Sigiriya To Colombo
I woke up at 4:45 AM, played with some frogs and lizards in my room, and then I hopped on the bike with Sanduru and rode in the dark to Pidurangala Rock to hike for sunrise. Originally, I wanted to hike Sigiriya Rock because it is the 8th Wonder of the World, but Shalika had recommended hiking Pidurangala because it has a beautiful view of Sigiriya Rock and only costs $500 Sri Lankan Rupee versus the $4,500 Rupee for Sigiriya Rock. Also, Sigiriya Rock isn't open for sunrise. I climbed over rocks and thru caves in the dark and when I reached the top, the sun began to rise thru the clouds. It only took 25 minutes to get to the top, and I spent about an hour taking in the beauty from the top. I laid on the rock, looking up at the sky, the moon still visible, did I did some meditating and breath work. I am so beyond happy I chose to do this hike rather than hiking Sigiriya Rock; it was downright gorgeous.
On my way down, I passed the sleeping Buddha as well as some temples. Then Sanduru and I drove back to the hostel, and on the way we passed by an elephant. Shalika and Sanduru said I must be in luck today! This one had green leaves in between its eyes, which happens naturally. And we were so close! I asked Sanduru if I could walk towards it but he said it is very dangerous and that many people die from elephants. We watched it as it crossed the dirt road and then continued driving away. There were heaps of monkeys and peacocks we saw as well. We arrived back to the hostel by 7:45 AM and sipped on some coffee outside, listening to the birds and crickets surrounding us. Shalika cracked a coconut, gave me the water, and then taught me how to use a coconut grinder to get all the inside shredded to make coconut rice! With the breakfast, last nights dinner, and the hostel stay, I paid $2,000 SL Rupee, $11 USD.
Shalika served breakfast, which consisted of coconut milk rice (kiribath), dahl vadai, jackfruit cutlet, coconut pancakes, and watermelon along with a homemade spicy sauce. I am loving every bite of food I have had in this country, all so scrumptious! Asa, Shalika's friend, joined us for breakfast and after chatting, I realized that many local people here speak several languages like Russian, Polish, German, and English of course. They picked it up from all the tourists! I also learned some Sri Lankan slang, like "ayia" which is used for other brother, "mall" which is younger brother, "akka" which is older sister, and "nangi" which is younger sister. And everyone here in the village are brothers and sisters, so these are words you will here a lot. Also, one trend I've noticed is that Sri Lankans always want you to sit down and will go out of their way to pull a chair up for you. It is a very chill country from what I've seen.
Marta and Shalika are headed North today so they gave me a ride to Dambulla where I hopped on an hour in a half bus ride to Kurunegala. It began raining and I dozed off for a bit. I hopped off and then back on another bus for 2.5 hours to Negombo, which is the closest stop to my hostel. I wasn't really sure when to get off but all the locals are so helpful and one of the men on the bus spoke English, so he assisted me. It was a bit confusing, especially with all the rain, but ask and you will get an answer eventually. After I got off the bus (which, in total, costed me $430 SL Rupee, $2.37 USD), I found a tuk tuk driver to take me to Hostel First Colombo Airport, where I stayed my first night in the country. I asked the driver to stop at a place to exchange currency, but he forgot, so when we arrived at the hostel, I didn't have enough money to pay him. But the hostel staff was so helpful, they paid him the $700 SL Rupee and then took my US dollars and gave me change in Rupee.
An Aussie girl name Ashleigh is here for the night and tomorrow she goes to India, in hopes of traveling to Goa. I told her I have an apartment there so she may join me along the way! We chatted awhile, played with the hostel kitten, and then I sat down to do some writing. Another girl, Jada, from Italy checked into the hostel. We all have flights out tomorrow morning at 9AM. Manju, the hostel worker, ordered some dinner for us because it was pouring down rain. He had rice and curry delivered and the four of us sat outside on the porch, enjoying some conversation while listening to the rain. The reason the hostel is called Hostel First is because it was the first hostel in all of Sri Lanka, how cool! Oh and by the way, dinner cost was $175 SL Rupee, that's not even one US dollar!
Anyways, after dinner I took my shower, chatted Jada a bit, did some writing, and worked on booking my flight back to the USA for November. I'm off on another great adventure tomorrow where I will be staying for 5 in a half week. Stay tuned!
