Serene Lanka

My excitement and thrill awaiting the holiday to Srilanka was boundless, this being my first ever overseas trip with friends. Unsurprisingly, Sri Lanka tops the tourism charts offering a wide variety of visiting places for enthusiastic excursionists.

I refrained from declaring myself a Tamilian, albeit I found the Srilankan locals quite hospitable and affable. Sarees worn by women professionals here differ from the conventional Indian style in a pleasantly unique manner. The cuisine lacked diversity, the fiery food burning its way down the foodpipe discouraged us from venturing much. Of all the facts l encountered about this country during our trip, the one that astonished me the most was the financial security provided by the govt to farmers, tour guides etc in the form of pension schemes- a rare incentive in developing countries.

Our trip kick started with educating sessions at historic places, essentially an insight into inception of Buddhism here, followed by an adventurous hiking and finally we found unwinding ourselves by lazing in the gleaming sun-warmed beaches;  perfectly amalgamating all aspects of an ideal holiday! We were guided by our chauffeur Daminda, a graduate in archaeology, who had a sound knowledge about the country's history, and regaled us with interesting stories; interactions with him made our learning experience much enriching!

Sigiriya- Rock Fortress

The city housing the fortress was a short lived capital of Srilanka in fifth century AD, providing king the requisite defence infrastructure (built with interesting tactics) against adversarial attacks. We saw the remnants of various pleasure activities the king lavishly spent and indulged in – like huge swimming pools for his 500+ wives and keeps to bathe in. Half way up the fortress, a mirror wall was constructed which reflected the frescoes of seducing ladies painted inside the fortress- a sight visible to the king while relaxing in the pleasure gardens.  

The summit of the lion shaped citadel after climbing thousand and odd steps, provided an all embracing view of the entire city. The sweat due to the exhausting trail was blown away by the strong wind currents at the high altitude and the panning scenic beauty.

Dambulla Cave Temple

Situated atop hill, it also demanded an arduous task of climbing uphill, with periodic breaks to catch our breath. The cave is divided into five parts, decorated with Buddha statues sculpted in reign of several kings. The cave has different poses and sizes of statues, the unique one being the passing away pose of Buddha after attaining Nirvana. It was interesting to see a Vishnu statue in a Buddhist temple, signifiying the influence and relevance of Hinduism with respect to rituals and beliefs.

 

Kandy

Planted high above sea level, the view from our hotel was an eye “candy” - overlooking the Kandy lake, with the tree branches extensively drooping, almost touching its own reflection in water.

We watched a cultural so-called aristocratic upper Kandyan dance, which in ancient days was performed to drive away the evil spirits. It included the most commonplace tribal stunts - on fire, balancing on the plate etc, and also some classical bollywood steps, and thus was far from entertaining.

The tightly guarded Buddha Tooth Relic temple preserves the canine tooth of Buddha in an ornate casket which is believed to have journeyed various places in last 2000 years. The walls of the temple are designed with intricate carvings and paintings of the annual Kandyan procession (Periraha) of dancers with royal elephants, wrestling games, bull fights etc. The culture of offerings to deities is similar to Hindus, casket rituals being performed by the white attired Monks, present very few in number. Moonstone statues of Buddha gave a brilliant look, also present were Buddha paintings with all the imaginable facial expressions. The huge gold plated Buddha Statue was symmetrically embellished with preserved elephant tusks; the SL govt has banned ivory exchange/trading.  

Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawala

Being the first and one of finest elephant orphanages in the world, it boasts to shelter the baby orphan elephants along with any aged disabled elephants and to provide them nourishment and care. Pushing our way through the throng, we saw sixty plus elephants feeding on humungous amounts of green leaves and fruits- like any vegetarian, they too have fewer options! The plight of the chained baby elephants was pitiable, they now have become a mere source of revenue for the orphanage, with tourists pouring in just to watch them bottle feed and shower.

 

Obediently following the commands of its mahout, a thick skinned elephant with long hard yellow coloured tusks lied down on the water, and let us shower and scrub it hard with a coconut shell. We then took a short yet fun filled elephant ride around, after which the elephant posed for pictures with us like a professional! The elephants from this orphanage are often donated to temples for royal processions.

Nuwara Eliya

The meandering elevated road leading to the hill station had bamboo and avocado trees planted on one side, and plants with exotic multi coloured flowers on the other. We halted by one of the biggest tea plantation factories called Mackwood tea, spread over several kilometres, where they briefed us on the manufacturing and processing of tea from raw leaves. We were mesmerized by the breathtaking view down the step tea plantations with narrow river flowing through, simultaneously gulping the not-so-tasty Mackwood sample tea.

Excited to see the location of mythological epic Ramayana, we headed to the Asoka Vatika aka Sita Eliya. Contrary to our imagination of a garden with a stone bench under a stout tree where Sita sat, it turned out to be a Sita temple located adjacent to forests, with the priests diligently performing the pujas- it was a bit disappointing... The only minor hitch in the trip was when we realized we booked the wrong dates for the hotel here – to our dismay, the issue was resolved soon without much hassle, when we found a seemingly haunted villa in proximity.

Horton Plains (World’s End)- Early next morning at 5, we drove up the hill station to a hiller and chiller place, from where we started hiking. It was a challenging drive on the curved treacherous path blanketed with opaque mist ahead. Shivering in the chilly climate outside, with all the determination and efforts we started walking on the uneven terrain. The muddy-slushy path had rare species of herbs-shrubs and ponds with multicoloured pebbles disposed on either sides of it, ultimately leading to a narrower course enclosed with dense bottle green trees. Trekking 4 km along the craggy path ahead, the trees gradually opened up revealing the sky leading to the Miniature of World’s end- aptly named so. The view of mountains and trees with clouds and mist flowing across was exhilarating. Walking a km further up led us to World’s end; unfortunately the view was marred by a shroud of mist. The second half of the hiking was the highlight of the trip, strolling along the bumpy dense forests slowly unveiled a panoramic view of the Horton plains. Watching the birds flying, sambar deer grazing, moss laden rocks, with narrow stream of water making its way through the enormously spread lushy green plains was an absolute wonder. The 10 km nature hike just didn’t seem to exhaust us, and left us craving to do it again..

 
Hikkaduwa Beach

Long road journey down the hill to Hikkaduwa beach was spent playing Antakshari, conveniently flouting the game rules only to sing our favourite numbers! We finally reached our fancy and luxurious hotel having a provision of private beach and offering a vicinal coastal view of tall coconut trees along the sand, strong waves hitting and making their way through the partially submerged boulders; forming a picturesque seascape. We spent time relaxing in juice bar facing the short length sea shore past midnight, and fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of high tided waves.

After having barely a four hour nap, we rose before the dawn to see the first sun rays falling on the water making the sea shimmer. We all took a plunge into the water, wallowing in the numbing cold sea water and slushy mud. The ultimate fun started with Pratik and Mukund splashing water on me incessantly, till I was assured a rescue from Mrinal and Surabhi who rused me to go closer to them for protection. To my horror, all of them conspired and starting sloshing the wet sand -saline water on me to no end, leaving me gasping for breath. I was the first victim, but was glad when the ritual  was religiously followed by taking turns for others as well, prolonging it to a 4-5 hr long relaxed fun session. Drenched thoroughly in the water with mud sticking onto us, our unsuccessful foray into making sand castles, eventually throwing mud balls on each other only resulted in a completely disheveled looking us. Parthiv was enjoying his own company, practising different swim strokes against the sea waves. Aninda engrossed himself in taking pictures, Many Thanks to Aninda for forgoing the beach fun, but for that we would not have had these beautiful moments captured.

After spending our own sweet time performing the ablutions, we had a sumptuous multi course buffet at the hotel. The sluggish afternoon was followed by a short walk along the shore to watch the nuances of the transitioning sky at dusk. Peacefully appreciating the beautiful sight of the sun setting, we bid adieu to Srilanka and our short fun filled holiday!

Every day of the trip was lively and enjoyable in its own kind. Thank you all my friends for making this vacation such a memorable one.. Cheers to us!!