Monkey Village did not disappoint.
First of all, it's not actually called Monkey Village. There is a primate research center to study the large population of monkeys who have taken up residence inside the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
There are 3 kinds of monkeys:
The grey ones
The black faced ones
And the purple ones which I don't have any pictures of because they stay high in the trees.
We were happy just being able to get really close to the monkeys but if you sit quietly with your back to them then they actually come up to you and groom you.
After learning about the monkeys, we had a tour of the ruins in the ancient city. This would have been much better if it was not so hot and we had not already walked 2 miles looking at the monkeys.
This place is another UNESCO world heritage site. It's huge. Like Pompeii huge. There's the King's palace, audience hall, many Buddhist and Hindu temples and a monastery area large enough to house 3000 monks.
Pro Tip: It is forbidden to take a selfie with the Buddha
FYI: This is not the largest stupa in Sri Lanka.
Lunch was at Jaga Food, one of our best meals of the trip.
After lunch, we had a jeep excursion into one of the nearby national parks to see the elephants. There are about 6000 wild Asian elephants in Sri Lanka with 1500 living in this park. This one charged us because our jeep got too close to the baby elephants. We also saw jackals, deer, 2 vultures that looked like they belonged in a Looney Tunes cartoon and a bunch of birds which may or may not have been called a yellow-billed hootenannie.
Tomorrow, we have a relaxing day at our hotel before we travel to the tea country.
Here's a video of our villa
The food at this hotel also does not disappoint. From dinner last night, mussels, eggplant curry soup which was much better than it sounds, coconut mint sorbet, chicken and pork, chocolate mousse.
I leave you with the full moon in Sri Lanka. Until tomorrow...
First of all, it's not actually called Monkey Village. There is a primate research center to study the large population of monkeys who have taken up residence inside the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
There are 3 kinds of monkeys:
The grey ones
The black faced ones
And the purple ones which I don't have any pictures of because they stay high in the trees.
We were happy just being able to get really close to the monkeys but if you sit quietly with your back to them then they actually come up to you and groom you.
After learning about the monkeys, we had a tour of the ruins in the ancient city. This would have been much better if it was not so hot and we had not already walked 2 miles looking at the monkeys.
This place is another UNESCO world heritage site. It's huge. Like Pompeii huge. There's the King's palace, audience hall, many Buddhist and Hindu temples and a monastery area large enough to house 3000 monks.
Pro Tip: It is forbidden to take a selfie with the Buddha
FYI: This is not the largest stupa in Sri Lanka.
Lunch was at Jaga Food, one of our best meals of the trip.
This is authentic Sri Lankan rice and curry. This restaurant grows all the vegetables and fruits and sits right next to the rice paddies. Stopping here is a right of passage for travelers to Sri Lanka and visitors leave messages all over the walls, tables and chairs.
Tomorrow, we have a relaxing day at our hotel before we travel to the tea country.
Here's a video of our villa
The food at this hotel also does not disappoint. From dinner last night, mussels, eggplant curry soup which was much better than it sounds, coconut mint sorbet, chicken and pork, chocolate mousse.
I leave you with the full moon in Sri Lanka. Until tomorrow...
magical! that bungalow is sweet!!
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