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Twice around the world in 40 days
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Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka and one of eight World Heritage sites in the country. It was founded about the 5th century BC, and the site has origins going back to the 10th Century.
After the coming of Buddhism, there was a major building spurt abt 100 BC. The site is enormous - there are multiple stupas and monastery complexes. My Lonely Planet suggested a couple of days to explore - I did the RooFlyer version in an afternoon. But seriously, in my experience with visiting Buddhist sites in other countries is that there is a lot of sameness on a theme and I didn't care to see every Buddha statue, as my guide at Bagan in Myanmar was determined to do!
When we visited, there was some sort of religious festival/gathering at the site, so it was crowded with people visiting the shrines, picnicking and parading. On of the hazards that day were these long lines of parades, bearing the long ?flags - you couldn't cut across and they took abt 15 mins or so to go by!
This is the Ruwanwelisaya stupa, built c140BC by a King who united the disparate Sri Lankan kingdoms (should just say 'Lankan' kingdoms). It was substantially rebuilt around 1900. We went up to the platform, but there a problem became obvious. You have to go barefoot at the entrance to the stupa area (to the right of the LH pic) and the stone paths were scorching hot! OK for the locals, but for my tender tootsies it was a matter of hopping from shade to shade and then hot-footing it
across bare stones. It hurt!
Another shrine, and at the right, the Bodhi tree, which I think is a perpetuation of a tree once tended by one of the Buddhas. these days they propagate it by tissue culture. This was at the end of an approx. 300m path, and again, difficult and sometimes painful to get there. And of course you had to pay a guy to 'mind' your thongs. The monks also charge admission fee.
More parades and stupas.
We moved away from the crowds to the non-shine part of the site. Lots and lots of ruins like in the LH pic. The bricks are often re-builds; the uprights are granite, genuine but re-erected. Would have been wooden walls and roofs. There are hundreds of buildings like this - monk's cells, meeting rooms, etc. RH pic shows a monastery 'refectory'.
The stone trough on the right is in the refectory (top LH of RH pic above) and supposedly was filled with rice and the monks used to help themselves from here. Another trough held the curry etc.
A feature here and elsewhere are massive reservoirs (as in multi-kms in dimensions), built during the time of the city. This to provide water for irrigation etc between monsoons. Massive works of engineering that endure quite well today. On the RH side a ?bathing pool.
Often temples had a 'guardian stone'. Those familiar with SE Asia, eg Laos will be familiar with the serpent 'Nagas'.
Chines -like or influence?
After the coming of Buddhism, there was a major building spurt abt 100 BC. The site is enormous - there are multiple stupas and monastery complexes. My Lonely Planet suggested a couple of days to explore - I did the RooFlyer version in an afternoon. But seriously, in my experience with visiting Buddhist sites in other countries is that there is a lot of sameness on a theme and I didn't care to see every Buddha statue, as my guide at Bagan in Myanmar was determined to do!
When we visited, there was some sort of religious festival/gathering at the site, so it was crowded with people visiting the shrines, picnicking and parading. On of the hazards that day were these long lines of parades, bearing the long ?flags - you couldn't cut across and they took abt 15 mins or so to go by!
This is the Ruwanwelisaya stupa, built c140BC by a King who united the disparate Sri Lankan kingdoms (should just say 'Lankan' kingdoms). It was substantially rebuilt around 1900. We went up to the platform, but there a problem became obvious. You have to go barefoot at the entrance to the stupa area (to the right of the LH pic) and the stone paths were scorching hot! OK for the locals, but for my tender tootsies it was a matter of hopping from shade to shade and then hot-footing it
across bare stones. It hurt!Another shrine, and at the right, the Bodhi tree, which I think is a perpetuation of a tree once tended by one of the Buddhas. these days they propagate it by tissue culture. This was at the end of an approx. 300m path, and again, difficult and sometimes painful to get there. And of course you had to pay a guy to 'mind' your thongs. The monks also charge admission fee.
More parades and stupas.
We moved away from the crowds to the non-shine part of the site. Lots and lots of ruins like in the LH pic. The bricks are often re-builds; the uprights are granite, genuine but re-erected. Would have been wooden walls and roofs. There are hundreds of buildings like this - monk's cells, meeting rooms, etc. RH pic shows a monastery 'refectory'.
The stone trough on the right is in the refectory (top LH of RH pic above) and supposedly was filled with rice and the monks used to help themselves from here. Another trough held the curry etc.
A feature here and elsewhere are massive reservoirs (as in multi-kms in dimensions), built during the time of the city. This to provide water for irrigation etc between monsoons. Massive works of engineering that endure quite well today. On the RH side a ?bathing pool.
Often temples had a 'guardian stone'. Those familiar with SE Asia, eg Laos will be familiar with the serpent 'Nagas'.
Chines -like or influence?
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The Abhayagiri stupa is immense. 2.8 million bricks were used just in its recent conservation; 235 feet high and 310 feet across the base. There was/is a room inside where Buddhist 'relics' were kept by the monks.
It used to be covered in stone - remnants in LH pic.
Does the RH figure remind you of central America?
The RH pic is of a bathing pool. Bit scummy right now!
It used to be covered in stone - remnants in LH pic.
Does the RH figure remind you of central America?
The RH pic is of a bathing pool. Bit scummy right now!
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There were many more stupas, temples, statues etc ... but I'm sure you get the idea 
We went back to the car in the 'festival' area and found ourselves hemmed in by a couple of parades. Its sort of a 'battle of the bands' for religious groups.
First came the sweepers and the music:
Then the guys groov'n. They were right into it!!
More music, then the Serious Carryers of the Books. Actually all these were repeated a couple of times. It was a long parade!
Back to the hotel. No G&T - I think you could get beer, but I stuck with water and then a lassie with dinner. I was surprised that lassies aren't a Sri Lankan thing.
Dinner was as nice as lunch. This was a vegetarian cashew nut curry with rice and hot chutneys. OK, the ice cream wasn't native.
We went back to the car in the 'festival' area and found ourselves hemmed in by a couple of parades. Its sort of a 'battle of the bands' for religious groups.
First came the sweepers and the music:
Then the guys groov'n. They were right into it!!
More music, then the Serious Carryers of the Books. Actually all these were repeated a couple of times. It was a long parade!
Back to the hotel. No G&T - I think you could get beer, but I stuck with water and then a lassie with dinner. I was surprised that lassies aren't a Sri Lankan thing.
Dinner was as nice as lunch. This was a vegetarian cashew nut curry with rice and hot chutneys. OK, the ice cream wasn't native.
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Maybe they prefer laddies!
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Lassi .... <mumbles something about a lounge crawl ...>
pagingjoan
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Hi RooFlyer,
I’ve just caught up with the last umpteen pages of your TR.
A whirlwind.
Lots of good memories conjured up of common ground covered.
But my equivalent trips have been done over decades - and yours over days!
Your stamina is most impressive. Terrific pics, too.
Thank you for the exhilarating tour/s.
I’ve just caught up with the last umpteen pages of your TR.
A whirlwind.
Lots of good memories conjured up of common ground covered.
But my equivalent trips have been done over decades - and yours over days!
Your stamina is most impressive. Terrific pics, too.
Thank you for the exhilarating tour/s.
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Yes, I'm afraid I do over do it sometimes. My problem is that I'm greedy - I pay umpteen $ for the fares etc, so I want to see it all!! But I do return to those places that I like, then do them in a much more leisurely fashion, having no 'tourist' requirements.
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And I must get going again and get this wretched report done!
Next day we headed off to visit Polonnaruwa, another ancient city. Unfortunately in the trip scheduling, the guide had forgotten to put this one in (it was in my original request) and I didn't notice the omission until quite late, so it would only be a few hours after a long-ish drive rather than most of a day that I wanted. Today would also be disappointing in the food department!
The country we were in was very lush. Some of the reservoirs are natural, but many were created by the ancient civilisations to manage the monsoonal rainfall - making the water last all through the year.
Lotus, white and red lilies predominate the flowers in the water. The road surfaces are very good and out of the cities traffic isn't too bad and frequently the roads are quite open.
We were approaching Polonnaruwa and needed a lunch stop, so Lucky suggested 'the Gunners' - its in a military base, but leased to private operators, and has a 'bakery'. bakeries are quite popular in Sri Lanka, I found and are run along much the same lines as bakeries we see in Australia. Of course I wanted to try something 'local' and chose a Sambol bun I think it was. Filled with fried onlion and similar, but generally dry and disappointing.
The city was established in the 11th Century and overall is in better condition than Anuradhapura (not surprisingly) and I enjoyed visiting it much more that the latter. But similarly, the complex is very large and consists of many monasteries and building complexes.
On the southern end is Potgul Vihara monastery complex, and a statue thought to be a 12th century king holding a book, hence the area is also known as the library.
This is the 12th century council building. You can see the royal lion at tis end.
The seating arrangement of the dignitaries is carved on the pillars.
As elsewhere, there are complex water management systems, with bathing houses, cascades etc.
Driving back to the northern part of the complex, we passed another reservoir - its huge, and man made in the 12th century. Looking towards the central mountain area of Sri Lanka. In the RH pic is the lodge that QE 2 stayed in during her 1956 visit.
Next day we headed off to visit Polonnaruwa, another ancient city. Unfortunately in the trip scheduling, the guide had forgotten to put this one in (it was in my original request) and I didn't notice the omission until quite late, so it would only be a few hours after a long-ish drive rather than most of a day that I wanted. Today would also be disappointing in the food department!
The country we were in was very lush. Some of the reservoirs are natural, but many were created by the ancient civilisations to manage the monsoonal rainfall - making the water last all through the year.
Lotus, white and red lilies predominate the flowers in the water. The road surfaces are very good and out of the cities traffic isn't too bad and frequently the roads are quite open.
We were approaching Polonnaruwa and needed a lunch stop, so Lucky suggested 'the Gunners' - its in a military base, but leased to private operators, and has a 'bakery'. bakeries are quite popular in Sri Lanka, I found and are run along much the same lines as bakeries we see in Australia. Of course I wanted to try something 'local' and chose a Sambol bun I think it was. Filled with fried onlion and similar, but generally dry and disappointing.
The city was established in the 11th Century and overall is in better condition than Anuradhapura (not surprisingly) and I enjoyed visiting it much more that the latter. But similarly, the complex is very large and consists of many monasteries and building complexes.
On the southern end is Potgul Vihara monastery complex, and a statue thought to be a 12th century king holding a book, hence the area is also known as the library.
This is the 12th century council building. You can see the royal lion at tis end.
The seating arrangement of the dignitaries is carved on the pillars.
As elsewhere, there are complex water management systems, with bathing houses, cascades etc.
Driving back to the northern part of the complex, we passed another reservoir - its huge, and man made in the 12th century. Looking towards the central mountain area of Sri Lanka. In the RH pic is the lodge that QE 2 stayed in during her 1956 visit.
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Moving a bit northwards, this is the Royal Palace, again, 12th century. three of the original seven stories remaining, and a lot of surrounding buildings for kitchens, servants, meetings etc.
Decoration around the Council Hall
On the right is the 'moonstone' that's at the bottom of a flight of steps. they are all over the place and the patterns and which animals are included tell a story. But I can't remember the story!
This was the most unusual structure on the site - the Vatadage, a round stone building enclosing a stupa.
Two guard stones at the entrance, as usual, said to be the best of their kind on the site.
Note the bull carved at the left - very unusual in Buddhist temples.
Geese, elephants and ?horses on this moonstone.
Decoration around the Council Hall
On the right is the 'moonstone' that's at the bottom of a flight of steps. they are all over the place and the patterns and which animals are included tell a story. But I can't remember the story!
This was the most unusual structure on the site - the Vatadage, a round stone building enclosing a stupa.
Two guard stones at the entrance, as usual, said to be the best of their kind on the site.
Note the bull carved at the left - very unusual in Buddhist temples.
Geese, elephants and ?horses on this moonstone.
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Most of the site renovation was done some time ago, but it still goes on ...
On the RH pic, the Galpota or 'stone book', inscribed late 12th century giving the genealogy and heroic deeds of King Nissankamalla. The pic of the two elephants springling water ver the woman belongs here.
Set away from the other buildings is this solitary, still active Siva Devala Hindu temple, 10th century.
Back in the car and going north again. The whole area is park-like and if it was a mild day, you could spend all day just wandering around and it would be a great experience. Unfortunately neither mild day nor time available for me!
The next monastery complex, Alahana Parivena alone has an area of 35 acres!! Built by King Parakramabahu in mid 12th century. In the centre is the Lankatilaka, a tall narrow building once housing a very large Buddha.
As usual, there are monks' cells, refectories, meeting and prayer buildings and we found this fella in residence.
A (squat) toilet - in the top LH corner, with the top of the waste tank behind it ; also a bathing pool. It goes on and on!
Stupas probably marking the grave sites of Royalty or high priests.
On the RH pic, the Galpota or 'stone book', inscribed late 12th century giving the genealogy and heroic deeds of King Nissankamalla. The pic of the two elephants springling water ver the woman belongs here.
Set away from the other buildings is this solitary, still active Siva Devala Hindu temple, 10th century.
Back in the car and going north again. The whole area is park-like and if it was a mild day, you could spend all day just wandering around and it would be a great experience. Unfortunately neither mild day nor time available for me!
The next monastery complex, Alahana Parivena alone has an area of 35 acres!! Built by King Parakramabahu in mid 12th century. In the centre is the Lankatilaka, a tall narrow building once housing a very large Buddha.
As usual, there are monks' cells, refectories, meeting and prayer buildings and we found this fella in residence.
A (squat) toilet - in the top LH corner, with the top of the waste tank behind it ; also a bathing pool. It goes on and on!
Stupas probably marking the grave sites of Royalty or high priests.
pagingjoan
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Quote: "And I must get going again and get this wretched report done!"
While I can understand the sentiment, and the huge task you have taken on, "wretched" it is not!
While I can understand the sentiment, and the huge task you have taken on, "wretched" it is not!
Pushka
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That’s why I do them at the time.
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Mine start on the road, but I think this one started falling behind after a week. 
As Lucky said, the best is last at Polonnaruwa. This is Gal Vihara, three exquisitely carved Buddha figures; one sitting, one standing and one lying down, plus a couple of smaller carvings.
Same age as most of the rest of the site - 12th Century. The position of the hands in the standing figure I understand is very unusual.
As a geologist I was able to also admire the 2 generations of folding in the garnet granite gneiss .
As Lucky said, the best is last at Polonnaruwa. This is Gal Vihara, three exquisitely carved Buddha figures; one sitting, one standing and one lying down, plus a couple of smaller carvings.
Same age as most of the rest of the site - 12th Century. The position of the hands in the standing figure I understand is very unusual.
As a geologist I was able to also admire the 2 generations of folding in the garnet granite gneiss .
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After the site we had a bot of a drive to our destination that night, Melrose Villas near Sigiriya rock.
For accommodation, Lucky had recommendations for most places, but I only went with him for the middle two nights. I definitely wanted a couple of 'guesthouse' nights, as this is where you can get 'genuine' Sri Lankan cooking, as I specified this when Lucky gave me some choices. It's off season, so the coast for accom, dinner and breakfast was US$50.
Sigiriya Rock appears in the distance; the roads are still open and good, but that would change tomorrow!
Melrose is approached down a long lane and there are plenty of other accommodations nearby. In fact the next day reveals a vast number, in the full range from luxury to basic. I would say Melrose was about 3 out of 5 on the scale.
My single villa was stand alone with one big bedroom and a bathroom; others on site were obviously multi bedroomed with additional rooms. Looked as though 4 or 5 individual units. My room was basic but comfortable enough; moderate speed Wi-Fi.
Now to dinner. Big letdown. I discussed dinner with Lucky before he left for his own digs (most of the places provide accom for drivers - some of the higher end places don't though and the driver/guide will add extra for those, for their accom.), noting I was after real SL food.
Well, something got lost in translation, as I got a cream of potato soup, and a chicken & veg crepe!!
. I was the only guest that night. Half way through the cook came out to ask how it was, and I was really surprised to find he spoke quite good English (if I had known that I would have told him direct what I wanted ). I mentioned that it lacked spice and he immediately went and got a bowl of spicy fried onion I think it was, but too late really. The meal was nice in itself, but not what I came to SL for!
A nice sunset on Sigiriya Rock partly compensated. It doesn't look that high from here, does it?
For accommodation, Lucky had recommendations for most places, but I only went with him for the middle two nights. I definitely wanted a couple of 'guesthouse' nights, as this is where you can get 'genuine' Sri Lankan cooking, as I specified this when Lucky gave me some choices. It's off season, so the coast for accom, dinner and breakfast was US$50.
Sigiriya Rock appears in the distance; the roads are still open and good, but that would change tomorrow!
Melrose is approached down a long lane and there are plenty of other accommodations nearby. In fact the next day reveals a vast number, in the full range from luxury to basic. I would say Melrose was about 3 out of 5 on the scale.
My single villa was stand alone with one big bedroom and a bathroom; others on site were obviously multi bedroomed with additional rooms. Looked as though 4 or 5 individual units. My room was basic but comfortable enough; moderate speed Wi-Fi.
Now to dinner. Big letdown. I discussed dinner with Lucky before he left for his own digs (most of the places provide accom for drivers - some of the higher end places don't though and the driver/guide will add extra for those, for their accom.), noting I was after real SL food.
Well, something got lost in translation, as I got a cream of potato soup, and a chicken & veg crepe!!
. I was the only guest that night. Half way through the cook came out to ask how it was, and I was really surprised to find he spoke quite good English (if I had known that I would have told him direct what I wanted ). I mentioned that it lacked spice and he immediately went and got a bowl of spicy fried onion I think it was, but too late really. The meal was nice in itself, but not what I came to SL for!A nice sunset on Sigiriya Rock partly compensated. It doesn't look that high from here, does it?
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I forgot ... on the way to Melrose Villas, I decided to have a 'Ayurvedic massage'. The technique originated in India, but is popular in Sri Lanka and having read about it, wanted to give it a go, although I'm not a regular massage-user. Lucky knew a 'good one' near Sigiuri, so we stopped there: Habarana Ayurvedic Centre.
No pictures
but the treatment consisted of a massage with heavily herbed massage oil - this is key - the herbs are meant to have therapeutic value. Then abt 20 mins in a wooden steam cabinet with a bunch of vegetation in it, then a lighter massage and rub down.
The 'tricky' thing I found was that the first thing done was to pour a bunch of massage oil into the scalp, and rub it thoroughly through the hair. That was all very well, but at the end, when I was expecting a towel and a shower, it was just 'clothes back on'. Although they rubbed off most of the oil, there was nothing getting past bunch of not-bad-smelling oil in my hair and elsewhere. Of course, washing off the oil countered one of the points of the massage - the on-going therapeutic value of it, but there was no way I was going to get back into my clothes and the car sticky with oil, so after a consultation with the 'doctor' I was allowed to have a shower.
After a second one at the accommodation, I almost stopped smelling of a basted shoulder of pork.
No pictures
but the treatment consisted of a massage with heavily herbed massage oil - this is key - the herbs are meant to have therapeutic value. Then abt 20 mins in a wooden steam cabinet with a bunch of vegetation in it, then a lighter massage and rub down.The 'tricky' thing I found was that the first thing done was to pour a bunch of massage oil into the scalp, and rub it thoroughly through the hair. That was all very well, but at the end, when I was expecting a towel and a shower, it was just 'clothes back on'. Although they rubbed off most of the oil, there was nothing getting past bunch of not-bad-smelling oil in my hair and elsewhere. Of course, washing off the oil countered one of the points of the massage - the on-going therapeutic value of it, but there was no way I was going to get back into my clothes and the car sticky with oil, so after a consultation with the 'doctor' I was allowed to have a shower.
After a second one at the accommodation, I almost stopped smelling of a basted shoulder of pork.
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Up early the next morning to get to the entrance of Sigiriya (Lion) Rock before it opens at 7am - breakfast when we return. The pic on the left is actually after we returned to the hotel! Abt 10 mins drive to the entry to the park (a World Heritage site) and we are at the ticket office abt 10 mins before it opens; third ina line, but everyone just sits nearby. By the time it opens there are about a dozen people after tickets.
Why? Obviously its cooler to climb in the morning, but more importantly, at least for a single traveller like me, is that the climb up the rock is steep and narrow. I for one did NOT want to get stuck behind a tour group that wouldn't have my, er, pace. Very scenic near the ticket office. there is quite a complex there (museum etc) but we didn't go in.
Numerous birds about; I think these are a grey headed fish eagle and a Golden Oriole ...
The rock is basically a citadel, with a fort on top - much like Masada in Israel. The fort on top was built abt 500AD but the site - particularly caves around the base were occupied maybe a couple of hundred years BC.
Of course, we are going to climb up it
The rock is surrounded by several moats and inside that is a magnificent 'water garden', now with only the outlines of brick buildings but the water features, including gravity fed fountains, (inactive) remain.
The unglam pool on the right is a bathing pool.
Just near the pool something swooped low, a spray of feathers and then we saw this guy in the trees above us, looking pleased with himself. A Shaheen Falcon has got an Alexandrine Parakeet.
The rock entrance and water garden from above:
Abt 10 mins drive to the entry to the park (a World Heritage site) and we are at the ticket office abt 10 mins before it opens; third ina line, but everyone just sits nearby. By the time it opens there are about a dozen people after tickets.Why? Obviously its cooler to climb in the morning, but more importantly, at least for a single traveller like me, is that the climb up the rock is steep and narrow. I for one did NOT want to get stuck behind a tour group that wouldn't have my, er, pace. Very scenic near the ticket office. there is quite a complex there (museum etc) but we didn't go in.
Numerous birds about; I think these are a grey headed fish eagle and a Golden Oriole ...
The rock is basically a citadel, with a fort on top - much like Masada in Israel. The fort on top was built abt 500AD but the site - particularly caves around the base were occupied maybe a couple of hundred years BC.
Of course, we are going to climb up it
The rock is surrounded by several moats and inside that is a magnificent 'water garden', now with only the outlines of brick buildings but the water features, including gravity fed fountains, (inactive) remain.
The unglam pool on the right is a bathing pool.
Just near the pool something swooped low, a spray of feathers and then we saw this guy in the trees above us, looking pleased with himself. A Shaheen Falcon has got an Alexandrine Parakeet.
The rock entrance and water garden from above:
henleybeach
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Some great photos
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The climb begins. To the top its abt 200m vertically. Around the base of the rock are large boulders and man made caves which provided shelter for monks before King Kasyapa came to build his fort. He had new caves made on a nearby hill & shipped the monks out!
A short way up is this gantry, then a side ladder up to a separate gallery. Steep circular metal staircase. In that gallery, and also behind the wall to the left are galleries of 1,600 year-old magnificent frescoes in what is known as the Cobra Head Cave.
No photos allowed in the gallery, which is closely supervised. I queried why no photos without flash, as the paintings are in normal light (now behind mesh screens) - the answer was that many people don't know how to turn off their flash, and that actually sounds a reasonable reason! The brown wall in the pic above is apparently original - necessary as the path is just a narrow ledge on a vertical wall!
Plenty of pics on the web fortunately: I've sourced these from Sigiriya Rock Fortress : Tourist Attractions in Sri Lanka | Visit Sri Lanka Holidays : DJ Travels and Climbing the Lion Rock | TravelShus
About half way up you get to the 'Lion's Gate. Most of this face used to be occupied by a gigantic brick lion, facing out across the plain as a message by the King to prospective enemies! Only the feet remain, and a nice view of the climb to come.
Onwards and upwards! Stairs just bolted onto the rock face.
Looking down the Lion face.
Interesting ascent.
A short way up is this gantry, then a side ladder up to a separate gallery. Steep circular metal staircase. In that gallery, and also behind the wall to the left are galleries of 1,600 year-old magnificent frescoes in what is known as the Cobra Head Cave.
No photos allowed in the gallery, which is closely supervised. I queried why no photos without flash, as the paintings are in normal light (now behind mesh screens) - the answer was that many people don't know how to turn off their flash, and that actually sounds a reasonable reason! The brown wall in the pic above is apparently original - necessary as the path is just a narrow ledge on a vertical wall!
Plenty of pics on the web fortunately: I've sourced these from Sigiriya Rock Fortress : Tourist Attractions in Sri Lanka | Visit Sri Lanka Holidays : DJ Travels and Climbing the Lion Rock | TravelShus
About half way up you get to the 'Lion's Gate. Most of this face used to be occupied by a gigantic brick lion, facing out across the plain as a message by the King to prospective enemies! Only the feet remain, and a nice view of the climb to come.
Onwards and upwards! Stairs just bolted onto the rock face.
Looking down the Lion face.
Interesting ascent.
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