The Ancient Cities
Pete Writes: Since being in Sri Lanka, I have noticed how friendly all of the people are (not only the touts!) although the one thing that we did not account for was that it is currently rainy season in the hills. We have been caught out twice so far, getting soaked on both occasions 
The country is very green and the choice of fresh fruit and veg is amazing. We have been sampling its wares from many roadside stalls and seeing how they should really look! .
We have been soaking up some of Sri Lanka’s history over the past few days, which has included visiting the cave temples of Dambulla, the ancient city of Polonnaruwa and the mountain ruins of Sigiriya. Our first attempt at Sigiriya ended up with us bailing out before we even approached the mountain (the thought of climbing 200m in the rain did not appeal). Though when we did get up there today the views were amazing. There were approx 3000 steps to the top, but after Nepal it was like a walk in the park. Halfway up the rock there were a series of frescos (paintings) in an alcove. They are an important symbol in Sri Lanka, so much so that one is printed on the 2000 rupee note (£10). Our day in Polonnaruwa was another wet one, but we did manage to see lots of ruins from the former royal capital of the 12th century.
Chloe Writes: Sri Lanka has a lush green landscape with plenty of tea plantations and some of the best tea I’ve ever tasted. Upon arriving here we resisted the temptation to head straight for the beach for 3 and a half weeks and decided to see some sights.
The cave temples in Dambulla were by far my favorite. The entrance is the sight of a giant golden Buddha which on the placard by the entrance claims to be the largest in the world, but according to the locals, isn’t even the biggest in Sri Lanka. There were 5 caves in all, housing around 100 stone Buddha’s (yes i have brought one, only a small one though) including 3 giant reclining Buddha’s. As Buddhism is the biggest religion here in Sri Lanka, once a month on the full moon (which was yesterday) there is a public holiday. Most people have the day off work to visit the temples and present an offering of lotus flowers.
My Bug tolerance has definitely been tested here and I think its building up quite nicely as we are currently sharing our bathroom with giant cockroaches, spiders, ants and frogs. The guesthouse we are staying in is very old and has a tin roof. The owner is a very sweet old woman who has a cute puppy called Kooger (only 2 months old), he looks like a little ball of fur. Pete and I came back to the guest house the other night to a very loud noise that sounded like some sort of machine. When we asked the owner, she told us it was the chorus of frogs which is the result of the monsoon rains. On the subject of the monsoon, it’s going to be interesting to see how the cricket will fare in the rain when England play Sri Lanka next week 
Page Gallery
The Sigiriya ruins are at the top of the Rock
Stairs leading up to the Ancient Sigiriya ruins
Fresco Drawings, Sigiriya
Pete holding up the Rock of Sigiriya….well maybe not!
Reclining Buddah, Polonnaruwa
Stone Buddah, Polonnaruwa
Golden Temple, Dambulla
Reclining Buddha’s feet, Cave Temples, Dambulla
Cave Temples, Dambulla
Tags: Sri Lanka
November 29th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Great write up guys! Some crazy carvings; it’s amazing what still remains after so many years.