Keep Track of Julia: April 18, 2015

Time to catch up. Monica has come and gone. We had a great time. Wonderful to see her. Here is what happened.

The drive down to the airport on March 27 went much more quickly than I would have guessed. We took the Kurunegala route. The road is in great condition and much straighter than the Colombo road. We arrived in 2 1/2 hours. Had to wait a little bit but the flight arrived 5 minutes early. Another big surprise. The ride home was just as fast. We stopped for hoppers on the way, so Monica had her taste of Sri Lankan cuisine. After all, the hopper is the crowning achievement of the Sinhalese kitchen. Stolen from Kerala really, but what the heck.

Right to bed when we got home. Monica had not slept on the long flight, so she was pooped.

Next morning it was unpacking time and I got all my loot. Enough dental floss to last me a couple of years, lovely maple syrup that has been slurped up twice now with home made pancakes, walnuts that have also been used in a lovely arugula salad, pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts, raw cacao powder, a big bottle of Abolut vodka half of which we enjoyed, a bottle of tequila which did not get cracked because the fridge broke down, but that is another story, nail polish that my toes will really appreciate.

We spend a couple of days getting Monica acclimatized. A trip to the Citadel for a swim really helped as did the gazpacho party that the Kawasakis invited us to. Luckily, I still had a bit of MJ left from my first purchase, as at this point Jez had not come through with the supplies. A bit of a trip in the tuktuk also gave her a taste. Oddly enough, we ran into Judith and her friends Ian and Christine visiting from England with whom we had planned a trip the next week. Then it was off to do the cultural triangle.

Day One

We set off early on Monday morning, March 30 with Lal behind the wheel of his van. The same one I had used to pick Monica up. Judith acting as navigator, Ian and Christine in the middle seats because of Christine's MS, and the two potential car sickness victims in the far back. We were through Matale by 9 and then on to the Dambulla Thilanka Hotel for breakfast. Not too impressive. They really were not ready for us as all the bus tours had left much earlier and had pillaged the buffet which they had not replenished. The hotel setting is quite nice though.

After that disappointment, it was on to the Dambulla cave temple. I am using Monica's pictures as my phone camera is crap.

This is what you see upon entry. It is called the Golden Temple, although I call it Disney Buddha. What looks like a mole below his jaw is really a rock bee hive.

Here is one of the hives in a tree.

Plaster statues of monks as you climb up toward the cave temples.

Of course, there are lots of monkeys.

More monkeys

And more monkeys

One of the reclining Buddhas in the cave temple. This one is of the Buddha resting.

This is the king who build this particular cave, one of the smaller ones.

The frescoes on the cave ceilings are magnificent

After the hot sweaty climb up to the caves, we needed a drink, so we stopped at the Dambulla Rest House. We got our drinks after quite a wait and paid an outrageous price for them. I think I will strike that place off my list.

After that it was off to find our accommodation. I had booked the Raintree Chalet just outside Dambulla with some difficulty. I had found it on Air BnB but could not book it as we did not have a credit card and PayPal takes too long. Because of Air BnB's policy, the property owner could not deal with me directly until I found his contact information on another site. Finally I did and deposited half the money in his bank account, so all was well.

We found the place quite easily. It was great. We had the entire house with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. One room had a large king size bed, which Monica and I shared and a twin which was for Judith. The downstairs bedroom had a queen bed and was perfect for Ian and Christine. Thank god as I don't know how Christine would have made it up those stairs. There was a small galley kitchen with a big dining table and a comfortable sitting room and a large veranda overlooking a big pond and a swimming pool. I went to check the driver's quarters which was quite decent as well.

We were in the pool first thing as we needed a cool down. We got it. It was fairly chilly, but pleasant once you got used to it. We had to devise a means of getting Judith in and out of the pool as she is quite afraid of the water. Finally, I got one of the stools from the outdoor table. Once we immersed it, it served quite well as a step.

We got into the wine and snackies after our dip and decided that we would stay in for dinner. The staff made us a decent rice and curry meal and then it was off to bed for a well earned sleep.

Day Two

We set off for Polonnaruwa. Breakfast this morning was the Cinnamon Chaya. This was much better than the Thilanka and after some manoeuvring, I managed to get us a discount on the breakfast buffet with my Citadel membership. I don't think I was entitled to it, but they graciously gave it to me anyway.

Upon arrival in Polonnaruwa, we thought we were in for a cooler day. Wrongo monkey breath! It turned into a scorcher and even though Polonaruwa is flat and you can drive between ruins, we were boiling. It didn't help that we had to remove our shoes at a number of places and the stones and/or sand were burning hot.

Remains of the royal palace

Trying to stay cool in front of the Nissanka Lata Mandapaya, the audience hall. Thank god for the hat

Lovely monitor lizard

This was the council chamber

Parakrama Samudraya, one of the many water tanks for which the interior dynasties were famous. This one was used for irrigation

Snake charmer who didn't want his picture taken. Luckily were quite a distance away so he could not set his snake on us.

This is the remains of a Hindu kovil (temple). One of the kings married a Hindu in order to bring religious harmony to his kingdom

The Vatadage - This a wonderful round relic house with statues of the Buddha facing out in all cardinal directions

Broken Buddha statues

Demala Maha Seya – The Tamil Dagaba

It is an enormous stupa that was built by Tamil prisoner of-war-labour. It is a shrine of novel design, the dome rising from a terraced and molded base is left unfinished at a height of about 50 ft. from the ground, if it was completed it would have been the largest dagaba in the world. The height of it would have been about 600 ft,.