Culture, Caves and Coconuts (Dambulla, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa)

On weekend number two in Sri Lanka, myself and my brave companions decided that we would try and pack as much in as possible of the area about 2 hours north of Kandy (and around 4.5 hours from Colombo- where we were!) often referred to as the Cultural Triangle. 

It was a long drive and a thoroughly exhausting weekend. One reason was the heat. It was a scorcher and we were outside in it. I have the classical Harriet-lobster t-shirt lines to prove it! The second reason was that two of the things we wanted to see required an ascent of a reasonable distance. 

Our first place of interest was the Dambulla Cave Temple. There's a short walk up to it which has steps most of the way. On a rating from nought to interesting at the time I found it about a "hmmm". The complex is made up of 5 caves dating from around 100 B.C. though a few of the caves are much newer. The caves have been the hiding place of Kings who found the need to vacate the premises of whatever establishment they previously inhabited for one reason or another. They are filled with statues and images of Buddha and the occasional Hindu God. It was kind of awe-inspiring and as you have to take off your shoes before you go inside, I did feel the reverence and respect that is required while standing in a place that is holy for Buddhist monks who come up to use the sacred waters collected from one of the caves for their rituals. Unfortunately, apparently not everyone has felt such respect over the years and you can now no longer take photos of people with the statues as a tourist last year decided to sit on one of the 2000 year old Buddha statues and broke its hand. It's probably for the best! There's also a museum on site with more Buddha statues - if your thirst is particularly unquenchable. 

After seeing the Dambulla Caves we were in need of refreshment. Nothing could possibly be better for this than stopping at the side of the road and getting a King Coconut (If you can - get a local to go and ask the prices first as they massively over-inflate for tourists). I'd never had one before. You pull over to a stall at the side of the road in order to buy one. They chop of the top and make a hole (don't stand too close- you'll get wet!) and give you a straw. It's a great isotonic drink - and best when slightly warm as it should be on the side of the road. 

Next we headed off to the Eco Park for an elephant safari. I know, I know... hadn't we seen enough elephants? Apparently not. 

Really, though, it was lovely to see them being free to wander in this beautiful enormous space. There were some adorable baby elephants! We also had the benefit of a guide that pointed out to us the birds and a few other little critters we saw on the way.

On the way back from the safari we saw views while driving through little paddy field towns, with waving children, that made me fall more and more in love with this beautiful country. I mean, who could fail to be moved by this?:

We settled down for the night at the aptly named "Nice Place" Hotel (They have great names here; "Hotdogs only" is my favourite so far). We were the only guests, I think, which was slightly strange. However, we were joined by a dog, her puppy and a cat - we were fairly terrified of the possibility of one of them scratching or biting us so maybe seeing them from a jeep would have been better too!

The highlight of the trip for me was our morning visit to Sigiriya. It is often referred to as a "rock fortress" and I honestly didn't think that there was any way that a big rock could really overwhelm me so much; but it did. We had been able to make it out from Dambulla (20km away) and so I had been made aware of just how big a rock it was. I didn't realise how much it was going to capture my imagination. The whole area is surrounded by a double moat of quick sand (now not there) and then water. There are still little crocodiles in the water! It quickly became apparent to me why no one tried attacking this place. Once, buildings surrounded the base of the rock and the foundations are still there. 

There are four approaches to the rock and the entrances via the Elephant, Cobra Hood and Lion can still be seen; though they are not as majestic as they would have been. Once upon a time, the Lion's head was built into the rock as well as the paws so the staircase would ascend through his mouth.

The climb up Sigiriya is definitely not for the faint-hearted. I struggled on the upwards climb as you could see through the gaps in the metal stairway and I simply didn't trust it. I managed to contain my rising panic but only just! 

It was, undeniably, worth all of the stress of the climb when (after around 20 minutes) you get to what I can only describe as the most breathtaking view I've ever seen in my entire life. The 360 degree view over Sri Lanka is absolutely incredible. 

As you can imagine, we were slightly flagging now but we had one last trip to make - to Polonnaruwa. We were excited to see these ancient ruins and it was great to see. For history buffs who are not hot, tired and in need of a King Coconut - it's a must. It's kind of an ongoing project as well as they try and restore bits of the jigsaw puzzles that have been left scattered over the nearby forest for them. From what I understand, the Indian Hindus kept coming to raid and destroy the Buddhists statues - many of which had precious stones in them. They would then erect their own temples and monuments that Buddhists would then destroy. However, many Sri Lankan Kings married Indian Queens and thus Buddhism and Hinduism often co-existed in harmony to maintain marital bliss. That was my simple way of looking at it!

One of the things we learned was about the position of Buddha in the statues where he is lying down and how to tell if he's sleeping or dying.
Dying Buddha: feet out of line, knees bent, thumb away from fingers, four fingers under his head, eyes half-closed, cloak flopping down and the pillow dented to show the heaviness of death.
There are also arm and hand positions that mean different things. I thought it was really fascinating!

It was a really jam-packed weekend but one that I would recommend to anyone. Sigiriya, in particular is something that I would really advise anyone to take time for while in Sri Lanka. This country is just so beautiful!