After super long tiring days,we were in for a home cooked meal that night , few hours of chit-chatting and a sound sleep! Who doesn’t like these kind of days? (For all those not having a clue about the tiring day I just spoke about , head to the previous post for Sri Lanka – part 1). BTW, most houses in Kandy do not have ceiling fans. I was taken aback at the first sight but realized that its of no use in that beautiful chilly weather.
The next day dawned and exploring the ruins of Pollanoruva and the caves of Dambulla & Sigriya was on the agenda. I got decked up in a super comfy cotton maxi and was all set to brave the heat and visit these places.
Our first halt was at the Cave temple of Dambulla. Huge statues of Lord Buddha welcomed us. The one that caught my attention was the sleeping position which resembled Anantha Padmanaba Swamy’s pose in the Trivandrum temple. Strange coincidences?
It took us almost a couple of hours to visit each opening of the cave (towards the end it might get a little monotonous , but are you ever going to come back to see these marvels? Well , better take a little extra time and see them all during the first visit itself!) and finally to see the Golden Buddha Statue. It looked majestic even from a long distance and it was definitely a visual treat!
Oh! Missing our driver in this post? We slyly made sure that he waited at the parking lot while we peacefully enjoyed walking around around and exploring the cave. Little evil no? Huh. may be not 😛 (If not, we would have been subject to hearing lines like ‘Entry ticket is free for the tourists I bring and the like. Who knows what else we might have had to hear?)
Sir took us next to the ancient ruins of Polonarruva which was once a thriving religious and commercial hub for the Kingdom of Polonarruwa. A UNESCO heritage site , it’s been maintained extremely neatly (a lesson for many such sites in India perhaps) which took us completely by awe and surprise!
Each part of it is still clearly visible till date. Be it the stairways leading to the main hall or the entrance arch or the Shiva temple (made of stone) or the huge Buddha statues , every area is preserved well and draws a virtual image in our heads. Connecting the dots and forming a full structure is up to the tourist’s imagination and creativity!
Almost towards the end were three gigantic 14 m statues and a smaller statue of Lord Buddha in three different poses (sitting,standing and sleeping). The specialty of this was the facial expression of Lord Buddha! Unlike the usual calm and smiling face , this one had a sad expression! Still wondering what could have been the reason!!??!! Also, this was all carved from a single granite rock and is called GAL VIHARA (GAL= Kallu/ Stone – Made from a single stone – that’s how I remember this :p )
Our energy levels had dropped to literally zero , all thanks to the scorching heat (You now know the real reason behind the hat. It’s not just for the style factor! LOL!). The one thing which charged us up was the extra soft podi idlis and thachhi mummam (Wherever you go,the tambrahm in you follows) packed by the lady of the house (not to forget the help extended by Chithappa. Couple goals,may be?)
Headed back to our nest , got welcomed with a steaming cup of lemon tea which acted as the instant energy booster! Chuck the red bulls! Have you tasted my chithi’s lemon tea yet? The chit-chatting for that night happened in full swing after we ate to our fullest (vaaya tharandha kaaka kothum. Little difficult to translate ya!).
The next day was one of the most cutest days of the trip. We headed to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. We reached around the shower time of those cutie pies and we headed straight to the bathing area. There were literally around a 100 of them in various sizes and each one was clearly having a gala time. One was seated right in the middle and not caring about anything happening around. What a life Sir-ji?
The little one with us had a super fun time seeing the elephants doing all kinds of dance during the bathing process. The other couple and ladoo boy were on their last day of the trip and left directly to the airport from there. We came back home to mouth watering food and the husband went straight to a sound sleep post that! (Somethings never change :P). A little bit of shopping and a walk around the lake was in store for the evening.
Shopping included a visit to a local market where I picked up traditional paintings,t-shirts,the famous Ceylon tea (There was an entire shop selling tea in all kinds of flavors and sizes and prices!!) and some souvenirs for people back home. The fridge magnet that we picked up is the husband’s favorite (It’s in the shape of Sri lanka) and its right there on our refrigerator (soon running out of space though. NOT EVEN KIDDING! – See for yourself).
We were almost near the end of our AWESOME vacation. The last stop was the hill station of Nuwara-Eliya (this must get added to top Honeymoon destinations – for SURE!).
On the way there,we halted at a Hanuman Mandir which was very similar to the Ashok Nagar Hanuman Temple in Chennai (remember the movie Boys?). The deity structure,the temple entrance and everything else was very much alike. The next halt was at Mack-woods tea estate for a hot cup of chai and chocolate cake which was apparently the most talked about item on the limited menu.
It was delicious and just perfect for that cold weather outside. Our hero had spoken about this place when we were going towards Kandy and had mentioned that a huge name board similar to the HOLLYWOOD board has been put up there but we didn’t find any such structures. Naturally,this got added to the bluff list of his which was extending longer than Draupadi’s saree. But sometimes good things do happen to these people no? Apparently,such a structure was in place and had been removed a few months back due to some company restructuring. I must give this one to him! 🙂
We reached our little hotel in Nuwara-Eliya late in the evening and all that we wanted was a good bed to sleep on without having to wake up early and travel to a new place. Its exactly what we got! We set out for a late lunch the next day and walked around the lake before heading back to the hotel. Its the kind of town you visit when all that you want is a CHILLED VACATION. This was the best thing we could have asked for after a long tiring week of non-stop travel!
Forgetting about our hero here? He was not the one to drive us to Nuwara-Eliya and there was this very sweet person Mr.Shawn who came into picture for the remaining part of the trip. With a very heavy heart and loaded memories , we left Ceylon and had a short stay in Chennai. The ladoo boy was celebrating his first birthday and we got a chance to meet the entire family before we headed back to the dust land after a whole two weeks.
If any of you reading this haven’t been to Sri Lanka already, pack your bags and plan it soon! IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT!
Few quick tips on what to pack for the trip –
Our travel was in the first week of March and so the heat was quite strong except in Kandy & Nuwara-Eliya.
- Cotton clothes – most comfortable
- Sunscreen – unless you want to look a 8 number tanned Ross from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
- Shades and a pretty hat
- Smartphone with an excellent camera or a proper camera – Such picturesque locations , who would want to miss it?
- Comfortable footwear for those long walks in each place
- Instant food – finding veg food might be a challenge in few places. Not that difficult though unless you are a fussy eater!
Those are the most important ones that came to my mind. If there is anything else that you want to know before planning a holiday , leave a comment or reach out to me on instagram!
Coming soon with another totally different post 🙂
See you soon!
water surrounded us and the breeze kept us on our toes! The boat stopped at a quiet place and we stepped into the ‘cinnamon island’. True to its name, all that we could smell there was fresh straight from the tree cinnamon! There was an old man waiting to show his skill of making cinnamon sticks and powder from the tree trunk! The purity was indeed 24 carat! Sipping on a hot cup of cinnamon tea, we continued to explore the island and landed at a Buddha temple. One common factor across all the temples we visited there was there was one main statue of Gautama Buddha and several similar figures all around the temple. The answer to this from our guide was that they were the gurus who existed before the rise of Gautama Buddha who was the main prophet of Buddhism to the world.
and Sita Kund (the place where Ravana had kept Sita after he had abducted her) on our way.
Curd rice shots 