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 :)
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| Meie Dambulla kodut2nav // Our home street in Dambulla |
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| Paolo koos hosteliomaniku Robertiga // Paolo with hostel owner Robert |
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| Paolo mangomahla nautimas // Paolo delighting in mango juice |
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| Vyrtsikas toit ja vesi otse kookosest // Spicy food and water straight from the coconut |
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| Koduaia kookost nautimas // Enjoying a coconut straight from the garden |
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| Sigiriya |
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| Kaunid seinamaalingud 5. sajandist // Beautiful frescoes from the 5th century |
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| Paolo palee sissek2igu juures // Paolo and the lion's paw at the palace entrance |
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| Vaade Sigiriya otsast // View from the top of Sigiriya rock |
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| Palee varemed // Palace ruins |
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| Makaakide hygieenirituaal // Macaque hygiene ritual |
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| Juured nagu juuksed // Roots growing like hair |
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