The Sri Lanka circuit (the morning of Day 1) - On the way to Sigiriya -The 5th of December 2011.

The first images of Sri Lanka were the ones seen from inside the bus on our way to Sigiriya still at dawn.

The first stop was at the Kurunegala Lake, a large man-made water reservoir said to have been constructed by ancient kings in the outskirts of the legendary city named after the Elephant Rock.

We sat down along one of its shores and whilst some of the people in our group had some morning tea, Christian and I just wandered about observing the mesmerising view and wondering how important these man-made lakes must have been as irrigation means in the past.

Everywhere along the road we came across piles of coconuts and were soon told of their importance because of not only being commonly used in the daily Sri-Lankan cuisine but also in hair and body care, as well  as oil lamps.

The European maritime powers - the Portuguese,  the Dutch and the British, who traversed the Indian ocean from the 15th century on are all said to have left indomitable marks on the island, although to be honest the only one I felt to be noticeable was the Bristish one, in the form of criket being played at almost every school ground we passed on the way.

By the time we reached the Kassapa Lions Rock Hotel in the outskirts of Sigiriya we were feeling the effects of the sleepless night but would soon be awoken by the beauty of the bungallow type hotel surrounding nature, as we prepared ourselves for the first meal in Sri-Lankan territory.

 

The first optional excursions (a safari or elephant ride) were proposed for the afternoon but as the majority chose the safari one, which we were not interested in, we ended up staying at the hotel premises, and although we were initially disappointed it wasn't until later that we realised how important it had been for us to have stayed in ... 

By the end of the day we had almost fully recovered from the tiring trip and were looking forward to the next day's excursion to the Aukana site.