Sri Lanka's First Light

Legend would have you believe that this is the place where butterflies come to die. Whilst devout Buddhists believe that this is the site that Buddha himself ventured forth into the afterlife, where as readers of the Bible believe this is where Adam set forth upon the earth. Whatever your view, witnessing a sunrise upon the summit of Sri Pada or Adam’s Peak as it is also known by, will remain with you for a lifetime. Sri Pada is at an achievable height of 2243 metres in the hill country of Sri Lanka and during the pilgrimage season (December to March), thousands of devotees ascend to the small monastery perched upon the summit. The monastery houses the footprint of Buddha and is an important place that many Sri Lankans travel to yearly. The climb is about three hours and passes by raging waterfalls, small tea houses and harrowing views of the deep valleys below.  It all concludes with a juxtaposition of watching the sky turn from millions of stars into the pastel colours of the sun rising over Sri Lanka.

The stunning sunrise over Sri Lanka from Sri Pada

Sri Pada's shadow, a perfect pyramid!

A perfect sunrise over Adam's Peak.....just beautiful

View from Sri Pada Summit

Halfway up Sri Pada

Adam's Peak from Dalhousie, Sri Lanka

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Sri Lanka

Boom!…………..Boom!………………Boom!………….This was no enticing drum sound to woo me deep into the bowel of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic; no, this was a command to follow the many pilgrims into the darkness of the night into the most important Buddhist site in all of Sri Lanka. The site that, as legend would have you believe, contains a tooth from Buddha himself. Smuggled to Sri Lanka by an Indian Princess, the sacred tooth has been at the center of many conquests as for it is popularly believed that whoever holds the Tooth holds the power and the right to rule over the diverse island of Sri Lanka. After stripping your feet from your earth worn shoes and passing over the deep moat, you enter an ornate and spiritual world filled with intricately decorated arched corridors, hypnotic sounds of drums and prayers, the intense aromas of burning incense and the throngs of the pilgrims dressed in white holding offerings to Buddha.

On entering the final chamber, waiting patiently for the door that houses the relic itself to be opened by one of the many monks that form part of an elite sentinel for the temple, you will glimpse a priceless golden vessel. No words can adequately describe its immense beauty, elegance and sense of spiritual power that it holds over so many Buddhists around the world, for the vessel houses the Sacred Tooth of Buddha himself.  Draped in exquisite jewels and gems, surrounded by a room of golden light and lush red velvet drapes, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the sight of people praying, placing offerings and crying, as for some, this is a once in a lifetime experience. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a must see in the city of Kandy in the Hill Country of Sri Lanka and will leave an impression on you for many years to come.

The Scared Tooth Relic protected by its guardians

Pilgrims follow the drums to the Sacred Tooth Relic

Burning candles as an offering and prayer to Buddha

The hypnotic mosaic tiles line the ceiling

The Intricate artwork is stunning!

The colourful offerings on display at the temple

The Temple of Tooth Relic Entrance Hall, Sri Lanka

Mosaic Tiles on display at The Temple of the Sacred Tooth

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.

Bathing the Elephants at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka

There have been a few times in all the years that I have travelled and all the countries that I have visited that I have truly had an experience that has left me so humbled. So as I laid upon the stomach of a small Asian elephant, rising with every breathe that he took and feeling his coarse skin against my hands, I couldn’t help but shed a small tear at how magnificent these creatures truly are. Niki and I were in the small town of Sigiriya, in the central plateau of Sri Lanka. The day before we had climbed Sigiriya Rock and waking up early after a gang of monkeys attacked our guesthouse, we had planned to head south to the city of Kandy.

Magnificent Asian Elephant at his morning bath, Sri Lanka

Just before 8am the sound of a trumpeting elephant erupted through our room and as I peered out through our room’s dusty little window, I saw two mighty beasts lazily walking past our window. Niki was out of the door before I could even mention the phrase “elephants on parade’ and I was content to let her take some photos whilst I finished packing. A good 15 minutes had passed and I thought I should go find my wife who I had a strong suspicion that wherever she was, that she would be surrounded by an interested group of men. As whenever I left her alone in Sri Lanka, men would come in all directions to start up a conversation – whether friendly or with other intentions. So as I strolled down the road to find her, it came as no surprise that she was surrounded by two men whilst she took photos from a small bridge. Her images were of a small Asian Elephant on his side being bathed by a young mahout, who upon seeing us called us down in the river to have a better look.

Bathing Time for the Elephants at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

Climbing down the muddy embankment with Niki in toe, I stopped at the bank and felt my jaw drop. There was this creature that I had seen all over Asia, in a natural setting away from the touristic stage. There were no tourist buses, no tricks or elephant artwork, no elephant poo postcards and no amusement park atmosphere. I knew it wasn’t the same as seeing a Wild Elephant, however there was something special about seeing the mahout care for the young elephant as if a child of his own. Beginning to understanding, at least to a small extent, the bond that they share in the form of a working partnership that has been existent for hundreds of years in this part of Asia. Niki and I were then invited to enter the river.

Beautiful Asian Elephant bathing at Sigiriya

The coarse hair ran through my fingertips, the elephant’s eyes gazed upon me before contently blowing water over its back and continuing to rub the cool earthy mud over its body.  All this whilst the young man used a sturdy coconut shell to scrub the elephant’s skin of the muddy dust that clings to the air in this part of Sri Lanka. Nervous like I was on a first date, I couldn’t help but lay my ear against the elephant’s skin. I wanted to hear the sound of his beating heart and feel the rise of his stomach as air filled its lungs. I laid there in the moment, tranfixed in a world of discovery and felt humbled at the size and placid nature of the elephant. After I helped wash the young elephant’s leathery skin, which I wasn’t much good at, I slowly retreated back to the bank with a tear in the eye and a sense of awe at some of the amazing experiences you get to partake in when you travel the world.

Bathing with the Elephants at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

The dilemma of elephants in tourism is a juicy conundrum.  New technologies are replacing the need for elephants in agricultural and logging industries, coupled with the high expense of feeding them, often mahouts either have the choice of releasing them (which they may not survive), destroying them or potentially engaging them in tourism activites. However elephant tourism if done wrong, can be cruel and tacky, with elephants made to do tricks and ‘perform’ for the paying tourist. Ideally in the wild is the best place to see them, however with this not always possible, many successful elephant tourism operators (orphanages and rehabilitation centres) have been developed that create a sustainable way of fostering a balance between using elephants in tourism to help tourists get up close with the animals whilst meeting animal welfare standards and continuing to promote the growth of the Asian elephant population. It’s up to us and our travel choices about which type of elephant tourism will win out in the future!

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.

You start with the size of car. If you’re travelling alone, you wouldn’t need a very large one. If you’re travelling with friends or family, you need a car that can perfectly fit everyone including your luggage. But remember to just rent the right sized car since the larger the car – the pricier it gets. So if you’re shopping for cheap campervan hire Australia, you should get the one that isn’t too big for you and your companion and not too small either. Regardless if you got money to burn or you’re on a strict budget, you need to make comfort a priority. Know the meaning of terms like luxury, compact or mid size so you can end up with the car that you need.

Whatever the price that companies have for their rental vehicles, know that you can always get them at a better price. Get yourself a price estimate before you book a vehicle. At the same time, you can also ask the agent about any specials or promos they have. When you’re choosing between two or three car rental companies, you can take a look at their rental car prices and use that as a basis. Make sure that you ask about restrictions that come with special offers too. Hidden charges? That’s another thing that you should be wary about.

A trip can go as smoothly as you planned when you have a car on your own. Before you go on a trip, domestically or internationally, make sure that you look into the possibilities of renting a car out instead of going through public transport. With cheap campervan hire Australia, you can go from one place to another to feel and experience everything that your vacation spot has to offer.

The view from Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka

If you squint you will see a giant lion entangled in the encroaching jungle, overlooking the Hill Country to the south and protecting the central table of Sri Lanka. If you open your eyes fully, you will see the ruins of an ancient fortress or Sigiriya Rock as the locals call it, resting upon the top of a megalithic rock in a sparse plateau that would once have been a glorious residence for those who dared climbed upon the lion’s back. Photographing Sigiriya Rock is a wonderful challenge as there are so many aspects to shoot. From the rock paintings concealed within the overhanging caves, to the decaying ruins, to the 360 degree views from the top and of course, the mesmerizing rock itself. Lion Fortress is well worth the three hours travel from Colombo and is best experienced in the early morning as the sun rises over Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka

Stairways cut through the rock as you ascend the fortress

The Giant Lion Paws of Sigiriya Rock

Beautiful Frescoes dating to the 5th Century - Sigiriya Rock

Royal Gardens below Sigiriya Rock

A Storm brewing over Lion Fortress

The rickety spiral staircases

Intense Greens of the moss that grow along the stone staircases (not photoshoped)

The view from the top of the fortress

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.

Having found the cheapest car in the lots of Avis and Budget, you might still have a mind to get something cheaper.  As you can see, you can still find more affordable cheap rent a car if you take some time to look over the various offers.  Maybe you’re looking to rent a car out for more than three days.  When this is the case, you can get free days for your rental or you can get a huge percentage of the total rental price taken off.  Again, this is with some car rental companies only so you have to really look at your options thoroughly.

Let’s say that you find the cheapest rental car from Thrifty.  But if you book the same car at Budget, you’ll have a bigger savings even if it’s worth a day’s rental for a few more dollars.  However, if you need the car for more than 10 days, look for promotions.  Going with Thrifty, you have to pay for all the 12 days that you’re renting out the car.  However, with Budget, it’s a different story.  You only rent the car for 10 days and the other two days of your trip is covered for free.  Yes, you get two days free renting a vehicle from Budget for 10 days.  Indeed, cheap rent a car is easy to find through the help of comparison websites.

The rooms at Saubagya Inn have a slight boutique feel to them with timber furnishings and semi stylish décor. Our room had two single comfortable beds pushed together and a good sized ensuite with hot water. The bathroom had a slight smell to it, however the area had seen some intense rain and the smell cleared after a few hours. Each room has mosquito nets however no fridges or internet.

The atmosphere had a more mature feel to it with many mature travellers and their drivers staying overnight. The food was a little overpriced compared to the street food located a mere 30 seconds away, yet well sized and delicious. You’ll pay about 500rp for a curry and three vegetables which turned out to be a great spread. Thirty seconds from the guesthouse is a local bakery and eatery which provides tasty hoppers, yummy cakes and any provisions you may need.

We paid 2500rupees a night and that got us a fan cooled room.  3000rp will get you air conditioning however at this time of the year fan cooled was perfect. Security is good both on the doors and windows. The owner, Sunil, was very friendly and warmly welcomes his guests by telling them that “My house is your house”.

My only small issue with Saubagya Inn was the front room merged into the restaurant and on our last night we had to ask the friendly but boisterous travellers to quieten down at 11pm at is started to turn into a late night drinking session. Besides that, Saubagya Inn was a comfortable and quiet place to spend a few days in Anuradhapura and well recommended.

Saubagya Inn is tricky to find as there is no signage or street numbers (Google maps says it is on the airport runway!), however it’s on the same street at Milano’s and just south towards the T junction. Saubagya Inn is next door to the bakery and look for the white walls and tables in the foyer.

Saubagya Inn Room

Saubagya Inn Bathroom

Saubagya Inn Restaurant

Saubagya Inn Yummy Dinner

Contact Saubagya Inn

Email address for Saubagya Inn: saubagyainn@yahoo.com

Saubagya Inn Phone Number: +94252223490

Saubagya Inn Address: 10/395 Bandaranyake Mawatha, Kada Panaha, Anuradhapura

The Sacred Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba, Anuradhapura

As the soles of your feet touch the soft earth, the whimsical smoke from the sweet burning incense floats through the air around you and the soft murmurs of prayers takes you to a enlightened time, a time recorded in stories and by the religious offerings made by the many pilgrims that surround you. The ruins of Anuradhapura is nothing like I’ve ever seen before and will leave an impression on me for the many years to come. For this Photo Junket I wanted to share with you the incredible site of Anuradhapura in Northern Sri Lanka. Never heard of Anuradhapura before? Well, think Angkor Watt without the hordes of tourists! Anuradhapura is a sprawling town that is home to many impressive ruins, colourful Buddhas and grand Dagobas surrounded by jungle keen to return the man-made structures to nature. It’s four hours by train from Colombo or two from Kandy. I hope you enjoy these photographs, they only give a glimpse to the grandeur of this former capital!

Reclining Buddha at the Abhayagiri Dagoba, Anuradhapura

A solitary Monk chanting his moring prayers at Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba, Anuradhapura

The Elephant Guard at Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba

The Crumbling Jetavanarama Dagoba, Anuradhapura

Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba Prayer Flags, Anuradhapura

The ancient Abhayagiri Dagoba

Abhayagiri Dagoba Buddhism Artwork

Ruvanvelisaya White Dagoba, Anuradhapura

The Intense reds and yellows of the incense burner at Thuparama Dagoba

Jetavanarama Dagoba Ruins

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.

Fort Station in Colombo

Coach 15707 - Fort Train Station Colombo

Considering it was early morning, the city was alive with people going about their prayers, local business men buying their morning coffees and soldiers completing their intense Rocky Bilbao montages. Picking up some fresh fruit and roti from the local street stalls, we boarded our 6.50am train for Anuradhapura. If you’re like me and when you think of Asian trains you think of old carriages falling apart at the seams, chickens running lose and the carriages so crammed that people under your armpits can tell what type of deodorant you’re wearing, you’re in for a pleasant surprise! Niki and I  boarded our clean 2^nd class carriage with only eight other people and as we took our seats, I sat with an anxious wait to see if anyone else was to board. Surely there had to be more people, every other train arriving at Colombo was so packed with early morning commuters that if someone farted a person would be pushed out the door! However to our honest surprise, we left on time in a quiet cabin bound for Anuradhapura.

Onboard the Train from Colombo to Anuradhapura

Waiting for The Train to Pass

For the first half hour of our trip we passed through the urban sprawl of Colombo city, passed shunting yards and other trains  full to the brim with people. We eventually broke out into the green rice paddies and small villages that dotted our trip over the next four hours. The mountains shrouded in low mist were a constant backdrop. Everywhere you looked birds of vibrant colours where nesting and buffaloes were grazing in the fields. The further north you got the deeper into the jungle you went, with train stations becoming more overgrown with vines and tropical flora. Every stop would see men and women wandering the aisles with the most savoury and sweet dishes; from spring rolls to mangoes and my personal favourite, salted peanuts.

One of the many rivers you'll see from Colombo to Anuradhapura

Potuhera Train Station

As we travelled north, we also begun to notice more and more train wrecks and carriages on the side of the rails that the jungle was slowly claiming back. The wrecks, either by accidents or by more sinister doings, indicated that the north wasn’t going to be as tourist friendly as the south, especially considering I read that only a few years ago a bus was destroyed when it hit a landmine in the area. It was slightly unnerving to think that Sri Lanka was still in a state of military readiness and that Niki and I were moving closer to the areas that were under heavy observation and military occupation. There goes Niki’s first rule about politically sensitive areas.

A colourful lady walking through the Rice Paddies

Niki watching Sri Lanka go by.

About an hour from Anuradhapura station the clouds opened and started a monsoonal down pour that would last for the next twelve hours. Later on we would discover that this wet weather was the left overs from a big cyclone that hit the south of Sri Lanka and sadly took the lives of some of the villagers in the area. On arrival, we were greeted by the usual line of touts and were whisked away to our accommodation. We paid 100 rupees for a taxi tide to our accommodation at the Surabagya Inn. Even if this was too much the rain guaranteed that our driver held all the bargaining chips. The train was 380 rupees ($3.80aud) with reserved seating that we had booked the day before and gave an interesting insight into the local Sri Lankan life as well as provided a comfortable and very affordable travelling option to Anuradhapura.

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.

Street Vendors in the Pettah District

Sitting there as if I just been slapped in the face with a tuna fish, going over it in my head wondering if I missed some local custom where snotting in another person’s hand brings them good-luck, I contemplated how I was going to clean my hand or cut it off all together. My dilemma though was how to do it without offending the other passengers on the train who may misconstrue my overt hate for other people’s snot on my hand, with thinking the locals were dirty people. It was about this time I start contemplating my visit to Colombo and tried to work out where all this started?

The Chaotic Streets of Colombo

The first time I ever heard about Colombo was when I was working for an airline and there was a message left on everyone’s phones saying that some type of surface missile had been fired at a plane on the runway at Colombo airport. The message informed us that any current aircraft on the ground were told to get off the tarmac and into the air immediately to avoid being destroyed. I also remembered thinking at the time that the name ‘Colombo’ seemed mundane for a city name and couldn’t help but associate it with the image of an old detective program. Not to mention always getting it confused with Colombia! So why was I here being snotted on like I was in some Kleenex commercial from hell? The answer was simple, because the island of Sri Lanka had captured so many hearts and minds of many of the great travellers in our history, I had to visit to understand why!

Along the Colombo Rails

So ten years on from the message on my phone and in a time which has seem some stability return to Sri Lanka, Niki and I would begin our four week jaunt around the island in Colombo. As soon as we arrived we understood that whilst the war may have ‘ended’, the local military presence across the city was still unnervingly tight. This brings us back to me standing at Fort station in central Colombo for 30minutes scrubbing my hand like a crazed man. Colombo is chaotic at the best of times which when stifled by the humid weather made the traffic fumes intoxicating as you walked throughout the city. Coupled with the heavy military presence, which considering some of these military men and women only come up to my shoulder but looked like that could a do a Rambo on my arse, I started to realise that Colombo wasn’t some pretty tourist town.

Fort Station, Colombo

Since our arrival, there has been military everywhere; from bridges, airports, schools, train station and the list goes on. It’s not just a couple of guards either; its full blown bunkers, road closures, vehicles and weaponry.  However the city is still thriving and I think their presence is more for precaution then necessity.  The tourist attractions in the Fort area are small and limited to a ramshackle collection of furniture at the Dutch Museum, the various streets in the Pettah district selling all sorts of bits and bobs as well as a clock tower surrounded by the military. Which, incidentally, if you try to photograph you’ll have weapons pointed at you so quickly that you won’t have time to even think about peeing your pants!

National Museum in Colombo

Niki and I finished the day visiting the National Museum (south of Fort) which houses a unique collection of statues depicting the various religions of the island, unique archeological relics and heaps of great history displays to help us understand the regions we were about to visit.  Overall Colombo is a city that is a faded relic of a time gone past. Modern buildings sit next to dilapidated shacks, retro buses push past the latest Honda however everywhere you look there is something to feast your eyes upon. From the colorful dresses that drape the women, to the buzzing three wheelers that own the streets. Yet the town, to me, just felt like a rundown city with too much pollution, no waste management and a clear divide between the rich and extreme poor. This is the real Colombo in many ways. After two days in Colombia, sorry Colombo, it was time to head north to the ancient capital of Anuradhapura.

This post is part of the India and Sri Lanka: The Search for the Forgotten Tree blog series.