Another year wiser in Sigiriya

Waking up with a small post hangover from the previous nights birthday drinks I had to make my way to Sigiriya which used to be one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka. The city was only briefly constructed due to a conflict over the throne with the 'pretender' to the throne building an immense castle/fortress on top of the rock which forms the heart of Sigiriya.

The city of Sigiriya
I wasn't keen to stay to long in Sigiriya as I wanted to head back to Kandy so I was able to find a hotel I could never afford to stay in where I bought some tea and agreed to leave my bag with them whilst I went off to climb the rock. The city stretches out in front of the rock, with ruins clearly visable and the remains of gardens which must have made the city one of the greenest in Sri Lanka's long history.


The climb to the top
Sigiriya's central attraction is the rock which has something like 2000 steps on it. As you make your way to the top you are able to see a set of murials which have been found painted on the side of the rock. For 5th century paintings they are surprisingly full of colour and are very erotic in their style. Its thought that their were 500 portraits at one time but now only 22 remain. There is a large edge on the side of the hill known as the Lion's Paw due to the two enormous lion paws through which the gateway to the top goes between. What is amazing is that at one time a gigantic brick lion at this end nof the rock and the final ascent to the top went through the paws and into its mouth! Must have been an impressive sight then!

The Rock Top
As you come to the top of the rock you find remarkably well preserved remains of the palace complex coupled together with awesom views over the surrounding countryside. As I walked around I saw a large crowd of men who needed someone to take their photo on the spot where the palace used to be. After I took the photo they crowded round me asking 'where you from' 'what do you do' and the normal range of questions. What scared me was a guy in his late 50's with huge glasses who seemed really drunk. He wouldn't let go of my hands as he kept shacking both of them holding them. As I know what they use their left hand for I wasn't entirely keen on letting this guy continue!

What was funny was they wanted to know all about my relationship and sex life - 'are you married, have girlfriend sir'. I could tell where they were going ''Do you want Sri Lankan women?" Err 'no' I replied 'here to see the country and not the women'! 'Well why don't you come to Colombo with us' they asked. By this time I was beginning to think either a) they were drunk, b) were very unusual nice people or c) had ulterior motives. I decided it was better to be safe than sorry and made my excuses so that I could 'catch my bus'!