January 13th 2014
Sometimes I glance over in my living room, a printed cloth I bought a few years ago in a market in Negomb. It is a batik. As time goes by and especially with exposure to light it fades remarkably. Is particularly noticeable on the black inks. Two graceful richly bejewelled young ladies, compose, from the waist up, a nice aulic scene. Both seem to come from the same social extract, dressed in a semblance alike. One offers to the other a tray of water lilies, she has already taken one holding it in his left hand. Their eyes are lost in space without finding each others look. The scene is modelled on similar, painted in fresco, which are in Sigiriya. Sigiriya, or Sihagiri, the Lion Rock, is a massive structure, two hundred meters high and with ... read more
Madam, you are lucky, lucky, lucky!
Published: December 16th 2013Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Sigiriya
December 15th 2013
Although you'd have thought that the rain would've tipped me off, it was only thanks to the happy frogs that I realised that it was the rainy season. You might wonder that I hadn't figured this out before I came, however Sri Lanka despite its small size, has different rainy seasons at different times depending on where you are, and I thought that where I going, it was the dry time. It was only at the last minute I decided to change my itinerary, at the insistence of Sri Lankan work colleague. "You must go to Dambulla and Sigiriya, they are some of the most beautiful sights in our country," she claimed. I had arrived in Sri Lanka the night before and stayed in Negombo, a very small coastal fishing village, chosen only for its proximity ... read more
Sigiriya and going South
Published: December 12th 2013Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Sigiriya
December 10th 2013
Well, the travelblog web site is acting up, and the internet is hit and miss. so I will post the pics I had previously uploaded. Then I lost the internet again.... So, now it is our last day in Sri Lanka, and I will attempt to post this blog. Since this was multiple attempts, I've ended up posting a lot of pics! Tomorrow, we fly to Kuala Lumpur. It has been a great trip, and we definitely hope to return as we feel as though we only had a sample of this beautiful country! We spent 17 days and definitely saw a lot. From the Old Capital, Anuradhapura, we headed to the Central area of the country to Sigiriya to see the Lion Rock. The short story of this 1100ft rock, is the stepson kills his ... read more
Stunning Sigiriya and on to Kandy
Published: January 5th 2014Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Sigiriya
December 6th 2013
Today a trip to the most iconic place in Sri Lanka, and the image that made me want to go there the most, Sigiriya Rock. It's odd appearance is down to it being a volcanic plug of hardened lava, the rest of the volcano having long ago eroded away. That's how old it is! What it actually represents seems to be slightly disputed. I had a young guide who told me it always was a royal palace, but apparently there are new archaeological discoveries which suggest it was a monastery, and some of the palatial features were added much later. Who knows? Who cares - it's beautiful anyway. I also like that there is still so much to be discovered here by future generations, and there are places in the world where we don't have all ... read more
Sri Lanka 2013 Blog 3 Heritance Kandalama to Kandy via Sigiriya
Published: December 6th 2013Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Sigiriya
December 5th 2013
Note: if you double click on any of the pictures you will be transferred to the picture gallery where they will be enlarged to half page size. Monday 2nd December: we checked out of the Heritance Hotel at 10am heading for Kandy via the World Heritage site of Sigiriya, an amazing palace complex perched on a rock outcrop and one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic places. It took only half an hour to arrive at the site as it's located across KandalamaLake from the Heritance Hotel. We stopped off at a Government Rest House for coffee before beginning the tour; then we went into the site where we met up with Reginold Dissanayaka (“Call me Reggie”) a professional guide recommended by Diya our driver. Reggie bought our tickets for us which provided further enlightenment for my ... read more
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July 12th 2013
Climbing the 1200 steps to the top of Sigiriya took over an hour. Sigiriya was the palace and administration site for King Kasyapa during the late 400's. He reigned here for 18 years before committing suicide. If I were King Kasyapa or his queen, I could have been carried up the white marble stairs to the top. Oh well, got my exercise for the day. The entrance fee for tourist is $30 USD. Locals pay Rs50 (less than 50 cents). There were many school children at the site today, several of them were fascinated by our camera and white skin.... read more
The Elephants of Minneriya National Park
Published: July 15th 2013Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Sigiriya
July 12th 2013
After our climb up Sigiriya, we returned to our bungalow for a few hours before heading out on safari to Minneriya National Park, located about a 10 km (20 mins) drive from where we were staying. After entering the park, we bumped along in the back of a safari truck in search of elephants. We looked in a couple of locations and got stuck in the mud before finally finding a herd of 20 or so elephants by the water.... read more
Ruins of the Ancient Capital City of Polonnaruwa
Published: July 12th 2013Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Sigiriya
July 11th 2013
After an early breakfast, we left our bungalow in the jungle for the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa. It took about an hour to drive to the site. Polonnaruwa was the second capital city of Sri Lanka after the first capital city was destroyed during the 6th century. On the way, we encountered a water monitor lizard along side of the road. We were able to get within a few feet of the creature. Then on the way home, we saw our first elephant herd walking along the road. We were very excited about the find but our driver was freaked out thinking the elephants might attack and sped away.... read more
July 11th 2013
Dear Family and Friends, Hope all is well with everyone. We are having a great time checking out the sights of Sri Lanka. The weather has been hot and muggy with the odd bit of rain. Saw our first elephants today walking along side the road/highway. Was very exciting! I finally figured out how to post the blog entries so everyone can view them, so if you please, there are three other blogs from this trip posted previously you can read. Take care. Love to all. B & K... read more
July 11th 2013
This evening we climbed more than 500 stairs to reach to top of Pidurangala. This rock became the site of an ancient monastery after King Kasyapa kicked the monks off Sigiriya to build his palace/fortress. Though it was too hazy to see the sunset, the view from the top was incredible.... read more
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