Day 3 - Elephant shower & ancient temples

We were up early on a beautiful sunny day for another day of exploring and adventures. The hotel is set in a very rural area with lots of wildlife sharing our space. We have small and very cute lizards on the walls in the rooms, and I had to catch tiny frogs in the shower this morning as I was worried I might step on them. I'm listening to the monkeys run around on the roof as I type. They are much louder than the possums we have at home! We are not allowed to leave the hotel area at night due to the wild elephants and other creatures.

Today we headed off to visit the first capital of Sri Lanka. On the way we stopped to have a jungle safari ride on an elephant. She was HUGE. Her name translated to 'Princess' but she was very well behaved and stood very still while we we all climbed on board from a raised platform. Once she started walking we rolled from side to side which was quite relaxing once we were used to it. We took turns riding on her neck which was fantastic, and I was given (for a small fee) some limes to feed her. She lifted her trunk up and took them from my hand. Her head had very spikey short hair and the skin is very tough but her ears were soft and floppy (like Dan's).

Along the way one of the Mahmouts stopped to pick lotus leaves which he made into caps for the kids. Very nifty sun shade and the kids looked very cute in them. Sarah had to add a flower to hers to pretty it up. They were very pleased with their new hats and I bit disappointed to find them all dried up and hard the next morning. The Mahmoud asked if we wanted a shower and both the kids shouted NO!! But we said YES YES. Hilarious. I think the Mahmouts were laughing as much as we were. It was a wonderful experience and again mainly due to our guide knowing the best place to go. Most other rides are short and along the road which is not much fun for the elephant either. We were able to see the elephants home which is in the jungle with the Mahmouts and their families. Dan was in awe of the giant pile of poo (which goes to the paper making place).

We had a rather damp drive to the next stop where there are vast areas of ruins from the ancient first capital of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura built in 200AD. We were again struck speechless by the sheer size of a stupa - a Bhudist temple which is filled with rubble and dirt, encasing a precious relic and treasures. The first one we saw is a restored one, made of brick and is 80 meters tall and nearly as wide. We needed to leave our shoes and hats at the steps to the paved area around the stupa. Given the heat and sunshine the surface was VERY hot and so we had to sprint between shady spots (oo ow oo ow oo ow) and with not many places in offer it was a race to get there first. We walked amongst the ruins of the king's palace and the monasteries. We also visited another stupa which is painted annually (it takes 3 months) and is very white and enormous. We visited a bhudist temple which has the sacred bo-tree, the oldest recorded tree in the world at 2,200 years old. It's actually a branch now, held up by gold poles. Cuttings are taken to grow new trees. This was a very sacred place and very peaceful.

It was a hot and sunny day so as soon as we were back at the hotel it was straight into the pool with a magnificent view of the rock we will climb in the morning. Then we had another delicious meal of Sri Lankan curries and breads. The buffet is vast and there are also chefs cooking other dishes. It 's impossible to try everything but we give it a good go! There is also plenty of western style food so the kids are happy, although they have been good at trying local food too. Sarah has found the desserts to be quite tempting.

Enough from me now, and over to the rest of the family for their thoughts....


Sarah

• The elephant ride because you could get out of the basket and sit on its neck.
  
• Getting sprayed by the elephant was fun because you would not expect it.
  
• The drive because of the site seeing and interesting things.
  
• The stupas because they had huge statues that looked awesome.
  
• All the information and interesting old ruins from centuries ago.

Dan

• The elephant ride because when I was on her neck she sprayed me with water.
  
• The lotus leaf hat the mahouts gave us on the elephant ride because the stem stuck out of the top.
  
• The Stupa because it was so big.
  
• The tree in the Buddha temple because it was the oldest tree in the world, it is 2200 years old. They held up some of the branches with golden poles.
  
• The two frogs in mums shower because it was funny the way they jumped around trying to avoid mum!

 

Rich
One best thing - Stupa!
Despite the unique experience of the riding an elephant both in the carriage and astride its giant kneck massaging the soft skin of her head and ears as she ambled along and sheer the entertainment involved in the Elephant shower incident it was the Stupa that did it for me today.
I was completely in awe of these structures. We saw two monumental examples one under restoration and one in its full finery. The sheer mechanics of it all is hard to fathom 2000 years old with no technology they built a monument 100 metres high in a perfect circle about 100m wide from mud bricks and rendered and painted it. Pradeep told us that there are always three rings at the bottom supporting the stupa, if you place your hands on these and look up you cannot see the top due to their shape (see photo) however if you take just one step back you can. I guess there is a Buddhist message about enlightenment in there somewhere! To think that these were built to just house a Buddha relic....