Washington D.C. a thousand years from now and the oval office be broken down and covered with grass. It is a little bit surreal. It is around 35-38 degrees celsius so we are relieved when we finally finish and get back in the van's a/c. As we leave the park we get more corn from a woman on the side of the road. A different woman this time. I also try the local form of chewing tobacco called paan. It is wrapped in leaves and mixed with ash and a type of nut. It was ok actually! I thought it was bitter and numbed my mouth a bit too. My mouth was dyed red for hours after that. I probably won't try it again.
The last of our time with the driver takes us to Nilaveli, a beach town. We finally see the beautiful sand and sea as we pull up to our guesthouse. We notice there are other people staying there too so we will get to socialize with other westerners for what feels like the first time in ages. We say good bye to our driver and give him a big hug and even write a recommendation letter for him so that he can show it to potential customers. We also give him some tip money and say good bye for a final time. It was great having a driver for a few days but we were also happy to be back on our own.
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