April 9th 2013
Woke late this morning and didn't get to breakfast till 7.30. Then with the advice of the lovely housekeepers at Settle Inn (Kandy), I caught a local bus into Kandy centre. At one point the bus braked sharply and I stumbled - almost falling on top of the driver. It certainly created amusement for other passengers,
Then, as if by magic, I was straight on to a country bus heading north towards Anuradhapura via Dambulla.
Two hours later, I disembarked in Dambulla and deposited my bag in this little hotel before heading straight off in a tuktuk to get a local bus to Sigiriya. It became as packed as a tin of sardines and once again I was the only "whitey" on board.
Forty minutes later we were there with the huge volcanic plug that is Sigiriya rising up out of the jungle. The rock has served many functions in history but it is essentially viewed as a venerable site of ancient Buddhism.
You climb up the sheer rock and come to the fresco cave - then onward and upwards to the fortress plateau where I met two lovely Chinese students whose English was most impressive. The taller girl will be studying at The University of Birmingham in the next academic year. I also met a group of Buddhist monks from Myanmar (Burma). We sat together in the shade of a tree surveying the vast green canopy of trees below us and conversed as best we could.
There are many more things I could say about this visit to such an amazing location but let's fast forward to early evening back in Dambulla where I fancied a couple of beers in a locals bar.
After three bottle of "Lion" I am very happy to escape from that dark and dingy lair with backpack and wallet still in my possession. I doubt that they have ever seen a white tourist in there before and you certainly would not find that rough drinking hole listed in the "Lonely Planet" guidebook.
Good job you escaped One-Eyed Man with only a few glasses of beer and some rupees to fork out. I wonder how a single woman would have fared in that situation.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, you sitting with the monks sounds very peaceful. I would really like to have such a conversation, with people whose lives are so completel different from my own.
The front monk spoke fairly good English and translated for the others.
DeletePerhaps, as a solo male traveller, you were a little safer than I would have been in that situation?
ReplyDeleteNot if you had remembered to put a house brick in your capacious handbag - ready for swinging.
DeleteThis is the difference between men and women. Few women would ever travel like this, I certainly wouldn't, while men can.
ReplyDeleteI have encountered solo female travellers in faraway places but, as you suggest, they are few and far between. It is not easy for a man but far more unnerving for women.
DeleteWhat Pixie said.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I like it that you got out into the parts of the place that were not listed in the tour books.
I travelled on perhaps twenty different buses in Sri Lanka and never saw another white person on any of them.
DeleteI love the bright colour of the Buddhist monk's robes. It seems like a never to be forgotten trip for you.
ReplyDeleteI would not mind going back. There were things I missed. My daughter and son-in-law had their honeymoon in Sri Lanka.
Deleteapart from the glass eye, that man coulda been me!! Perhaps that's my future?
ReplyDeleteYeah... but I believe that you can speak English!
DeleteWell, if you arms were a bit longer or your pockets less deep, you could have picked up some rough trade at the bar.
ReplyDeleteMmm... I am not that way inclined Andrew.
DeleteLooks like an amazing place, and I love the portrait of the monks. The bar encounter sounds scary. You could have been rolled! I'm curious why you use the name Ceylon in your post titles, rather than Sri Lanka? Wasn't it already renamed Sri Lanka when you visited?
ReplyDeleteIt's a nod to my father who was in Ceylon during World War II. Also, historically, the island was known as Saylan and the connected Portuguese name Ceilão morphed into Ceylon. The modern, politically concocted name "Sri Lanka" has only been in existence since 1972. I stayed with an older couple who ran a little guest house and still referred to their island country as Ceylon.
DeleteLife off the beaten path, is filled with discoveries.
ReplyDeleteYou were an adventurous traveler, Neil. Lucky to have such wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteColourful, but the one-eyed man would have worried me rather. I wonder if he garnered enough for his glass eye?
ReplyDelete