Polonnaruwa (8-11)

Sunday I traveled from Habarana to Polonnaruwa, which took an hour; so I arrived at the homestay at 12:15. The owner is a 40-something-year-old single woman. She was interested in the fact that I, too, have not married. However, she thinks it is better to be married because there are problems being single, but she hasn’t found a man to marry yet.

Since, like Arunadhapura, tickets to the archaeological site are good for only one day, I didn’t have much to do on Sunday. When I was planning, I thought I could see part of the site one day and part the next, but I was not willing to pay for two tickets. So I relaxed in my room and on the comfortable couch on the patio for a couple hours. Since the temperature was in the mid-90’s with 78% humidity, resting was good. I seem to find the travel days wearing even though I’m not traveling far and it only takes two or three hours to get from place to place. If I start being active in the morning, I’m fine all day, but the idea of starting to be active in the afternoon when it’s so hot is not appealing. Therefore, I often end out not doing much after I arrive. It’s good that I planned travel days to be just that.

After a couple hours, I went out to see if I could find an outlet adapter. Sri Lankan outlets are unique—three holes in a triangle with the top one being larger. Other guesthouses have had outlets that are adapted for many types of prongs or have given me an adapter when I asked. The woman at this homestay commented that it’s the same problem every day and said I could use the one she uses after she is finished in the evening. I found and purchased an adapter only to find out that its triangle of prongs was too big for the one in my room. It was for 15 amps and the outlet is 5 amps. The shop didn’t have the smaller one but let me return the one I’d purchased.  

The woman drew a map of how to get to the museum and lake, which was easy. On the way, I walked along the canal for a bit. People were bathing. 

At the lake, I noticed an archaeological site—Island Park—that didn’t require a ticket; so I walked around there for a while. It was good to start seeing Polonnaruwa’s ancient city. It has a bathhouse, a recreation area, 

and an audience hall. 

The audience hall has a huge lion statue. 

A group of Sri Lankans were sitting on the walls, and a man came to me and asked me to take a photo of his daughter. A few boys came along, too. I expected him to ask me to send it to him like the other people had, but he didn’t. He was happy that I’d taken a photo and liked it when I showed it to him. 

The boys cracked up when they looked at their photo. I haven’t seen that reaction for a long time; so it was fun.

When I was near the intersection, a tuk tuk driver had asked where I was going. When I said I was walking, he pointed ahead and told me that there is a wood carving workshop there. After I walked around the ruins, I looked that direction, but when didn’t see anything, I decided that it would be better to explore on Monday when I had a bicycle. Then the driver showed up and said he’d take me there for free. OK. He lived in New York for 18 months or years; I couldn’t hear clearly. Not surprisingly, the wood carving workshop is a sales shop, as is often typical of such places. One man was painting an elephant, and I could see where others carved sometimes. But, as is often the case, it is mainly for sales. The man emphasized that they can ship large items anywhere in the world. After I walked around the shop, the driver took me back to the intersection. This is probably a shop where he would get a commission if someone purchases something.

On the way back to the homestay, I bought some fruit, juice, and yogurt. The man at the fruit shop proudly told me that his fruits have no chemicals. After relaxing some more, it was time for dinner. The woman said she could only cook fried rice or fried noodles because her kitchen is being remodeled. (It’s a mess and looks like it’s been that way for quite some time.) Since I didn’t want either, I went out. The first restaurant I’d seen was closed, and the next one had only fried rice dishes, using three kinds of rice. I didn’t feel like walking farther; so fried rice with vegetables it was. I wasn’t able to eat much due to the heat, I think, but it did the job.

Monday morning I hit the road on my bicycle at 8:15. First stop was the museum where tickets are sold. In addition to a collection of artifacts from the archaeological site, it has models of what the buildings might have looked like. These were helpful.

The road through the archaeological site is mostly one way. After seeing all the sites, you exit in a different place and then return to the main road. It’s only a few kilometers long, but with stopping to see the sites, I spent seven hours there. Polonnaruwa was the capital city after Anuradhapura, its peak time being in the 11^th to 12^th centuries. 

Buildings are brick. Most shrines and the stupas are Buddhist, but there are also several Hindu shrines. There is a large monastery. I heard a guide say that 5000 monks lived there. In one area, the outer walls are lined with trade stalls.

One building contains the remains of a large standing Buddha. It was interesting that people maintained quiet in that building, speaking in whispers.

Gil Vihara is a special site that is included in the entrance ticket. It is a large rock cliff in which several Buddha images have been carved. 

Since the rock is striated, I enjoyed seeing the continuing lines from the rock in the background to the Buddha images. 

There are three large Buddhas—sitting, standing, and reclining—on the sides of a smaller one in a carved out cave. This is where most people put flowers and prayed. I found it interesting that the eyes are closed, not just almost closed like they are in Buddha images in other countries.

Some flowers were put on the altar in front of the reclining, which is called recumbent here, Buddha. A monkey sat on the altar eating the centers from the lotus flowers. He was not hesitant like the ones I saw in Arunadhapura.

The last site is a huge image house with painted walls 

and a large standing Buddha. 

The painting is faint, but once my eyes adjusted I could make out figures in several places. The building is being renovated and is completely covered with scaffolding.

The early sites had a lot of venders selling various items. They were a bit pushy. I ended out doing my part to support a couple of them, though. One woman had small, metal items and was quick to notice that I had glanced at them. I ended out buying two—an elephant and a Ganesh—from her. Later, when I was having a coconut, a man convinced me to buy two more—a Buddha and a Hindu goddess. He was not pushy and his price was lower than what I ended out paying the woman. She was unhappy with what she got, and he was happy. Pricing is always a mystery.

For dinner I went to a restaurant on the main road in the other direction. It is a curry buffet with 18 different curries. I chose the vegetables only option. I thought about adding a piece of chicken, but when the man put a spoonful of 13 different curries around the rice, I knew the chicken would be too much. The quantity was just right for my meal. Curries included lentils, cabbage, pennywort/spinach, breadfruit, pumpkin/squash, green beans, coconut sambol, beets, potato and others I don’t remember.

Tuesday morning before leaving I went to the seamstress I’d bought a pair of pants from to ask her to sew the seam of the another pair of pants. She did. My other reward for going out was market day. Since I always enjoy markets, I was really happy to encounter that. On the way back, I walked through the food market. Many of the vendors smiled after I took a photo.

People: Sri Lankans come in all sizes and shapes. Skin shades are dark and darker, but they don’t seem to be obsessed with having lighter skin. I’ve seen only a few women using umbrellas in the bright sun. I’ve been seeing middle class or lower middle class people, not upper classes, which may make a difference in concern about skin color. I did notice that people on billboard advertisements are light skinned. People look at me cautiously, some with curiosity. I think they aren’t accustomed to seeing many foreigners, especially older ones. When I smile and nod, most will smile back. Children around age ten are the most openly curious. They stare and some will speak a greeting. From a distance they wave and say “hello” or “hi.”