good sense to me. Those buggers are
big, and the heat made them what
Rohan called “cranky”. We had a
chance to see just how big they are
a little later when we came across a
pair of domesticated elephants being
scrubbed in a river.
Sigiriya is a 200 metre high rock
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by the remains of a palace (or a
monastery) and surrounded by
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The climb is a bit of a job (do it in
the morning before it gets hot) but
the effort is well worth while, both
to see the amazing wall paintings
and to get an idea of the engineering
effort expended here, back in the
5th Century. I agree with the locals
who call it one of the wonders of
the world. There is a chance that it
may be closed to tourists, so climb it
while you can!
Next morning we allowed ourselves
time; our day’s destination was the
ancient capital ofAnarudhapura, not
far away to the north. Rohan still
wanted to get there early, and once
we had arrived I understood why:
Anurahapura holds a remarkable
number of historic ruins and
temples, including the tallest stupa
(one of those semi-circular domes
with a small tower no top) in the
world. I got to see people going to
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praying; a wonderful opportunity. We
had dinner with another of Rohan’s
school friends and his family. They
own a Yamaha shop, and discussing
the differences and similarities
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the evening. It seems that there isn’t
really all that much difference!
The largest capacity bikes allowed
to be registered in Sri Lanka are
400s. Anything larger, according to
one grinning local informant, was
seen by the police as a threat to their
monopoly on power with their 600cc
Yamaha police machines. This was
why Rohan and I were riding 350cc
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Don’t worry if you bring your own
bike; it doesn’t seem as if temporary
imports are restricted.HOME RUN
And then it was all downhill, or south
anyway... we left Anuradhapura next
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had had time to get going – or maybe
I should say stopping – but the city
has fewer than 70,000 inhabitants
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bad. Then we were on the road toWearing it out
I am making the most of my Venting
Suit from BMW. In hot, humid weather
it is unbeatable and it looks pretty
good to – and that’s saying something
when I’m the model! My Shark
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boots did a great job too.the coastal city of Puttalam. Another
good run, with only one major
town and a few small places to
slow the ride.
A bike is the perfect way of getting
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yourself concentrating on the world
around you, and here you get to see
a lot of things – people working in
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hiding in the shade again –and lots
of other animals including monkeys.
The dogs have a lot of road sense,
although you see the occasional one
with three legs. Rohan said, “Of
course they have road sense. They’re
alive.” People spend a lot of their
lives by the roadside, either selling
stuff, walking along or working in
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and the kids wander to and fro from
school. Sri Lanka has a very high
literacy rate; in fact, education in
general is highly regarded.
The run south from Puttalam to
Colombo was the least interesting
part of the ride, with one town
snuggling up against the next and
very little evidence of anything other
than day-to-day commerce. Mind
you, it was still interesting to mix
it with the trucks, buses and ever-
present tuk-tuks; you would never
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We left the main road for a while
in Negombo and stuck to the coast
road, which was less crowded and
took us past some relics of Dutch
rule. Coming into Colombo we
followed a canal for a few kilometres
that also had touches of Dutch-ness.
No, don’t ask me what that means;
go and see it and you’ll know.
And then it was all over. It’s funny
to think that the place is no bigger
than Tasmania; it certainly seems
bigger with all those people. People,
by the way, who were unfailingly
friendly and welcoming, and who
didn’t ever hassle me the way they do
in some other countries.
Keep an eye on our pages,
especially TOP TOURS, for news
of Rohan’s organised tours. I can
guarantee already that you will have
a wonderful, and serendipitously
enjoyable time.Eating, as usual – it’s a
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suit. (Photo Rohan Sourjah)