sigiriya

Foot prints in the butter

/ Georgia and Tim / Leave a comment

On the way back we went via a road known for elephant activity. And there was one munching away on the side of the road oblivious to the traffic.

Back from the rock and we hung by the pool etc then went for a walk around the grounds when it got cooler at about 5pm. Tim was keen to recreate last nights bird walk and I couldn’t contain my excitement as I was devastated I’d missed it because I was having a massage at the time. During the bird walk he’d been given a lot of information about the elephants in the area. We are in the middle of farmland here and the farmers have watchtowers where they keep vigil at night for the elephants that come in. If they see them they set off firecrackers to scare them off. Or they have electric fences. our hotel has an eco policy so no fireworks or fences. So, of course, the elephants are pushed towards our hotel that has its own farm with lots of juicy mangoes and jackfruits and acres of tasty rice in the paddy fields. It’s an open buffet. But they only come after midnight so no problem.

We walked along with Tim pointing out all the elephant entry places and a few birds and passed a security guard at his post. He checked who we were and we asked if he’d seen any elephants. Haha – no, no, only after dark. We saw the usual. Monkeys and peacocks and a view of the rock from the lake.

We carried on strolling looking for birds when we heard him running behind. Stop!! We wondered if we’d done some illegal bird watching. stop!! Elephant!! And as we rounded the corner, there it was. The size of the villa it was nonchalantly munching grass beside about 50m from us. We wanted to take photos but we were too close to risk staying so we doubled back. Every rustle in the trees from a monkey or bird making us jump. We went back to the hotel for dinner and the staff were all jittery. Elephants don’t come into the grounds in daylight usually. We had a drink by the pool and after a bit we noticed all the staff had come out and were looking into the undergrowth. There it was wandering along through the bamboo a few metres behind pool. The next morning it was the talk of breakfast. We got kudos for seeing it first. It had apparently made its way through the grounds for 4 hours. It’s exciting for us but a problem for the hotel. They can’t do much about them without using fences or fireworks but that compromises their ethos. But if they keep coming in daylight it will affect their business.

Only got a really rubbish video because I was too busy watching to film until it was too late But 2 elephants in one day isn’t bad.

A rock and a hard place

/ Georgia and Tim / Leave a comment

Sigiriya, a sheer rock rising 190 metres above the jungle. Absolutely no choice – you had to climb it. You and every other tourist in Sri Lanka.

So this is the story as I understood it. In the 5th century there was a king who had 2 sons who didn’t get on. One of them, Kasyapa, killed his father and became king himself. Then the brothers fell out big time. But because killing your dad is a not good karma, Kasyapa decided not to kill his brother as well so he built his palace on the rock at Sigiriya so he’d be safe from fraternal revenge. He also had a huge lion carved into the rock, stunning water gardens created that he could look down on from his high perch, and a fresco of many naked women painted onto the surface of part the rock for his own enjoyment. To cut a long story short, the brother came for his revenge and Kasypaya fell on his sword. A millennia and a half later we are obliged to climb the rock and see what it was all about.

We got there at about 9.30. We should have gone earlier to avoid the heat and crowds but that would have involved going earlier. So it was hot and busy. The idea of the climb (about 1200 steps) didn’t worry me, just that I knew the last staircases were metal cage-like structures that hang off the rock. Not good when you don’t like heights. As it was I should have been worried about the 1200 steps. It was a sweat fest with 30 degree heat and high humidity. You could have wrung us out. Of course the guides all just skipped up. Chandana looked like he was going for a morning stroll while passing tourists who appeared to be panting their last breaths. Needless to say we got up in no time and it was well worth the effort. The metal stairs were quite sturdy so it didn’t feel bad. If you were claustrophobic though you’d struggle as there were lots of pauses while people stopped to breathe or get selfies

Half way up you get to see the lions paws – the body has long gone but you can get the scale.

The top level is breathtaking. A 360 view of the world and we were kings for a short while.

We skipped down ( not quite as more selfie jams) and got ourselves a well earned juice at the bottom via the naked ladies who we aren’t allowed to photograph

Anuradhapura

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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.