It's really hard to get a Sri Lankan to smile in a photo.... Perhaps they just don't like cheese?! This was Manju's parents who ran the kitchen for his and his brother's hotel that were right next to each other. What a nice family - we have had so many nice conversations with the locals in Sri Lanka and we are really loving the choices we made on where to stay - mostly small, family owned hotels and guest houses.
We'd arranged for our driver from Horton Plains to come pick us up and drive us three hours south to the town of Udawalawe. On the way, we had a chance to stop at Buduruvagala - recommended by Manju and something we hadn't even heard of. Alright then!
The winding drive down though the mountains reminded us of the beautiful drive from Dalat to Nha Trang, though I'd have to say not bring sprayed with agent orange has allowed this area to show off its natural beauty to a greater degree. When we turned off the road towards the temple, I assumed it was pretty close to the road. The road kept going for a while, and I had sudden visions of the way-too-long diversion to Dambri Waterfalls on the way to Dalat. Phew, we hit the parking lot 10 minutes later. The place was empty, but when we got out and walked to the site, I was stunned.
I'm not sure if it was the serenity of the area (there were only three other people there), or the magnitude of the 16 meter tall standing Buddha, but I was really pleasantly surprised.
We could still see the stucco and even the orange paint that used to cover the main statue that was created over 1000 years ago!
Udawalawe is a national park that has been compared to some of the best African Safari parks. For us, it was a way to break up our trip to the south, and spending two nights and a day at a safari lodge sounded great to Beth and I. The kids want to give a little tour of the place via VLOG tomorrow, so I will let them cover that off, but suffice to say it is very comfortable, bordering on splurgy.
Abby was a little shocked as she exclaimed that we would have to pay 115 Rupees to use the pool. This gem of insight was from the "rate card" next to the PHONE. We really have to send these girls back to school....oh dear.....
Robin was pretty pumped that the hotel description online stated that "archery" was available.... How odd. So right after lunch, she goes and speaks to the hotel staff and before we know it, she's spent the entire afternoon by herself shooting arrows at a styrofoam target. Too funny.
Dinner. Oh man. This was the best meal we've had in Sri Lanka! Again, they asked us in the afternoon if we wanted dinner and we said "Yes, Sri Lankan please. Surprise us!". It was so good, and as you can tell, plentiful. Beth went so far as to say that the Okra curry on the bottom left was her favourite dish of the entire trip! (I've since called Yoshinoya and profusely apologized....the shame). The waiter even did magic tricks with our cards after dinner and he has promised to teach us all tomorrow so we can "teach Canadians when we get home"...lol.
We have a very early start tomorrow so the kids and Beth were in bed and asleep by 9:30. G'night!
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