Sri Lanka
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Dance Show in Kandy
Traditional dances are a part of the attraction in Kandy, so if you haven’t seen on before Kandy is a good place to see one. There are different places near the temple of the sacred Tooth. The show we attended included a final section with fire eating and fire walking.
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Sigirya
Sigirya Fortress or the Lion Rock is an amazing attraction that attracts quiet a few visitors, both foreign and Sri Lankan. The fortress is built on the top of a rock that raises approximately 200 meters above the surrounding plain. It’s built around 455 AD by King Kashyapa. Think about climbing the rock by using only footsteps carved into the rock and probably some scaffolding in order to carry bricks an other materials to the building site at the top. Later staircases have been applied. of course we couldn’t see the view from the fortress to the plain. And did not expect to be able to view the fortress from…
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Cooking Class in Kandy
One way to get into a country’s culture is to learn about their foods. What ingredients is used, how are they used and are there any special handling of the food. Of course you can learn a bit by asking at the restaurant where you are eating. But a much more intense and thorough way is to join a cooking class. Many places cooking classes are offered by restaurants, in Kandy we found “Best Kandy Kitchen” which is not a restaurant. It’s a Sri Lankan family who provides cooking classes in their home. Before starting cooking it was like home, you need to go shopping. We went with the host…
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Dambula Cave Temple
There is something special large structures and sculptures, especially when they are created in times before mechanized aids were applied. It’s simply amazing that cultures before ours also were capable of creating massive installations. The 5 temple caves in Dambulla is no exception from, even though the caves them selves were created by nature, the murals and all the statues were man made. Entrance to the caves is places ~160 meters above the surrounding area, where the parking lot and ticket boot is located. Going up on a stone and concrete stairs, mostly it’s with even steps. But some steps are not well maintained and can be slippery when raining.…
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Wilpattu National Park
This is the biggest and oldest of the Sri Lankan National parks. This means lesser congestion of safari vehicles than is reported from Yale. The morning we entered the park I counted 15 cars in line for entry – when the park opened at 06:15. To enter the park you need to hire a licensed vehicle with a driver. We hired a Toyota Hilux with 6 seats mounted on the cargo bed and a metal canopy – it also had tarpaulin sides to roll down in event of heavy rain – but if it’s done you can’t see much. You shouldn’t expect the driver to be English speaking, he might…
