Well, my glorious run at the beach has come to a short term hiatus. After a great week soaking up the rays and sinking to the bottom of the sea, I booked a ride to the airport to go meet up with Sara. I did get one extra day out of the beach, as poor Sara missed her connection in London, adding 8 hours to her already absurdly long journey.
After a 2 hour leisure ride on the new highway, I was perfectly timed to greet her. We had booked a driver to optimize our time for her portion of the trip, and we got acquainted with him at the airport. It was great to see a familiar face again, and she was happy to be done her 32 hour trip! Not quite there yet, we had a 4 hour drive still over some rough roads to get to the small town of Sigiriya.
Our reason for coming was two fold. The first morning we scooted over to the close town of Dumbulla to see some famous Buddhist temples. They are situated in the ancient caves and are over 2000 years old. The monks were said to have housed a King in exile in the caves, and after he regained the throne, he paid tribute to them by building the temples that exist today. It was a very beautiful and interesting site to see.
To round out the day, we were encouraged to take an authentic village tour. We shrugged and said, why not. Well, authentic may be a bit of a stretch. We took a tuk tuk to a hut on a pretty lake where a lady made us some delicious curry. No complaints. After, we were taken on a boat across the lake, and then hopped a bull drawn wagon back to the start. It was mildly painful of a ride, and for the cost, we realized it was a huge tourist trap. But, live and learn. At least the curry was good 🙂
The other reason to be here was to see the UNESCO heritage site, Sigiriya Rock. Sometimes referred to as the 8th wonder of the ancient world, Sigiriya is a fortress built on an enormous rock sitting amid a flatland. Meaning Lion Rock in the local language, it was the fortress base of an ancient king 1500 years ago. The site itself is stunning as you walk through ancient gardens, and slowly make your way up the steps that lead you up the walls of the rock. Along the way, you observe 1500 year old frescoes, paintings of ancient ladies rumored to be the wives of the king, and leading some to believe it may have been a pleasure palace of sorts. Sadly many of these paintings were removed by monks hundreds of years ago, as they found them offensive. Soon you learn the meaning of Lion Rock, as you ascend the final climb to the top, two giant lion feet are carved into the stone. On top you have a stunning view, and also a chance to see more ancient architecture. A very impressive site indeed.
After Sigiriya, we hopped back in our vehicle, and headed to the cultural city of Kandy for our layover. We were looking forward to it, as the temperature at Sigiriya was a cool 37 C. Yikes! We were to just have a brief layover in Kandy however, as our schedule was tight, and other stops had intrigued us more.
Till the next adventure!