Polonnaruwa, bussid ja rongid // Polonnaruwa, buses and trains

Mulle tuli veidikene yllatusena see, et erinevalt oma naaberriikidest nagu India ja Bangladesh, ei ole Sri Lanka v2ga tihedalt asustatud. Saarel, mis on umbes Inglismaa-suurune, elab vaid 20 miljonit inimest (v6rreldes Inglismaa 53 miljoniga). See fakt tuli ilmsiks ka meie pikkadel reisidel saare peal, kui me ei n2inud paljut peale dzungli ja tyhjade riisip6ldude. Siinsed inimesed on aga ylimalt abivalmid ja lahked. Meilt kysitakse vahetpidamata, et kas meil abi on vaja, kuhu me l2heme ja mida me teeme. Sellele j2rgneb tavaliselt palju n6uandeid - ning, t6si kyll, seej2rel vahel proovitakse ka meile oma - v6i oma s6prade - transporditeenuseid pakkuda. Kuigi kahtlemata on ka neid, kes meil heameelega naha yle k6rvade t6mbaks, on keskmise srilankalase ausus p2ris uskumatu - n2iteks alles t2na 6htul ulatasime poepidajale kogemata 200 ruupia asemel 2000 ruupiat, millele ta koheselt meie t2helepanu juhtis, 8eldes, et me oleme talle liiga palju andnud! Seega vaatamata, et siinne yleyldine kaos ja myra v6ib p2ris ehmatavalt m6juda, saan ma selle riigi ja ta inimeste kohta seni ainult head 8elda.

Tulles tagasi meie seikluste juurde... P2rast teist 88d Dambullas s6itsime me bussiga Polonnaruwasse, mis oli 65km kaugusel. Ma tahtsin natuke bussireisikogemusest kirjutada, sest see on siin t6esti midagi m2rkimisv22rset. Sri Lanka bussid on k6ik vanakooli metallist monstrumid, kaunistatud v2ljaspoolt kirevate v2rvidega, ning seespoolt k6iksugu kulla-karra ning jumaluste piltidega. Viimased kuluvad kindlasti marjaks 2ra, arvestades bussijuhtide hulljulget s6idustiili.

Busse on siin palju ning tundub et nad s6idavad absoluutselt k6ikide punktide vahet. S6iduplaane ei ole, tuleb lihtsalt vajaduse korral bussijaama kohale ilmuda ja saadki sinna kuhu tarvis minna. Kohale j6udmise kiirus on muidugi omaette asi nagu ma varem maininud olen - liiklus on siin hulluksajavalt aeglane. Piletit pole samuti enne s6itu vaja muretseda, kuna siinsetes bussides on konduktorid, kelle ylesandeks on inimesi t2is vahek2igust j2rjepidevalt ennast l2bi pressida, samas piletiraha kogudes. Bussid peatuvad tihti ning reisijad vahelduvad pidevalt. Peaaegu igas peatuses tuleb peale keegi kes midagi myyb, hyydes meloodiliselt v2lja seda mis parasjagu saadaval - olgu selleks puuvili, vesi, samosad v6i muud soolased suupisted, isegi jogurt. Nagu varem mainitud, on bussiuksed s6idu ajal alati lahti. Nyyd olen m6istnud selle t6elist p6hjust - et niigi aeglast reisi mitte veelgi pikemaks venitada, ei vaevu bussijuhid v2iksemates peatustes t2ielikult kinni pidada. Selle asemel aeglustavad nad bussis6itu ning kes iganes tahab peale saada, jookseb bussiga natukene kaasa ja hyppab peale. See on absoluutselt muljetavaldav oskus, kuna enamik teeb seda pl2tudes!

P2rast yht taolist bussis6itu j6udsimegi Polonnaruwasse, kus me kylastasime iidse Polonnaruwa kuningriigi palee varemeid, mis ehitati 8nda ja 14nda sajandi vahel. Kultuurip2randi ala on hiigelsuur, ning enamik ehitistest pandi pysti kuningas Parakramabahu I Suure valitsuse ajal, 12ndal sajandil. Me otsustasime avastada ala tuktukiga ringi s6ites, kuna tee22rne tuktukijuht tegi meile v2ga hea pakkumise otse p2rast seda kui me bussist maha astusime - sellest sai meie esimene tuktuki-s6it, vaatamata sellele, et Sri Lanka on neid paksult t2is. Tuktukid on p6him6tteliselt v2ikesed avatud taksod, v6imsuselt umbes nagu v2ikesed mootorrattad, kuid katusega ning v6imalusega kahte inimest transportida. Kuigi me olime esialgu plaaninud jalgrattad rentida ja ala sedaviisi avastada, tuli v2lja et tuktuk oli hea otsus, kuna vahemaad olid piisavalt pikad ning kuna tuktukiga oli p2ris lahe s6ita!

P2rast yht 88d Polonnaruwas, v6tsime ette oma esimese rongis6idu Sri Lankal et tagasi Colombosse minna, mis on umbes 200km kaugusel. Me l2ksime rongi peale 8.30 hommikul ning j6udsime kohale kell 5 6htul! Rongis6it v6ttis uskumatud 8 ja pool tundi, peaaegu sama kaua kui me Roomast Sri Lankale s6itsime. T6si kyll, tund kadus selle taha, et rongi mootor l2ks poole tee peal katki, ent ylej22nu on lihtsalt aeglase liikumise tulemus. Rongid on siin samuti vanad, ent p2ris mugavad. K6ik aknad on yldjuhul lahti, mis v6imaldab suurep2raseid vaateid m88duvale kaunile maastikule.

Colombo ei ole ka teisel korral huvitavam, seega ei l2inud me t2na 6htul linna pikalt avastama. Homme l2hme me j2rjekordse rongi peale (mis ei peaks loodetavasti kauem kui 4-5 tundi v6tma) mis viib meid saare kesk/l6unaosasse, kus me veedame kolm p2eva, et sealset loodust avastada ning natuke ringi matkata.

Loodan et Euroopas on k6igil k6ik h2sti :)

(Pildid j2lle p2rast inglisekeelset teksti)

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It came as a bit of surprise to me that Sri Lanka, unlike it's close neighbours India and Bangladesh, is in fact not that thickly populated. The island, about the size of England, is home to just over 20 million people (while a whopping 53 million live in England). It has become quite apparent during our ample traveling around the island, where we mostly only see jungle and empty ricefields. As for the people here, they are exceedingly kind and willing to help. We keep getting bombarded with questions about where we are going and what we are doing, which are then followed by ample advice, although admittedly with the occasional effort to offer their own - or their friends' - transport in exchange for cash. While surely there are those who would look to con us, the honesty of the average Sri Lankan has been quite astounding -  for example, just this afternoon we accidentally gave a shopkeeper a 2000 rupee bill instead of a 200 one, which he quickly pointed out to us, saying that we gave him too much! So despite the general chaos and noisiness of the people and surroundings that can be a bit intimidating, so far I really only have good words for the country and its people.

Now, as to where I left off last... After our second night in Dambulla, we took a bus to Polonnaruwa, 65 km east. I did also want to write a bit about the bus experience because it is really something. Sri Lankan buses are all oldschool metal monsters, often made more attractive by having been painted in bright colours, and decorated inside with beads and images of deities. The latter is probably particularly significant, considering their suicidal driving...

Buses are very numerous here, and seem to run from everywhere to anywhere. There are no timetables to speak of, but if you turn up at any given bus station, you will get to where you need to go - eventually. As mentioned, traffic here is excruciatingly slow. You don't need to purchase a ticket beforehand either, since buses here have conductors, whose job it is to squeeze past the masses of people in the narrow aisle and collect cash for tickets (which for us cost next to nothing). Buses stop frequently, and passengers change in a constant flow. In nearly every stop, someone selling something will ride along for one leg of the trip, melodically yelling out their wares - be it fruit, water, samosas or other savoury snacks, even yoghurt. As I mentioned before, bus doors stay open at all times. I now realised the true reason for this - to avoid delaying an already lengthy journey, drivers don't really bother to stop at the smaller bus stops. Instead they slow down, and whoever wishes to get on has to run alongside the bus and then hop on. It's truly an impressive skill, since most of them do it while wearing flipflops!

Taking one of these bus trips, we arrived to Polonnaruwa where we visited the ruins of the ancient palace of the kingdom of Polonnaruwa, from where the island was ruled from the 8th until the 14th century. The area is massive, and most of the buildings had been built during the reign of Parakramabahu I the Great, during the 12th century. We opted to explore the area in tuktuk - our first ride since getting here, despite the tuktuks being ubiquitous - since the driver made us a really good offer as soon as we had got off the bus from Dambulla. Tuktuks are basically small open taxis, not more powerful than scooters, but with a roof and a capacity to transport two people. Although we had originally planned to rent bikes to explore the area, the tuktuk was a good choice since the distances were quite long between places, and well.. it was pretty cool to ride in a tuktuk :D

After a night in Polonnaruwa, we took a train for the first time to ride back to Colombo, which is about 200km away. We got on the train at 8.30 in the morning, and arrived at.. (drumroll) ..5pm! That's a whopping 8,5h, nearly as long as it took us to get here from Rome lol. True, we did have one hour lost since there was a problem with the engine, but the rest is just good ol' slow moving. The trains are also oldschool, but quite comfortable. The windows are all open by default, allowing for the enjoyment of some beautiful scenery.

Colombo has still not impressed us, so we have not gone out exploring much, other than to get some food. Tomorrow we will get on another train (which hopefully will not take more than 4 or 5 hours) to the center-south of the island, to what they call Hill Country. We will stay there for three nights to explore the countryside and do some hillwalking.

Hope everyone is doing well back in Europe :)

Tuktuk

Suur Buddha // Big Buddha

Loodus Polonnaruwat tagasi v6tmas // Nature reclaiming Polonnaruwa

Veel suurem Buddha // Even bigger Buddha

Annid veel suuremale Buddhale // Offerings to even bigger Buddha

Ema ja poeg (ainult poja saba paistab :) // Mother and baby (only the baby's tail is visible :)

Hiigelsuur stupa// Massive stupa

Paolo avastamas kohalikku floorat // Paolo discovering the local flora

Polonnaruwas rongi ootamas // Waiting for the train in Polonnaruwa

Pika reisi jooksul toitusime ainult samosadest // Subsisting only on samosas during our long train ride

Rongis6it on l6bus :) // Riding a train is fun :)

Maailmapikim reis + Dambulla ja Sigiriya // Longest trip ever + Dambulla and Sigiriya

Juba hakkab 6htusse veerema pàev #2 Sri Lankal. Senised muljed on enamasti kuumusest ja niiskusest (kehadel v6tab kindlasti aega sellega harjuda), kirevast loodusest ja veel kirevamatest inimestest...

J6udsime Sri Lanka pealinna Colombosse eile, kell pool kuus hommikul, pàrast 9-tunnist lendu Roomast. Lennujaamast vàlja astudes prooviti meile koheselt tynga teha ja pakuti uskumatult kallist transporditeenust. Meil oli aga kodut88 tehtud ja teadsime, et lennujaamast linna kàib ka tavap2rane ja odav buss, mille me ka ilma vaevata yles leidsime. 110 ruupiat per nase (ca 0.70 EUR) ja tunniga olimegi Colombo bussijaamas. Sealt astusime otse jàrgmise bussi peale mis viis meid Dambullasse, saare keskossa, mis on ajalooliselt olnud tàhtis piirkond ning on seet6ttu pungil kultuurimàlestistest.

Kuigi Colombost Dambullani on vaid 170km, v6ttis bussis6it ei v2hem ega rohkem kui viis tundi... Seda seet6ttu, et buss peatus igas teeloleval kylas; ning yhtlasi kuna teed on kitsad ja k22nulised ning ei v6imalda kiiret s6itu - milles ma kahtlen et need bussid yldse v6imelised oleks. Ning tànu taevale, et ei ole - s6idustiil on siinmail niigi piisavalt kaootiline ja ohtik (nt bussi uksed ei kài kunagi kinni, ilmselt reisijatekabiini maksimaalseks ventilatsiooniks), ilma et sinna veel kiirust lisada tuleks. S6it oli sellegipoolest meeldiv, olime rahul, et saime kohe Colombo myrast kaugele ja uudistasime huviga m88duvat maastikku (vaheldumisi dzungel ja riisip6llud, siin-seal kohalike hurtsikud).

Dambullasse j6udsime l6puks hilisel pàrastl6unal ning seadsime sammud otse meie 88bimispaiga suunas - p2rast 24-tunnist 2rkvelolekut ning 20-tunnist reisi ootasime pikisilmi et saaks dushi alla ja veidi puhata. Lausa magamisega pidime ikkagi 6htuni ootama, soovimata olukorda kus 2rkame keset 88d yles ja und enam pole!

Meie 88bimiskoht asus Dambulla kyla vaiksel k6rvalteel. Hosteli omanik, Robert, v6ttis meid ylimalt s6bralikult vastu ja n2itas meid meie majakesse. Majutus on lihtne ja hubane, kurta v6ib ainult elektrikaablite v2ga viletsa olukorra yle - kui Paolo katsetas vannitoas olevat dushivee soojendajat, kàis juhtmetes k6va sàhvatus; hea et oleme troopilise kliimaga maal ja sooja vett ei vaja :D See, et Euroopa ohutus- ja turvalisusekultuurist kaugel oleme, on ilmne igal sammul - ehitust88d tehakse siin ilma kinnaste/kiivriteta ning plàtudes nàiteks.

Kui olime end hostelisse sisse seadnud ja veidi puhanud, làksime s88giotsinguil Dambullat uudistama. Kyla ise eriliselt huvitav ei ole, kuigi meil on siin hetkel veel k6ik uus ja p6nev. Ostsime kohalike poiste kàest vàrsket mangomahla ja s6ime (eriti maitsvat kuid ylivyrtsikat) 6htust Mango Mango nimelises s88gikohas. Mangod on siin yhes6naga sama tavalised kui Eestis 6unad. T2na andis Robert meile oma aia mangosid syya ka, spets meie jaoks puu kyljest nopitud ja imemaitsvad!

Tàna àrkasime ajavahest ikka veidi uimastena ning hyppasime bussi peale làhedaloleva Sigiriya suunas. Sigiriya on loodusliku suure kalju otsa 5. sajandil ehitatud kuningapalee varemed. Selle ehitas kuningas kes oli oma isa sohilaps ning pàrast oma isa tapmist v6ttis j6uga tiitli endale. Kartes, et ta poolvennast 6iguslik pàrija tuleb taga tyli norima, kolis ta palee Sigiriya kalju otsa, kust teoorias oleks pidanud pàris kindel olema. Poolvend tuli siiski oma tiitlile jàrgi ja v6itis kuningat pàris lihtsalt, mille jàrel palee jàlle vanasse kohta tagasi viidi. Seejàrel elutsesid m6nda aega Sigiriyal budistlikud mungad, aga nemadki hylgasid koha l6puks, jàttes Sigiriya dzungli sisse unustusse kuni britid selle 19. sajandil jàlle avastasid. Tànapàeval on see Unesco Maailmapàrand ja kogu paleekompleks on kylastajatele avatud. Pàevas kylastab seda sadu turiste, ning ala on koduks ka arvukatele hulkuvatele koeradele ja mitut liiki ahvidele. Meie jaoks oli see igati vààrt kylastus ja saime nàha tykikest meile tàiesti tundmatust kultuurist.

Hetkel peame hostelis siestat ja siis làhme kohaliku ylivyrtsika toiduga teisele raundile.

Homme s6idame bussiga hommikul Polonnaruwasse, kus kylastame sealset suurt templikompleksi ning 88bime samuti sealkandis. Jàrgmine kord muljetan siis sellest :)

(Pildid allpool, pàrast inglisekeelset teksti)

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Day #2 in Sri Lanka is already starting to end. Impressions so far are mostly of the heat and humidity (will take some time for our bodies to get used to this), the colourful wildlife, and the lively people.

We arrived in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, yesterday at half five in the morning, following a 9-hour flight from Rome. Exiting the airport, someone tried to immediately con us by asking for a ridiculous price for transport to the city. Luckily we had done our homework and knew that a regular, cheap bus should also be available. We found the bus with no trouble, and an hour later and 110 rupees each (roughly 0.70 EUR), we reached Colombo bus station. There we stepped immediately onto another bus to Dambulla, in the centre of the island, a historically important region packed with cultural heritage sites.

Even though it's only 175km from Colombo to Dambulla, the bus journey took no less than 5 hours... This is due to the fact that the bus driver drove into and stopped in every possible village on the way, and because the roads, being narrow and winding, don't allow for fast driving - which I doubt the very old Sri Lankan buses would even be capable of. And thank heavens they aren't - the way of driving here is chaotic and dangerous enough (e.g. the bus doors stay open during the journey, always - probably to improve ventilation for the passengers) without speed being added into the mixture. Our journey was nevertheless pleasant, we were happy to get away from the bustle and noise of Colombo straight away and we admired the passing scenery (rice fields here and jungles there, with the occasional hut).

We finally reached Dambulla in late afternoon, and marched straight towards our accommodation - after 24 hours awake and 20 hours traveling, we were desperate for a shower and a rest. We still had to wait until evening until we would allow ourselves a proper sleep though, lest we wake up in the middle of the night wide awake!

Our hostel in Dambulla is on a quiet road outside the main village. The owner of the place, Robert, received us in a friendly manner and showed us to our room. The place is simple and cosy, the only thing worth complaining about is the dodgy electrical wiring - when Paolo tried turning the shower heater on, there was a loud crack and sparks flew from the wires! Good thing that we are in a tropical country and don't need hot water :D The fact that we are far from the Health & Safety mentality of Europe is apparent everywhere - the uniform for construction workers here does not include safety helmets nor gloves, and flipflops are the preferred footwear.

Once we were settled into the hostel and had had a wee rest, we went to discover Dambulla in search of something to eat. The village itself is not terribly interesting, although for now, everything is new and fascinating to us. We bought some fresh mango smoothies from local kids and had some (very tasty but excruciatingly spicy) food at a place called Mango Mango. Seems to be a running theme here... Robert even gave us some fresh mangoes from his garden to eat today, picked just for us and super tasty!

Today we woke with a bit of drowsiness from the jet lag, and took a bus to the nearby Sigiriya. In Sigiriya are the ruins of a 5th century royal palace, built on top of a massive natural rock. It was built by a king who had been his father's bastard son, who took the throne by way of good ol' patricide. Anticipating that his half-brother, the rightful heir, would have some problems with him stealing his title, he moved the royal palace to Sigiriya, on top of the massive rock, which in theory should have been pretty safe. Despite this, the half-brother still came to reclaim his birthright and defeated the king with no great effort. After this, the royal palace was moved back to its previous location and Sigiriya was inhabited by Buddhist monks for a while. When they too abandoned it, Sigiriya was forgotten and left in the jungle until the 19th century when the British rediscovered it. Today it's a Unesco World Heritage site and the whole palace complex is open to the public. Hundreds of tourists visit the site every day, which is also home to numerous feral dogs and different species of monkeys. For us it was a visit well worth it and we got to see a part of a culture completely unknown to us.

At the moment we are having a little siesta in the hostel, after which we will commence round two with the ultraspicy local food.

Tonmorow morning we will take the bus to Polonnaruwa, where we will visit its huge temple complex and we will also spend the night there. Next time I'll write about how that went :)

Meie Dambulla kodut2nav // Our home street in Dambulla

Paolo koos hosteliomaniku Robertiga // Paolo with hostel owner Robert

Paolo mangomahla nautimas // Paolo delighting in mango juice

Vyrtsikas toit ja vesi otse kookosest // Spicy food and water straight from the coconut

Koduaia kookost nautimas // Enjoying a coconut straight from the garden

Sigiriya

Kaunid seinamaalingud 5. sajandist // Beautiful frescoes from the 5th century

Paolo palee sissek2igu juures // Paolo and the lion's paw at the palace entrance

Vaade Sigiriya otsast // View from the top of Sigiriya rock

Palee varemed // Palace ruins

Makaakide hygieenirituaal // Macaque hygiene ritual

Juured nagu juuksed // Roots growing like hair

Làksime // Off we go

Olemegi lennujaamas, lennuni vàhem kui poolteist tundi jàànud. Pàrast pikka puhkust esmalt Eestis ja siis Itaalias, on tunne pàris syrreaalne.

(Jàrsku hakkas siin ilge sahmimine pihta, meile làhimalolevast vàravast hakatakse reisijaid Seouli lennule sisse laskma - oleme ymbritsetud korealastest! K6ik on vàga hàsti riides ja nàevad shikkmodernid vàlja. Ma oma mugavates dressides nàin pàris kohatu).

Meie lennukile lastakse meid sisse juba poole tunni pàrast. Lend Sri Lankale v6tab 9,5 tundi. Oleme meelelahutusega hàsti varustatud - ma soetasin endale reisi jaoks e-raamatulugeja, mille peal on mul yle 600 raamatu. Yhes6naga loodan, et tagasitulles olen m6nev6rra ikka targem.

Tervisi k6igile koju, ja jàrgmine kord kirjutan juba teiselt poolkeralt :)

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Here we are at the airport at last, with less than an hour and a half left to our flight. After a long holiday first in Estonia and then in Italy, it feels a bit surreal to be leaving.

(Sudden interlude - a flight to Seoul just started embarking, and I'm surrounded by classy, well-dressed Koreans. I feel pretty shabby in my comfy traveling gear in comparison lol.)

Our gate opens in less than half an hour. The flight to Sri Lanka will take 9,5 hours, so we are well prepared on the entertainment-front. I had bought a Kindle for the trip, which currently has over 600 books on it. I hope that means I will return at least a bit more educated than before.

Aight, big hugs to everyone reading, next post will be already from the other side of the world :)

sjau! // byeee!

Ilus ilm lendamiseks (lennuk ei ole meie oma kyll) // Nice weather for flying (not our plane though)

Tere tulemast // Welcome

Esimene sissekanne!

Ma pole kunagi varem blogi kirjutanud, aga kuna meie j2rgmisel n2dalal algaval Aasia-reisil juhtub kindlasti palju huvitavat millest kirjutada / pilte n2idata, siis nyyd tundub 6ige aeg alustamiseks.

Katsun kirjutada v2hemalt korra n2dalas kui mitte rohkem, ja pyyan iga kord paar-kolm pilti yles laadida sellest kus me k2ime ja mida n2eme.

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First entry!

I have never before written a blog, but since I'm sure there will be lots interesting to write about / to show about our impending Asia-trip, this seems like as good as time as any.

I'll try to write at least once a week if not more, and to share a few photos every time of where we will have been and what we will have seen.