Dambulla and Kandy

K at dinner in Dambulla

The drive from Colombo to Dambulla was fairly long (made longer by the fact that our driver did not take a direct route - more on this later), and we arrived shortly before dinnertime.  We passed several king coconut  farms and learned quite a bit from our driver/guide about the many uses of coconut.  Being an island, Sri Lankans prefer to import very little.  So, they try to make use of everything that grows naturally in their tropical climate.  They drink the coconut juice, get coconut milk and coconut oil (used for cooking) from the pulp.  The husks are soaked in water until they break down and are then ground up and used to make a wide variety of items.  When the government gives permission for a mature tree to be cut down, they use the trunks to create lumber.  In addition, while the trees are growing, they cut low-hanging branches off to use as fertilizer for the soil, and when they cut the tree down, they weave the leaves to create thatch for roofing and barriers (think orange construction nets).  When it's not harvesting season, they grow pineapples and sweet potatoes under the trees.

We stopped at a small restaurant on our way for snacks and the kids had fresh pineapple juice.  Of course, since this was a restaurant set up specifically for western tourists, we paid 1200 Rs for these drinks (about $10).  By comparison, our entire meal for 4 people including drinks at the British style pub the night before was only 2500 Rs.  Thus begins the extreme markup for tourists.  You will see this theme continue throughout our trip.  We arrived at our hotel - Amaya Lake - with enough time to have a quick swim before dinner.  Dinnertime in South Asia starts at 7:30, so this was a bit of a stretch for our kids who like to eat around 5:30.  In the later days of our traveling, K often asked to be put to bed (which never happens) while sitting at the dinner table.

The restaurant at Amaya Lake was totally open air with large "curtains" that could be lowered during rainstorms.  It was a beautiful setting, but the presence of wildlife was a bit shocking.  On my way back to the room after dinner, I found geckos all over the outside of our cottage (which I was expecting), and a snake hanging from the rafters hoping to catch some dinner (which I was not expecting).  In fact, we found quite a few snakes while we were visiting Amaya Lake.  I don't think we walked anywhere on the premises without seeing at least one - in the drainage ditch, hanging out in our yard, etc.  The kids thought they were great and K even started calling out, "Snake!  Where are you??" when we went walking. 

The kids and I from the top of Sigiriya

Josh selected Dambulla so we would be close for a visit to both the Rock Fortress and the Cave Temples in the area.  So, our only full day in Dambulla, we drove about 45 minutes to Sigiriya and spent about 2 hours climbing up and back down the fortress.  Cost for tourists?  $30 per person.  The view from the top was nice, and the climb wasn't too bad (don't talk to Josh about it), but we found $60 to be a bit much to pay for  the climb.  It wasn't really on par with a National Park back home - which is kind of what I'd expect if I was paying that much.  At the stopping point just prior to the final climb, we had an interesting experience with some fellow tourists.  Josh was opening up the backpack to get out some candies for the kids (I'm totally not above bribes) and I heard someone next to me saying, "Vorsicht... vorsicht!!"  He probably should have been saying, "Achtung... achtung!" since we had a monkey about to drop into our backpack from the tree above us.  We drove back to our hotel (soaked with sweat) hoping for nothing more than a quick dip in the pool and some lunch.  Lunch we got, but a rainstorm halfway through put our pool plans on hold.  Josh was surprised by a gecko climbing his leg partway through the meal (but nearly nearly as surprised as the lady who had one crawl up the inside of her pant leg during dinner later that night).  We substituted quick naps for the pool visit and woke to find the hotel workers playing an impromptu game of cricket by the lake.  

The following morning, we set off to visit the Cave Temples on our drive to Kandy.  The climb to the temples was mostly shaded, so much cooler than Sigiriya had been the previous morning.  We had another monkey incident on the way up (but really, doesn't everyone need a good monkey story??) as one came by and stole a flower that K was carrying up to give to Buddha.  She was inconsolable - maybe because the monkey was about the same size as her, and maybe just because he took her flower - the world may never know.  A passing French tourist donated a flower to the cause and all was well again in the world.  The temples were beautiful, but I was most impressed (and you're going to think this is stupid) by the guy who keeps all the shoes outside the temple.  As it's a Buddhist holy place, no shoes are allowed.  So everyone who goes in gives their shoes to this guy outside and he watches them for you (and you hope you get them back when you return).  There were probably a good 100-150 people inside when we got in there, and a steady stream coming and leaving as well, yet the man remembered who each and every pair of shoes belonged to.  I'm pretty sure I could not do that job.  

Inside one of the cave temples

View from our hotel in Kandy

We arrived in Kandy just as school was letting out for the day (around 2:00) and the roads were packed with school vans.  Our hotel was at the top of a local mountain, so we had a beautiful view!  The kids and I stuck around and relaxed while Josh headed out to watch some traditional dancing and see the Temple of the Tooth - a local "must see".  It houses one of Buddha's teeth although all you actually see is the box the tooth is inside of.  

The following morning, we set out bright and early and saw the Botanical Gardens as well as the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage, a local artisan shop, and a jewelry store.  First up were the gardens.  They were nice enough, and the entrance fee was not exorbitant, so it was a good walk for all of us.  The high point was at the far side of the gardens however where we found a bat colony that hangs out in the trees by the river.  They were seriously huge, and a bit scary.  Aren't bats supposed to sleep during the day?  These guys were a bit restless and you could catch them flying between trees every few seconds if you watched.  We decided to pass through quickly - because of the bats, but also because of the local who decided that we really wanted to see the large scorpion he was carrying around imprisoned inside a large leaf.  Thank you, no.  I had enough of scorpions when we lived in Texas, and I was fairly certain those ones would die if I stepped on them.  This one might actually take off my foot if I tried.

Trip number two for the day was the elephant orphanage where they house upwards of 50 elephants.  The kids enjoyed watching them bathe down at the river while we ate lunch, and we headed back up the street to see them in the actual park after that.  Unfortunately for us, the president was coming to feed the elephants that particular day however, so the park was a bit crowded and security was everywhere.  We stayed only for a short time and then headed back to Kandy.  Oh yeah, it was $40-50 for us to go see the elephants - again, just more than I would normally pay for something like that.

Lastly we did some shopping.  I was probably not in the right mindset to spend any more money since we were already feeling a bit overspent, and as it turns out, we did not buy anything either at the government run artisan shop (read tourist trap) or the jewelry store (also read tourist trap).  The men at the store seemed incredulous that I might find their prices to be expensive - apparently anyone who can afford to fly all the way to Sri Lanka can certain afford to pay for some jewelry.  In most cases, I would say they're probably right - we're definitely the exception to the rule.  We finished out the evening with a wonderful local-style dinner at our hotel and prepared for the long drive to Bentota the following day.