Sigiriya Village

... mais la encore le tuc tuc me mene direct au Golden Temple, ou je dois encore gravir une grosse colline pour acceder aux temples dans les grottes. C'est dur mais magnifique, toutes les parois sont peintes du sol au plafond, avec des statues de Boudhas de toutes les tailles, boudhas couches ou en meditation, tous de style thailandais. D'ailleurs je crois que la Thailande est tres investie dans tous les temples du Srilanka. Le site est infeste de singes, tout ...

... which went up a circular spiral staircase up to the frescos - which were absolutely amazing and still looked fantastic with no renovation. There are now protected by material from the sun. There were people up there to make sure you didn't use your camera flash and they encouraged us to go through the rope onto a wooden plank through the normally sealed walkway to see extra 4 paintings - but i hardly looked as was too worried ...

... with a 27m x 21m pond, troughs and tanks. Whether this had been a palace or a monastery, someone had enjoyed mighty fine views from the top!<br><br>Dambulla<br><br>I returned to Dambulla, first visiting their very busy Sunday market. There were many stalls selling the usual vegetables, fresh fish, clothing, hardware etc but surprisingly, there weren&#8217;t many fruit stalls. I did find a number of stalls selling crystallized sweets and cherries, along with ...

... we saw in all of SL. There were people up on the top part giving it another fresh coat of white paint and they looked miniscule in comparison to the huge dagoba. Thuparama Dagoba- Since we came around lunch time there were monks and devotees sitting under the shade of the entrance to this dagoba chanting. While the dagoba wasn't all that different from the rest of the dagobas, it is said to be the oldest dagoba in Sri Lanka if not the world. Abhayagiri ...

... it out...... After getting to the bottom of the lions paws (which is only 10 percent of the way down) Another huge group of school kids started to climb the stairs. Since it was ragingly hot I decided to take a rest in the shade. One thing that I failed to mention before was the huge wasp nest I saw on the way up. There were even random signs that said to keep quiet so as not to anger the wasp. I had thought this was odd ...

... Cycil, once of the Government's Department of Archeology - quietly - shhh - alleged that the real perpetrator was a jealous member of the Department who wanted to discredit his superior. Much of the graffiti has been decoded over the years and obviously reads more lyrically than 'Babi 4 Sigariya Maidens', but that's the basic sentiment. The climb up was a bit tough (although nothing compared with Adam's Peak - more of that challenging ...

... Vihariya - a rock temple - boring you think? No - 3 amazing Buddhas carved out of the rock - you can see the grain of the rock spread through the statues - the reclining one is some 46ft long and the standing one 23ft tall - they are absolutely stunning. We took a quick walk on the rocks behind which had been quarried (holes and burning timber) - they were roasting in the sun. We then had a brief stop at the second largest stupa in Sri Lanka before heading off for ...

... to the country. Rising out of the landscape, commanding a towering presence over the entire region, it truly is an amazing sight. Once you've scaled the rock, you not only get to view the ruins of a once splendid seat of power for the Kingdom but you are also treated to some of the most breathtaking and arresting views of the surrounding district. I was completly overawed, almost enough to feel a tingle of religous awakening. Then I came to my senses and took some photos. Bless!

... Anne, who is quickly developing the reputation of the sensible one, decided to stay indoors in the air conditioned building. Luckily we both managed to avoid major mosquito bites or dog attacks so were ready for the water fight that we had on.... Saturday... Which I think I escaped with being the least wet though my T shirt was slightly damp. It was at this point I realized that ALL my clothes were in the washing machine, which meant I ...