Sri Lanka Part II : Polonnaruwa and Dambulla

Day 4: A 6:15 breakfast and a 7am cycle start meant that by 12:30 we had cycled 70 kilometres. What a fantastic morning. We cycled past paddy fields and Buddha statues and again lots of people saying hello, which as of right now, is my favorite thing about Sri Lanka. The locals on the rural roads definitely think we are in a race and they cheer us on and tell us to go faster – it’s brilliant I’ve never waved and said hi and “bye bye” to say many people in my life!!

On the way to Ritigala we see lots of birds and peacocks and have a great view of the mountain

Time to explore the ruins of the 2,000 year old monastery which involves climbing up through the various platforms

Back on the coach we have another 60km to Polonnaruwa…… At various times over the last few days our guide Sam has told us about the conflict that exists in Sri Lanka – the conflict that is between man and elephant. Apparently around 50 people die every year due to wild elephants and approximately 150 elephants are killed. There are signs warning about elephants but it does seem like a bit of a joke and for sure a photo opportunity…

When I asked Sam how likely it was that we’d see one he said very but I didn’t really believe him. Cut to an hour later and we have elephants on both sides of the main road on our way to Polonnaruwa. It was amazing to see them just walk along the side of the road beside the traffic but when they decided to cross the road it was a little scary. We managed to get past them safely but a small car behind us who stupidly tried to get closer for a photograph got a belt of the elephants trunk.

After the excitement of the elephants we arrive at our hotel – Hotel Syricano which again has a lovely pool that we all head straight for. After a quick splash and a little downtime we head to dinner at a family home. The mother and daughters show us how to make dahl and prepare a feast of food for us to enjoy in their “back garden”. It’s spicy and delicious and with a few beers we’re ready for a bit of a sing song on the bus home.

Day 5: Next morning we set off to explore the Polonnaruwa heritage site. So many monkeys as we cycle between the sites

A couple of highlights are Lankatilaka which has this giant Buddha missing its head

and the Vihara temple with an impressive reclining Buddha

After a quick pit stop back at the hotel we set off again for approximately 20 km starting on the path along the lake which goes on for quite a while as it’s a huge lake! We pass more rural homes where families and kids wave at us and we see the presidential cavalcade pass by as the president is in the local area

Lunch is quite an experience today : as we enjoy our delicious picnic of rice and other delights wrapped in lotus leaf we are surrounded by monkeys looking for food! Our guides act as guards keeping them at bay but at one point it’s like a scene from planet of the apes

The last 7 km of today’s 45ish is bumpy and passes by roadworks with gravel and holes on the road. It’s not very enjoyable and I’m delighted to get off the bike and out of the blistering sun to get on the bus for an hour. Before we hit our next hotel we visit the fruit and veg market where we see lots of interesting vegetables and of course lots of bananas

There’s an optional extra for those interested to visit another temple, shattered as I am I jump at the chance and when we see it (one other person came with me) I’m very happy I didn’t miss it. There’s a hefty climb of steps to get to what they call the cave temples ….

…. but it’s definitely worth it. We see amazing Buddhas:

There’s some great views looking out from the cave temple

We finish the visit by walking downhill to the golden Buddha – not the prettiest looking Buddha I’ve seen and honestly a bit tacky.

Dinner tonight is at a place called Mango Mango which has pizzas and quesadillas which are a welcome change from curry!

Dinner tonight is at a restaurant downtown called Mango Mango where they have pizza and quesadillas – everyone is happy to have