No Fixed Abode: A little grovelling goes a long way

Mon 18 Apr 2016 - Anuradhapura Ruins

Our new driver, Nana (not sure of spelling - sounds like the end of ‘banana’), arrived at our breakfast table and introduced himself. He was a retired employee from Sri Lankan Airlines who does a bit of driving to help out - much more our cup of tea.

Wanting to get going before the sun became too powerful, we bolted brekkie and were on our way by 08:15 to our first target: the sacred bodhi tree. This is a banyan tree supposedly taking from a cutting of the original tree the Buddha meditated beneath. It is over 2000 years old and has a recorded provenance thus making it officially the oldest tree in the world. As it was still the tail end of the New Year pilgrimage festival, the square compound surrounding the tree (that’s the closest you can get) was absolutely mobbed with chanting buddhists all praying fervently and leaving lotus flowers at the four cardinal point shrines. All in all a very colourful occasion.

Next stop was the royal palace, which was no more than a few stone footings marking out where the building would once have stood. It didn’t take us long to walk around and, like yesterday, we wish there had been a decent information board showing what it would have looked like in its full glory.

We then drove to the twin pools (the air conditioned car making the travel much easier than the bikes) while trying to follow a photocopied sketch map missing in detail - like some of the roads. After some guesswork we reached the car park to be hotly pursued by a guard demanding to see our ticket. On inspection he told us it was no longer valid as they only last for 24 hours. Nana explained about our troubles with the previous driver and asked the guard ‘as a gentlemen’ to show some leniency. Sri Lanka, however, has a bit of a ‘job’s worth’ bureaucracy so the guard stuck to his guns and told us to see his superior. So it was back to the museum where we bought the ticket yesterday.

Glenn entered the building, tentatively clutching the two out of date tickets, and did his best ‘I’m a poor tourist who’s made an honest mistake’ impression. The two ladies at the ticket office listened patiently then shook their heads impassively. They too were not going to make a decision. To cut a long story short after grovelling to the site manager then sweet talking the head of ticket sales, albeit after the manager's approval, they reluctantly signed the ticket to validate it.

Back at the twin pools the guard was happy now he had some authorisation so let us through. The pools themselves were for bathing and were beautifully lined with granite steps. For 1500 years old they were in great nick.

From the pools we walked to the Samadhi Statue, a carved granite buddha nearly 2000 years old. Once again this was in great nick for its age and was mobbed with pilgrims. To approach it we had to remove our shoes so once again we were skipping from foot to foot on the hot sand. It was fascinating to watch the families approach the bench (altar?) in front to place their offerings. Mum and dad both devout and kids looking less interested but doing as they were told - reminded us a lot of sunday school. After watching for a while we followed the masses towards another brick stupa. Part way there Yvonne was approached by a lady who wanted a chat in English. She introduced us to her children and we swapped pleasantries all the while her daughter hovering around, son hanging a ‘cool’ distance behind and dad sitting under a tree, apparently disinterested.

Once back with Nana we tried to find the elephant pool but the map became so inaccurate that we somehow ended up on the road we’d first travelled - even though that was not possible according to our map. Now a little more impressed with the site, we called it a day we asked Nana to take us back to the hotel so we could all take a nap. Poor Nana had not got home until midnight the night before then set off to meet us as 0400 in the morning.

At 1600 we left the sanctuary of our cool room to rejoin Nana in the hot humid air outside, then it was off to Mihintale, a hill monastery 10 km away. On the way we stopped at the post office to post our proxy vote forms for the EU referendum. Although undecided at the moment we want to have our say!

Once at the car park of the Mihintale complex we were immediately accosted by a guy offering to be our guide. He suggested a fee in excess of what Niluk had told us we should pay but we agreed to take him on and pay him what we thought appropriate at the end.

As it turned out he was good value and explained that this location was where buddhism first began in Sri Lanka and showed us around the many features of the site including, what he asserted was the first shower in the world. A lion statue with a water supply, cunningly fed from a pool up the hillside and plumbed to issue from the its mouth at head height. Evidently the monks bathed here before entering.

Also on the site was a large communal dining area cooled by water and with a large granite trough heated by fire to keep rice warm.

At the top of the hill Yvonne was once again accosted by a lady who had spent a year in a teacher exchange programme in Durham. She was very keen to use her, near perfect, english.

After watching the sunset from the base of a large, white stupa we returned to Nana who drove us home in the dark. We invited him to join us for dinner but, although humbled by the offer, he graciously declined.