January 29: Sigiriya Village Tour

The beat goes on in Sri Lanka as we enjoyed another wonderful day.  First, we got up early and headed to Pidurangala Rock Temple.  It was a pretty intense hike up with the humidity but well worth the effort — excellent leg and butt workout.  Before we even got to the climb, we saw some amazing blue birds along the crocodile infested waterway.  It was quite cloudy when we got to the top — so much so that we couldn’t even see Sigiriya Lion Rock.  We met a cool couple from the US — actually the guy was from LA and women from the Netherlands.  They were quite the striking couple.  Eventually, the clouds/fog lifted enough to get a picture of Sigiriya Lion Rock — absolutely beautiful views from this wonderful vantage point.

From here, we made it back to the hotel, packed and headed to another hotel in the Sigiriya area.  The Hideaway Hotel was stunning with beautiful views of the rice fields.  

After unpacking and a quick workout, we headed out for a village tour.  It was definitely one of the absolute highlights for us.  It started with a carriage ride pulled by a bull — bumpy but fun.  Next, we took a spectacular boat ride to the village with views of rice fields and Sigiriya Lion Rock.  The guide made me a hat out of a Lily pad and a necklace for Kimchi out of a flower.  

The family we visited with was awesome — the wife in particular was incredible. She cooked an incredible meal — the best in the last three months.  The dried fish and coconut dish were out of this world. The coconut dish had fresh finely grated coconut, onion, chili peppers and lime — perfect combination of sweet, tangy and soar.  She was an absolute whirling dervish.