Day 5. Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya

 It was kind of just one destination for today's excursion, albeit one in several parts. And we're starting to get Temple Fatigue, which is potentially a big problem so early in the holiday.

I am finding the bus rides quite pleasant now, I can recline my seat and lose myself in an audiobook. Lynn definitely doesn't have that skill yet. She got frustrated that the guide's bus speakers were too loud and changed seats several times while trying to find a quieter spot, something that obviously doesn't exist. It was about an hour to Polonnaruwa.

Our destination was a large network of ruins, a previous capital of Sri Lanka 800 years ago which was fought over various kings (we weren't listening, but you can look it up on Wikipedia if you like). They were quite beautiful in themselves, regardless of history.

Royal Palace

Swimming Pool


It was big enough that we'd look at a few ruins then get on the bus to be shuttled to the next part. Some of the ruins were Buddhist temples and so the usual rules apply; no hat, no shoes. This is a bit uncomfortable with the heat and gravel, but not unreasonable. Their 21st Century rules in all of these temples is that you can take photos but not selfie-style pictures and not pictures taken with your back to the statue. This seems quite a good idea and at least reminds you that the objects have meaning beyond Instagram props.
Dagoba (dome-shaped Buddhist stupa)

All of this was done by about 1pm, after which we stopped at a village restaurant /community enterprise for lunch. Despite initial misgivings the food was quite good.


Doing it this way we got back to the hotel mid-afternoon, which was about the time it really started to rain. The cycle seems pretty predictable at the moment, light showers from midday and heavier rain later in the afternoon, often finished by sunset.

Location: Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

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