Climbing Rocks

Next to Sigiriya rock (and I mean really "next to" it), there's Pidurangala Rock. 

From the staircase on Sigiriya

I went there one day when I was bored due to Safari being called off.  I actually thought it was much, much better than Sigiriya itself, at a fraction of the price. 

First, there's a temple where you buy the ticket.  You can look at the frescoes and stuff.

Then you climb.  There are a lot of steps and plenty of nature.

Steps

Hornets' nest

Pretty pretty butterfly!

A pond!

Frogs!

Views!

And a reclining Buddha

It looks like you've reached the end of the trail when you pass the reclining Buddha, but you've actually just got to go off-trail.

Into the rocks....

And this is where it gets tricky--you've got to literally climb your way to the top.  Over boulders and rocks.  It helps to have a guide with you if you're not use to climbing rocks (which I wasn't at that time).  Yes, you literally have to drag yourself up these rocks. 

Then you get to the top.  You get a view of everything, there aren't many people around, and there's a small forest of cactuses and other wildlife you can hang out with for awhile.

This is Sigiriya Rock.

A great view of everything!

The cactus forest

The cactus forest up close.

My tourguide/guest house owner.

I found it much more enjoyable than Sigiriya rock.  Recommended.

Polonnaruwa: Better than Rome

I don't actually know how to say the name of this city.  The closest I ever got was to tell bus drivers, "Polo...naaa...ruwaaa...duhhh".  But, they seemed to understand.

I actually took a day trip here from Sigiriya.  It's a big site, and I was walking pretty much from 10am when I got there, till 5 in the evening when I caught a bus home.  I did all of the site, though, rather than just the main areas--it's about a 7-8 km walk total, so it's not for pussies.

Mind you, my thyroid problems were acting up at the time, so I'm not one to talk.

I didn't really make note of what I saw there (you can look it up online if so inclined), but I took lots of pictures of the ruins.  Like 51.  Here they are, with limited comments.

Ruin on an island.

Tree monkeys.

And it still has plaster!

 

Awesome dragonflies.

All of the above is outside the main archaeological site, near the museum.

All of the below is in the main site (i.e., I had to pay to see this stuff).  First is the main "quadrangle".

Second is from around the entire park.  It's quite huge, but cool:

The below pictures come from the "image house", which is basically a temple with murals on the wall.  This temple is at the very end of the site and contains the only painted images within the ruins:

And some other random things from around the area:

Also there were a few really famous carvings of a sad-faced Buddha, made out of very interestingly patterned rock.  Sadly, I absentmindedly deleted them in trying to make room for more pictures.  Sorry about that one, but they weren't great shots, and much better images are available online, anyway.

Also sorry for the lack of explanations.  I don't tend to make note of this stuff, and anyhow, I forget what any of it meant by now.

In all, I really liked Polonnawara.  I thought it surpassed anything I saw in Rome (which is mainly the Coliseum and the remains of the Forum).  This is much better, and almost as old.  Much cooler overall.  Recommended.