Ancient History lesson

 This morning we set out for Polonnaruwa which was built in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are the ruins of the massive Royal Palace, which even had a bathroom. A lake and a series of reservoirs were also built during the King’s reign. There are also Buddhist statues and a Shiva Temple. Buddhism is the predominant belief system in Sri Lanka today. Later in the afternoon we set out on a Jeep safari looking for elephants and did we see over a dozen, also Water Buffalo. It was a long day and as we returned to our beautiful hotel a massive thunderstorm hit, our second since the start of this trip. Breakfasts and dinners here have been superb too. I tried a ‘Hopper’ for breakfast, a bowl shaped pancake with egg.



Ancient Palace ruins (no, not these two)

Egg Hopper



Sunday: today we started at a Spice Garden at Matale. A Herbalist showed us spices that Sri Lanka is famous for, particularly the high quality cinnamon. He explained the many medicinal qualities of spices and gave a full sales pitch. At the end we were treated to a mini neck massage using their special oils (which of course was for sale). Then it was upward to the second largest city, Kandy, which was also the former capital. We visited very briefly the central market and drove through the main town centre. A cultural show was next complete with drumming, music and dance. The finale was fire dancing (performed in the basement car park of the building), complete with fire walking and flame throwing! Not a Health and Safety Officer in sight. Our hotel tonight is opulent and perched high on a hill. We have a massive suite on the top level, with a view out to a giant Buddha statue on the opposite hill. Another storm gave another free show from our window.

Nutmeg 
Cloves
Cinnamon

Fire Walking
Kandy Lake

Golden Buddha at Matale



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