Sigiriya - Culture and great views

After a bus ride that was shorter than expected, we arrived in Sigiriya, or Kibissa. Our hotel was located on the outskirts of the 'city' near the main road towards Sigiriya Rock. There was supposed to be WiFi there, but our young owner explained that he had forgotten to pay the bill (or couldn't pay it ;)), but it was still very cozy and clean, and as compensation we got papaya juice. Additionally, there was a food court right across the main road where about 10 local women sold freshly prepared, mostly sweet pastries and fresh fruit juices. Even though we only spent two nights in Sigiriya, we became known there. On the day of arrival, we didn't have any plans, so we strolled towards Sigiriya Rock to check out the route for the next day. On the way, we passed a place that rents bicycles, which we rented for the evening and the next day. The next morning, we started early so that we could begin the ascent to Sigiriya Rock at around seven o'clock. On the way up, we saw the famous cloud maidens on the walls, the mirror wall, large hornet nests, and the lion paws, which were ultimately the main entrance all the way to the top. When we reached 200 meters (it was very windy), we had a wonderful view and could admire the ancient stone stairs and ruins. After the descent, we visited the museum and then went back to the hotel for a nap. After all, we wanted to climb the slightly smaller mountain next to Sigiriya Rock for the sunset and admire it from there. And so we did. Although the sky was a bit cloudy again, it didn't detract from the view at all! It looked beautiful.

Since we still had to return the bikes and the rice and curry from the rental place was so delicious the day before, we decided to have dinner there again. Even though they were actually closed that evening, they opened up just for us and quickly asked their mother what they still had for us in the house. In the end, we had coconut roti with dahl and chicken, and it was just as delicious as the day before. Our beer, which they always promote as 'we have', was again brought fresh from the wine store a few blocks away ;) and as if that wasn't enough, we were also transported home on the scooter in pairs. (apparently, there are wild elephants in the area, and it's best not to encounter them. And since we heard that from three different people, we eventually believed it. Fortunately, we didn't see any). All in all, it was a really successful day.