Sri Lanka Trip - Day 5: Free Fish Spa

Day 5. 5th May. Anuradhapura -> Polonnaruwa

This was a travel and rest day. We need to recuperate after a few days of hectic schedule and inadequate sleep.

The journey from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa was about 3 hours. A long the way, there were a few road blocks. Passengers had to get off the bus to have their identification and bags checked. But some women and old folks (and 2 tourists from Singapore) stayed in the bus and the army personel would board the bus to check IDs and bags.

We checked into the Devi Tourist Home, which was a bit off the town center (more than 1 km away). Sheung decided on that because it was run by a Malay family -- but he did not get to practice to his Malay because they could hardly any. The fan rooms with attached bathrooms were clean and decent at Rs1000.

After a bit of rest, we rented bicycles from the guesthouse and cycled to the town for late lunch. We just walked into a "hotel" and asked if they had "rice and curry". I was lucky for all the dishes in the restaurant were vegetarian. They had a few pots of vegetables and curries. It's buffet-style: you get a plate and take what you want. They had dhal, jackfruit curry, a curry of some sort of gourd or cucumber, french beans, some greens and papadam. It was good and cheap. (The meal for 2 of us, including drinks were less than Rs500. For the vegetarian who might be interested, this is the "Dineth Hotel and Restaurant" along the main road just a few steps away from the turnabout).

I need to explain a little about the "hotel". We had found "hotels" everywhere, even in small towns. That was why on the first day, I felt confident that there should be hotels in Maho since I saw many "hotels", even in small one street towns, along the bus journey from Negombo to Kurunagela. But after a few days in Sri Lanka, we finally figured out that the "hotels" had no rooms. They were really just a restaurant. Some had the sign "xxx hotel", some "xxx hotel and restaurant". But they all do not have rooms. I tried to ask the locals why they were called hotel if they do not offer rooms. I was not able to get an answer. (It only occur to me to check the Lonely Planet later and under the section on "Sri Lankan English", it says "hotel - a small, cheap restaurant that doesn't offer accomomodation"). I suspect this was also a cause of miscommunication when we asked if there are cheap "hotels" when we were looking for accomodation.

Since this was a rest day, we decided to just check out a few places that do not require the Cultural Triangle ticket (we are reserving it for next day). After lunch, we went to the "Rest House Group" of ruins (they are behind the Polunnaruwa Rest House) which was by lake (Topa Wewa, it's actually a ancient man-made reservoir). The main ruin of interest is the Audience Hall, with a magnificent stone lion at the end of hall.

It is nice to cycle along the bund of the Topa Wewa to the southern monuments, the Potgul Vehera and Statue. Along the way, there is a dagoba surrounded by padi fields on one side and the reservoir on the other side. Many birds can be seen on little islets on the reservoir.

There is nothing particularly interesting about the Potgul Vehera, though a short walk from it is a much photographed statue of a man with a beard holding what is thought to be a book. The problem is that an ugly canopy had been built over it and it's difficult to take a nice photo without the ugly structure in it. (It is also not as huge as it appear in the photographs).

For the past few days, we had been bring bathing clothes along with us. This time, we were quite ready for a swim. The canal by the Archaelogical Museum (near the Royal Palace Group) looked inviting. But Sheung thought the currents seemed quite strong. (Water was gushing into the canal from the reservoir through a sluice gate). Along the bund, there were a few spot where some locals were swimming. However, we found the canal just a little north of Potgul Vehera the best location.

It was a popular spot with the locals as well. The water comes from the reservoir through the sluice gate. But the canal was not lined with concrete walls unlike the one near the museum. The current very strong near the sluice gate (quite dangerous as the rock there was slippery and was difficult to get a grip), but as the water spread out, it slowed down considerable.


Eagerly, I changed into my shorts and started to walk into the water when suddenly Sheung shouted "snake!" Then I saw this long dark-colored snake that was more than a meter long coming right straight at me. I simply froze there, thinking that it was going to attack me. Luckily, it just slitthered pass me, passing just 2 steps away from me. I did not know if that was a poisonous snake. I was just relieved that I did not get bitten anyway.

When I finally got into the water, I jumped when something snapped at the back of my feet. I quickly scrambled up some rocks. I thought there was another snake or turtle in the water that was attacking me. After a while, I realized that it was a fish! When I stood still, small little fishes would swim near and start nibbling at my feet.

I have seen people going for fish spa on TV, and here I was, having my first fish spa, and it was free! It was rather ticklish and it took a while to get used to letting the fishes nibble away the dead skin.

After a hot day in the day, it was really nice to swim in the water. Naturally, we were attracting quite a lot of attention from the locals. It was also nice to watch the villagers bring out loads of laundry. After washing their clothes, they would dip into the water and bathed themselves. There were some guys who were simply soaking in the water with a bottle a beer.

As it started to get dark, the birds started to gather around a few trees by the river. Soon the trees were simply full of birds.

This was something that was not originally on my itinerary and it was turning out to be a wonderful experience. I was having a nice dip in the water (to escape from the heat and to relax the tired muscles), getting a glimpse of local life, along with a free fish spa as well as some National Geographic bird-watching moments.

We lingered till sun set, when a thunderstorm approached. Thunders boomed and lightning flashed as dark clouds rolled in. We could smelled water in the air as we cycled back.

The storm clouds, however, made the sunset very spectacular. We barely made it back to the guesthouse as the rains fell. The rain did not last long and that was the only day of rain throughout our Sri Lanka trip.

We had booked dinner with the guesthouse and during dinner we meet 2 French girls -- the only other guests in the guesthouse. We had a nice chat with them. They had separately joined a group tour to Sri Lanka but many people canceled the trip and so they were the only 2 in the tour group (plus the driver).