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Day 18- 153 Buddha statues

So the flight yesterday was literally the most awful plane ride ever. There was turbulence like I had not felt before. There seemed to be some tour group, made up of some elderly people. I am not quite sure what they were doing but it was quite obvious that they aren’t frequent flyers. Now I don’t want to sound rude or disrespectful however when flying I like to put my headphones in and zone out. I do not expect to have to climb over someone to get in my seat because either they can’t or don’t want to walk (I’m not quite sure how this would work in the case of an emergency). I was more than happy to assist switching the in flight entertainment on and changing the language for them. However I do not expect to have to open their food for them. I also do not expect to have food and drink spilled down me. I was not happy as I was eating them trying to take food from my plate. This progressed as the flight went on to the woman next to me trying to grab at my bag. She then also started telling me about her three sons and how I should go visit her in very broken English (I’m not one to talk, it’s amazing she could muster what she did). I think the final straw came when I was asked for money. Headphones in and ignoring then climbing over her at the end of the flight to get off as quick as possible was my plan. After this I have never been so happy as to see a transfer with my name on a card. 

The first thing I noticed about Sri Lanka. The roads. There is not nearly the level of chaos. Yes people overtake each other however they more or less stick to the correct side of the road. There is also a reduction in the amount of road congestion. 

Sri Lanka is also incredibly green with lots of grassy looking hills. The vibrant greens are a welcome change after the cities I have been used over the last few weeks. 



Our first stop was the rock temple which is a world heritage site in Dambulla. To get there you have to climb the stairs. Alongside the temple there are also some beautiful views. There are 5 caves in total. 





The insides have been well preserved with archeological teams restoring the paintings and statues as required. 
There were 153 statues of Buddha in varying poses. It was an absolute work of art.










At the bottom of the hill where the caves is based is a giant white Buddha which is a sharp contrast to the rock behind. It was a stunning way to start Sri Lanka.




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