A visit to the Polonnaruwa Temple taught us quite a bit about the history of the island. Polonnaruwa was declared the capital of Sri Lanka in 1070. So a little bit ancient. We explored what was once the village and several temples. It was, of course, swelteringly hot out, so our driver, Namal, dropped us off at each site, we'd putz around exploring the area and then race back to the air conditioned car for a 3 minute break from the heat. The tour ended with a stop at the famous Reclining Buddha.
After Polonnaruwa, we arrived in Kandy for two days. A popular tourist destination, we stayed at Hotel Suisse (around since the 17th century!) where Bo declared they had the best food he'd had in 7 months. Great buffets and a lovely swimming pool.
We explored the local markets, lookout point, toured the gem and batik factory's, attended a local traditional dance and visited the Temple of the Tooth where we waited in a sweaty line for 45 min to catch a fleeting glimpse of a so called ancient tooth of Buddha in gold stacked boxes. The temple itself was beautiful and fun to explore, but we had a good laugh at the fact that we wasted so much time to see a supposed tooth in a box.
We explored the local markets, lookout point, toured the gem and batik factory's, attended a local traditional dance and visited the Temple of the Tooth where we waited in a sweaty line for 45 min to catch a fleeting glimpse of a so called ancient tooth of Buddha in gold stacked boxes. The temple itself was beautiful and fun to explore, but we had a good laugh at the fact that we wasted so much time to see a supposed tooth in a box.
We spent some time at the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage on our last day in Sri Lanka. What a treat to end the trip this way. I have always been fascinated by elephants and this place held all the magic. And touts wanting us to pay for every photo we took. But, it was nonetheless magical. We watched baby elephants fed by bottle, roamed around with a herd in the open and then watched them parade down a local village street to get bathed in the river. As we were leaving the village another elephant herd was being guided to the river. We tucked ourselves into a shop to get out of the way. So cool to see all these massive creatures walking right next to us!
It was so great being able to see my parents and explore Sri Lanka with them! After so many months in Asia, Bo and I felt like we were reliving our beginning as my parents experienced so many things out of the ordinary. My mom posted some great stuff on Facebook describing the many experiences: "Driving on the left and crazy passing on the right. Sometimes I feel like the drivers are playing chicken, with our lives in the balance. Coconuts and roasted corn on the roadside. Peacocks, elephants, monkeys, and water buffalo in rice paddies. Beach villa on the Bay of Bengal. Hindu Temples, Buddhist Temples, Muslim Mosques issuing the call to prayer, all with Mary and the rosary guiding our driver. Monks in saffron robes and in white. Incense, chanting, and drums. Taking our shoes off to enter, and crossing the HOT sand and rocks feels like we're practicing the walking on coals. Which religion is that?" Goodbye Sri Lanka, you have charmed us and left us in awe and anxious to return! |