I left my hotel quite early hoping to avoid my over keen landlord only to find after 3 minutes of leaving he came up along side me in his tuk tuk offering to take me to the bus station for 150 LKR! (he later came down to 100 LKR). I declined as I was sure I could jump on a bus for the few kms to Kaduruwela. Sure enough it wasn't too long before a bus did come along & I jumped on board & paid 10LKR!
My bus for Anuradhapura was already waiting at the station & was due to leave at 9:30am. I had 30 minutes to spare and so grabbed a tea and a rotti at the nearby cafe in the station. The fare to Anuradhapura was 190 LKR and the journey took about 3 hours (with a 10 minute stop along the way). It wasn't too packed & my backpack had its very own seat, although towards the end of the trip the bus became jam-packed & I did feel a little guilty!
My bus for Anuradhapura was already waiting at the station & was due to leave at 9:30am. I had 30 minutes to spare and so grabbed a tea and a rotti at the nearby cafe in the station. The fare to Anuradhapura was 190 LKR and the journey took about 3 hours (with a 10 minute stop along the way). It wasn't too packed & my backpack had its very own seat, although towards the end of the trip the bus became jam-packed & I did feel a little guilty!
It wasn't long after jumping off the bus (& looking through my guidebook) before I was approached by a tuk tuk driver offering to take me to his hotel (This meaning… 'he does not have a hotel, but he gets a little commission when he picks up tourists'!) He suggested the 'Lake View Tourist Guest House' which is where I’d planned to visit anyway! He said it would be 100 LKR to take me there, I said … ‘Surely if it is your hotel, then this service should be free’? He finally agreed to take me to the hotel free of charge. I checked in and was shown a large room, (my guidebook did say the rooms were big & kept clean although lacking character). The owner wanted 1200 LKR, but we agreed on 1000 LKR. I also arranged to rent a bike for the morning for a fee of 300 LKR.
As it was around 2pm & a little too late to explore the ancient city of Anuradhapura, I decided to catch a bus to Mihintale. I decided to walk through the town to the new bus station, so I could soak up some of the sights. I was really impressed at how modern the town looked & I am sure you could purchase whatever you wanted here. There were lots of roundabouts with statues & the town overall had a good vibe about, I really liked the place.
I had to ask around at the station regarding my bus, but it wasn't long before I was on my way & the journey took about 30 minutes (25 LKR). After arriving I bought some fruit from a lady at a stall before I headed up the 1850 steps to the Invitation Rock (with a load of students & school kids for company!). It was a great climb & very picturesque with the many frangipani trees lining the way. I was a little miffed at being asked to pay 500 LKR at the top though!
Mihintale is 12km east of Anuradhapura. It is a mountain peak & is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda & King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
1850 steps all the way to the top with frangipani trees lining the way
1850 steps all the way to the top with frangipani trees lining the way
Reclining Buddha at Mihintale
Aradhana Gala (Invitation Rock) - The summit, where Mahinda (the son of the great Buddhist emperor of India - Ashoka), preached his first sermon
Views from Invitation Rock
It was very windy at the top!
Renovation work being carried out on the Maha Dagoba built by King Mahadathika Mahanaga (7-19 AD) the base of which is 136 ft (41 m) in diameter
I made my way back down, & had to wait about 15 minutes before catching the bus back to Anuradhapura (about 6:30pm). Once back in town & whilst walking back to my hotel I bought myself a couple of egg hoppers with chili. I did actually ask for two & gave a 50 LKR note & wasn't given any change, but later realised I was given 3 egg hoppers, bargain! I can thoroughly recommend them!
I decided to have my evening meal at the hotel. I ended up sitting with the owner & his wife who cooked a really nice curry dish. We had a chat about many things including cricket & football (he was more of a fan of football than cricket!). He also gave me some areca nuts wrapped in a betel leaf to try (as I had mentioned I'd seen many Sri Lankans chewing these 'leaf packages' & wondered what they were?). It is supposed to act as a stimulate, but I didn't really notice anything! The meal, with a pot of tea & a large bottle of water came to 525 LKR, which I thought was quite reasonable considering I was eating in a hotel.
I later realised that the hotel only had 5 rooms (you would think more) and I was the only one staying here, but the owner did tell me he had another hotel nearby (with the same name?)
I later realised that the hotel only had 5 rooms (you would think more) and I was the only one staying here, but the owner did tell me he had another hotel nearby (with the same name?)
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