Motorbike vs Monsoon

Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura

It was a little disheartening this morning when we woke to the sound of rain. Even more so when our guesthouse owner informed us that it rains every morning until at least midday. I guess that's what you get when you knowingly travel to parts of the country that are currently being smashed by the monsoon.

Not wanting to sit around, and hoping the rain would ease by midday, we set off for Anuradhapura (one of the ancient cities) regardless. We were drenched in seconds. And as we passed countless rice paddies and what were either flooded plains, wetlands or lakes, the rain did not ease. Infact, as we approached Anuradhapura, it intensified. This made riding miserable. What made it more difficult was that our map is not waterproof and it was therefore being stored in a bag, under Chris' waterproof jacket which we couldn't get to unless we stopped and found shelter so he could remove his helmet, then jacket, then get to the bag.

Anuradhapura is the kind of place that, in the dry season, one could spend all day wandering or cycling around. There are a vast number of sites and ruins to see and they are spread over a large area. Today, we did not have that luxury as the downpour continued the entire time we were there. We spent an hour riding around in the rain, down muddy tracks, seeing a couple of ruins and stopping to let herds of cattle roam across the road and through the ancient ruins. Next we removed our shoes to visit Sri Maha Bodhi. This site is based around a tree which has grown from a cutting and is now the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world. It has been tended to for over 2000 years. The oldest tree is up on a platform we weren't allowed access to but we got to check out some of the many other bodhi trees that are there. Being such a sacred place, Chris' boardies were not appropriate and as such he was lucky enough to borrow a sarong and wear that. We also used this forced bare-footedness as an opportunity to wring out our socks and tip the water from our boots before starting the long ride home.

Rain drops stung our faces and the once dry road was now covered in water in places making us happy we had left when we did. We rode the entire 60km home without stopping. Arriving home, Chris was so stiff and cold that he literally couldn't bend to reach his feet. I had to remove his boots and socks for him, for the second time on this trip. We peeled off our wringing wet clothes and were thankful we'd paid to have hot water in our room.

I feel like I need to further emphasise just how rainy it was today. It is a monsoon. The raindrops cause huge splashes when they hit the puddles and it is just soooo constant. Just when you think it must ease soon, that the sky could not possibly hold any more water, it gets heavier. Small rivers form beside the road and the wetlands and the road seem to become one. Water laps at the walls of people's homes and yet they go about their business, construction workers and all, as they know that this will continue for months. We were wet for abut five hours and I had had enough.

After finding a place in Habarana that actually sells water at the same price as the "maximum retail price" specified on the bottle, we returned there for dinner. No luck. Fried rice and curry is a lunch thing. With trepidation we went back to the bakery that had originally ripped us off yesterday yet we were clever and asked the price of meals before ordering. This meant we claimed ourselves a kottu and a fried rice for a good price. A good price for Habarana that is. It is becoming more and more evident that the further North we travel, the spicier the food becomes. Up here, everything is coated in chilly. Whether it's because we're venturing further off the beaten track or whether it's just a location thing is yet to be determined.

The "maximum retail price" that is printed on things like bottled water, biscuits and even our mouth wash is quite handy, helping us ensure our getting ripped off is kept to a minimum. Claude also played a part here, giving us a list of items and how much they should cost us when we visited him in Baddegama.