Holiday pics, part 2
Feb. 9th, 2013 04:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
graculusNext it was off into the countryside for what I now know would be an ill-fated bike ride, then off to Polonnoruwa for more slightly-damp sightseeing...
When things were going well, the scenery looked like this:
Yes, those are paddy fields stretching to the horizon, punctuated by coconut and other trees. Sadly, an hour or so into our ride, I managed to end up flat on my back in one of said paddy fields (which is even less fun than it sounds, being 50-50 mud and water) having taken a tumble off my bike and sprained my wrist in the process.
The country is predominantly Buddhist, but every so often you'd come across things like this at a crossroads, not to mention the occasional spectacular Hindu temple:
The view from the hotel where we stayed that night - on arrival we were told that they had no liquor licence and so couldn't sell us any beer, but miraculously found some way around it when they realised all 15 of us were planning to have dinner and beer somewhere else if that was the case...
Next stop, Polonnoruwa - capital of Sri Lanka in the 10th-12th centuries:
Also in the grounds of the city is the Rankot Vihara, a massive relic temple which is said to ensure your desires come true if you walk barefoot around it 3 times. You get some sense of scale from the people in this pic - it's 175m in diameter and 55m high:
And last, but by no means least, the Gal Vihara, a 12th century temple featuring statues carved into the rock, including a reclining Buddha over 14m in length:
That's it for now, next stop the historic city of Kandy and the hotel with hot and cold running monkeys...
When things were going well, the scenery looked like this:
Yes, those are paddy fields stretching to the horizon, punctuated by coconut and other trees. Sadly, an hour or so into our ride, I managed to end up flat on my back in one of said paddy fields (which is even less fun than it sounds, being 50-50 mud and water) having taken a tumble off my bike and sprained my wrist in the process.
The country is predominantly Buddhist, but every so often you'd come across things like this at a crossroads, not to mention the occasional spectacular Hindu temple:
The view from the hotel where we stayed that night - on arrival we were told that they had no liquor licence and so couldn't sell us any beer, but miraculously found some way around it when they realised all 15 of us were planning to have dinner and beer somewhere else if that was the case...
Next stop, Polonnoruwa - capital of Sri Lanka in the 10th-12th centuries:
Also in the grounds of the city is the Rankot Vihara, a massive relic temple which is said to ensure your desires come true if you walk barefoot around it 3 times. You get some sense of scale from the people in this pic - it's 175m in diameter and 55m high:
And last, but by no means least, the Gal Vihara, a 12th century temple featuring statues carved into the rock, including a reclining Buddha over 14m in length:
That's it for now, next stop the historic city of Kandy and the hotel with hot and cold running monkeys...
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Date: 2013-02-09 06:02 pm (UTC)(And tourists determination for beer as well!)
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Date: 2013-02-10 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-10 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-10 11:35 am (UTC)As for the wrist, it's much better but still a long way from 100%. I'm getting regular physiotherapy (one of the perks of working for my employer is free physio, much quicker than if I went via my GP) and it's definitely improving but I don't know how long it'll be before it's back to normal.
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Date: 2013-02-10 03:45 pm (UTC)