After an early breakfast of yet more curry we climbed up to the Sigiriya rock fortress. From the second we stepped off the coach we were pestered by young guides wanting to assist us on the “very difficult” ascent. Climbing was indeed very difficult because we kept having to ask them to get out of our way. I got the worst of it being considerably older than the other female members of our group. I was made to feel that I shouldn’t be allowed off the coach without my zimmer frame! Eventually however, they gave up and we were left in peace to make the steady climb to the top stopping to “admire” in a cave, the king’s collection of saucy frescos of well endowed ladies! Half way up the rock face is a plastered cave with detailed paintings of female upper torsos. How much of the original actually remains is a matter of conjecture but probably not a lot.
The fortress was built in the fifth century AD by King Kasyapa who appears to have been very fond of the good life – girls, dancing, entertainment and a secure fortress with quite magnificent views. Sigiriya rock towers vertically 200 metres above the surrounding plain and much of the ascent is by metal ladders snaking their way back and forth across the rock face. We took it very steadily because of the suffocating heat but the higher we got the more the breeze developed which made it bearable and most of us reached the top successfully, including Martin who carried baby daughter Anya in a papoose on his back! It was well worth the effort and we were rewarded with spectacular views across the surrounding green wooded plains with isolated rocks and hills rising up around. We could look directly down onto the beautifully laid out, geometrically planned water gardens and surrounding moat in which, in former times, crocodiles could be found. On the very top the bathing tank of the king stills remains, filled with water despite being on a 200 metre rock in an open plain.
Coming down was actually more difficult than going up and by the time we regained the coach - after running the gauntlet of guides, beggars, cripples and souvenir vendors - our knees felt decidedly wobbly.
Rest was not to be ours however as a few kilometres later at Pidurangala, the official temple complex for Sigiriya, we were dragged out and challenged to climb up to another cave to see the oldest Buddha in the World. It is claimed to be about 1,500 years old and is superbly constructed in brick and then plastered. Much of the plaster has now disappeared and the brickwork has been restored. It was a very steep, long and deserted climb up through jungle woodland, clambering across rocks where lizards, chameleons and iguanas were sunning themselves. The trees had monkeys swinging in their branches and we discovered a large snake skin amongst the rocks. On seeing this, Steve, who had just decided he’d climbed as far as he felt able and would wait there for us to return as he was exhausted, announced that he’d only stopped for a brief rest and would continue on with us rather than hang around on the rocks alone! Eventually we all reached the top with a sense of elation. Climbs like the two made this morning, would be no problem in an English climate but the heat makes it so much more difficult.
Sunil is a devout Buddhist and tried to explain about meditation. We all went off and found quiet spots sheltered from the sun by jungle trees or rocks and tried out some quiet meditation for half an hour. I think most of us actually drifted drowsily between wakefulness and sleep but it was very pleasant sitting and listening to the humming of insects, the rasping of cicadas and the screech of jungle birds.
We returned to Sigiriya for lunch and were surprised and delighted to discover that it was curry yet again! Afterwards we went for a one hour elephant ride into the jungle. It’s probably the first and last chance we will ever have so we decided it was worth the £12 each and I’m really glad we did it. We had three elephants between us with around five to an elephant. We climbed a high stand, the elephant was tucked up to it with her head underneath and we climbed directly into a houda on her back. Sitting sideways we let our legs dangle down her sides. We trundled at a slow lumber down tracks in the jungle to the river where our elephant waded in until the water reached her eyes. Her trunk curled up out of the water from time to time and came back over her head searching with great sensitivity for any bananas we may have! Even on the elephants back our legs and feet dangle well into the water. The mahouts had taken our cameras and were busily using up our films taking photos for us.
After that very enjoyable experience we drove through an area of the national park that surrounds Lake Mineriya where we were fortunate enough to see a herd of around fifty wild elephants come out of the jungle – where they are almost invisible only a few feet in from the road – and process in a long line down to the lake for their evening bathe. Nearby a huge bull elephant stood alone beside the lake but lumbered along to join the herd to bathe. Such a chance sighting as this was a very exciting experience for us all.
It was now time to continue to our hotel. It is situated near the huge ancient reservoir of Parakrama Samudra – the Sea of Parakrama - in which local people were bathing and swimming as we drove along the embankment above it. Around twelve miles in length and covering an area that is bigger than Colombo harbour, it is the classic centre of the ancient Ceylon irrigation system. On the other side of the embankment lay well irrigated green paddy fields.
Our hotel room is simply furnished but has the noisy joy of both a fan and air conditioning. Both are needed full-pelt. It doesn’t extend to the bathroom so we need to take a shower the second we go in there and are hit by the wall of damp, suffocating heat.
After a brief, exhausted sleep, our swim in the pool was spoilt by six young men who had over indulged with arrack and perpetually pestered us, wanting to know, in very loud voices and “in your face” gestures, what we thought of Sri Lanka. They eventually picked up little Anya, the one year-old daughter of Jeev and Neil’s friends Martin and Lydia, and walked off with her! However, they were just drunk, not violent, and became effusive with apologies when we told them we were fed-up with them. (Anya was fine. They’d never have harmed her. They just found a white baby rather fascinating.)
Supper was a strange mixture of western vegetable soup and a bread roll, followed by Sri Lankan style fried fish, mayonnaise, carrots and greens, biriani rice and dahl! This was followed by fried bananas in mango jam. It was rather nice not to have curry for a
change.
