Slightly miffed by the Sigiriya thing I topped up the wallet in Dambulla and waited for another bus. I got speaking to a local who was in the navy, and was a gun operator. He was on his way to work and suggested a quicker bus for me to catch, which was the same bus he was catching. He couldn't get over the fact that I was mid (to late) thirties and not married, with children. He was early twenties and was married, with a baby on the way. He told me I must find a wife and have a family as soon as I get home!
Once arrived I did a little wandering about and found a room on budget. Odd place (Hotel Shalini) as there didn't seem to be ANYONE else staying there. The owners spent most of the day and night watching the cricket!
Anuradhapura (old side) was the ancient capital of Sril Lanka until the 11th century AD and is now well preserved ruins, spread over huge distances. The guide books recommend that you hire a bike or tuk-tuk to take you between the different areas but of course I walked pretty much the whole thing, meeting locals and getting more of a feel for the place. There's so much stuff to look at: huge Dagoba's, Stupa's and old royal palace ruins, citadels and cutting edge irrigation "tanks" - all extremely impressive for the time.
It was here that I was my first rainfall since leaving England. It was so nice, the air went immediately fresh from being incredibly humid, I stood for hours, under a shop roof, watching the tourists and feeding a dog that gave me such a cute look. I didn't realise the time and the shops started shutting, and all the tuk-tuks and buses had gone, but a friendly shop keeper took me back to town save me (and my camera) getting soaked!
Back at base, still no-one about, grabbed some water and went to bed cream-crackered.
Once arrived I did a little wandering about and found a room on budget. Odd place (Hotel Shalini) as there didn't seem to be ANYONE else staying there. The owners spent most of the day and night watching the cricket!
Anuradhapura (old side) was the ancient capital of Sril Lanka until the 11th century AD and is now well preserved ruins, spread over huge distances. The guide books recommend that you hire a bike or tuk-tuk to take you between the different areas but of course I walked pretty much the whole thing, meeting locals and getting more of a feel for the place. There's so much stuff to look at: huge Dagoba's, Stupa's and old royal palace ruins, citadels and cutting edge irrigation "tanks" - all extremely impressive for the time.
It was here that I was my first rainfall since leaving England. It was so nice, the air went immediately fresh from being incredibly humid, I stood for hours, under a shop roof, watching the tourists and feeding a dog that gave me such a cute look. I didn't realise the time and the shops started shutting, and all the tuk-tuks and buses had gone, but a friendly shop keeper took me back to town save me (and my camera) getting soaked!
Was it jumper time?
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