Safaris and somewhat sore knees: Sigiriya Part 1!

Now Jarrod, if you google image Sigiriya, rest assured you’ll get more than just the image of the rock fortress.  I’ll admit, most of the pictures are that iconic image of the rock photographed from above. But you’ll also see other stuff, like the rock photographed from the main entrance, the rock photographed from the gardens, the rock photographed from across a lake… The list is endless

Just heeding Google Image Law

Sadly some tours only stop in Sigiriya for a morning or afternoon to Do The Rock, but I’m departing Negombo and allowing half a day to get there on public transport, and two full days to explore. I’m nervous about navigating PT by myself but things start off smoothly. Almost too smoothly. A tuk tuk to the bus station where the driver guides me to an airconditioned small bus. Luxury! I pay 400SLR for a ticket for myself and backpack to Kidungala (the equivalent of $4AUD). Arrive at the manic Kidungala station a few hours later and splash out 200SLR to board this late eighties party bus that will be hitting up strip clubs on a bucks night  tour public bus to Dambulla–

All that’s missing are the Illusion Shakers

and at Dambulla, I split the cost of a tuk tuk with a couple of girls I’ve met on the bus to get me to the home stay in Sigirya, which is costing me all of $29AUD a night. The journey has taken a total of five and a half hours and roughly nine bucks.

Now I had been plotting to tackle one of the attractions–Pidurangala Rock late afternoon/for sunset, but the teenage daughter at my home stay gravely cautions against this. Apparently there is the small matter of elephants in the nearby jungle searching for water around sunset and people have been trampled on the dirt roads.

At the home stay on the other hand, there is fresh juice, tea and cake, lolling about reading and journaling, then delicious curry for dinner. So my options are possibly agonising death, or  this:

No Brainer.

I’m up 6:30am the next morning to tackle Pidurangala Rock and be back by midday for a safari at nearby Minneriya National Park. The home stay has bikes which you can hire for excursions to the main town and I am armed with this hand drawn map–

Foolproof, you say?

and told that honestly, it’s impossible to get lost. My brain naturally accepts this as a challenge rather than a reassurance. The bikes have one gear (very progressive, fixies!) and I set off, initially on a dirt road, which eventually gives way to asphalt riddled with so many pot holes and bumps I’m fairly certain my pubic bone is going to fuse to the bike seat. I’m riding and squinting and looking out for the sign for Sigiri Rock Road on my right. I pass a turn off, slow, decide that can’t be it and cycle on for another km before I remember The Golden Rule: whatever my navigational compass says, I should do the exact opposite. Laboured U Turn, head back the way I came, and sure enough coming from this direction a giant sign heralds Sigiri Rock Road. On I pedal, sweating, eyes peeled now for the elusive sign on my left to Pidurangala…. Ooooh, here we go.

A sign!

Taking The Piss

Entirely in Singhalese. Sigh. God damn it. Where are the dulcet tones of the sat nav lady from google maps when you need them? I’m about to dismiss it and pedal a bit further, I mean I’m pretty sure they’d have an identifiable PICTURE of Pidurangala if it was the right turn off… when almost on cue, a pack of 6 stray dogs appear, blocking my intended route and growling. Hmmmm. I haven’t had my rabies shots. Left it is, then.

And turns it is the correct path, because minutes later: this!

Thank you helpful hounds!

Another few minutes and I’m at the temple entrance where I casually skid the bike to a halt (ok, brake very cautiously)

Trip Advisor reviews of Pidurangala call the walk “a bit challenging with some clambering over rocks at the end.”  It starts off gruelling enough really, hot,  humid, not a whisper of a breeze. But it’s stairs and stone steps, which I can manage.

I can manage this.

This is me, managing.

Half an hours huffing later, I reach the reclining Buddha which is quite magnificent. It’s being rebuilt so it does look like a homage to attempts to tan my legs. They remain defiantly white while my arms colour up no end.

Lily white lower limbs

From here the so called ‘clambering’ begins and I would like to take to task everyone’s definition of clambering, frankly, because this is really stressful shit. This is needing to work out handholds and foot placements and heaving yourself inelegantly. I get to one point where a slab of rock on a 45 degree angle with an awful plummet off the lower edge confronts me and I think I know why Buddha is sleeping back there in the cave behind me. He’s looked at the climb and declared “f&^% that, I’m going for a kip thanks.”

But obviously I do make it up to the top (apologies if you were thinking the big twist was going to be that this blog was written from beyond the grave) and the views of Sigiriya Rock from the top are spectacular!

WORTH IT

I stay up top for a good 30 mins, mainly to avoid thinking about going back down. Which for the record is every bit as stressful as going up until I’m back on stone stairs which are not stressful, just extremely wobbly because my quads have declared “thanks but we’re done for the day!” Safely back at base, I cycle to the main rest stop in town and reward myself with a lassi, some coconut roti and a pot of tea.

And then back to the home stay for the ELE-PHANT SA-F-AR-IIII (in my head this is always expressed as an Oprah call to arms). If you are going to Sigiriya, I can’t recommend enough staying at the Sigiri Sara Homestay. And even if you can’t stay there, call them up to discuss doing a Minneriya National Park safari with them. The owner Sara has his own jeep, and he gets to the Park around 1pm. Hardly any jeeps start at that time (? Because of the heat perhaps. It is baking hot). We have a spotter for the afternoon, the lovely Chama which is a bonus because my distance vision is appalling. Only this morning I became very distressed riding my bike thinking there was a dead dog on the road ahead and it turned out to be a discarded cardboard box.

*curses not wearing cargos or multipocketed vest

Getting to the park earlier is a stellar call because it’s sooooo much quieter. We probably observe around 150 elephants all up (you move around  and see different clusters) and at any one time at the most, we have a maximum of 5 other jeeps in the vicinity.

In contrast, as we’re leaving we pass a cluster photographing a herd and there are roughly 30 jeeps all jostling for spots and another 50-60 pass us heading in.

What is there to say about the safari, really? It is just beautiful. The most amazing afternoon. I’m going to shut up and let the pictures do the talking.

Drinking in the bath

The key to looking small when you weigh 150kg, is hanging out with one tonners

Don’t get between me and that sweet green grass

Family portrait: WAIT, what’s that peeking out….

The spotter on our truck, Chama points out a baby that’s only about 5 days old being cowed by its mother. He explains you can tell it’s only days old because of its size, and it’s skin is still slightly pink. It is very possibly the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

I’ll take that milk to go, thanks.

Chama also points out other wildlife in the bushes (birds? monkeys?) but I don’t have prescription sunglasses so I have no idea where I’m looking. Sometimes I follow the line of his pointing and say “oh, yes!”and dutifully snap a picture, and he seems happy enough with that. I come away with lots of photos of indistinct foliage. Who are we kidding anyway, I am completely fixated on these guys:

Hotspot!

Eventually though it’s time to wave goodbye:

Bye Megan, come back soon! We miss you already (his words)

That’s not a bad Day One in Sigiriya I think you’d have to agree? True, I’m in store for some major delayed onset muscle soreness after the climbing in the morning, but overall I’m glad to have had the time to see Pidurangala and also Minneriya. But I’ll throw it over to you, Jarrod as always. Sigiriya, Jarrod, would you go there?