If you have the affinity to make some changes in your life and you really have the idea how to do it and even a great opportunity comes, don't let yourself dissuade. Just say yes without scruple and go ahead. We live only once.
As I'm a UNESCO World Heritage site-collector, this tour was a canaan. Currently, 8 such sites are designated here, out of which I visited 6.
1. Ancient city of Sigiriya
2. Dambulla Cave Temple
3. Sacred city of Anuradhapura
4. Sacred city of Kandy
5. Central Highlands of Sri Lanka involving Little Adam's Peak
6. Old Town of Galle and its fortifications
First big wow came even at our first station. The city of Sigiriya was built on and around the 180 m high Lion's Rock and often mentioned as the 8th wonder of the world. History really sinks till your bones. Names to mention: King Kashyapa killed his father to get the throne and ruled between 477 and 495 till he was defeated by his brother Moggallana. Then the site was retuned to Buddhist monks and today it is in ruins with part of fortifications and buildings preserved, as well as frescos representing feminine figures. On the top of these, standalone panorama is added to the unforgettable experience. On my scale that is made up of scenery, nature and history, I ranked this place 10/10.
During the rest of the day we have visited a traditional village. Although, it felt like a little bit of showroom, it was still enojyable as we not only tried different kinds of transportation (wooden wheel-wagon pulled by finched, boat and tuk-tuk) but also got an insight into the village kitchen and took part of preparing and tasting traditional dishes. On our way to our bus there was a heavy rain and would have got wet through, if the locals did not provide protection in teamwork for us.
Next two stations on the same day: Dambulla and Anuradhapura. Mistic cave temple rich in Buddhist heritage in the city of Dambullah having multi-millenial past. This is anyway the biggest and best preserved temple of the island, also an important pilgrimage site. The complex is made up of five shrines constructed in natural caves full of 1500 wall paintings, 153 Buddha statues in different sizes and positions. On the same day, we saw many stupas, also the world's biggest one in Anuradhapura, of which bricks if we layed down, would get a wall of 30 cm width and 1 meter high drawn between London and Edinburgh. Here in Anuradhapura, the first capital of Sri Lanka and a Buddhist spiritual center, we can find the ancient tree that grew from the Bodhi Tree under which Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
Well deserved close of the day; we vote for an Ayurveda massage for all 25 of us. It was a real team builder sitting together in the steam room after the massage half-naked speaking about the impressions. After the massage, we all had the chance one by one to speak with an Ayurveda doctor who found out which dosha we currently had by touching our pulse. As for me, he said mostly vata, less kapha. The ancient health science of Ayurveda is built around the five elements: ether, air, fire, water and earth. The unique combinations of these elements come together to make up the unique mind-body types, the doshas - vata, pitta and kapha.
Think of a dosha as your individual blueprint that describes your unique personality , tendencies and physical nature. Understanding your dosha reveals how to keep yourself in balance to stay happy, healthy and desease free. All of us have some aspects of each dosha, but one or two doshas are tend to dominate, informing everything from our digestion to our emotions. Before that, I haven't heard about this. After the doctor told me my body type, I googled the characteristics. There was a mention at vata - that I mostly belonged to in those days - about eating warm foodstuff. The fact is that at the hotel, from the wide selection of the buffet meals, I preffered hot soups for every dining at that time. Fund to the truth?
Ayurveda always applies the cures externally, all are natural therefore do not have the danger of getting used to any healing treatment.
The following day we visited a Herbal Heritage Garden. The tour was led by a doctor who tried to tell us as many things about the spices as he could. We got to know eg. that the vanilla is pollinated by hand and produces only once in every three years. The multicolored pepper is not a type of pepper but the different ripening phase and the white pepper is actually pepper without shell. Jackfruit is the biggest fruit produced by a tree. To cut a sandalwood is subject to authorization because of its value; it scents and all furniture made of it used by more generations and they produce oil not only from its flower but also from the wood itself which generates endorphin hormone. Cardamom is one of the ingredient of Sri Lankan curry besides 7 other spices and good for headache; you have to massage in balm form extended with ginger, clove, cinnamon; also good for insect bite. The ingredients of Sri Lankan curry (cumin, anise, mustard seed, clove, coriander, dill seed, cinnamon, a kind of 'karapincsa' leaf) are roasted before mill and those products sold in shops are engrossed with rice powder; chili, salt and pepper are added separately according to taste. We use the nutmeg after the hard shell is removed, nut only for cooking but also used for sleep disorders. Ananas is the best dessert but good to know that it may have aborted fetus effect, but anyway good for digestion and grows ripe within 6 months and contrary to popular belief, it does not burn fat! Curcuma is similar to ginger, very good for disinfection. Buddha used it, that is the reason why the monks' cloth is orange and anyway all their foodstuff are orange-coloured, as it is a natural antibiotic. Sri Lankan kitchen uses so many spices as each spice has its own healing effect. We drank a very tasteful tea which was a simple black tea boiled with different spices, namely ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilia. They do not drink filter type tea at all. They also have some "cure-all" creams for problem skin like pimples, pigment spots and it does not block the pores, fully naturally, made of avocado, lotus oil, aloe vera, lotus flower. Interesting and useful visit, filled up with not only the information but also with some products.
During the visit in the Gem Museum, Factory and Showroom we also had the chance to further enrich our knowledge. Got to know that the 4C make the price of a gem which are colour, cut, clarity and carat; 5 carat is equal with 1 gramm; brilliant is not a gem but a cutting type with the most facets (64); the cat's eye has only one line while the star sapphire has 6 lines and both are only polished not cutted. The difference between a precious stone and a semi-precious stone is the rigidness, and the precious stone is heavier, colder and transparent when shine on. Diamant is the hardest cat#10 gem, sapphires are #9, moonstone is #8 under which there are semi-precious stones; glass is #4, powder is #1. Aquamarine is a dead stone, ametist is developing stone and the dials of the watches are made of quarz. Princess Diana received her famous blue ring from Sri Lanka as a wedding present.
What Rolls Royce is to cars, Rolex is to watches, Havana is to cigars and Scotland is to whiskey; Ceylon is to tea. Who has not heard of the world famous Ceylon tea? To visit a tea plant is a must. I did the Damro tea plant. The green of the endless terraced tea bushes are awe-inspiring. The tea is originally coming from China, where it has been consumed for 5000 years. Although, it was imported, Ceylon made the black tea famous with its high quality and "Best in Class" qualification. The leaves are collected exclusively by women, for 800-1000 HUF salary per day. The most expensive and ever best quality golden tea is drunk by the royal family in the UK and it is also good to know that only the latest shoots are collected exclusively by virgin girls in white gloves and cut with golden scissors. This is the purest type and without roasting. I also had to buy one box of it (13,900 LKR = 14,800 HUF) to taste and enjoy some luxury at home. Besides the golden tea, there are silver, green, white and black tea of course - latter has to bear the most number of manufacturing process. In the mountains of great humidity, a tea bush gives new sprouts in every 7-8 days and can be harvested during the whole year. The cut-off tea leaves are processed within 24 hours and just like in case of wines, there is a sommelier who tastes and evaluates. Those tea brands that we think to be good quality in Hungary (eg. Dilmah) are the poorest ones in Sri Lanka. And we should completely forget the tea in filter bags. And be careful of the leeches, there are many among the tea bushes and immediately stick to you, unless you have some salt with you to keep them away.
Little Adam's Peak is a big wow and Ella Swing is the ever best idea of someone's (should do the same somewhere in Hungary). Time for being a real girl. Unmissable for female visitors! Going up to the peak no words can describe the beauty of the landscape. And then you start to think of how you can entirely utilize it, how you could become one with it and just discover that huuuge, giant swing with flowers and with a girlish costume that perfectly can fly while swinging. Now you feel the freedom, the luck, the gratitude, the youth, the feminity. Pampering the senses. Eyes see the beautiful landscape, ears hear soft music in the background, and soul feels very OK. Although, I was the last one to join my tour mates and the bus was waiting for me, I could not skip this and leave this place without trying Ella swing. Then and there a never to be forgotten memory was created.
Another famous thing in Ella is the railway. Namely one of the 4 most beautiful railway route in the world. Very slow but it goes through the mountains and tea plants and somewhere the clouds come in through the window and then go out of another window. I had the luck to wait for it at the 9-arch bridge. The driver was super cute to decelerate enough to enjoy the sight for both the bystanders and the passangers as well.
In retrospect, Jeep Safari is the only program that can be skipped from such a round tour. People can see more animals on the way than on such a guided tour, as the whole island is a ZOO. It is OK to get up before the sunrise, jolting on jeeps and searching for wild animals, but of course, success is not guaranteed. Finally, we could see colourful birds, peacock (with opened quill!), lizards, wild pig families, elephants, water buffalo, and a rarely seen bear.
The last UNESCO World Heritage site was the ancient town of Galle with the Fort. I missed the fishermen sitting on the poles.
The round tour was finished in Dickwella in the South and could spend 3 days at the beach to have a rest after the adventurous matterful trip and recharge before the flight back home. Here can be found the biggest golden Buddha statue of Sri Lanka.
To be continued and will be updated with photos, of course...
