Ruins

Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

After a good breakfast (banana rotti - a yummy coconut wheat pancake with bananas inside), I rented a bike from the guest house. I only realized now how much I had missed biking! When I lived in the Netherlands, I used to bike everywhere. During my time in India, I never had the chance nor the need. It was such a joy to ride the bike through the warm wind cruising the traffic. Together with Laurent and Romain, I felt safe to conquer the streets of Sri Lanka.

Puppy!

We first stopped by the archeological museum to get an impression of the site stretching about 5km north of the town. We took our time to look at the most important ruins. Amidst the ancient stones, we recognized an old Italian man who had previously stayed at the same guest house in Sigiriya. For dinner he had entertained us with breathtaking stories about how back in the seventies he drove all the way from Italy to Afghanistan in an old French car. He had been at the site since 7am and carefully observed every stone. As an expert in his field, he was more impressed by some hidden ruins in the jungle, which I thankfully noted but did not seriously consider to visit after my recent jungle experience. He shared his passion for literature as he explained that he had suffered a lack of sleep over the past years for reading too many books. To be able to read a book in original language, he had spent 3 years to learn German. Smilingly, he added that this language was not for him.

Moon stone meets Hardstone

Camouflage

After 2 hours of stones, we took a break around noon to refresh ourselves with a coconut. In that moment, rain started pouring and we found shelter under a sun sail. The family selling their drinks and snacks moved closer with their plastic chairs. Nothing better than sipping a king coconut while conversing in smile language with the locals.

Suri - picture of the day!

After about 5 hours we had seen enough of old stones. The heat was taking a toll and for the first time in 10 days, I felt hungry. We had lunch at a street restaurant; the spices tickled my tongue. The rest of the afternoon I spent in a shabby Internet cafe with a screen out of focus, at a hard-to-beat price of 60 Rs per hour. Just after 6pm, I looked in the sky and saw the giant bats flying by. It was time to head back before dark.


I biked through the warm breeze, passed by simple houses with women sitting outside cooking their dinner over open fires, and small tea shops with men engaged in their evening ceremony. I heard the monks' prayers from the pilgrims rest house. As I pedaled on, I took a deep breath and could smell freedom. It felt good not to depend on anyone but myself. I looked in the sky filled with giant bats. I smiled and for a moment I was incredibly happy to be here.