All Things Combined: Polonnaruwa

(seven story) Royal Palace (Polonnaruwa 846 AD-1302AD)

This morning we woke up to a beautiful blue sky, a lovely green island and some CLEAN AIR as we cruised into the port city of Trincomalee. This harbor city is on the northeast side of the tiny island of Sri Lanka. The religious mixture of this area is Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhists. The homes are tiny, brightly painted, and well kept. There is not a lot of money but from what we were able to see, people had the basics. Ten years ago the government issued a plan to clean up the island by paying people to pick up liter and recycle. Garbage is now picked up twice a week. Today there is a neighbor watch and a fine if you do not comply. After our visit to Madras, I needed something almost normal.

For the last 30 years Sri Lanka has endured a civil war. Even though the war is over, I saw military everywhere, rifles in hand. I am not sure if it is because we were in town or if unrest is still a problem. Post war work is in full swing, taxes keep rising, and the agricultural based Sri Lanka is on the way to make living conditions better for all. Our ship is the first cruise ship to dock here in 30 years. The welcome mat was out. Buses were borrowed and brought in from Colombo, a neighboring town over four hours away. The buses were small, holding 12 people, two guides and a driver. Thankfully all were air conditioned. People smiled broadly and waved at us as we passed through the tiny towns. Tourism will be great for this economy.

By 7:45 AM our bus was loaded and on the way to The Medieval City of Polonnaruva, rediscovered in 1886. A 10 hour day awaited us...who said won't you get bored? It took us just over an hour to travel the first 13 miles on a ridiculously rough road. This military road was used during the civil war. It was kept in very poor condition to slow down 'the terrorists'. When money is more ample it will be properly paved. We were witnesses to how well a tactic like this worked. We all applauded when we finally made it to a well paved two lane highway. Two more hours, we reached our destination.

Polonnaruwa was the capital of Sri Lanka in Mid evil times. Walking the ruins you could tell it was build in the times when trade and agriculture flourished. It felt rich and prosperous. The city was built under the leadership of a King born well before his time. He understood the importance of water to a community. No drop of water falling from the heavens should be wasted, he said. He had tanks built- (large man made lakes) - like oceans where water could be collected and held so that during the dry seasons, cities and agriculture could still flourish. These lakes, tanks, still exist today. I would not know these were man made. The city was triple walled and completely self sufficient. It is one of the best planned archaeological sites in the country. We saw ruins of a palace, a hospital, a maternity ward, a hospital, ruins of the markets, temples and an old age home. I was thinking how old was OLD AGE back then...22? The hospital had evidence of a entry waiting room, a Dr examining area and a surgery unit. We saw some operating tools... I can't imagine... It even had a spa and toilets. Very sophisticated. The area was huge and we only saw a small part during our tour there. Thankfully our small bus was able to travel the old roads and take us from one site to another. You could just feel the times and the spirits of the people that once lived here and how vibrant a life it must have been. Well worth the travel and highly recommended.

4 Buddhas- take off your shoes... hot hot hot

rock cut Buddha

We met a wild elephant along the road. The elephant is the symbol of Sri Lanka.

For lunch we stopped at the Cinnamon Lodge in Habarana. We felt very special as they guided us through the resort and out to an area by the lake where they had a lovely country-side lunch set up just for us. We sat at tables with white table cloths. Our special guests were cows, chickens, goats, oxen and even an iguana. All of the hot food was heating in copper pots on hot bricks, the soup was in a kettle over a fire, and tables were laden with Indian food, curries, Western food, salads, soups and deserts. It was quite grand. After lunch David and I headed back to the resort area within minutes of a torrential downpour. Everyone got soaked, except us. It was too wet for our elephant ride.