By Alan Ho Chok Chan
Survey
First, a survey.
How much weight have you gained from the trip ? Those who said they have not gained or lost weight either must be lying or need to have their stools tested for ova and parasites.
I have gained 3.5kgs, which is not surprising because my usual breakfast is a cup of black coffee plus a slice of toasted bread with peanut butter.
I ate like an elephant at Aliya : a two-egg omelette ( inspired by Stephen ! ), croissant plus a selection of breads with 3 types of cheeses : Roquefort ( blue ), Camembert ( runny centre ), and a Dutch hard cheese. All savoury, all fat-laden. Then there’s fried rice with chicken curry, fruits and cakes galore, apple crumble which I could not resist, all washed down with 3 cups of coffee !
Sigiriya
Small wonder I needed walking aid ascending the steps of the Lion Rock.
At a distance majestic, closer however, it is just an ugly toad squatting, warts and all. The cliff face is a mishmash of boulders, granite, sandstone haphazardly thrown together by its Maker in a rush job, variegated in colour ranging from dark brown to ochre, to slate grey, eroded here and there, with metal ladders, nettings, wirings and scaffoldings crisscrossing it every which way you looked.
It was like a construction work in progress, resembling nothing of what you read about, and there were hardly any greenery on its surface.
There were some narrow passages and crevices to negotiate, which passed for choke points or killing fields against an assaulting enemy force.
After about 15 minutes of relatively easy climb, we reached a ledge of rock, with an opening leading into a long ,shallow passage that passed for a cave, the walls of which were filled with frescoes of 500 naked maidens frolicking with kings, fiddling with floral bouquets, presenting food,or taking part in religious rites. Unfortunately many frescoes were defaced or totally destroyed ( ? by the monastics who took over the caves after demise of the king : how to meditate in front of bare tits ? ). I guess this was the conjugal chamber of the king Kashyapa-playboy and murderer of his father.
So the Lion Rock served the purpose of a fortress as well as a pleasure palace.
Having visited the frescoes of the maidens on the west- facing cliff, another ladder led the visitor down to an open terrace, facing a cave the mouth of which was supposed to be part of a sculpted Lion’s head, which collapsed years ago. Instead, what remained were two massive paws.
More than half the group chose to sit and rest under the shades of a few trees here. The intrepid ones, led by fearless leader Lim, continued the ascent to the summit, completed in about 20 mins, and here what remained were the ramparts of the palace, a rather small one I surmised, but it did have the foundations of bedrooms, audience room with a stone throne, and a swimming pool big enough for the king, and maybe three or four of his harem ?
The vista though, was impressive and unimpeded in all directions.
Discovered in 1831 by a British major of the 78th Highlanders, Sigiriya is considered to be
‘The most important site of urban planning in the first millennium ’. Well, maybe true for the three gardens in the grounds : the Water garden, the Boulder garden and the Terraced garden. And the system of underground cisterns and pipes, which still circulates the water in the pools, and some fountains I was told were still operational. Ingenious engineering.
Polonnaruwa
This is the most compact, organised temple/ palace complex so far, replete with slide show, printed pamphlets, and an English-speaking guide.
Polunnaruwa is the second most ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka, the first of course is Anuradhapura, established around 2nd or 3rd century BC.
You could stay in Polunnaruwa town and explore the palace and temple complex for weeks on foot, bicycle or the 3-wheeled tuktuk if you were a serious student of Theravada Buddhism. Just like in Borobudur you could spend a lifetime studying all stone carvings and murals carried on its 6 levels of platforms.
Our tour was only about 1-2 hours, so we really hardly scratched the surface. Suffice it to say we did a fast tour of the museum, scooted around the Parakramabahu temple complex, with its world-famous colonnades, four on each side of the entrance, that all self-respecting tourist with have his/ her picture taken for posterity ( not me ! ), the council chamber, which also functioned as the law court, ( wonder where’s the execution chamber ? Sri Lankan kings were ingenious in striking fear in opponents: execution methods include impaling on sharp sticks, disembowelling and making victims eat their body parts, crushing by elephants ! ), we also saw a 25 metre cesspool which reputedly was the royal swimming pool…
( end of part 4B )
Dr Alan Ho Chok Chan is a Paediatrician in private Family Practice. He also spends time golfing, swimming, playing tennis, wine tasting, playing guitar and singing. He is also a bibliophile and voracious reader.
