Hi All,
After just one day in the capital, we took the scenic train ride from Colombo inland to Kandy. In second class we enjoyed the open windows and spectacular views. Like India, we were able to lean out of the open doors, feel the wind rushing by, enjoy the views and take one of those classic train ride photos!
Kandy is the home to Sri Lanka’s most iconic Buddhist artefact - The Sacred Tooth Relic. The golden roofed temple is the centre of a larger complex. Inside lies the tooth of Buddha, although you can’t actually see it as it is encased within a gold casket. We spent an afternoon exploring the complex and particularly enjoyed the World Buddhist Museum; it was kind of like Lumbini (Nepal) but all under one roof. It contained many photographs, models and displays portraying Buddhism around the word - each Buddhist country funding its own display room. Once outside the temple complex we enjoyed a walk around the lake and had our first taste of local mangos by the waters edge. In India we had missed mango season so were very excited to see so many of one of our favourite fruits.
The dinning scene in Sri Lanka is so different to India’s vast array of restaurants, cafes and street food vendors. Unlike most of south east Asia, Sri Lankan’s prefer to dine at home so there are very few eateries that aren’t expensive tourist traps for us to choose from - a shame for two foodies on a budget! However, we have found that each meal has been delicious, just harder to find. We have enjoyed tea, coffee and pastries from a bakery and mouth watering curry and rice from simple cafes.
We had a three day trip planned venturing to Sri Lanka’s ancient cities on two mopeds, something Ross again had managed to convince Danielle would be great fun. 10 minutes in we had all the paperwork, helmets on and were about to set off when... Danielle turned on the bike not realising she had the throttle half open and ploughed straight into a (thankfully) stationary bus. She (again thankfully) got away with just a scratched leg while the front of the bike was smashed into pieces - the bus suffering no injuries! One bike down, we began our journey with Ross driving and Danielle on the back again.
Day 1:
Our rocky start to the day was more than made up for when we found ourselves driving through incredible countryside. Either side of the rode were miles of rice fields and a mountainous horizon. Danielle slowly started to relax and enjoy the 46km of winding roads past Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, Christian churches and small rural communities. We rode past a school as all the children were finishing for lunch; children of all ages in smart white uniforms waved and smiled at us as we passed them.
So far on our travels, we have heard a lot about police corruption but have not experienced it for ourselves. That changed an hour into our ride when we were pulled over by the police. They asked to see Ross’ driving licence and the bike insurance. We were told the insurance was fine but that he needed a Sri Lankan driving licence (recommend for driving in Sri Lanka but not compulsory). We were ultra polite and told them that we didn’t need this as the rental shop said a UK licence is sufficient. Ross made a phone call to the rental shop and then struck up a conversation with the policemen about the cricket (blagging his way through the England - Sri Lanka test match). 10 minutes later we were off on our way and had talked our way out of the fine which undoubtedly would have gone straight into their pockets. It was only later did I find out that Ross hadn’t actually called the shop and had in fact made up the whole conversation with his phone switched off!
Our first checkpoint for the day was a stop at Ridi Vihara to see the world’s largest granite statue - a huge Buddha in the meditation pose that measured a colossal 20m tall! After a further 52km we arrived at the Cave Temples of Dambulla. The 5 caves contained over 150 Buddhas of varying sizes and poses; the majority of which were still intricately painted with the original natural dyes as inside the caves they are protected from the elements. The last 20km of our day was less scenic, instead we drove along an A road to reach Sigiriya, our destination for the night. We stayed in a cosy lodge which overlooked a lake and and the almighty lion rock for which Sigiriya is known for. Watching the sunset to this view and a delicious home cooked meal was a perfect end of the day to a not so perfect beginning.
Day 2:
Our small guest lodge, hosting us and just one other family, served us a great breakfast of coconut pancakes and wood apple jam, all washed down with Ceylon black tea. We started our day with a morning hike up Pidurangula rock; recommended to us as an alternative to the more popular but very expensive and crowded hike up Sigiriya rock. On our way up, we passed small temples, a monitor lizard and a reclining Buddha. A final scramble over a series of boulders and we had reached the spectacular views of the countryside and Sigiriya ‘Lion Rock’ which erupted impressively out of the surrounding forest.
Once back on the road the police again signalled for us to pull over and stated that a UK driving licence warranted a fine; at the same time as offering us some of their snacks! This time they put Ross on the phone to a translator (probably just a friend in on the con). Meanwhile, I stood very politely chatting to them (unfortunately not knowing anything about the cricket). When they asked about our jobs I took this as my cue to win them round. I explained my role as a teacher and how Ross is a medical engineer who helps people in hospitals (or at least hopes to). We figure that they felt guilty taking money from people who they now know a little about and not just another 'ignorant tourist'. They waved us on our way and again we avoided the fine through the gift of the gab - something we are both well practised in!
We then began the 52km drive to our next stop - the most impressive visit on our Ancient Cities tour. Polonnaruwa is a huge archaeological Park home to hundreds of ancient ruins including: tombs, temples, palaces, statues and stupas! The vast park is best explored by bicycle or your own transport to see it all in a day so having the bike enabled us to visit all the main sights of the moss covered city ruins in one afternoon. Now on quieter roads, Danielle decided to try again with the scooter. With Ross’s careful instruction (and helpful backseat driving) I rebuilt my confidence and found that the bike was actually pretty straightforward to control when you know how. We spent the night at another friendly guesthouse just south of the ancient complex.
Day 3:
We began our day early for the long 170km drive back to Kandy. Danielle drove 30km of it which left the remaining 140km to Ross; of course he preferred driving though so it was a good deal for both of us! We opted for the slightly longer more scenic route through the Knuckles Mountain Range. Unfortunately, the clouds had begun to close in so the view was slightly obscured but we could still see the rolling green mountains surrounding us. Some of the steep inclines were a struggle for our little 100cc bike but the winding downhills with their tight hair pin turns were a dream. Although, the bike did manage to overtake a tuneful ice cream tuk tuk being driven by a boy who couldn’t have been older than 10! We passed through several small villages; one we stopped in for lunch and another we felt compelled to stop in just to get a closer look at the festival we had just passed. Four men were hanging from brightly decorated trucks. Initially we thought they were swinging on ropes but as we looked closer we could see they were attached by lots of sharp hooks through the skin on their backs and legs (take a close look at the pictures!) Music was blaring from sound systems in the trucks and people danced around them. We found we were stood with our jaws dropped open, staring stunned at the sight before us. Later we found out that this spectacle was for the Hindu festival of Theru.
When we returned to Kandy, exhausted and ready to relax, we found that the guesthouse had double booked the room he had said he would save for our return. Luckily we managed to find somewhere else for the night before our scenic train ride to Ella the following morning.
Our whole bike trip, as well as our trekking in Nepal, has been navigated using a free app we were recommended - ‘Maps.me’ (a green logo with a white suitcase). We cannot pass on this recommendation enough as it’s so incredibly helpful and works like google maps but does not need 3G. Download the map of the area you’re heading to while you have WiFi and you’re good to go (promise we aren’t getting commission it’s just really good). Don’t trust the timings though and check it isn’t sending you on a wild goose chase the long way round!
We’re still playing catch up with posts as we’ve been so busy and without WiFi for a few nights so bare with us and apologies for the bombardment of updates all at once.
Love R and D xxx
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