Janet's Journal

While my companion climbed Sigiriya the next morning Tharindu and I visited the old traditional village across the lake, travelling by bullock cart and then canoe, a bit touristy but fun. Pol sambal, chilli paste and coconut roti (made with kurakan) were prepared and cooked for us in the old way and served on a banana leaf. Very tasty.

We stopped at Dambulla before heading down into Kandy. Just before Matale we stopped so that I could visit Nalanda Gedige. An ancient archaeological site, the temple and image room are a fusion of Hindu and Buddhist style, built somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries very little is known about it.

In Kandy we did the usual round of sightseeing, this time including the Geragama Tea Factory to learn the story of how we get our tea.

Taking a different route to Nuwara Eliya meant I could visit two of the three beautiful 14th century temples; Gadalageniya Vihara in Pilimathalawa and Sri Lankathilake Rajamaha in Rabbegamuwa. The third, Embekke Vihara would have to wait for another day!

In Nuwara Eliya al clear, bright morning gave us the chance to go to the top of Piduruthalagal, Sri Lanka’s tallest mountain at just under 2,500 metres. Luckily for me there is a military post and therefore a road to the top. Fortunately, I did remember to make sure we had our passports with us.

Another chance to travel on the Blue Train, this time from Nanu Oya to Badulla, the end of the line. Unfortunately the passenger sitting opposite me had an exploding bottle of cola, so we all had a shower of warm sticky liquid

Tharindu met us at the station and after a night in Badulla we visited the majestic Dunhinda Falls followed by a walk on the oldest surviving wooden bridge on the island. The Bogotá Wooden Bridge was built in the 16th century, even the fixing nails are wooden. There is also an ancient cave temple at the site.

I walked Horton Plains, climbed Little Adam’s Peak and down to Nine Arch Bridge again. Enough!

On the way down to the south coast we stopped at Buduruwagala. There are seven beautiful, 1,000 year old figures of Buddha cut into the rock, the tallest of which is 15 metres high.

Driving along the south coast we made stops at Mirissa and Weligama. Two nights in Galle meant we could visit Unawatuna beach, where a lot of the filming for the English TV series ‘The Good Karma Hospital’ was done.After that it was time to head up the west coast.

A night in Bentota to relax on the huge beach, then a Maduganga Lake Safari through mangroves, landing to watch how cinnamon is peeled and sampling a cup of cinnamon tea.

We spent the afternoon at Richmond Castle, an Edwardian mansion built in 1900 on a 45 acre estate. It was the country seat of Mudaliyar Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena. Now owned by the Public Trustees and open for visitors.

Then it was time, once again, to head back to Negombo and my companion’s flight back to England.