GOOD MORNING!!
A hearty breakfast it was, and the local cuisine breakfast was an epic one.
I have a suspicion that the staff at Nice Place is secretly plotting to make me fat! Last night, my order of curry (it said egg curry & rice) came with 5 other accompanied dished!! Here I am again feeling obliged to eat and trying not to waste too much food. Seriously, this stuffing-me business is getting a tad bit out of hand. Plus it's not like I'm a walking twig, I have sufficient meat in all the right places and I don't need stuffing!
A hearty breakfast it was, and the local cuisine breakfast was an epic one.
I have a suspicion that the staff at Nice Place is secretly plotting to make me fat! Last night, my order of curry (it said egg curry & rice) came with 5 other accompanied dished!! Here I am again feeling obliged to eat and trying not to waste too much food. Seriously, this stuffing-me business is getting a tad bit out of hand. Plus it's not like I'm a walking twig, I have sufficient meat in all the right places and I don't need stuffing!
Eeeeelleeeephaaaaaant!!!!
This morning I met Kalum for the first time. He would accompany me today on my temple ‘run’. We took a short cut past the Minneriya Wewa where elephants are known to be seen. As we drove along the narrow road, Kalum explained that the road is shut in the evenings, as elephants are known to cross them during this period. Elephants! I hope I get to spot one today.
You can imagine my excitement when I spotted elephant poop! Elephant poop = elephants close by! My excitement was soon frizzled out when Kalum said it was at least 12 hours old, meaning it was from last night. Also, I got a lesson on how to read elephant poop as we saw more than one pile along the way. How exciting…
*feeling like a 5-year-old all over again*
You can imagine my excitement when I spotted elephant poop! Elephant poop = elephants close by! My excitement was soon frizzled out when Kalum said it was at least 12 hours old, meaning it was from last night. Also, I got a lesson on how to read elephant poop as we saw more than one pile along the way. How exciting…
*feeling like a 5-year-old all over again*
Patience is a virtue they say. Behold, an elephant! I spotted one by the side of the road on the way to Polonnaruwa! Not long after the poop lesson!
"STOOOPPP! Hey! stop, stop, stop, stop, STOOOPP!"
Here I was all excited, my tuk tuk driver kept driving! Aiyo!! My tuk tuk driver, being the chicken that he is stopped way out from the elephant, and he had good reason too. Although the elephant looked harmless, it was on its own. And a solo elephant is known to strike without warning as to it, everything that gets closer to it, is a threat. Regardless, we sat and watched this gentle giant eat, and I felt like a Japanese tourist.
"STOOOPPP! Hey! stop, stop, stop, stop, STOOOPP!"
Here I was all excited, my tuk tuk driver kept driving! Aiyo!! My tuk tuk driver, being the chicken that he is stopped way out from the elephant, and he had good reason too. Although the elephant looked harmless, it was on its own. And a solo elephant is known to strike without warning as to it, everything that gets closer to it, is a threat. Regardless, we sat and watched this gentle giant eat, and I felt like a Japanese tourist.
The palace at Polonnaruwa.
Polonnaruwa covers over 8km. Its ruins are dotted in places that run along a straight line, which makes it easier to manoeuvre. It’s about Rs.3500 to visit the site, which also covers the museum entrance. Honestly, it was quicker for me to purchase the tickets than it was chasing away guides!
“Maadaam, it takes 2 hours to cover the site and its 8 kilometres long. You will need a guide as we can better explain this place to you and its history”
“Thank you, but I have this (waving my guidebook) and I’d like to take my time”
“No, the guidebook doesn’t tell you everything and you will miss a few things. You pay so much, it’s better you take a guide. And my fee is not expensive”
Yeah right. He was charging almost the same price as my entrance ticket! Forget it, the guidebook was sufficient and Kalum had some knowledge of the place too. And all of the guides will pester you and keep going on of how you should hire them, blah, blah, bloody blah. After successfully wading them off, with Kalum in tow, we started with the palace grounds.
“Maadaam, it takes 2 hours to cover the site and its 8 kilometres long. You will need a guide as we can better explain this place to you and its history”
“Thank you, but I have this (waving my guidebook) and I’d like to take my time”
“No, the guidebook doesn’t tell you everything and you will miss a few things. You pay so much, it’s better you take a guide. And my fee is not expensive”
Yeah right. He was charging almost the same price as my entrance ticket! Forget it, the guidebook was sufficient and Kalum had some knowledge of the place too. And all of the guides will pester you and keep going on of how you should hire them, blah, blah, bloody blah. After successfully wading them off, with Kalum in tow, we started with the palace grounds.
Beautiful carvings at one of temples.
To the north of the palace is the quadrangle. I’m glad I wore my sandals, as you need to remove your shoes if you wanted a closer look at these places of worship, and you would want to get good walking sandals too.
Vatadage sits within this quadrangle and has 4 different Buddha statues, facing north, south, west and east. It has some of the most beautiful carvings I’ve ever seen. The pictures I took, came at the price tag of burning feet. Like I said, you have to take your shoes off. With the afternoon sun up, the stones were nice and hot. Combine that to bare feet, and you get a Malaysian fidgeting to get a good picture all over the quadrangle.
Vatadage sits within this quadrangle and has 4 different Buddha statues, facing north, south, west and east. It has some of the most beautiful carvings I’ve ever seen. The pictures I took, came at the price tag of burning feet. Like I said, you have to take your shoes off. With the afternoon sun up, the stones were nice and hot. Combine that to bare feet, and you get a Malaysian fidgeting to get a good picture all over the quadrangle.
On the steps of Vatadage.
Although it is Buddhism that is practiced the most, there were also other Hindu temples found on the grounds. It is said that when the rulers married, their spouses were sometimes of Hindu faith hence they built these temples for them. On the way to the quadrangle, I noticed a Shiva Devale on my left. As I left the quadrangle and ventured further in, there were more Hindu temples all dedicated to different Hindu gods that dotted the way.
If you don’t have a tuk tuk like me, you could always rent a bike, which is located at the guardhouse as you approach, and cycle to Rankot Vihara. Now guides would either let you rent the bikes and follow you or take you on a tuk tuk or whatever vehicle you are in.
If you don’t have a tuk tuk like me, you could always rent a bike, which is located at the guardhouse as you approach, and cycle to Rankot Vihara. Now guides would either let you rent the bikes and follow you or take you on a tuk tuk or whatever vehicle you are in.
A Shiva Devale.
I have to admit, both Kalum and my driver are very, very patient people, especially to put with me taking so long. I stopped at almost ever ruin, or I would walk from one to the other. Bottom line, I took my time. They both were just sweet and every so patient. As I recall Kalum said,
“I is sacurity! I follow you, whare you go”.
And he did. He kept me company on my long walk from Rankot Vihara to Gal Vihara.
“I is sacurity! I follow you, whare you go”.
And he did. He kept me company on my long walk from Rankot Vihara to Gal Vihara.
One of the many ruins.
My god you should take that walk! Not many tourists do it, as your tour guide won’t let you walk that far and brush off my telling you there is nothing to see. But there is! There is the beautiful meditating cave, over grown by trees and inhabited by a clan of monkeys. You also see all the houses, or what’s left of them for the monks who inhabited the area in ancient times. But you also come across this one ruin, which I’m guessing could be a school, that have carvings that a far superior that of before, especially the moonstone as it’s not tarnished by all those footsteps. The walk is worth it so take your time, there is no one there…
Also do watch out for hornets… they seem to have nests all over the place. Lankatilaka temple is where you would end up just before Gal Vihara where the hustle and bustle of tourist returns. From there to Gal Vihara is just another 5 minutes; also all your transportation will be waiting for you at this point.
Also do watch out for hornets… they seem to have nests all over the place. Lankatilaka temple is where you would end up just before Gal Vihara where the hustle and bustle of tourist returns. From there to Gal Vihara is just another 5 minutes; also all your transportation will be waiting for you at this point.
Once a place for meditation.
I had a wonderful walk at the ruins and I appreciated Kalum for being so patient and walking with me all the way. He said it was his first time walking through the entire ancient city as not many tourists do! I took 5 hours in total… so much for only 2 hours, eh? See these tour guides just want to rush you in and out like kettle.
Carvings adorn moonstones, which is the first stepping stone to any flight of stairs.
It was getting dark fast on our way back, but we stopped by the roadside at the Minneriya Wewa park to watch elephants feed. This park organisers safaris to watch elephant herds, but if you’re as lucky as me, you get to watch them for free. At dusk, these elephants come out to feed by the lake as the grass is sweeter than the rest of the plain.
One of the herds of elephants at Minneriya park.
As soon as I got back, as usual I paid Darshana for the tuk tuk’s cost for the day and I proceed to give Kalum a little something as it was kind of him to accompany me. He refused, I felt so guilty and I think I offended him too. When I even wanted to pay him for lunch he refused saying it was his treat. Now I feel really guilty. He’s such a genuine person… Okay, I still feel utterly guilty as I think I really did offend him!
Maybe tomorrow, if he comes along, I could perhaps get him something or buy him lunch?
Next up: Village experience!
Maybe tomorrow, if he comes along, I could perhaps get him something or buy him lunch?
Next up: Village experience!
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