Tag Archives: sigiriya rock fortress

lankan chronicles: frescoes of sigiriya

Posted by rob on

a big chunk of rock.  a paranoid king.  a gateway of a carved enormous feline.  a mirrored wall and colored frescoes.  words that i can describe sigiriya, the lion’s rock fortress.

i visited sigiriya on a rainy day and can be considered as a lucky tourist to have the rain stop for a few hours for me to reach the top of the rock and down.  one of the things that fascinated me are the frescoes it has on its high walls – of colorful frescoes of half-clad women.

touching the paintings and flash photography is prohibited.  they are guarded from vandals, plus most of them are slowly deteriorating and like the other ones, will be gone forever.

the true identity of the ladies on these frescoes are not known – with their globular breasts, narrow hips, adorned head dresses and jewelleries, they might have been the chosen ladies of the king – or else they can be magical fairies. 🙂

oba ingreesi kathaa karanavadha

Posted by rob on

oba ingreesi kathaa karanavadha? is a sinhala phrase that means do you speak english?

everytime i travel to another country i try to learn or write into a piece of paper some important phrases that can be handy – say if i got lost on my way to my accommodation or which transport to take.  by experience, i have been lost in kuala lumpur and spent walking around for almost an hour trying to locate the hotel i was supposed to stay and have asked like six people who had directed me into the wrong way, haha!  or when i was in hanoi where i can no longer remember which street my hotel was for it became confusing and considering the dizzying motorbikes running around.

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my last solo travel was in india and though my lust for travelling never ceased, changes of my work schedule and some health issues prevented me from accomplishing my travel plans.  I wanted a trip to cambodia and had flight tickets to laos which i wasn’t able to use.  i told myself that year 2013 will not pass without me going somewhere.  this mid-october i will visit the wonder of asia – sri lanka.

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my itinerary includes visit to key cities of colombo, kandy and galle.  it is worth mentioning that one of my main goal is to see the sigiriya rock fortress.  i will be using airbnb on some of my accommodations and it will be a first for me to use their service.  airbnb is an online service that provides a platform for individuals referred to as “hosts”, generally private parties, to rent unoccupied living space and other short-term lodging to guests.

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i will be taking a flight from my workplace here in the mideast to colombo and train rides to kandy and galle.  so i think that sounds like – a plan.  hehe.  goodluck to me!