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Published: February 16th 2008
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Hello,
I took the train up the coast last Sunday and headed Negombo to join the "Intrepid" group I am now travelling with for two weeks. It has been great meeting some new people - there are 9 of us - and there are lots of upsides in travelling with an organised group (I would never have been able to see/do so much if organising all the travel etc on my own, we have a local guide with us which is great for information, and we get hassled a lot less than when I was a single female traveller!). Mostly the group are all getting on well but it is nice to get a little bit of more peaceful time on my own too!
Anaradhapura After briefly meeting the group in Negombo (which I saw only briefly), we headed for Anaradhapura in the historic "Cultural Triangle" area in between the middle and the north of the island. On the way we stopped to meet some "toddy tappers" (who extract toddy juice from coconuts) and stopped again at Chilaw Market to see how local retailing is done! Then our first Sri Lankan rice & curry meal for lunch in Puttlam.
We spent a full day cycling between historic sites in Anaradhapura, which was the ancient capital for about 1300 years until end of C10th. There are still many foundations and structures remaining which were unearthed in the last 25 years, although there are some 500 people emplyed now to restore and maintain the sites. It was my first time on a bike in about 15 years which was fun but painful! Our local guide was an octagenarian who has taken part in a history TV series as well as TV dramas, quite a character!
We ate one night at a sort of Sri Lankan fast food place - fabulous hoppers, parenta and khotu rotty made in front of us. All good except our hotel was awful!
Polonnaruwa On Wednesday we travelled on to the second ancient capital of Sri Lanka, this time taking all the rooms in a brightly-painted little guesthouse which was fab. It rained heavily so some of us opted out of the bikes this time, while we went round the historic sites. In the evening we ate next to one of the massive beautiful man-made lakes, in a hotel which they proudly tell us
the Queen stayed at in 1947!
Dambulla Thursday was the best day so far, starting with a visit to the buddhist cave temples in Dambulla. Like A & P, Dambulla is also a World Heritage Site. As well as all the Buddha statues, some painstakingly carved from the rockface, the main attraction is the frescoes in the caves depicting the stages of the life of Buddha which were absolutely stunning - we were pretty much the only tourists there too and were guided by a local who was able to tell us the meaning behind a lot of the symbols and colours.
In the afternoon 3 of us did some optional activities - riding an elephant together (scary until you realise she is only travelling about 2 miles per hour!), then having an amazing Ayurveda massage and steam bath in a local place. It was incredibly relaxing but I have massive bruises on my left arm and right leg from too much handling!
Sigiriya & Kandy Yesterday (Friday) we left the hotel at 5.45am to go and climb a massive outcrop of rock at Sigiriya - before the sun got too hot and the crowds moved in!
It is half an hour of fairly steep climbing, I only just made it but it was so worth it!!
Then we moved on to Kandy, the second-largest town in Sri Lanka. On the way we had a visit to a herb and spice garden (and had another fantastic shoulder massage for free to demonstrate some of the products they make!). In the evening we went to a traditional drumming & dance demo - complete with fire-eating and fire-walking at the end! Then onto the venerated Temple of the Tooth site - where the Buddha's tooth is said to reside. This is incredibly important to Buddhists here but for me it was a terrible experience - frantic rushing and pushing between crowds as they only open between 6.30-7.30pm each day!
This morning we went to the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage nearby, where we took zillions of amazing photos of elephants up close and then bathing in the river. There were a few young babies but the group were huddling protectively around them so it was hard to capture photos of them, still it was amazing.
One good thing we have always travelled on private minibuses so far
due to the extra risk of travelling by local bus. Unfortunately I now have to make new plans for my final week though as the lodge outside Yala National Park has cancelled my stay due to trouble in that area.
Hard to believe we have done all this in a week! In the next week we will see more of the hill country and tea plantations, followed by beach, then Galle and Colombo!
I hope all is well in the UK!
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