I returned to Kandy and to the little haven of the Kawasaki's. I'd promised to help Lily the cook prepare some food for the lunch they were hosting the following day. A few people were arriving to share a meal and discuss the comings and goings and politics of the country.
The home is always abuzz with activity and there are people always appearing to chat of discuss some matter. It's one thing I learned. The Kawasaki's connect people.
I had my first lesson in making cutlets. This seems like an odd name for the tasty little balls of veggies, but whatever they were called, I was happy to be learning and helping.  After a rather slow and awkward start, I got the hang of consistently rolling the mixture. Lily was kind and patient, although I felt she was ready at times to push me aside and take over.

The next morning Ken was busily cooking chili in his kitchen and Lily was sweating away in the outdoor kitchen deep frying and preparing the feast. I think there were about 10 people to feed including Ven. Lekdron (Ani-la), a Burmese nun and a Monk who all ate first and were the honoured guests. The variety of food was astounding and my little balls were a hit. I only got to try one.

Later that day, Ani-la had organised for us to visit a girls' home. She had a friend from Melbourne visiting and two other local ladies joined us. One worked for an International Engineering firm and the other, Takiri, was our driver. Women drivers are a rare thing in Sri Lanka and this one was exceptional not only in her driving and navigating skills, but also her capacity for kindness. She had bought three large cakes for the little girls to share for birthday celebrations. It was a joyous afternoon and I gathered from talking to Ani-la that there wasn't much joy in these little girls' lives. Abused and used by the men in their community, children as young as 11 have given birth to their brothers and sisters. Incest is illegal and the children are given refuge in the shelter until their court cases. Ani-la is doing what she can to give these little girls life skills and some light in their lives. Check out her website, Tara Lanka.

My second day at Welikande started early and Michael drove me down the hill to meet my trusty guide for the day, Asela. He is a sweet 23yo local with ambitions to be a tour guide or accountant. I'm not sure if he understands what an accountant does. Or maybe I misunderstood.
I was told it was a 15km walk and would take about 6hrs. We were back in four! Asela told Michael, that I walked too fast! We started low in the rice paddies and wound our way up the hills through little villages and small patches of jungle until we reached a big boulder rocky outcrop. We looked back over the valley that we'd walked through and it seemed so far away. Another hour and we were at our destination, a very pretty waterfall and swimming hole.
It was an easy walk back to the pick up point and I chatted with some local kids and ladies who were fascinated with my hair.

I'd heard about this place from a couple of young Germans while I was at Sri Pada. They said the scenery was gorgeous and it was a really special place. This seemed like pretty good advice, coming from people that were quite used to spectacular scenery. Another bus ride back to Kandy and then a very local bus to Teldeniya and the Knuckles mountain range.
Michael, the owner of Welikande Villas is English and his lovely Sri Lankan bride have owned the hiking centre for 7 years. It's set on top of a hill overlooking the Knuckles ranges, so called because the tops of the mountains look like a close fist. Yes indeed, it is a truly beautiful place.
My new friend the Venerable Lekdron (Ani-La) from Kandy decided to join me for one night and we spent a day checking out the area and visited a monastery set beside a river. The little kutis (mediation huts) resembled Hobbits' homes and they were all unique in their design. We both thought that they were a little too posh to be kutis. The surrounding countryside was peppered with tea plantations and little colourful villages.

Yolanda and I parted ways at Anuradhapura and headed off in different directions. She was in search of whales and beaches, I needed a mountain fix. I hopped a bus 2hr south to Dambulla, the home of the famous painted cave temples.
The stunning Royal Rock Temple complex rises up above the road just south of Dambulla town and only ten minutes walk from my hostel. My walk turned into 40 minutes, as the ticket office for westerners was located up the hill and on the other side of the complex. The walk wasn't wasted as I met the lovely Kalu, who I organised to take me to Sigiryi in the afternoon. Kalu told me his name means black in Sinhala and he called me Sudu, which of course means white.
I headed up the hill and after another mammoth stair climb I arrived at the temple. There are five separate caves in the complex and there's apparently about 150 Buddha statues and fresco style ceiling paintings. It's been a place of worship since the 1st century with the art being continually produced from that time. Truly awesome. The view from the hill over the surrounding countryside was just beautiful too. 

...apparently, I'm much more interesting. While sitting quietly, under the shade of a bodhi tree and admiring the workmanship of the stupa, a representative from this extended family approached me and asked if they could have a photo. Funny guys.

Next minute, I'm approached by another family who did the same. They were lovely, and the mum just wanted to hold my hand.

We spent the entire day visiting the sites around the sprawling complex. It covers around 40sq kms and we chose to hire a tuk tuk and driver for the day. It was way too hot to bike ride and too vast to walk. It's old. Really old. 6th century BCE to be exact. There are many remarkable archaeological and architectural structures: huge brick stupas, ancient pools and crumbling temples.

Indelibly etched in my memory, are the searing stones around the stupas where we had to walk barefoot. I hopped and skipped to shady spots and felt the soles of my feet sizzling on the fiery stones.