I spent the sightseeing part of my day at Polonnaruwa, one of the Ancient Cities. Most of the site dates back to the 12th Century (a few things are older) and it is big. Like, the size of a modern city. Sarath told me it would take most people one week to see everything, but it would take me 10 days because I take my time. I always wonder at people who go to sites and don't take their time. I came half way around the world to see old temples and ruins; I'm not going to speed through everything. I'm going to absorb and look for little treasures that other people miss. Yet I saw so many people today who would get out of their car, look up at a temple, then get back in the car and drive away. They wouldn't even go inside! People do that everywhere-- Washington, Europe... Weirdos.
Not a whole lot to say about the city. Stories, I mean. It has tons and tons of buildings, most of which were wood so only the bases are left. But several are still standing in nearly the condition they were in when built. And a fair amount of beautiful stonework remains if you take the time to look for it. A few shots:
I got lucky with the rain today; it stopped while I was outside. And the sun never came out, but I got a mild sunburn anyway. That will teach me not to skip the sunscreen just because it's cloudy out.
Have I mentioned that Sri Lanka is the greenest place I've ever been? Green as in lush, I don't know if they recycle and stuff.
One of Polunnaruwa's gems is this series of 4 statues of Buddha carved from a single living stone. My shots of all 4 in one frame are kind of ugly, due to the frames now protecting the statues. But here's an example of just one, the Reclining Buddha:
The artwork of all 4 is extrememly refined, and all 4 statues are in nearly perfect condition, which is stunning considering they are over 800 years old.
It took us a few hours to get to our next stop, Anuradhapura, which I will tour tomorrow. The roads here are all chewed up by the effects of 3 months of rain. Where they are not outright flooded and impassable, they are full of potholes or little rivers we had to drive through. Many homes and fields have flooded, and animals like deer and elephants (and presumably others, but I've seen those two) are being forced out of their forests due to the floods. In turn, they eat and stomp around in even more fields. For the sake of this country, I hope all the flooding stops soon. Sri Lanka doesn't strike me as a poor country, but I'm not sure it's rich enough to easily overcome this unusally bad weather.
Not a whole lot to say about the city. Stories, I mean. It has tons and tons of buildings, most of which were wood so only the bases are left. But several are still standing in nearly the condition they were in when built. And a fair amount of beautiful stonework remains if you take the time to look for it. A few shots:
One of Polunnaruwa's gems is this series of 4 statues of Buddha carved from a single living stone. My shots of all 4 in one frame are kind of ugly, due to the frames now protecting the statues. But here's an example of just one, the Reclining Buddha:
It took us a few hours to get to our next stop, Anuradhapura, which I will tour tomorrow. The roads here are all chewed up by the effects of 3 months of rain. Where they are not outright flooded and impassable, they are full of potholes or little rivers we had to drive through. Many homes and fields have flooded, and animals like deer and elephants (and presumably others, but I've seen those two) are being forced out of their forests due to the floods. In turn, they eat and stomp around in even more fields. For the sake of this country, I hope all the flooding stops soon. Sri Lanka doesn't strike me as a poor country, but I'm not sure it's rich enough to easily overcome this unusally bad weather.
I'm finding myself really drawn to Sri Lanka. I had no idea how beautiful it is and how many ancient buildings and cities there are to see there--I'm really surprised. It's now officially on my list of places to see.
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