The Real Buddha

It is day five now of this particular journey and I have some sad news...

After weighing up the cost of heading to the kite camp and hiring gear we decided against it..

But dont despair!!! Instead we have spent the time exploring the ancient cities of Sri Lanka. Prepare yourselves.

First stop was a couple of nights in Anaradhapura (and yes, we are enjoying pronouncing the cities names to the locals here who kindly correct us 99% of the time). We hired bicycles and despite the heat set out in search of ancient dagobas and scared trees. My favourite part of the day was the sacred bodhi tree which is still used as a place of worship and worshipping was well under way by the time we arrived. Joe and I sat for what felt like hours taking in the scene. From the overhead speaker songs to the Sri Lankan prey flags to the orange robed monks and everyone else preying and singing it was all very overwelming and interesting!

That is one very loved tree. Just like na'vi tree on Avatar.

Next stop, Habarana which is a tiny village in the middle of the cultural triangle - therefore perfect for day trips. The locals refer to the village as ' habarana city' which I liked. It's like calling sumner a city.. Imagine. Here we stayed off the beaten track and our tuktuk had to do some serious 4wd'ing to get us through all the village dirt tracks to the beautiful lodge camp. Surrounded by villagers so if you hear yelling from your huts 'please just ignore' - its just the village men who have taken liquour and are yelling at their wife and kids. 'No problem for tourists'. 

From here we were able to access the dambulla cave temples where among other things, we found a 19metre Buddha reclining in a cave.  Buddhas got to have some down time too.. Tour guides say that when the plains below flooded the farmers couldn't work so they would come up to caves and create Buddha after Buddha after Buddha. If fact five whole caves filled with Buddhas. The biggest cave being 32 metres wide. 

This morning we tripped out to Sigiriya rock for the ultimate climb. If you don't know what Sigiriya is - I suggest you google it as it was one of the main reasons for my visit to this wonderful country. 

Well let me tell you, Sigiriya is NO easy stroll. 

However after 1x panic attack mid climb, 5mg diazepam and many tears I made it to the top only to collapse into a shaking, crying mess. I am talking a vertical rock face with some scaffolding bolted to the side... And I know your thinking 'whatevs' because that's what I thought too..  NO! It is some scary stuff. Fair to say, I will never be a rock climber. 

The top however was an excellent reward. The ruins of an ancient castle and 360' views of the country below. 

The king who ordered his decipals to build a gigantic palace a top a rock like sigiriya...well...what a d*ck! And of course he wanted a massive swimming pool that's two metres deep. 

That's all for now folks.. Is anybody reading this? Don't be afraid to leave a comment as a wee confidence booster.

But before I sign off let me ask one question I have not found the answer to here. 

Sri Lankan Buddha is a slim man with a head of hair, whilst Indian Buddha is a fat bald man with a rub-able belly.. Who is Buddha?!

Adios amigos x