A Big Rock and a few Wild Elephants
Another day, another driver and plenty more miles.
Having been distracted on our way to Sigiriya, we took a slight detour into a spice garden and had a free tour, resulting in an impromptu and unanticipated slightly awkward massage. Whilst stood in a shack following the tour I was fiercely instructed to remove my shirt and lie down on a wood bench. As soon as I did so a burly man began massaging using Ayurvedic red oil, which is used to help arthritis and joint complaints, something I've not often had problems with.
Carman was told to do the same but she opted to keep her clothes on! Once we'd managed to get out of the massage situation Carman ended up getting sucked into buying some overpriced hair removal cream. Allegedly it stops hair growth for up to ten years.
Sigiriya
Sigiriya was very impressive as rocks go and I'd say one of the most impressive rocks I've seen to date. Not the cheapest of rocks I've seen though.
Midway up this large monument Carman had a bit of a panic attack, her fear of heights was more intense than we realised. There was sweat dripping down her face as she sat shaking at the bottom of the rickety old Victorian spiral staircase but after some gentle persuasion and breathing exercises she managed to make it to the top.
After we made it to the summit we took a while to absorb the breathtaking views and then headed back down. We entertained an excited group of school girls on the way who came and asked if they could talk with me. Afterwards I wondered if they were disappointed by my uninspired conversation.
Then as all backpackers do we headed to a local 5 star hotel (Cinnamon Lodge) for a spot of lunch.
Safari
Following lunch we set off in a jeep to Kaudulla National Park for an elephant safari. It was quite pricey and so after half an hour in the park when the driver started to leave we queried this. Our driver had decided to tell them we were in a hurry to get to the next place, which we weren't. Thankfully with the help of the guide we were able to head back into the park for more elephant viewing.
On approaching the second group of elephants our park guide explained how one of the female elephants had her baby killed by a 4x4 on the main road and was slightly hostile towards vehicles and humans in general. So sure enough as we got close to the group she began charging at the car, our driver quickly drove off but left just enough time for me to get a few good snaps and for Carman to have her second panic attack of the day.
After all the excitement we decided it was best to call it a day so we headed back to Kandy. On the way back our driver, Cody, stopped at a local cafe and we had a traditional Sri Lankan roadside meal of egg Hoppers and Ceylon tea for only 75p for all of us! A fair bit cheaper than our lunch.
