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19th Feb – Pollonaruwa part of the Cultural Triangle. Today we went to a museum to see lots of statues of the person Buddha. There were lots of beautiful beads. Then we went to some Buddhist houses and palaces. The homes had lots of statutes of the Buddha around them. The statues were hundreds of years old. If you went inside you had to take your shoes and hat off to be respectful. If you wanted you could have a blessing and have some paint blobbed on your forehead (at Hindu temple also at same site). At night, when I went into the bathroom there was a frog behind the sink and massive spider on the wall. jonathan
Additions from Sophie – The Royal Palace is more than 800-years old. We cycled round all the temples and monuments, and it took about three hours. Besides taking you hat and shoes off, you are not allowed to put your back to the Buddha. In the evening, we went for a walk and a lady invited us into her garden. She was really friendly. She said the elephants came into her garden. They grow lots of vegetables in their gardens. Sophie
…. and from the parents – Daily temp 34degc, we drank 8-litres between us in 4-hours yesterday. It's the end of the monsoon so spectacular rainstorms break the heat in the afternoon. Animals seen wandering the local countryside include; gray mongoose, water monitor lizzard, iguana, turtles, tortoise, macaque and langur monkeys, giant and palm squirrels, and of course elephants.
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