In the scheme of things this has been a very interesting day. The plan today was to don our cultural hats and visit a couple of Sri Lankas world acclaimed heritage sights
Broadly speaking we have split our month in Sri Lanka 50/50 between sightseeing and beach. The first 2 weeks in the central and mountain regions. The remaing 2 weeks on the beaches of the south.
Today was the first of our must see places. Dambulla cave temples and Sigiraya rock.
The first of these is almost across the road from where we are staying so itv was an easy 5 minute drive to get there. There was a large car park directly outside the main ticket office so I gently nosed "Ruby" under a tree to try and keep her cool. This turned out to be a mistake.
The cave temples date from the 4th century and are still an active Buddhist temple. As such the standard rule applies rearding the dress code. No shorts for men and ladies covered below the knee with no shoulders exposed. We are well versed in this matter now so Crispy took a lightweight dress to put over her shorts and t shirt. I took my zip on zip off trouser sections for my travelling shorts. Otherwise you're forced to wear the sarongs that are provided (at a cost) and it always feels a little fancydress. Plus you never know when they were last in a washing machine.
The temple caves are at the top of a steep flight of 99 steps. They are natural caves in the granite hillside and are very impressive. Filled with hundreds of Images of the buddha and painted in antiquity. It, as always is, was peaceful calm and serene. We have visited many temples in many countries and we always find it a beautiful experience. I could wax lyrical but it's better to just look at the pictures.
When we had finished our visit we returned to our tuk tuk to find that Rubys front sunshield was broken. The culprit was still inside trying to break into the glove box. It scarpered double quick when Crispy appeared The guy in the tuk tuk parked next to us informed us that the monkey had jumped from the tree and cracked the plastic above the windshield before rifling trough the interior . It's no big deal but has reinforced my dislike of the furry little feckers. Lesson 1 learned. Don't park under any trees.
We already knew not to leave anything, especially food, in the tuk tuk so there was nothing for it to steal but they can cause considerable damage.
After a quick sellotape repair to our beloved Ruby we set off to our next destination. Sigiraya. This had been the number one sight to see on our journey to Sri Lanka. A world famous UNESCO heritage site.
Sigiraya, or Lion Rock, is a huge granite outcrop rising from the northern plains. In ancient times it was the palace of the kings of Ceylon who built their palace on it's summit and their amazing royal city around its base. This area is relatively flat and the granite bastion is visible for miles around.
It is now the most visited site in Sri Lanka and having visited it we understand why.
The main attraction is to climb up the 1200 steps to it's summit. Crispy was thrilled at the prospect. I'd told her a little about the rock but must have ommited the part about climbing it. She's been missing the gym so was as happy as a sandboy at the opportunity of getting her old bones moving. It has been 32 degrees in the shade today which made the exercise even more enjoyable. It took us just over an hour to reach the summit over what appeard to be some very open and exposed metal stairways. The climb was worth it and the views from the top amazing.
After the descent we made our way home without further incident and got showered before walking into town for tea. Then the night got a little more interesting.
Bare and Crispy signing off. Dambulla, Sri Lanka
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