Dambulla

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.