Busy days in Sri Lanka

Tuesday March 25th
I guess we got in to Anuradhapura on my last blog entry. As I said there where we staying in Anuradhapura for 2 nights, or one full day. Much of this day was spendt on a bicycle, as we set out on at 7.30 in the morning, which make sense, since it it getting crazy hot a bit into the day. We did not have a very long ride, around 14 km all together with a lot of breaks as we where stopping at different stupas. A stupa is as you see a round construction, that usualla have some relic or maybe the ashes of an important munk in a small room in the middle of the stupa. The one we where looking at this day was all from before year 0, and it is pretty cool to see that they still stand as they did for over 2000 year ago.

All the stupas and monument are in a very large park, so it is not much traffic to care about. Just have to look out for monkeys and dogs mostly. They, both of them, are everywhere.
The bicycles we have is not great, but good enough for this small tour, and it gets hot, very hot - it is worst when we have a break or do some walking, on the bike are we getting some wind.

The afternoon are we spending by the pool, and have us some cold beers, well deserved and it tasts great!
Dinner is on a local resturant, and for the first time here in Sri Lanka am I getting something good, I think the name was koti, which is shopped roti. You know :) I am getting the big sneeze during dinner, not sure if it is allergie or a cold - it is a cold I find out the next day, since my allergie medisins dosn't help.
Wednesday March 26th

The next day are we getting picked up at the hotel by the local bus at 7:45, before it drives down to the busstation to pick up other passengers. It looks like there will be some passangers on the bus, and after some more stops it is more than full in my opinion. When we make stops at bus stations in small towns sellers are entring the bus selling water, lottery tickets, oranges and a lot more. The is not any livestocks on the bus, but a lot of people. One of my Australiens travelbuddies have a man sleeping with his head on the aussies sholder for the hole trip! We get into Polonnaruwa around 12 o clock. Checking into the hotel, getting some lunch and in total one hour rest from the bustrip before we are getting on foot to the bicicle rental and guide for one more guided cycle trip to look at more pagodas, this time from around 1200 AD, the ruins here are in a bit better shape, and we get to see some nice Budda statues as well, but all in all I am starting to gett enough of Pagodas and Buddha statues now, and since we started the bicling in the middle of the day, it is very very hot. Pretty happy when we get to the end of this cycle tour. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to see and get some of the history and more knowledge, but enough is enough.

Had a great dinner in Polonnaruwa, in a tiny resturant. *When we had entered it, it was only one table left. The kitchen was in a "glass box", so we could see the cook make the food, a tiny kichen by the way. Great food came out of it. Not a late night this night either, since we as usual should have a early start the day after, 6.45 to be exact.
Thursday March 27th
Made it up this day to, and we where going on local bus this day too. Since we got a bit smarter after the experience last day, we all took place in the 2 seaters this time, and not in the 3 seater, that way we cold keep a known company. Short ride this day, only 2 hours, and that took us to Dambulla. And since we do not rest that much, we had ourself one hour to get some breakfast before we where in a Tuktuk for a new sight. And this one, I must say was impressive, the name is Dambulla Cave Temple, lots of statues of Buddha in some caves on the top of a long hill and a lot of staircases. Nice statues, and impressive decoration on the cave walls, good!

Getting back to the hotel around noon, and get to check in and relax for some hours, not sleeping, but some internet and blogging. In the afternoon are we getting picked up by some jeeps, and are going on a safari to find us some elephants. To be on the road here is often a near death experience, but if one want to get anywhere, thats what you have to do. The driver gets us safe into the park, but then the care brakes down. Luckily we get a new one pretty soon, after we also have a ride with someone else for a while. And we find elephants, lots of them, counting them to be more than 70 all together, and it is a great sight. Amacing animals, all femals but one,

and many with their "kids", the male that is trying to get lucky is huge, very huge compare to the others. Really glad I did this, amazing!
Have the dinner at the hotel this night, a good meal and have some red wine with the curry, and some of us manange to sit up till almost 23:00.
Friday March 28th
Late to bed, but still I wake up way to early this morning as well, the mean earlier than I had to, 5 instead of 6, since we also today are leaving the hotel at 7 in the morning. In a private bus today, thanks for that! The bus will take us to Kandy, the second biggest city in the country. The ride is smoot, having a lunch stop in a spice and herb garden, great food, and we also have an included massage in the price, and I get a great neck and shoulder massage. We arrive Kandy around 16.30, gets one hour to check in and freshen up before we head out to the Temple of the Tooth. Tooth you say, yes, one of Buddhas tooths are here in a shrine. We do not get to see the tooth off course, but we get a climps of the "box" where they keep it, nice experience, but not extremely interesting. Dinner is not any good this night, cold, and my stommac is not so good either. Stuffed.
Good to get to bed this night, and I am only using the fan and not the AC, and gets a pretty good sleep out of the night.
Saturday March 29th

Lots of freetime today, great, but still I get up at 6.30 to get an early breakfast since we are doing a small morning trip to a tea factory. Ok, and I even drink some tea, and buy some tea to bring home as well. After that, some shooping, and I find what I want. A painting for my wall at home, some pillowcases, a tablerunner and some plateholders or whatever they are called.
And from the last hours, just been chillin in the shaddow and writing up this - if you managed to get this far. Tonight, some tradisional dance show and dinner some place, hopefully better than last night. Kandy, btw is nice to look at, and extra nice from the hotel high over the city centre.

"Add-on" on April 1st to finnish up Kandy. We went to some tradisional dance in the evening, unfortunatly I had some tall person in front of me, so I missed a bit, but it was pretty good, even the music was a lot better than in the tempel. We ended the good stay of Kandy on a rooftop resturant, great veiw and good food, mexican in fact, with red wine this time, and a mojito and singapore sling as a finnish - nice!

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