Welcome to Sri Lanka - A Travel First!

We have enjoyed an incredible first couple of months, but despite the wonderful time we've been having since we left North Vancouver at the end of January, none of the countries I have visited has been completely unknown to me...until now.

I have travelled to Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore prior to this trip, so I was looking forward to experiencing the exhilaration of arriving in a new country for the first time ever. Well, as I looked out the window on arrival to Katunayake International Airport and gazed at the lush greenery of the Sri Lankan landscape below, I got that familiar rush.

Welcome to Sri Lanka kids!! This should be a grand adventure. 

Another first - after we exited the customs and immigration section and entered the arrival hall, there was our very own driver standing there holding a sign with my name on it. In all my life, including the odd business trip, that has never happened. An irrational pleasure, I admit, but it felt kind of nice.

Why, thank you very much Mr. Car !!

Our drive from the airport to Dambulla would take about 2 - 3 hours, so it was natural that we would need a refreshment break - Lanka style!

Our driver asked if we wanted lunch and happily offered to take us to a restaurant on the way to Dambulla. It turned out to be an overpriced place targeting tourists like us. We immediately told him 'no go' and asked that he take us somewhere more 'local'. Hard to get more local than some roti and banana at a roadside stall. 

The vendor even let Shirley have a go at making one of the roti herself.

The morning after we arrived, we got up early to visit Sigiriya, one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites with which this small country is blessed. We're travelling local style (but not this local).

But our bus 490 from Dambulla to Sigiriya is pretty local too!

This is actually kinda nice - I heard Sri Lankan buses could be overcrowded and hot, but it looks like we'll have this one to ourselves....

...one stop later (seriously). And it got much more crowded a few stops later (seriously).

So this is what the fuss is all about. Sigiriya - an ancient ruin at the top of a huge rock outcropping (magma plug from old volcano). Popular mythology says it's the site of the palace of a powerful king who hoped his home would prove to be an unassailable fortress.

Sri Lankans are warm and hospitable - very impressed with the people here thus far in our short stay. Even the signs are polite. I think more urgency is required - crocodiles don't "go about". They lurk. They hunt. They attack. Something like "Danger! No Swimming - You Will Die!" would be more appropriate.

We hoped to arrive early enough to avoid the crowds and the heat. Failed on both counts. We had to climb to the top of this rock and although it was only 9:00 am, it was already 30 degrees (but I'm not complaining).

There's about 1,000 more of these steps to go. 

...because that's the same thing as touching yourself, and that's inappropriate

Big shout out to Shirley, who continues to confront her fear of heights on this big adventure. That's not really a smile - more like a grimace.

One more ascent to go before we reach the top. As it turns out, the popular myth of this site being an old palace fortress is not supported through archaeological evidence. Rather, it turns out the Sigiriya rock served a more mundane purpose as a simple monastery. Still an amazing place of which Sri Lankans are justifiably proud.

And we made it!! A hot and sweaty bunch to be sure, but we were rewarded with the most incredible views from the top.

Where there's water, then turtles and fish may be there, too. The kids went exploring for wildlife in the ruins but came back disappointed after finding only one chameleon. Clearly didn't even notice the 2,000 years of history surrounding them.

A view of the water pools (sans water) from the top. We're in the central plains of Sri Lanka, otherwise known as the dry zone. It's scorching hot here, and I'm not sure how long it's been since water filled these moats and water pools, but at one point this huge rock was surrounded by lush gardens. 

Careful going down Owen - you wouldn't want to fall and land on the rocks below....

...or something like this could happen. 

A spectacular day in Sri Lanka. We've been here only 36 hours and everywhere we turn there is something that catches our attention. It's a dizzying array of sights, sounds and flavours, and we expect to fill the next couple of weeks with some great adventures.