sri lanka was crazy. a good crazy. the traffic was insane and noisy (and kinda dangerous). the food big on flavour and spicy. the people were friendly, chatty, and had the best smiles. urban centres are hustling and bustling. the hill country lush with nature and elephants. the southern beach we visited was wild, unspoiled and gorgeous. buddhas in abundance and sri lankans worship of them even greater. being right under the equator, the weather was hot every single day.
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can you see all the monkeys? |
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| the gentlemen that sold us our point and shoot samsung after my canon stopped working. |
on the lake’s northern shore, you can see the golden-roofed temple of the tooth, sri lanka’s most important temple, which holds a canine tooth of buddha. yes, you read that correctly. the actual tooth is apparently somewhere else safely guarded but the fake tooth at the temple is also under guard and hidden within a box withing a box within a box, etc. despite the fact that it isn't the real tooth and that you can't actually see it, a pilgrimage to the temple to worship it and hence improve one's karma is very much real.
on the saturday we visited, after we removed our shoes, covered our legs and my shoulders we went inside to find the temple packed full of worshipers. sri lankans come from far to bring offerings such as flowers and food and money. there was chanting and many of the women with babes in arms were given front row seating. most people were dressed in white but some colour popped too.
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| the queue to pass by the relic tooth |
we went to kegalle to play with elephants. i had read about the pinnawela elephant orphanage and their twice daily walks of the elephants to bathe in the nearby maya oya river. so, of course, when we first arrived in kandy we hired the taxi driver that picked up us from the train station to take us there the very next afternoon.
we arrived just as the elephants were led to the river, what a wonderful sight it was. i think i was smiling ear to ear the whole time. the elephants were remarkable. they were allowed to splash and play and cuddle. i could have watched them bathe all day long. so many elephants congregated in one place. it was truly special.
we then went to visit the millennium elephant foundation. they take in orphaned elephants, usually elephants whose owners are no longer able to care for them due to finances. i was a little wary when i saw chains on the elephants but thankfully they weren't tied up. worn like a necklace, the chains, we were told, help the elephants be more aware of their body movements, minimizing the swaying they do when around the tourists. the foundation runs with the help of foreign volunteers which i liked; kai and i have made tentative plans to return when he's of age to volunteer with the elephants.
we were led down to river where an elephant was laying on his side and being scrubbed with a coconut shell. kai had fun with this and i think the elephant was totally loving it too. stefan and kai sat on the elephant bareback and they even got bathed by it, much to kai's delight. his expression was priceless.
the only negative was provided by the people who worked with the elephants, asking for money. it was annoying but it didn't lessen my joy of seeing, touching, and being in close proximity to these beautiful animals.
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| we ate a lovely curried meal here, spicy and full of flavour |
we made a trip to sigiriya to visit the dramatic granite rock structure, lion's rock, that soars 370 metres above the jungle. in the 5th century it housed an ancient civilization. it's unbelievable and beautiful. but first, you cross a moat to enter the grounds then walk through the gardens with pools and ponds.
we climbed a series of staircases attached to the vertical wall that soars to the flat topped summit. it is not a climb for those that suffer from even just a hint of vertigo, i couldn't look down and reminded myself to breathe!
when we reached a large terrace, the half-way point, we took a break and surveyed the remaining path in dread and awe. two large paws carved out of the rock indicated the beginning of the the ascent's next flight of stairs - back during the 5th century there was once a 60 foot lion chiseled out of the rock. with kai excitedly ahead of us, we started our final ascent up. the view over the surrounding jungle is spectacular and unforgettable. you truly feel you are on top of the world. we wandered around the foundations of what once held a whole civilization, it was quite amazing to be there.
in a passage part way up were damsels/goddesses originally painted in the 5th century. only a few have survived and are quite beautiful. they inspired poems which were written on the mirrored wall (apparently the mirrored wall was placed so the king could admire his reflection during his ascent). although we couldn't make anything out, it is reported that the mirror wall is filled with poems lauding the damsels' beauty. one of the damsels even appears on the 2000 rupee banknote.
by the way, the decent was no less dizzying.
within the 5 caves there are about 150 buddha statues lined along the walls and each becomes more impressive than the other. i especially liked the reclining buddha, he was 15 metres long and the bottom of his feet were prettily painted. the murals were amazing, covering every inch of the ceiling and walls.
while there a monsoon-like downpour commenced. kai loved it, running around in the rain as happy as can be while i was being entertained by a group of school girls on a field trip. they were full of questions - where are you from, what is your name, how old are you, do you like sri lanka, how long will you stay, etc. - so polite, trying to teach me simple sri lankan words, and they had the sweetest smiles.
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