Asia

Sunday 1st May 2016 – Unamused that yesterday Aaron had booked my flight to Thailand under my maiden name of ‘Wellington’, I booked another flight under my married, passport name of ‘Ironmonger’…I blame it on the beer consumed the previous night and was not happy at all! It was a Sunday so we couldn’t phone Thai Airways as the office was closed and didn’t want to risk no available seat for me so we bit the bullet and forked out for another airfare. We hoped on Monday to contact them and possibly get some kind of refund…otherwise we would just put it down to experience and always double check details with each other…c’est la vie! We set off around 11am and headed northwards towards ‘The Cultural Triangle’ of Sri Lanka. Our first stop was to be Sigiriya Rock…otherwise known as Lion Rock…the shortest lived but most extraordinary of all Sri Lanka’s medieval capitals. On the way we stopped at a batik factory to witness this simple but effective art form…colourful and decorative works were shown to us as well as the process by which they were achieved. Arriving at Sigiriya we first decided to have lunch before climbing the 200 metre high rock. Little did we know that today none of us would climb the rock! During lunch Kandula informed us that there was a problem…we looked at him wide eyed…the rock had been closed due to a hornet attack on tourists that morning! 23 people had been taken to hospital and 2 were in intensive care! My goodness, we couldn’t believe it and just hoped the people would be ok. Changing our plans we headed to Dambulla instead to see the cave temples, one of Sri Lanka’s outstanding man-made attractions. The first thing you see when you arrive at the base of the steps to the temples is the bizarre Golden Temple, a shamelessly kitsch building topped by a huge seated golden Buddha completed in 2000 and reaching a height of 30m. To the left are steps and a steep climb up to an enormous granite outcrop which rises over 160m above surrounding countryside, offering majestic views across the plains of the dry zone. Archeological evidence suggests that these and other caves around the rock outcrop were inhabited during prehistoric times and were later used for pre Buddhist religious ceremonies. Their present incarnation as Buddhist shrines dates from around 77BC. There are 5 temples here…each little masterpieces of Sinhalese Buddhist…five magical, dimly lit grottos which seem to glow with the rich reds and golds of the innumerable statues that fill every space and the paintings that cover every surface. My favourite was cave 3…more serene and peaceful than the others…it was there that I laid my lotus flowers as an offering. After a hot climb down and many sightings of macaque monkeys joyfully eating hearts of the flowers people had brought for offerings we all enjoyed ice creams and cold drinks before heading to Anuradhapura for a few days. En route an impressive thunderstorm ensued…lighting up the dark sky dramatically. By 8pm we had all found a good hotel to rest our weary heads for a few nights. On returning to Pam and John’s hotel we dined on the balcony and drank beer and local Arrack spirit (the taste of whisky and rum combined) and watched bats flitting back and forth while chatting the night away.

Monday 2nd May 2016 – Up at the crack of dawn…we wanted to get going with our hired push bikes to explore the ancient ruins of Anuradhapura, one of the greatest monastic cities the world has ever seen, it historically functioned as the island’s centre of both temporal and spiritual power, dotted with dozens of monasteries populated by as many as ten thousand monks! The Dagobas they erected were amongst the greatest architectural feats of their time, surpassed only in scale by the great pyramids of Giza. The ruins we were hoping to see were scattered over a cycling area of around 23km. Initially we got a little lost looking for the ticket office but luckily ended up at the museum instead that not only sold tickets but gave us a map and some historical background information to the sprawling complex. We started at Jetavana monastery and Dagoba…wandering the ruins where once monks roamed and worshipped. At all Dagobas it is customary to remove shoes and hats as a sign of respect…we did so…circling the impressive temple while scolding our feet on the hot, brick path. As we cycled through other parts of the ancient city you are overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it all. The ruins are over 2000 years old…founded around 380 BC. The status of Anuradhapura rose with the arrival of Buddhism in the island and the city soon became the major centre of Buddhist pilgrimage and learning. Some beautiful sights we saw that day were the Twin Ponds, Elephant Pond, Bodhi Tree Temple (where we sighted the stunningly handsome black faced langur monkeys) and many Dagobas. By far our favourite was Abhayagiri Monastery…it was the most interesting and atmospheric of all…innumerable ruins litter the area…it is a setting scattered amidst beautiful light woodland and is quite magical…like the remains of a long lost city. It’s Dagoba was originally built in 114AD and is said to have been built over a footprint of the Buddha himself. After nine hours of cycling in scorching heat we headed back to our hotel…rich with new adventures of a historical paradise. In the evening we dined with Pam and John to the sound of another impressive thunderstorm!

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 – The day of our return to Sigiriya…the spectacular citadel rises sheer and impregnable out of the denuded plains of the dry zone, sitting atop a huge outcrop of gneiss rock towering 200m above the surrounding countryside. Sigiriya…’Lion Rock’…was declared a World Heritage site in 1982 and is now one of the country’s most memorable attractions…a remarkable archeological site made unforgettable by its dramatic setting. Pam, John and myself had already made the decision not to climb the rock after the hornet attack had taken place a few days back. Aaron however had painstakingly conjured up a so called hornet proof outfit consisting of him being covered head to toe in all manner of clothing with not an inch of his body or face free for an angry hornet to puncture! He was determined to conquer the rock and its hornets! We arrived at midday and saw him off hoping for the best and that we would see him intact later on. Meanwhile Kandula drove us to a little cafe where we spent a relaxing few hours drinking ice cold juice, reading and sketching. Looking up from my book, along the dusty road on the boiling hot tarmac I saw a beautiful elephant…shackled like a prisoner…scolding chains tightly secured around her leg and neck. Upon her tourists…shamelessly riding her back…an absolute disgrace! It took all my will power not to shout out to them how cruel and wrong their actions were. If tourists were to boycott such a thing maybe the elephants would have a happier existence…wild and free instead of a life forced into slavery! My sense of freedom for animals has always been strong…the more I have travelled…the more this feeling has intensified. Two hours had passed when Aaron returned…he was boiling hot and saturated in sweat…but he was alive and kicking…no hornet attack today thank goodness! We quickly ordered ice cold drinks for him so that he could rehydrate…he was literally dripping in sweat. As I took the camera from him we realised that it was malfunctioning due to getting wet so we quickly turned it off and hoped it would dry itself out and not be too damaged. After lunch we set off back towards the airport…it was a five hour journey and our flight to Bangkok left in the early hours of Wednesday morning. We had enjoyed an adventurous time in Sri Lanka and looked forward to the delights of Thailand.