Day #2 in Sri Lanka was even more exhausting (but just as exciting) as Day #1. Remember that we had arrived at the Colombo Airport at 5:30 AM after 30+ hours of travel, then spent most of that first day driving and walking around Anuradhapura. When we got back to our hotel, we were totally drained. Maybe that's why we couldn't figure out how to turn out all the lights in our room without also turning off the AC. (We had one of those set-ups where you put your key in a slot to turn on the electricity in the room.) It was far too hot to sleep without AC, so we chose the lesser of two evils and left the lights on all night. Luckily, we had our eye masks from our flight, but even with that relative darkness and our complete exhaustion, we had a very fitful night of sleep.
We just laughed at this sign. What could monkeys do to us?
Well, while the monkeys might not get us, this mountain might. We had NO IDEA what we were in for--a tortuously long and hot ascent to the top of this rock along with thousands of other pilgrims. How bad can 650 feet of vertical climb BE?
We had arranged to meet Sanjay at 6:00 AM, and we were wide awake when our alarm went off at 5:00 AM. (We hadn't showered in almost three days and needed a little extra time to get ready.) The hotel had packed a breakfast for us of meat and cheese sandwiches and fruit, but I was feeling a little sick to my stomach (heat exhaustion? crazy traffic? something else?) and didn't really eat any of the breakfast.
At 7:30 AM we were in line to buy tickets to climb Sigiriya, or Lion Rock, our second UNESCO World Heritage Site in two days.
Bob had left his hat at one of the stupas in Anuradhapura on the previous day, and all I had brought was a baseball cap, so when we saw vendors selling these coconut leaf hats, we bought two, forgetting that we were in a place where we were expected to bargain. I'm sure we made the seller's day.
The area around the ticket office was cool and quiet:
We just laughed at this sign. What could monkeys do to us?
Well, while the monkeys might not get us, this mountain might. We had NO IDEA what we were in for--a tortuously long and hot ascent to the top of this rock along with thousands of other pilgrims. How bad can 650 feet of vertical climb BE?
Um, pretty bad. Especially after three days with no sleep, a morning with no breakfast, and intense heat and humidity.
