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Hello! have had a busy weekend.
Friday was Jills last day and unfortunately i had to leave to the ancient cities trip at 11 so we said our good byes in the etu! i am really going to miss her even though i have only known her 2 weeks! it felt sad saying goodbye. i was lucky to have such a great room mate!
So me bram and stefanie set off on our journey to the ancient cities. This involved us getting a bus for 2 hours before we even got on the minibus that was taking us there! then the mini bus was another 6 hours! when we finally got there we met up with the other volunteers had some food and everyone went to bed pretty early as we had to be up at 6:15 the next morning.
After our breakfast we set off to Sigiriya Rock. A bit about it:
Sigiriya was created by King Kasyapa who reigned between 477-495 AD. The summit of this almost inaccessible rock is 180 m (600 ft) above the surrounding jungle, and was the setting for a courtly paradise of elegant pavilions amid gardens and pools. The rock was transformed into a recumbent lion by the addition of a brick-built head and foreparts of which only the paws remain. The rock's natural defences were augmented by broad moats and stone perimeter walls. In the event of an enemy approach, the outer moat was built so as to flood the entire area between the two moats.
The gardens at the bottom of the rock were amazing. The climb was brilliant with breathtaking views. It was a great time to do it as well as it wasnt too hot (although we were all sweating buckets!) and there was hardly anyone else around. the climb was scary in places as consisted of metal steps just stuck into the wall! But i think this just added to its 'charm' really. on the way there were lots of monkeys! and boy were they cheeky. these guys really arent shy and poke and prod you and dont back off! all fun and games until they bare thier teeth and someone gets rabies! after a very dehydrated walk back down (what kind of idiot forgets to take water with them when doing a 2 hours uphill walk in the sun?!) we headed back to dambulla for lunch and a bit of a chill out.
In the afternoon we headed off to the cave temples of dambulla. when we got there they had put the price up by over twice as much. this was quite annoying and someone cringe-worthily said 'we are here trying to help your country and your not being fair to us!'.
This made me question how much i am actually 'helping' when i am gawping at road traffic accidents in etu or desterilising equipment by mistake!! i am starting to doubt my title of volunteer, and think it should be student. but i guess i am helping in some ways - at least they now know not to let an untrained english girl near sterile equipment!
anyway we paid the fee and headed to the temples. it was a 10 minute uphill walk to the temples and when we got there we had to take our shoes off. it had been raining and it was really refreshing walking through warm puddles! a bit about the cave temples:
Of all the cave temples in Sri Lanka, the five caves that form the Raja Maha Vihara at the village of Dambulla, by far is the most impressive. Dambulla is about 12 miles south west of Sigiriya, on the Matale-Anuradhapura Road. The largest cave carries some 48 statues of Lord Buddha alone, with statues of some Hindu gods, (Vishnu and Saman). The statues of the Hindu gods date back to the 12th century, when Hinduism took root in Sri Lanka and started influencing the arts. The history of the caves themselves dates back to the 2nd or 1st century B.C., when King Valagam Bahu who was escaping the invading army that drove him out of Anuradhapura, took refuge in these caves.
the cave temples were so beautiful. it was amazing to think how long they have been there for. every inch of the walls are covered in elloborate paintings which give them such a magical feel, and you forget you are acutally in a cave.
next we headed down and went back to the hotel, had a chill, played some poker! i did exceptionally well, its a shame we weren't playing for money :( then the 16 of us decended on a rotty shop down the road for some tea. i dont think they knew what had hit them, a little local cafe getting invaded by 16 westeners! but we had a great dinner of fresh rotty and they must have done a roaring trade that night! after this we went back to the hotel and played some daft games like guess who celebrity blind date and charrades! then everyone headed off to bed, ready for another early start!
the next day i woke up feeling a bit glum. i dont know what it was, maybe it was tiredness or the fact it had been raining all night but i didnt feel very chirpy at all. We headed off to anuradhapura.
Anuradhapura, is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.
the mini bus drivers too us to various temples.. the first few looked near enough exactly the same and - i'll be honest - werent really that interesting. i was feeling really glum as it was raining and i was tired and not interested, and also finding it a bit difficult with the other volunteers as they all already know each other. i didnt want to intrude on their friendships but also didnt want to be by myself so it was hard. the next place we went to was loads of a ruins and a big pond and it was so nice. it was really magical and romantic, it was a shame i was by myself and it was raining! next we went to to giant dagoba that was be restored and all around the bottom of the temple there was a human chain of sri lankans passing bricks along. they were all so happy and having so much fun there were old ladies and young people and everyone! this really cheered me up and i thought right i am going to get out of this stinking mood! next we went to an amazing giant dagoba that was infested with 2 different species of monkeys! it was crazy. all these people were laying down thier offering in front of buddha is a very spiritual way, and along would scamped this monkey and eat it! it was hilarious how little respect they had - but why would they? next we saw a shrine around a very famous old tree but didnt have any explanation of what it was, so i didnt really find it that interesting.
after a brilliant buffet lunch we set off on our journey back. it took 8 hours. it was s***. nuff said.
woke up this morning feeling very very tired indeed. someone woke me up this morning about 6 sweeping. sweeping! if it not the insane dogs howling at dawn it some insane person sweeping outside my window at 6 oclock in the moring! weird.
i headed over to the hospital and went to etu. i had a fantastic day. there was a nurse from a different ward who i instantly made friends with and she taught me stuff and was happy for me to help her. and all the other nurses are great, so happy and willing to show me stuff. it really is a great place to be. today was a mixed bag of patients, all really interesting stuff. and they are letting me help loads! ok its only small simple stuff but its great to be included and trusted. and i am filling up my notebook with new information. the nurse i made friends with has asked me to go to her ward for an afternoon before i leave which i thought was so nice! i will have to check with Mrs A first though - dont want to make that mistake again!
anyway apologies for the length of this entry but hey iv got a lot to say and no1 to say it to now jills gone! must go late for dinner!
oh yeh one of the males nurses told me im getting fat of all the rice and curry! cheeky git! maybe i will have a few less popadums at dinner though...
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