Sri Lanka - Kandy to Sigiriya

The last day in Kandy, Russell and I went to the Buddha Temple of the Sacred tooth. Neither of us enjoyed it. People were shoving and pushing, everyone trying to make whatever money they can out of whatever they can and it just didn't feel right for us. Disheartened we returned to our hotel to decide what to do next. I had been trying to get Russell to come visit an old colonial cemetery with me located behind the temple but as it had been pouring with rain the last 2 days he was reluctant. Finally I manged to convince him and I'm so glad I did. It had a much more sacred feel with a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere (plus it was free). It was raining, quite dark and fairly late in the afternoon, not long before closing time. We were the only tourists there and apart from some workmen in one corner there wasn't another soul in sight (get it... soul, dead people. Ha!). One young workman tried to lend us his umbrella but we refused and after we'd wandered around a bit he joined us and started telling us the histories of the graves. Most were lucky to make it to 40 and primarily died from malaria with a few from dehydration and mishap. It was in a beautiful setting, tucked into a jungle hillside, surprisingly quiet for being so close to town and made us feel much closer to spiritual love than the Buddhist temple down the hill despite the sad stories. The young man expressed his disappointment that most tourists that visited didn't want to talk to him and told him to go away; something most people do after being constantly harassed by locals trying to sell them things. He didn't work for the cemetery custodians however but was employed by the company doing maintenance (the cemetery primarily relies on donations to restore old graves and infrastructure and the Buddhist temple maintains it). Over time he'd learned many of the stories and although he didn't expect anything for taking us around we had had such a nice experience that of course we have him a small tip whilst his work mates looked on and chuckled.

After this we travelled to Sigiriya to see the famous Sigiriya Rock; which unfortunately we never got the chance to climb as someone got sick. Our driver did get us there safe and sound but without any of the agreed upon stops along the way (such as the Cave Temples at Dambulla which I really wanted to see). We stayed at the Sigiri Queens Rest Guesthouse which is a great place for people on a budget (including backpackers) and the more adventurous. For backpackers there is a very basic treehouse, not high enough to stand up in and open ended but extremely cheap and the owners will generally allow you to shower in their facilities. Our accommodation was in a tree house built from natural boughs and sticks and often using living trees as the basis. There was a bathroom in the tree house with a good flushing toilet and a shower which, although it didn't have much water pressure, it was a lovely experience to shower whilst looking out over wooded plans that could have been anywhere from Africa to Australia with red, coloured dirt and if you're extra lucky a wild Elephant. Keep in mind that when we went there really was a wild male Elephant that sometimes roamed those parts and apparently had killed a couple of people so the recommendation is not to wander off after dark (during daylight is apparently fine and we wandered into the bush a few times without mishap). The German backpackers that we met mentioned that it can be more difficult finding someone in town that will take you back after dark because of the Elephant. 

The town is tiny with only a few shops and places to eat, it's quite a rural area and to be honest the best food is to be found at the Queens Rest. The owner grows all the fruits and veggies himself so everything is organic. He always puts on a huge, varied spread in the outdoor dining area and will usually ask you want you want for tea with options available from crabs and cuttlefish to chicken, vegetable and lentil dishes and there's always far to much food. You'll even get dessert and all at a ridiculously cheap price. The owner wants you to feel like family and after eating his family and himself will often come and chat with you and nearly anything you want he can get for you plus he'll run you everywhere in his tuk tuk for only the cost of the fuel. That evening unfortunately I started to get ill. Disappointing as we'd planned to climb Sigiriya the next morning when the ticket office opened at 7am. The main one I'm disappointed about though is that the morning after we had planned to climb Pidurangala before dawn to be on top to watch the sun rise; a rock the same height as Sigiriya and immediately adjacent it is much much cheaper to climb (300 rupees compared to $35 USD) with the same view and far far less tourists. You can climb this one before dawn and be on top as the sun rises. Heavenly, peaceful and beautiful. The Queens rest will also loan you push bikes for the short ride there.

The next day I rallied for a safari to the Kaudulla Wewa National Park. If I hadn't been in so much pain I wanted an Elephant to trample me to death; it would have been one of the best experiences of the trip. As it was I'll still have the wonderful memories once I forget how uncomfortable I was. Sitting in the back of a jeep on padded bench seats that we had all to ourselves, bumping along down deserted dirt tracks watching a miriad of birds including Eagles, King Fishers, peacocks and many more; monkeys; lizards and watching the beautiful scenery pass by was a wonderful experience culminating in seeing my first wild elephants, including 2 kissing (or that's what I like to think they were doing). Unfortunately after one of the most uncomfortable and painful nights I've had we had to get a driver back to Kandy and after checking back in we had to head straight to the Suwasevana Hospital. Bum.