Driving Mrs Reisner
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2006
1
38
179
Trip End
Oct 31, 2007
Dambulla and Sigirya,
Sri Lanka
Friday, January 5, 2007
So, let's pretend it's the 5th of January and we've just arrived in Dalhousie, in Sri Lanka's hill country. (Don't listen to anyone who tells you that we're actually writing these entries on the 9th of January from above a bus station in rainy Tangalle, on the southern coast.)
We got to Dalhousie (obviously pronounced "del-house") after a whirlwind culural tour of central SL. We arranged the tour, very last minute, from Kandy and managed to get what we think was a reasonable deal: a car and driver to drive us north-east to the ruined city of Polonaruwa then on to Sigirya (including a night's accommodation nearby) and then, on the following day (after seeing the natural rock fortress of Sigirya) to take us all the way south, past Kandy to Dalhousie, for Adam's Peak. This cost just shy of 14,000 Sri Lankan Rupees which, at an exchange rate of 1:1, is 14,000 GB Pounds. Fortunately for us, the (Rupee/Pound) exchange rate isn't 1:1. It's actually 200:1. So the tour really only cost us 70 quid. But I had you going for a moment, didn't I?!
The whole 'car and driver' thing is very much a part of Sri Lankan tourism - there really isn't the same backpacker tradition or support network that you find in other south Asian countries. Sri Lanka seems to be a more common destination for a 2 week holiday - when it obviously makes more sense (and is more affordable) to invest in private transport. That way of getting around wasn't really in our budget, but having got here we wanted to try to see a decent amount and public transport is pretty slow and not at all geared up for sightseeing.
Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty good investment. Our driver, Christy, was extremely knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of his homeland and kept stopping the car so we could indulge our curiosity about the different fruits and other produce being sold by the side of the road. In this way we sampled: Custard Apple (squishy but not at all bad); Wood Apple (a bit sour and unlikely to be the subject of repeat orders); King Coconut (very good - you just drink the milk straight through a straw stuck in a hole in the top of the coconut which the coconut seller hacks off with his machete); Maize (that's sweetcorn to you.
01 Dambulla rock temple
It was good, but not as sweet as we're used to, which probably explains why they don't call it sweetcorn here); and a delicious buffalo curd eaten with jaggery (a sweet honey made from a type of palm - a bit like maple syrup). We also saw some beautiful countryside and, most exciting of all, two wild elephants crossing the road, on the way to our hotel. And no, I don't know why the elephants were on their way to our hotel. Perhaps they like the food there. Oh dear. After getting myself all geared up, I've now run out of the necessary energy to tell you about the ancient Hindu/Buddhist temple at Nandi; the rock temple at Dambulla; the amazing ruined city at Polonaruwa; and Sigirya, the unbelievable city on top of a rocky outcrop that sits 200m above the surrounding countryside. They're all UNESCO World Heritage sites though (except Nandi, which we only visited because it was included on the Cultural Triangle site ticket and I can't seem to resist these 'buy two ruined cities, get the third one free' offers), so there's plenty of info on the web if you're interested. Reading that back to myself, I can see how it might seem like I'm being lazy. The reality is that I'm being kind to you. You see, we've still got another 9 months of temples and ruins to go, so I'm just trying to help you pace yourselves. Ho hum. I might, maybe, put some pictures of the places on later - if I can be bothered. :o) (T)
Comments
what's that stupa thing?
what's that stupa thing?