Off the Grid in Sri Lanka

I was slightly offline for a few weeks - here's a few shots from the trip.

Stop one - Aluthgama

Huge monitor lizard on premises.

Was that a wild lizard?  Yikes.

Took a tuk tuk to this nearby temple:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kande_Vihara

nan said:
Was that a wild lizard?  Yikes.

 yes, fortunately they move fairly slowly and tend to keep to themselves.

jamie said:
I was slightly offline a for a few weeks - here's a few shots from the trip.
Stop one - Aluthgama
Huge monitor lizard on premises.

 Love monitor lizards - very cool photos Jame! 

Wonderful @jamie, I was once on my way to buy a ticket to Sri Lanka and learned that a civil war had erupted. My goal was to see a festival in Kandy at the Temple of the Tooth. I believe that's the year I went off to Morocco.

Thanks Bets.  

They had a war that ended in 2009.  Currently the president just ousted or tried to oust the prime minister - so things are not perfect. 

Here's a few pics waiting for the train to Galle - ended up calling for a van - train was running late - also the trains are pretty crowded so you probably would need to stand.

Students marching in a school yard cross the way.

Galle is pretty foreigner and tourist friendly.  When you venture a little out of this area - it looks more like the last picture.

Galle is a city on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. It’s known for Galle Fort, the fortified old city founded by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. Stone sea walls, expanded by the Dutch, encircle car-free streets with architecture reflecting Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. Notable buildings include the 18th-century Dutch Reformed Church. Galle Lighthouse stands on the fort’s southeast tip.

Nice.

Kandy and Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

At dusk - thousands of crows take roost.  The sound alone is pretty intense, we also used an umbrella just in case.

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Riverside hotel view.  I'm guessing it's not the rainy season.

Botanical Garden in Kandy - bamboo, palm trees, monkey and bats.

Here's a bit of a close up on the bats - I have to look up what type they were - but they were pretty large.

Yikes, those bats are HUGE!   

jamie said:
Botanical Garden in Kandy - bamboo, palm trees, monkey and bats.

 Fantastic portrait of the monkey and I love the photos of the bats.

Beautiful shots of the Temple of the Tooth. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya pronounced see-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 metres (660 ft) high.

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close up of the lion claw at the base

Damn !

Any Bob Kraft sightings?

amazing pics. Thanks for sharing them!  Love the fruit bats!

A few shots from the temple close to Sigiriya.

Thanks Jamie, Sri Lanka is high on our list of places we want to visit. Will be sharing with spouse.  Great photos!

looks amazing

A few more days to go - here's the elephant safari.  Hard to capture it completely, but traffic jams weren't what I expected on such a trip.  Once elephants are spotted, you have around 20 safari cars surrounding 2 elephants,

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Perfect pictures of the elephants!

More steps!  Dambulla Cave Temple

Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses.         

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