Travel Diaries : The Sri Lankan Experience

Sharing with you all and keeping my experience alive has become a very welcoming thing in my schedule. Our visit to Sri Lanka before Maldives was something that we looked forward too. Our parents had gone to Sri Lanka in March but they readily added it into our itinerary for me and my sister to enjoy. We flew kites. We ate like pigs. We walked and climbed the temples. We went to the beach. Our hotels were decent and nice. We got our cinnamon toothpicks. :D .

Our first stop after landing in Colombo was Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. It is the home to Wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. Though they are captive they are all taken to a lake close by for their bath and we were lucky to have witnessed it. All of them together around 88 elephants march towards the orphanage. We are all asked to clear the road. Such massive beings that entice and at the same time make you want to pet them as well.

Polonnaruwa : THE ANCIENT CITY

The first group of ruins you meet after entering the ground of the Ancient City is the Royal Palace Group. Doesnt like one anymore.But that being said even today it is quite an impressive building, but picture it being seven floors tall with 3 m thick walls, as the archaeologists claim it once was!Today only some of the walls are left, with holes to hold floor beams for two higher levels. If the building had four more levels above these stone walls, the archaeologists speculate that they must have been made of wood. Impressive building such a big palace in those days without machines!

Dambulla : SIGIRIYA AND GOLDEN TEMPLE

Sigiriya
It is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 metres (660 ft) high. *We died a little bit in the climb but WOW the view and the structure itself was just mind blowing. My dad gave up at LION GATE a point where there was an opening and people could relax. We went till the top.
(to learn more about this : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya)

Cave Temple
The beautiful Royal Rock Temple complex sits about 160m above the road in the southern part of Dambulla. Five separate caves contain about 150 absolutely stunning Buddha statues and paintings, some of Sri Lanka's most important and evocative religious art. Buddha images were first created here over 2000 years ago, and over the centuries subsequent kings added to and embellished the cave art.

.... and then there was a monkey eating a mango and mind you the mangos in SRI LANKA were unforgettable.