Sri Lanka - More Elephants, More Temples, and More Spice!

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After breakfast this morning we drove a short distance on the bus to Polonnaruwa, a Medieval city. We toured the city on a bicycle which is definitely the way to do it. It is fairly spread out and the temples and structures that have been excavated and very well preserved. I wish I could remember more about it, but I just don't. I think being on a tour has made me very lazy. I had no guidebook and we weren't given any info about the site upon entry. I do know this was declared a World Heritage Site in 1982. And rightfully so.

After visiting Polonnaruwa we went back to the hotel where the people who were not going on the elephant safari (40 USD) had the afternoon free. I went on the safari to Minneriya National Park, famous for wild elephants. We were not disappointed. We saw probably at least 20 in different sections of the park. There were seven of us in two jeeps, and the other jeep kept getting stuck and we had to pull them out. This took a lot of time. So I think the drivers felt a bit bad about this and on the way out of the park, there was a group of about eight elephants, so he took us to see them and we stayed there through the sunset. It was amazing to see so many elephants in the wild. They looked really healthy and happy. Lots of babies too. We also saw a herd of water buffalo. Great experience and totally worth 40 USD.

We were late returning to the hotel and we had a dinner date. The entire group was going to local family's home for dinner. This is part of Gecko's responsible tourism. This family needed more income to help support their oldest daughter who is completely disabled. Our tour guide, Sujee, knew them, I think, and arranged for them to be a stop on the tour group circuit, so to speak. They don't only cook for Gecko groups, but other groups as well. The father drives a tuk tuk during the day and at night the whole family cooks. We had the most amazing pumpkin curry and mango curry. There were lots of dishes to choose from, but these two I could eat every day. So, so, so good. I really enjoyed this experience and it was some of the best food we had on the entire trip. This is a very hard working family.

I was tired after this long day.

The next day it was raining again. Our first stop was the Dambulla Cave Temples which are pretty impressive. So is the cheese factor on the Buddha museum at the bottom of the hill. It was built by the Japanese and looks like it. We didn't go in the museum. Seeing the outside was enough. Next we headed up many stairs to the Cave Temples. There are three of them and they are all beautiful inside. The caves are natural. The most impressive part is the ceiling. And the many Buddhas. Many, many Buddhas.

Our next stop was the Matale Spice Garden which sells ayurvedic remedies and has a spa also I think. We took a tour of the gardens, which I thought was pretty interesting and I got some great pictures. But while there were many things in the shop I was interested in, like cocoa powder, vanilla extract, hair removal cream, some massage oils, many things, they were all pretty expensive. I had the feeling that would be the case. I also had the feeling I could get that stuff cheaper elsewhere, and I was right. I did buy the vanilla extract. It is not sold in Kuwait because it is 'distilled' and consider to be alcohol (good grief) so being the excellent smuggler that I am, I bought it. But the other stuff is sold much cheaper in the market in Kandy. Stall number 192.

We went to Devon Hotel next, pretty close to the lake in Kandy. Later that night we went to a cultural show that was pretty good and actually had firewalkers. Not sure I'd ever seen that before. It was entertaining. After the show we went to Temple of the Tooth. It was not what I expected. I expected an old temple, kind of dusty and disheveled. But this temple looks new and has some glitz and glam. The tooth itself is protected under 7 golden caskets that are hidden behind a small door that is only open for offerings at 6:40 every night. Seems like a random time, but maybe it has some significance. The temple was so crowded I couldn't see anything really. There were so many people there it was impossible to really get good pictures or even learn anything about the temple. It was interesting and it is a beautiful place.

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Photos

Polonnaruwa Ancient City
We toured this city on a bicycle. That is the way to do it.

Used to be 7 Stories
This is only 2 stories

Polonnaruwa Ancient City
Royal bathtub. It even has two spouts and a drain. And it still works.

Pray for Fertility
Women who were trying to conceive would rub this and pray for a baby.

Polonnaruwa Ancient City
Highlight - Buddhist Temple - very well preserved and excavated