Last nights sleep was disturbed not only by the sound of snoring from my roommate, but also by a pack of dogs howling from somewhere on the hotel’s complex! It went on for about five minutes, which my fellow traveller managed to sleep through! And short of tearing my hair out with frustration, (Jay had already asked me if it was real), I really didn’t know what to do, until finally I managed to fall back asleep once some of the noise had subsided.
The alarm went off at 7 and I’d like to say I sprung out of bed full of enthusiasm for the day, but instead I slowly stumbled into the bathroom, half asleep and muttering to myself whilst The Tootster kindly apologised for his snoring.
We met Jay downstairs at 8:30 and set off for the long car journey to Polonnaruwa - the second oldest city (and capital) in Sri Lanka, but not before stopping off to take a look at one of the many magnificent lakes seen across the country. As we stared at its vastness, it was so hard to believe that this huge body of water was man-made.
Then we hopped back in the car and continued our journey amidst happy banter and a few swaps of information about cultural differences.
During a discussion about Buddhism, I mentioned to Jay about my time in Myanmar last year and how our guide was constantly telling us that Buddhists don’t believe in killing anything and yet when I had asked if they still had the death penalty out there, she told me they did but refused to answer any more questions when I asked how that was ok? That surely if they believed in Karma (what goes around, comes around), then the murderers/rapists would be ‘naturally punished’? Jay told us that there was the death penalty in Sri Lanka but no one ever got that far as they would spend so much time waiting in prison, that they’d die anyway. Some remorseful offenders were granted a reprieve on one of their holiest Poyas (festival on every new moon, whereby no one works but are supposed to go to temple). He then started to tell us how when he was 3 years old his father had been murdered; stabbed to death by a couple of men who were trying to mug Jay’s mother for her jewellery, when the two of them were coming home on the train from a party. He then proceeded to cry as he explained what a hard life he, his mother and his three brothers had had and that it never seemed to upset him so much as a child, but now as an adult with two children of his own he was very affected by it.
The Tootster and I felt awful that this gentle man had got so upset and tried to console him with what we felt were useful profundities - which made no difference. And eventually after about fifteen minutes of awkward silence, we knew he was feeling better because I asked him if we could stop off to use the toilet soon as I had drunk way too much water and was fit to burst. He then told us of a well known Sri Lankan saying:
Come running like a horse
Sit down like a thief
Leave like a King/Queen
And then he laughed, hysterically.
And so, we eventually reached Polonnaruwa: a city built by King Vijyabahu during the twelfth century, succeeded by King Parakramabahu, then King Nissankamalla (see, looooong names), the kingdom became a centre of wealth and ostentatiousness, becoming one of the great urban centres of Asia, (as described by The Rough Guide Book). Taking over from Anuradhapura once it had been raped and pillaged by incessant Indian invasions.
However, they kind of overplayed their hand a bit and it took less than a century before the city was completely in ruin (there’s that pun again) and bankrupt. Invaders from Southern India had arrived and everyone fled, leaving the city to desiccate and crumble as the jungle grew over it until the ruins were discovered another 700 years or so later.
The first stop was The Vihara Statue - this was believed to be of King Parakramabahu the Great (I’ll call him KP from here on in), then we walked on to the remains of The Royal Palace itself. Found in the centre of the city, known as Vijayotpaya or Vijavanta Prasada or The Palace of God Sakra (this was named as such to show the people that God and the King were equal). Originally 7 stories high, only parts of the first three stories remain. The building would have been vast with over a thousand rooms, which would have all been used - I’d hate to have been the cleaning lady, especially with my OCD!
We went to see The Royal Bath, or it may have actually been a pond, known as Kamara Pokuna (I know, sounds like a song from The Lion King), then The Royal Council Chamber of KP - wait for it, another long name - Raja Vaishyabhujanga Mandapa and then The Vatage, which is a round building containing a stupor and this one is believed to have been the original holding place for The Tooth Relic (more about that later) again built by KP. We saw The Galpota
: a giant piece of granite 9m long, inscribed with Sinhalese writing praising the life of King Nissankamalla. Next was The Satmahal Prasada and then the oldest Hindu shrine in Polonnaruwa: The Siva Devale.
Our penultimate stop was The Tivankan Image House which contained the remains of the only statue of Buddha in a pose that looks as though he is walking. Tivanka means ‘thrice bent’ - the image is bent at the shoulder, the hip and the knee. Remains of colourful frescos can still be seen on the wall. A guide was explaining the images to us, but all I could hear was a loud humming sound and the sight of a couple of large black insects flying in our direction. And when I say large, I mean huge - the size of the top part of my thumb. Yes,I may have shrieked and jumped behind my manly boyfriend, who didn’t even flinch,(well not obviously), but the guide laughed and told me not to worry, that they were only beetles, not harmful!
ONLY beetles, is he having a laugh?! I cowered behind my South London Geezer, using him as a human shield as I muttered that the only beetles I didn’t mind heading my way would be John, Paul, George or Ringo, then I turn tailed and ran out faster than you could say ‘insecticide’!
The final piece we went to see was The Lotus pond, built in the shape of a lotus flower from five consecutive rings of stone; some believe this was used as a ritual bath by those about to enter The Tivanka-Patamaghara.
Eventually, after a long morning, we were back in the car and off back to Dambulla.
Between Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, my personal favourite is the latter; unlike the dry sandiness of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa was lush with vegetation which made it seem (for want of a better phrase) more in touch with nature, plus, as all the sites are much closer together - the whole site approx 4km North to South - it is possible to walk (ok possibly interspersed with the odd mini car ride) from one to the other, or even hire a bicycle and cycle around if the heat doesn’t put you off. I would strongly suggest that if you ever visit out here and are short for time, choose the second City of Sri Lanka -Polonnaruwa.
Driving back to Dambulla, I was woken from my little nap when Jay suddenly exclaimed: “Elephant,look, look!” And sure enough, there to the side of the road, over in the fields, a lonesome elephant could be seen swinging its trunk as it merrily chewed on the grass. I pointed out that it was obviously happier than the poor elephants we had seen in Pinnawala because it was wagging its tail too! To which The Tootster laughed and pointed out that they were not like dogs and it wasn’t wagging it’s tail because it was happy but to it bat the flies away. However, he did concede that The elephants were definitely better off out of that awful Elephant ‘sanctuary’. Then I was quite shocked to hear Jay agreeing whole heartedly with us. We drove on a little further and pulled over as another giant Elephant casually strolled past us with not a care in the world.
And so we returned to Nice Place Hotel, ready for an early start to Sigirya. There was to be a lot more walking and a hell of a climb up to the old palace at the top of the enormous rock - 1,200 steps to be precise. My feet were still swollen from the flight and the heat and my calves were killing me from all the walking we’d already done. It was going to be a very slow treck, but it should be worth it ...
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