There's a lot to see in Sri Lanka's northern provinces, but weighing up how much I was prepared to spend and how many days' worth of blogs I really needed to get out of this place (come on, let's get to the insanity of Tokyo already), I decided the only other thing I really had to see before heading back south was the Sigiriya rock fortress.
I didn't feel like relocating to another part of the country for a few days just for the sake of 90 minutes' sightseeing, so I took the unprecedented luxury travel option of making the couple of hours' journey by taxi. These five days in Anuradhapura I've basically had a driver, like I'm Lady Penelope or something, because after dealing with bus hassle in Kandy and rail closures in Colombo I really couldn't be bothered any more.
It wasn't too long ago that I explained how travelling hadn't changed me, but that was before South Korea reminded me about quality of life. Hopefully this is just temporary wastefulness brought about by a couple of weeks of higher travel stress than usual, otherwise this blog could serve as a chronicle of my transformation into a monster.
Speaking of monsters, check this place out. No wisecracking commentary this time, just enjoy the journey.
World Heritage City of Sigiriya,
Matale
Approach
Summer palace
Water garden
Inner city
Boulder garden
First ascent
Frescoes
Mirror wall
Second ascent
Lion's paw terrace
Final ascent
Palace complex
Summit