# My Sri lanka pics (loads!)



## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

Just got back from Honeymoon; here's the pics of the Sri Lanka leg. Hopefully this will provide relief from all of the 'What do you associate?' threads cluttering up this section at the moment. I wish more people would share their photos instead of starting inane threads

Colombo:





































Pinnuwela Elephant orphanage





































Washing in the river










Bathtime for 80 elephants










Wrestling on the riverbank










Moi. Looking a bit 'off'... malaria tablets, hangovers and long car journeys don't mix










Shperherding the elephants back to the orphanage










Kandy: Botanical gardens



















Roosting Fruitbats



















Looking across the ancient capital of Kandy... Its a beautiful city set amidst soaring forested mountains and arranged around an artifical lake created by one of the old Kings of Kandy










Cultural show: A selection of dance and song from around the island





































All rise for the National Anthem...










Fireating / walking





































Temple of the Tooth, kandy... This contains one of Buddha's teeth:























































View from the hotel in Kandy (The Citadel)... The men are dredging for building sand










Hindu Temple, Matale










Dambullah... The garish modern entrance to the Golden temple










Saggy-titted monkey en route to the temple










...And a lizard!










The temples; they are about a 100m climb up the hill behind the entrance... created in natural underhangs below the outcrop, hundreds of Buddha statues are crammed into the caves with every available surface of rock intricately painted... Magnificent!



















One of the several caverns... giving an idea of the scale



















The caverns are enclosed by these buildings; access is gained through them










Itchy face










Family portrait










The big statue at the entrance










Minneriya National Park... Home to herds of hundreds of wild Asiatic elephants

Painted Storks










A new arrival










Eagle










More storks










Lots of arses










More elephants... Some buffalo in the background










Another baby, and a rare tusked Asian Elephant... Only 6% of Males and no Females are tusked (unlike the African)










Sigirya: One of Sri Lanka's most famous cultural monuments. A 200m granite monolith rising above the plains surrounded by the ruins of an ancient city and crowned with the 1,600 year old King's palace










The water gardens at the base... When it rains the 1,600 year old decorative fountains still work!










The first few of 1,200 steps to the summit










...Further up...










Halfway up, in an underhang on the rock face, are these exquisite paintings 1,600 years old



















They depict some of the King's concubines, imported from around the world... Africa:










...And India (left) and Mongolia (right)










Near the summit now... These lion's paws were once part of a whole lion's head and paws, you walked towards the palace on the summit through the mouth!



















Even at the top there were monkeys running around oblivious to the 200m drop below










Don't look down!










Polonnaruwa... A complex of numerous ruined temples and stupas in another former capital



























































































Bad posture!










A giant brick stupa


















































































I hope you enjoyed the quick tour... Sri lanka is a beautiful and fascinating country, I'd like to go back and see more of it. The Maldives leg to follow...


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

Nice photos Tubeman, thanks for taking the time to post them :crazy:

Glad to see that the raft of "Your impressions of [insert place]" threads are of much more value on the Travel & Geography section than someone bothering to share their photos of travels.


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## jbkayaker12 (Nov 8, 2004)

I guess you'll just have to post more pictures hehehe and thanks for sharing them here.



Pearl of the Orient Seas - The Philippines


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## sjwmoore (Feb 17, 2005)

I look forward to the maldives pics- which island(s)?


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## Sinjin P. (Jul 17, 2005)

Thanks for bringing us with you on your trip Tubeman... Sigh, when can I have a world tour?


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

sjwmoore said:


> I look forward to the maldives pics- which island(s)?


Kanahura (One & Only)

I'll post the pics this evening hopefully... I'd better turn off the PC in a sec as a thunderstorm's coming!


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## jlshyang (May 22, 2005)

Tubeman said:


> Kanahura (One & Only)
> 
> I'll post the pics this evening hopefully... I'd better turn off the PC in a sec as a thunderstorm's coming!


Wow, One & Only is one of the best resort in Maldives isn't it? 

Is this the place where they built an underwater restaurant?

Glad you enjoyed Sri Lanka despite the ongoing violence last month. I cut-short my Sri Lanka, Maldives trip so i went straight to Maldives. 

I went to Summer Island Resort and Veligandu Island Resort while in Maldives.


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

jlshyang said:


> Wow, One & Only is one of the best resort in Maldives isn't it?
> 
> Is this the place where they built an underwater restaurant?
> 
> ...


Yeah, there's 2 One & Onlys... Kanahura and Reethi Rai... Kanahura was excellent; fantastic service, beautiful villas, and extremely high-quality food... No underwater restaurant; maybe that's in Reethi Rai.

I was totally undeterred by the renewal of fighting in Sri Lanka... Its practically all confined to the far north and Westerners never have been a target... It would be a very bad political move by LTTE to kill a tourist.

Security is visibly very tight too: roadblocks, checkpoints, metal detectors and body searches everywhere. I certainly didn't feel the slightest bit unsafe; the warmth and welcome of the Sri lankans (of all ethnicities and faiths) more than compensates for the minimal risk of terrorism. Its probably far safer than London or New York.


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## Fusionist (Jul 7, 2004)

Nice photos Tubeman, thanks for taking the time to post them 

Glad to see that the raft of "Your impressions of [insert place]" threads are of much more value on the Travel & Geography section than someone bothering to share their photos of travels.


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## Fusionist (Jul 7, 2004)

we want more Sri Lanka pics 

street scenes, clubs, beaches, Colombo and more !!!

WE DEMAND MORE !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## panamaboy9016 (Mar 29, 2006)

*Lol..*

Nice pictures, do you have some of the city and night life?


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

panamaboy9016 said:


> Nice pictures, do you have some of the city and night life?


No... Colombo was more of a staging post for Kandy and The Cultural Triangle. Our guide drove us around the main sights in Colombo, but we didn't really get out and explore much. I always feel uncomfortable taking pictures of people in the street, the Bazaars looked interesting though.


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

The places I visted on the map:

Colombo - Kandy - Matale - Dambullah - Habarana - Polonnowara


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## Effer (Jun 9, 2005)

Nice pics, next time you go make sure to visit Point Pedro.


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

Nice pics, the fauna looks impressive!


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

virtual said:


> Nice pics, the fauna looks impressive!


Thanks 

I had no idea it was possible to still see hundreds of wild Asiatic Elephants so easily... Minneriya National park reminded me of Safari in Africa (just minus the Lions and Giraffes!).


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## Fusionist (Jul 7, 2004)

Effer said:


> Nice pics, next time you go make sure to visit Point Pedro.


why ?? :uh:


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

Tubeman said:


> Thanks
> 
> I had no idea it was possible to still see hundreds of wild Asiatic Elephants so easily... Minneriya National park reminded me of Safari in Africa (just minus the Lions and Giraffes!).



Are they endangered or more or less protected?

(or maybe something in betwee, obviously)


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

eklips said:


> Are they endangered or more or less protected?
> 
> (or maybe something in betwee, obviously)


Quite well protected I think, it's just there's not much habitat left for them to roam around in. Minneriya is one of the last strongholds of the Sri Lankan subspecies, and one of the last strongholds of the wild species in general.


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

Nice pics... I love the monkeys hairdos - they remind my of John Malkovich in Joan of Arc 

http://www.kinoweb.de/film2000/JoanOfArc/pix/joh4.jpg


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