Polonnaruwa

Visiting Polonnaruwa

The air-con had iced-up overnight and stopped cooling. That was our priority before leaving on our excursions this morning. We organised a room change after a breakfast of eggs any style, fruit, toast, jam and coffee/tea.

Today we visit Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient kingdom after their invasion of the prior kingdom of Anuradhapura in the 10th Century.

First up, we visited a museum with good models of the place and its key monuments. It was a good way to orientate. There were also good photos of various monuments before and after restoration.

For the actual visit, we started with the Rest House Group near the town of Polonnaruwa. This included the Council Chamber, baths (Kumara Pokuna) and Audience Hall. Quite notable were the ruins of the Royal palace with its thick walls, which have a few holes for beams that supported the higher floors.

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We moved on to the Quadrangle with the Vatadage (building surrounding a stupa), now without the wooden outer building as seen in the museum.  Next were a couple of dagobas (stupas) starting with the Rankoth Vihara (the largest in the area) followed Lanka Thilaka, Kiri Vihara (milk coloured dagoba), Gal Vihara (with four Buddhas in seated, standing and reclining poses) and then the Lotus Pond.

Lanka Thilaka was probably the one that stood out most for me. It had a large standing Buddha and the impressive walls (4m thick and 17m high) created a cathedral-like setting.

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The rest of the day

The visit was extremely hot and sticky and I was pleased when it was over. Keerthi took us to a buffet lunch were there were many curries to choose from. I particularly liked the mango and pineapple one. And the fruit salad that followed was good too. We tried the “Lion” beer which was very refreshing. I had never felt so in need of a cold beer before.

An observation during the drives in Sri Lanka. When on country roads and a car comes up in the opposite direction, it seems normal to put on the right indicator. It seems to be a warning to the other vehicle to not come closer into one’s lane.

Back at the hotel we relaxed in a nicer room. The aircon was blowing icy cold air but struggled to make the room cool. The temperature at the historical sites is typically 35 degC during the hottest part of the day, we were told.

In the afternoon, we thought we’d try take some Conde Nast style shots of the hotel. It was just to prove that we could capture nice shots that could overlook the relatively modest nature of the place.

For dinner tonight, we took the Sri Lankan route. It was a chicken curry with thali accompaniments. We spoke to the waiter who used to work in the Maldives. He earned much better money there with a salary of USD200 per month doing bar-tending. The local Muslim population there do not serve alcohol.

At Giritale Hotel there are 66 staff for the 52 rooms. But tonight there are only two rooms occupied due to SARS and also the low season.