We left this lovely hotel after a breakfast of egg hoppers served with curry and daal. Absolutely delicious. I had two. Then they brought another and then another. I don’t know how many times you are supposed to say no here before they stop force feeding you. Just a well the food is so good.

We waddled to the car and headed for the first city of Sri Lanka. We hired some bikes from a lovely family business near the centre. They’d lost half their house in the cyclone but they greeted us with big smiles and had cold water for us when we got back. The bikes were somewhat rickety and covered in thick plastic for some reason but they did the job. I’ve not been on a bike for 10 years other than the stationary kind so I was just glad to survive. We started at the Abhayagiri dagoba, a stupa built in the1st century BC. It is very impressive – like a pyramid to look at. I have literally no idea what these structures are for other than storing relics of the Buddha and looking at with awe. Because the structures are sacred you have to have knees and shoulders covered and remove your shoes and hat before going to see them. Wearing socks was a good call as the floor is burning hot. The Sri Lankans all walk bare foot with no sign of pain, while the tourists hobble and sweat.

The next stupa was the big one. The Ruanvelisaya Dagoba. I think it has some of the Buddhas ashes in there. Not actually bigger than the last one as it has shrunk for some reason over the centuries. Indian invasion was the cause according to my guide book. I don’t get what they could have done to make a huge dome sink several metres into the ground. There are 344 carved elephants in the walls outside – maybe they used them to stamp it down. This one was busy with pilgrims, not many tourists. Everyone dressed in white for purity, with the only colour being the purple lotus flowers carried as an offering to Buddha and gold cellophane wrapped eggs containing food and drink for the monks. In sweltering heat I walked around the stupa. Family groups sat in the tiny bit of shade offered by the outside walls, meditating and chanting. It didn’t feel right to take photos.

We got our shoes back and saw the ancient Bodhi tree. The Buddha had his enlightenment under a bodhi tree and this was grown from a cutting of that very tree more than 2000 years ago. It is looked after so carefully that basically it is still the same original tree, albeit grafted and supported. It has huge spiritual significance to the Buddhists.

We cycled for a while more seeing more ancient sites then returned the bikes and headed to our next hotel with a quick stop for king coconuts.

The hotel is stunning. Built on reclaimed paddy fields so basically a swamp and we are being bitten to shreds. But they’ve done it so beautifully and all with conservation and ecological priorities in mind. More snake and elephant warnings but we’re getting used to that. The constant sound of wild peacocks and monkeys. We sat by our little pool watching the monkeys in the bamboo. Monkeys are everywhere here and they are oblivious to us.

More curry for dinner and another day ahead tomorrow.