Sri Lanka - Day 2 Sigiriya & Dambulla

Off we go to our first sightseeing adventure. We woke up early and after arranging a driver the previous day, we started on the 3 hour drive to Sigiriya. Now it’s important to note that distances in Sri Lanka are short, it is an island after all. But, and it’s a big but, driving is slow. Cars on average drive at 40 km/h on a winding two lane road going in both directions. So even though it’s only 90 km away, it really did take 3 hours to get there.

Sigiriya is this awesome rock that just stands out of the mountaintop. Atop this mountain, the ancients built a palace and/or monastery (archeologists are still unsure). The ascent takes around 1.5 hours and the climb is not as bad as one would expect. In most places the steps are not that steep and there are plenty of stops along the way.

​I must say though, Hussein is not the person to take with you on such an expedition. Having a fear of heights meant that he left me and ran off while I was stopped to take a breath. He couldn’t handle being there longer than necessary and so he just left me. Now if I had fallen or gotten hurt (God forbid), he would just leave me there stranded.

Anyway, we get to the top, the views are spectacular. All around is just green jungle as far as the eye could see. The few buildings that dotted the surrounding seemed to be swallowed by the trees.​

After countless pictures and two bottles of water later, we make our way down, pass by the museum quickly and jump into the car.

Next stop: the cave temples of Dambulla.

​They’re cave temples, which means we go into caves, which to me means, going underground. No, unfortunately not. It only meant more steps. Up and up the hill we go. I’m dying of the heat and my legs are killing me. Hussein just laughs and pulls me up. Finally at the top, we enter the caves, all 5 of them. Inside are Buddha statues of all sizes and in all positions. It’s dark and humid in the caves and people talk in hushed whispers. The ceilings are covered with colorful murals. They’re beautiful. We take plenty of pictures and watch as locals offer handfuls of lotus flowers and jasmine. It was definitely worth the trip.

On our way back to Kandy, we stop at a hotel along the road for lunch. The worst lunch ever. It was expensive, cold and tasteless. I eat just enough to stop the pangs of hunger, and can’t wait to get out of there. Worst place ever.

In the evening, we went to an open buffet dinner at a place called Sharon’s Inn. It’s located on top of one of the hills close to our hotel. I found the food mediocre, Hussein really liked it. We decided to walk home, which was gutsy, since 1. We didn’t really know the way home, 2. It was dark and there are barely any streetlights up on the mountain. The weak torch from my cellphone gave a little light but I was freaking out at the pairs of eyes shining from within the trees. But we got home safe and went to bed.

Tomorrow we wake up at 5 am.