Sri Lanka

Colombo city is an odd mixture of ancient and modern, often existing side by side. The Chinese are investing heavily so there is much construction of (very) high rise blocks in the city centre, overshadowing impossibly narrow streets lined with tradespeople of all descriptions. Lots of temples, mosques and old colonial buildings. The country was Dutch, then Portuguese before the British took it over so an odd combination of architectural styles. And, of course, many statues of the Buddha and lions, the national symbol of the country. 

Tomorrow we head inland to Habarana where it's cooler and less humid. Which is just as well as we're going to attempt to climb the 1200 or so steps to the summit of Sigirya Rock, the Sri Lankan equivalent of Ultra,  apparently,  with spectacular far reaching views. Pictures to follow if we actually make it! 

Enjoy this year's holiday M. We will keep looking in at your travel log having decided to stay closer to home this year for several reasons. Sri Lanka is still on the cards for next year. Hopefully your contributions here will whet the appetite for making that trip.

Of course, it should say "Uluru" not Ultra! 

Great pictures M, have a good holiday. 👍

Wow!  What an adventure.  Enjoy but take care crossing the roads. lol

Have a good one, M. It’s a tad cooler here.

Habarana couldn't be more of a contrast to Colombo if it tried! (For a start it's only 29°!) Here we are staying in forest eco lodges right on the shore of a huge lake which is a real magnet for birdlife. The hotel has it's own organic farm and garden with several cattle and, of course, where there are cattle there are egrets, hundreds of them! There are notices in the rooms telling you to keep your windows closed so that thieves can't steal your food or posessions; fortunately they're not the human kind but these little blighters that hover in the tree tops and swoop down as soon as you open your door. The hotel has a small inlet of the main lake with several impressive Royal Palm trees bordering it. It makes for a very pleasant atmosphere. 

This morning we headed for Sigiriya Rock, a 200 metre high edifice which appears to rise almost vertically out of the surrounding plains. Unfortunately, what seemed like just about the entire population of the island had the same idea! There were huge queues! 

This was the location of one of the ancient kings of Sri Lanka, 1500 years ago. The impressive thing is that all the surrounding walls and boundaries are made from fired bricks - they had the technology way back then to produce them. 

The king was the only male allowed to live on the rock, along with his 500 concubines (and I have enough trouble keeping 1 lady happy! )

The final ascent was originally guarded by a gigantic stone tiger - now only the paws remain at the entrance and they are about 10 metres high.

It was quite a slog on the final ascent up a very narrow staircase but we'll worth it for the views once up there.

 Tomorrow we head higher up in the mountains to the ancient capital of Kandy, stopping off at the UNESCO heritage temple complex at Dambulla on the way ( where I'm pretty certain photography will be banned!)