Last drink with the group.

Elephant on the road

Sooo close

Elephant orphanage, but plan to get back into the wild.

Buffalo in the water, hence their name

Showing off their ability to fly.

Looking at us, are we food? Crested Hawk-eagle.

Blue tailed bee eater.

About a 1 month old baby with sister and mum. Unbelievably cute.

We woz here.

Sunset at Udawalawa National Park.

Working beach, working boat.

Do I have to, Mummy?

07:30 am start, to drop Bill and Janice at airport for their return home to a freezing Glasgow.  Hope it went well.  Dropped our bike bags and surplus kit at a hotel closer to the airport,  discovering how little we really need to carry in our panniers, managing to shed a fair bit of weight.  Marcus, very kindly, drove us down to Udawalawa National Park for a jeep safari.  Best place to see elephants, particularly this time of year as there is plenty of fresh grass.  We weren’t disappointed.  To see a one-month old feeding from his mum, right in front of us was extraordinary.  We dropped in to the elephant orphanage where they currently are taking care of some 35 youngsters with regular top ups of milk.  Hopefully, they will be re-introduced into the park when they are more mature and can feed themselves.

An onward drive down to Yala National Park, much bigger at some 66,000 hectares for a 5:00 am start tomorrow. Then back onto the bikes. We are missing them.

Scary. Climbing up Sigiriya rock.

UNESCO world heritage site – an enormous granite outcrop first used by prehistoric man in the natural caves. Then used by Buddhist monks. How they received their food is mind boggling.  An ancient king had the vision after killing his father to build a fortress kingdom on top of the rock, surrounded by a moat filled with crocodiles and spikes. Mainly to try and appease the guilt, maybe. Or maybe a crazed power hungry psychopath. Either way the engineering is phenomenal – a system of water collection in vast tanks on the arid dry plains, fed the people and kept him in power. Just.

1500 year old art.

Some very erotic art painted in the 3rd to 5th century AD, high up on the walls of the rock rediscovered in the 1800’s. They has feelings, and urges.

Mirror wall, Sigiriya

Knuckles range

A tough climb of 200m basically straight up to the top of the citadel. Worth the reward for the most amazing views across the plains; currently green at the start of the wet season.

Sri Lankan health and safety. Thanks for the tip.

Pre historic home. No bike shed.

Macaque monkeys

Lunch, yummy

We could get used to this. Suranga and Ganash (Mr T) hard at work. Thanks chaps

Running water

Curry lunch, always delicious. Thunder, lightning and such heavy rain made such a noise. Decided on a long lunch before heading back to Dambulla. And it stopped raining, yea.  A lovely back road through the villages and paddy fields.  Big fights between the locals and elephants during the dry season.  As usual, not enough funding to maintain electric fences and elephants poisoned or shot if they encroach into the hard worked fields.

Egrets, not seagulls. Still hard work.

Great rice fields

Fishmonger – only Tilapia today. And every day.

Our great guide, Marcus

Senani Hotel, Kandy

Into Kandy centre, cultural capital and a visit to the Temple of the Tooth Relic, believed to be the tooth of Buddha; an exciting tuk tuk ride around Kandy, quick lunch then on bikes through busy traffic to Digana (another tuk tuk accident on the way)

Post card of Kandy

School children in Kandy

Forest Fowl, national emblem of Sri Lanka

The tooth itself is held within 7 gold caskets, each one having a separate key, each key is held by a different person for security.

Ceremonial entrance to the maligawa.

Gold casket of the tooth relic

Fresco in the Temple of the Tooth Relic

Elephants were very important in  ceremonies and still are today.  A parade is held annually lasting 10 days.  Raja, a tusker was the lead processional elephant for 22 years and became famous in his own right.  His body is displayed in the complex.

Bhudda

Offerings of sweet smelling flowers are brought to the temple; a symbol of the sweetess of life but its temporary nature.

Monks, and Paul

Lotus flower offerings

Temple dogs

Stamford Star Hotel, Nuwara Eliya

Odd to walk out of the hotel and across the road is a racecourse and a football pitch – we could see why this is called Little England.  Victorian architecture and lots of dead Scottish people in the Anglican church graveyard.  Echoes of bygone colonialism, doesn’t sit comfortably today.

Rain doesn’t stop picking

Making tea

We now know all about making tea.  Never heard of silver tips and golden tips.  A type of tea, not a sexual game.

Another cup of tea, another piece of chocolate cake

Linda having fun

Start of ride a 15km freewheel down 700m, paid the price with a long hot sticky climb  back up the mountain.  Glorious sunshine followed in the blink of an eye with the heaviest rain ever.  After 7 hours in the saddle, lunch was sorely missed, dates and bananas sufficed.

Nice leech

Risky business taking a pee by the side of the road – leeches everywhere.  30 seconds is plenty of time for them to attach.  This one came back to the hotel in a sock!

View from the bike

This is Hill Country.