Day 2 - Elephants

After another delicious breakfast (the fruit is just amazing here) we left Colombo, heading north east. Even once we were out of the commercial areas the narrow road was busy with buses, trucks, motor bikes and tuk tuks, all seeming to want to play chicken with each other. Add pedestrians cows and dogs to the mix and it makes for a fairly hair raising experience. We are ever thankful that we have our wonderful guide at the wheel.

The road was lined with houses and businesses. Each village has a specialty to sell and we stopped in the pineapple growing village for a fabulous roadside treat. Fresh pineapple with chili salt - delicious! We also passed cane weaving village, cashew nut village and (bizarrely) a village with brightly coloured inflatables lining the roadside.

 

 

 

With either Sarah or Dan riding in the front of our minibus with Pradeep, we attract a fair amount of interest from the (closely) passing vehicles. We sat behind a bus full of school boys who were waving madly and trying to get Dan to call them on their mobile phones.

After 2 1/2 hours we stopped at the Pinnawela Elephant Ophanage where injured and orphaned elephants are cared for. As we wandered into a central grassed area we were soon faced with a couple of big elephants with their mahout keepers. Then Sarah pointed back the way we came and We were all speechless at the sight of about 60 elephants of all sizes coming towards us. They followed a path very nearby us although one curious baby came straight to us before being called back.

This is an amazing place. We were all in awe of these gentle giants. We were allowed to stand and watch them feed and play. Later we moved down to a restaurant just above the river. It's a beautiful spot and not long after our meal arrived, so did the elephants for their afternoon swim. The babies were very funny playing in the water, fighting over a stick and wrestling each other. Afterwards we watched paper being made from elephant poo (much to the kids horror). It's beautiful paper and of course I had to have some!

After another long drive we arrived at our hotel in Sigiriya. We were welcomed by beautiful smiling staff wearing traditional dress and were immediately seated and given a wild mango juice to refresh us all in view of the 'rock' looming behind the 2 swimming pools.

The kids were soon in the pool. After a fabulous buffet dinner in the restaurant here we were all ready for an early night. Now over to the kids for their top 5 ....


Dan

• Going to the elephant orphanage because the the elephants kept throwing sand on them selves.
  
• Driving behind a schoolbus because lots of boys were waving and one of them got his phone out and tryed to get me to phone him!
  
• Leaving Colombo because we get to stay at a new hotel.
  
• Driving around because we saw lots of temples out the windows.
  
• The view of the rock that we're going to climb!
  

Sarah

• The elephant orphanage because all the baby elephants were so cute and we got to see them play in the water.
  
• The view of all the different towns and foods.
  
• All the little shops on the side of the roads in all the little villages we drove through with their stuff for sale. Each village sold the same thing. One sold blow up toys!
  
• The new hotel because it's got a huge pool.
  
• The views especially the rock we are going to climb to the top of!
  

Rich
One best thing - elephants!
In spite of the impression made on a long long drive by the sheer madness of the roads driving 3 wide in a single lane overtaking tuk tuk, buses and trucks with a cheerful toot with the same happening with the oncoming traffic on the other side and the vibrant street shops all along the road front, each house a shop, each entire village selling only one product in every shop, one here pineapples, one there cane ware and baskets, another bananas, another lychees one bizarrely inflatable plastic swimming toys! But the highlight was definitely the elephant sanctuary.

Standing in the middle of a herd of stapeding elephants was awe inspiring!!!! Well they weren't exactly stampeding, just walking about really; but we were standing right in the middle of a group of about 40 as the elephant reserve keepers drove them up from the river past us to their feeding and roaming area. These beasts were magnificent. Later as they grazed on branches and split logs laid out for them you were able to stand almost toe to toe. Apparently they eat about 100 kilos of plant material a day. Later we went to the elephant park hotel by the river for lunch and where the elephants are watered twice a day, apparently they drink a hundred litres of water too! Again the herd is driven down from the reserve by the mahout men to the river past the pub as you lunch. Tha elephants especially the little ones romp around in the water.