Day 30: Anurahadapura, Sri Lanka (February 6, 2011)

The rain continues here in Sri Lanka and got in my way today when many of the ancient sites in Anuradhapura were inaccessible.  :( 

Sudat, checking to see if the car will make it through the flooded road.

I did get to see a few things, though, and based on what I saw I liked Polunnaruwa better anyway, so I wasn't as disappointed as I might have been.

Anuradhapura is a much older city than Polonnaruwa, dating back to about 300 years B.C.  From what I gather, it was basically the civilization on Sri Lanka until the Indians started invading (and continued to do so for centuries), pushing the Sri Lankans farther south.  The most impressive building they left behind was this Stupa, which supposedly houses the Buddha's jawbone.

It's very large, and has been partially restored (and the spire on top is not original).  But it left me cold.  Maybe because it's so big, it's not approachable.  And the white looks stunning from far away but up close is quite sterile.  (Speaking of sterile, one of the few negatives about Sri Lanka, at least from this tourist's perspective, is how dirty everything looks.  The entire country needs a sand blasting.  I've concluded it's because there is always so much moisture in the air, everything retains water, so everything mildews or grows mold or moss, including the wood, plaster, metal, stone, etc.  I have to air my clothes out each night just to keep them somewhat fresh.)

We had a longish drive back to Kandy this afternoon, made longer by the flooded out roads.  On our way, we stopped at a spice garden.  There are a whole bunch in the region: they grow spices for cooking and medicine, and give tours and sell spices and all sorts of herbal remedies.  On my tour, one of hosts showed me a paste made of 5 different natural items (of course I forget all 5, but you've heard of them).  He said it removes the hair from your body.  I've heard about pastes like that but I was skeptical, until I let him put some on my arm, and then POOF -- 10 minutes later I had a bald spot on my arm (it will grow back)! And no chemicals, so no itching or allergic reaction either.  I'm not sure why I was skeptical about that; I know plants can do all sorts of things.

I'm off to join my hosts for dinner.  The rest of the night will probably be very low key, then we head to the south part of the country tomorrow.

After dinner update:  I must have looked grungier than I thought the past few days. Tonight at dinner I wore a skirt and a clean shirt, and all four family members told me I looked very pretty.  I inferred I did not look very pretty before that. 

And a couple more photos from today:

Those are the flags of the Buddha.

A moonstone (stoop), found at many entrances to old buildings.