Sri Lanka - day 3

It was Christmas morning. 'Santa' had left a gift for Xena -- a set of brush paints that she had seen at a friend's place and coveted. It was an Indian brand, so I had asked Tootooie to buy it and bring it along to Sri Lanka. Needless to say, Xena was thrilled!

We checked out of our bungalow in the morning with a long and busy day ahead of us. The highlight of the day (and as it turned out, of the trip) was the climb up Pidurangala Rock.

Last breakfast at Habarana (yes, sambol was very much a part of it!)

Tootooie and Xena saying bye to the resident dog (wow, I didn't even know that Tootooie was so fond of dogs; you think you know somebody... and then you travel with them!)

All packed and ready to be loaded into the van

Piduranagala is a massive rock formation, created by volcanic activity. It is located near its more famous cousin Sigiriya Lion Rock. Both rocks rise about 200 metres above the surrounding forest. If you climb up Pidurangala, you get a view of the Sigiriya and vice versa. However, the entry fee difference is a big shocker -- LKR4600 for Sigiriya and LKR500 for Pidurangala. When I was doing my research, I saw many recommendations for Pidurangala not just because it's cheaper, but also because Sigiriya is more beautiful when seen from a distance and the summit of Pidurangala offers just that.

Besides, we had four seniors in our group and we didn't know how much of the rock-climbing they would actually be able to do. Spending that kind of money on the entry fee didn't seem very wise in this situation, so we decided to go with Pidurangala. The plan was for the seniors to stay and wait for us either at the Pidurangala royal cave temple at the beginning of the climb, or if they managed to climb further up, at the reclining Buddha statue. 

At the entrance of the Pidurangala royal cave temple

The temple looks like an ordinary house from the outside! The white portion was built in the 1930s, but the cave temple it houses is from thousands of years ago. 

The doorway into the main temple area

Buddha statue inside

Xena and the reclining Buddha

Me trying to teach Xena how to do the namaste

Close-up showing the patterns drawn on Buddha's hand

The dress code for the temple is clothing that covers legs and shoulders. This reminder was hilarious though. 

Next, we proceeded to do the actual climb up Pidurangala Rock. The climb has two stages, with the first stage mainly comprising lots of irregular steps...

...and some walking through gaps surrounded by giant boulders.

The seniors managed to do the first stage relatively easily, except my mom who's not able to do much strenuous walking and climbing. The four of them then decided to stay back and wait, while the rest of us carried on to the more difficult stage 2. We had hesitated momentarily about Xena, but we decided to take her along anyway. We had hired a guide, which in hindsight was a great idea, as he helped lots when it came to hoisting Xena over the rocks. 

Stage 2 started off with a lot more irregular steps and stones, but it was not very difficult. Xena managed this easily. In fact, she wasn't a least bit breathless, unlike the rest of us.

Pausing for a photo along the midway point

We moved on and soon we had reached a shallow cave with the famous sleeping Buddha statue, made of brick and clay. It was amazing. I really wished the parents and in-laws could have come up to at least this point. 

The head and torso of the 12.5-metre long statue had been destroyed by treasure hunters in the 1960s, but have now been reconstructed. 

The sign says 'Do not sit. Do not touch. Do not turn back.'

(What the last sentence means is that you should not turn your back towards Buddha, but we took it to mean that we should carry on climbing and not give up!)

We also saw this strange little pond along the way. It was quite surprising to see a pond in such a rocky area.

And then I spotted a water snake! Can you see it resting on the lily pad? On the way back, we also saw a skink near the pond.

Soon enough, I realised why the reviews I had read had cautioned about the last stretch of stage 2 of the Pidurangala climb. The uneven but flat ground soon led to giant boulders with sharp edges and tight crevices that you had to squeeze through. Sports shoes and full pants came in real handy, otherwise I'd have been badly scraped and bruised by the rough surfaces I was dragging myself over. Only hands were not enough in some sections, and we had to clamber on all fours. The guide came in real handy as he and Viv alternately hoisted Xena up and above the rocks and through the gaps. In her own words, "It was like passing the parcel and I was the parcel." 

Speaking of funny gems from Xena, throughout the climb, she kept referring to my sis-in-law as 'Toots' and our guide took that to mean that her name was 'Toots'. It was hilarious when he too started called her 'Toots'! 

Viv gives Toots a hand in one of the trickiest parts of the climb.

You had to climb up but keep your head down! 

I am generally sporty and adventurous but I have to admit that in some parts, I did freak out internally. I'm not a super-cautious person by nature like Viv is, and it was a freaky thought that one wrong move could send me plunging down, effectively ruining everyone's holiday. But thanks to our amazing guide, a feisty 6-yr-old who refused to give up and the reassurance that Viv was with me, I clambered on. 

Soon, we had squeezed through the last of the crevices and reached our destination -- the top of Pidurangala Rock! The view was absolutely stunning and the fact that we had earned it made it so much more special. 

We had many amazing experiences in the days following this, but this climb was the highlight of the whole Sri Lanka trip for me.

The amazing view of Sigiriya Lion Rock from the top (we could actually see the line of people climbing it!)

We did it, yay!

But it turns out, there was more! See that flat rock on the top left? Apparently if you dared to slither up that way, you'd get a 360-degree view of the whole area. Viv and our guide decided to go up, while Toots, Xena and I decided we'd done enough climbing and stayed back.

Toots took a panoramic video to show our view.

I saw a couple posing like this and immediately asked Toots if she could take a photo of Xena and me too. To my utter amusement, I found myself 'smiling for the camera' as she said '1-2-3!' 

One of our fellow climbers saw us sitting there joblessly, tsk-tsked internally and then strongly urged us to go up the path Viv had taken. "You can't come all the way up here and not do that last stretch!" He chided us. We decided he was right. So we went up, and sure enough, it turned out to be totally worth it. The view and breeze were fantastic.

And so were the flora and fauna. We saw many butterflies and also these giant cacti trees!

Check it out! Dad would have loved this!

Family shot at the top

As the morning went by, more and more people streamed in. The place was quickly getting very crowded. We were glad that we had started climbing early enough, because now it just seemed chaotic and not as serene. We quickly made our way back hoping that the parents wouldn't be too worried. It had taken us a good couple of hours to do the full climb. They had been anxious but not bored, thanks to one another's company, so all was good. 

We made our way back out, thanked and tipped our guide and headed straight for the little drinks shop just outside. We rewarded ourselves with Coke, Sprite and ginger beer, for we sure had earned them. Luckily for my parents, the shop had Sprite Zero. 

Our driver took this family shot for us.

Classic Sri Lanka tourism postcard shot -- an elephant against the backdrop of Sigiriya

All done with Pidurangala, we set off again, towards Kandy.

On the way to Kandy, we stopped by New Ranweli Spice Garden. I'm quite wary of the hard sell they do at such places, but our driver assured us that the tour was free and we didn't have to buy anything if we didn't want to. Our guide turned out to be extremely knowledgeable. Though I still have my reservations about herbs and spices being magical things that can grow hair back and other such nonsense, I was happy to look at the plants and tree they grow on.

It was a very nice garden with a huge variety of spices.

What a great use of coconut husk!

Cacao pods

Coffee beans

Vanilla plant 

Vanilla extract

The guide was happy to let us smell and touch the extracts.

Xena smells the vanilla.

Aloe vera

He gave us all a bit of aloe vera pulp to use as a moisturiser.

Happy moms admiring their aloe vera skin

And why should Xena stay behind?

Cardamom plants

Cardamom pods

Cinnamon

There were quite a few hens, rooster and dogs roaming in the garden. Toots made more new friends!

Soon, we were led to a sheltered area housing many bottles full of coloured potions. 

The guide explained all about their properties. 

Viv gets a sample facial using three of the potions.

Xena does the smell test to determine if she approves or not. 

We were also given some tea to sample.

Next, we went to check out the spice shop. As expected, it was overpriced. The guide did try to convince us that he would give us a discount, but it wasn't a hard sell. My mom-in-law bought some medicinal stuff. I must remember to check on how effective it was. 

My dad had a great time waking all over the garden taking photos of stuff.

We were quite starved by the time we finished the spice garden. We landed at a placed Apey Bojun...

...that sold 'AFC like KFC'!

The rest of our group went for the buffet, while Xena and I ordered dosas. Thick and soft, they didn't turn out to be what I'd expect of dosas at all. Not recommended.

Soon, we were on our way again!

A sign we saw along the way... do you agree?

It was quite a long drive and we continued playing a game that Toots had initiated at lunch. We were basically testing one another's knowledge of Urdu and Hindi. So one person would say a word (e.g. kitaab) and the others would have to guess if it was a Hindi or Urdu word and then say the corresponding word (e.g. pustak). It got very exciting as everyone got quite competitive, and soon the van was filled with nothing but this as everyone tried to be the first to provide the correct answer. 

'Pakeezah', I said. 

Everyone easily guessed it wasn't Hindi but had a tough time trying to come up with the Hindi word for it. So I gave a hint. "It sounds like a South Indian female name." I said. (I had 'Pavithra' in mind.) "BHAGYALASKHMI!" My mom yelled out excitedly, leaving all of us in peals of laughter. 

My next word was 'khush'. While trying to help them guess, I said, "Main khush hoon. Main kya hoon?" The correct answer was 'prasann' but dad-in-law loudly declared 'MOGAMBO!" More helpless laughter from everyone. 

At one point, and I don't even know how we got here, but someone asked to translate 'My dad is a banker.' in Hindi. Viv's response? "Mera baap bhayankar hai!" 

Once we had exhausted our collective Hindi/Urdu vocabulary, we decided to dive into Xena's homework. I had a little notebook with me where I had jotted down names of professions, such as tailor, cook, etc. and their equivalent words in Hindi, for her to practice on the go. Toots was very excited about us trying out some of it. 

"Postman?" I asked. "Daaku?" Someone said. I can't remember who it was now, but I remember laughing like crazy imagining a daakiya jisko log pyaar se daaku bulaate hain. That was one fun afternoon. And the most hilarity I have ever experienced during a long drive. 

We reached Kandy early enough and decided to spend the evening at the Royal Botanic Gardens. With a history dating all the way back to 1371 and a sprawling area of 147 acres (60 hectares), the Botanic Gardens are a popular tourist destination, drawing over 1.2 million visitors each year.

I knew that Mom wouldn't be able to walk so much, so I had confirmed beforehand that buggies were available. I'd thought we'd put the seniors in the buggy and the rest of us would walk alongside. However, the buggy we got was huge and we could all easily fit in. It was also a good idea to take the buggy because we only had a couple of hours before the gardens would close, and it would not have been possible to see everything if half of us had walked.

Thanks to the buggy, we were able to cover a lot of ground within a short period of time. The driver stopped whenever we asked him to, so we had time to admire the trees from close quarters and take photos.

Dad was thrilled to see the wide variety of plants. The Botanical Gardens house more than 4000 species.

Big tree, little girl

Xena's signature jump shot

There is a lake in the Botanic Gardens, designed in the shape of the island of Sri Lanka.

The trees were bent at weird angles. 

Cannonball tree

A closer look at the cannons

The Java fig tree was stunning. It was basically a giant, tangled mess. You couldn't tell which part was a root and which was a branch. 

Toots took this video to try and make sense of the tree.

We posed on one of the branches... or was it a root?

The self-explanatory Palm Avenue

There was even a maze where Xena spent a good amount of time being chased by her grandma and dad. 

We got off our buggy to go into the orchid garden that housed a large number of orchid species. 

What a gorgeous colour!

Orchids of all colours, sizes and shapes 

Da ladies of da house

The Royal Botanic Gardens, with all the greenery and the blooms, is indeed paradise for nature-lovers.

After our buggy ride expired, we spent an hour or so just chilling on the giant lawn. As you can tell, Dad was totally at home. 

Sakhi-Saheli had found a bench under this giant tree to relax on. 

Meanwhile, Xena, unable to believe the amount of space around her, was busy practising cartwheels!

It started getting dark, and we decided to move along. A surprise awaited Toots when we landed at our AirBnB. Turns out, the owner was her friend from university, and they had even been in the same musical group together! As Viv and I had done the bookings, no one had any idea about this. Their reunion after a decade was a very happy coincidence.

We had packed dinner from a Chinese restaurant, and we had it along with some yummy ginger beer. What a happening day it had been!

Click here for Sri Lanka trip - day 4.