Siguriya - rock fortress
Yes, I climbed all the way to the top – some of it on stairs that were built when the original palace was built and some on steel stairways added after the site was discovered and restored by archaeologists. It was quite a feeling of accomplishment to stand atop the mountain and look out over the jungle for miles and miles. It was hot and humid and I was dripping in sweat! The trip down was tricky, too, and my legs were like jell-o when we got back down to the bottom. It was totally worth it and it is an experience I will never forget. We even saw a snake charmer – complete with a cobra – as we were leaving the grounds!
I made it!
View from the top - yep, it's pretty high up there!
After we ran the phalanx of vendors trying to sell you all sorts of souvenirs, we made our way down the road a bit where we rode an elephant for about an hour. What fun that was! The elephant was an older female and kind of slow. Another elephant – a younger male – lapped us while we were on our tour!
Then we went to a batik factory where we were introduced to the whole process of batiking. What a labour-intensive process it is; but the results are beautiful. Of course, we did a bit of shopping there! So many beautiful garments, tablecloths, and wall hangings – it was hard to decide, but I managed!
Girls working in batik
After lunch we headed to the Golden Temple in Dumballa. Buddhism is the predominant religion in Sri Lanka and Buddha’s are everywhere! The Golden Temple is also a World Heritage site, and is the largest and most well-preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka. The caves are far up a mountain so we did quite a bit more climbing to get up to the caves and my legs were screaming the whole way up! Our driver/guide is very knowledgeable and he enlightened (sorry for the pun, considering this was all about Buddha) us about the Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka, the Golden Temple and the many Buddha’s we saw.
Front of the Golden Temple - the caves are at the top of a hill behind the Buddha
It was all very interesting, but it was so hot and humid, and I was so tired from all the climbing I had done that I was probably not the most receptive audience. I went outside at one point to cool off and sit down. I have noticed that the Sri Lankan people all look at my with an odd sort of look on their faces, like they have never seen anyone who is so different looking from them, but they don’t want to be rude. It’s a hard look to explain.
We then headed back to our beautiful hotel for a swim in the pool and a lovely dinner. Had a good night’s sleep to catch up from the overnight flight from Doha and lack of sleep that night.
On day 3 we checked out of our hotel and hit the road to Kandy – a 60 km, 3 hour drive! Along the way we stopped at a spice plantation and had a tour that included a head, neck and shoulder massage using the oils and herbs that they raise. We bought some pure vanilla, pure cocoa and a few other things. After lunch in Kandy, we went to a gem museum where we learned all about the gem and precious stone mining industry. It is all done by hand, and is a livelihood still handed down through families. With all the technology available it is amazing to me that it is still done this way. We learned so much and then, of course, could shop. I treated myself to a beautiful green sapphire ring. Sapphire is my birthstone, and green sapphires are only found in Sri Lanka; so I’m very pleased to have such a memento of this trip.
Our hotel in Kandy is way up a twisty mountain road with sheer drop offs. I have heard that you should do something every day that scares you . . . and the drive up to the hotel was my scary thing for that day!
Day 4 started with a rather lazy morning, not heading out until 10:00. It gave me lots of time to catch up with email and have a leisurely breakfast. Our tour of Kandy started with a drive through the University of Kandy campus which is a beautiful campus. Students were walking around and it looked very much like a North American campus in many ways. We then went to the Botanical Garden which was incredibly beautiful. We saw the cutest couple having their wedding photos taken:
Aren't they adorable?
Kathy, CJ and Lisa at Royal Botanical Garden in Kandy Sri Lanka
We then went to woodworking factory where all the work is done by hand. Sri Lanka has so many kinds of wood and they make wonderful use of it. We noticed the beautiful doors and windows/shutters on the houses all made from the readily available teak, mahogany, and ebony wood, among other types. It was so interesting to watch the craftsmen at work and to see how they also make some of the paints and stains used on the wood products.
In the evening we went to see the Kandy Dancers. There are several dance troupes that do this sort of dancing and we went to the one performed at the local cultural centre. The costumes were very elaborate and the music was drumming, flute (the snake charming sort) and a small bugle-like instrument. The two closing performances were a fire dance and fire walkers – ouch!
After that performance we headed over to the Temple of the Tooth Relic – the temple which houses a piece of Buddha’s tooth and is considered an extremely sacred site for Buddhists. It was built in the 17th century and some of you may remember that the temple was the target of a Tamil terrorist bombing in 1998. As a result, security is very tight and we were inspected/frisked twice! There was a ceremony going on when we arrived so there was a lot of drumming going on which made it very hard to hear our guide, but I think I got the idea. And I can now say that I think I am ‘templed out!” We don’t have any more temples on our itinerary, for which I am glad, but I’m very glad to have seen the ones we have seen.
Because all of our meals to this point have been buffets in the hotels, we are also feeling a little ‘buffeted out’ and went to a local Chinese restaurant. We weren’t too sure about it because there were no other customers (not a good sign), but our driver insisted it was a good restaurant and, true to form, he was right.
Today we left Kandy at 8:00 a.m. to head to Nuruwala Eliya and the highlands of Sri Lanka that is known for it’s tea production. The road up the mountains was very curvy so progress was very slow, but we saw spectacular scenery along the way. In this area, lots of vegetables are also grown on the hillsides. The tree plantations are reminiscent to me of the wineries of California – very pristine rows of tea trees, all very well manicured fields. The tea pickers are women who wear a bag on their back and their fingers work quickly picking the tea. We toured a plantation and saw the process of drying and rolling the tea leaves. After the tour we enjoyed a cup of tea where I, who normally drinks her tea black, decided to try it with milk and sugar. I think I am a convert!
This afternoon, after checking into this lovely hotel and having a quick lunch, we headed into town where we went to the garment bazaar. The garment industry is the number one industry in Sri Lanka, followed closely by tourism. At this bazaar there were all these stalls with hawkers selling jackets – all Columbia, North Face, Burton and other well-known brands. We had so much fun trying on things and bargaining. If I was in a stall trying on a jacket and I wanted it in a colour this guy didn’t have, he’d run to one of the neighbouring stalls and come back with the color I wanted. I am very proud of my new-found bargaining skills too! It was really fun.
Tonight there was carolling in the lobby of the hotel by a local church choir. It was so cute because their accents and the rhythms they used in the carols made them sound just a little off from what we are used to. It was such a neat experience to hear it, and now I feel a little more in the Christmas spirit.
Carolers in the lobby of the St. Andrew's Hotel, Sri Lanka
Must hit the sack early tonight since we will hit the road fairly early tomorrow morning on our way to Yala National Park where we will do a night time safari! Can’t wait!
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