We got high and Matt Proposed.
To make the most of our last day of this amazing trip we got up at sunrise and went for a walk around Kandy lake. At 10.30 we were getting picked up by a taxi driver to take us on a 400km trip. This was a last day "Eff the budget!" moment and it meant we would spent the day in a luxury air conditioned taxi getting chauffeured around, instead of trains, buses and tuktuks. The destination was Sigirya Rock. This was one of our favourite places last time we visited and climbing the rock is awesome. The three hour drive there went smoothly...... Very smoothly as our driver didn't exceed 40kmph (25mph), didn't over take and reduced the car to a creep at any sign of an imperfection in the road (and there were lots!). The most nervous/careful driver we have had all year and we must say we prefer the white knuckle journeys more. When we arrived at the rock the weather was perfect, so we set off at a quick pace to beat the crowds to the top. It wasn't as scary as we remember and didn't seem as high. Although the suspended spiral steps and the metal steps bolted to the side of the rock face still got the heart/mind going. We made it to the stop in a rapid 20 minutes covered in sweat. The view was as vast as remembered. Our last taste of epic scenery. There was one more thing to do at the top and it was to take a photo on the last two steps to replicate an older photo from our last visit. The two steps are on their own right at the highest point of the rock. Char stood guarding the steps while Matt set up the camera. As Matt was walking to get into the picture something happened....
The whole reason for our trip to Sri Lanka was revealed as Matt dropped to one knee and popped the question. And guess what......She said YES!! And ......It wasn't too cheesy.
We sat there for ages with no one around in nirvana. Once all the monks started to arrive they ruined the vibe so we started our descent, along with the tales of the five rings.
Basically Char is very lucky as she has actually had five engagement rings that have all been lost over the course of the year. Matt's inital idea was was to buy a ring that loosely fit his little finger (the same size as Char's ring finger), keep it all year then present her it on our last day of traveling. Well.... The loose fitting ring idea soon became a bad idea as suncream, sea and swimming are a major part of backpacking and cause rings to come off. The sixth ring that Matt bought for his little finger was handmade and fit tightly so unfortunately that couldn't work. Fortunately Char has a very important ring that she hasn't been wearing and fits perfectly on her ring finger (Grandma Dots Present). This was the final ring that was presented, which actually made the moment more special. So in theory Char actually had 7 engagement rings (soon to be 8 once we get back to England). Lucky Lady.
The best thing was she didn't expect a thing.
We returned to our hired taxi for the expected two hour journey to the airport and was told by the driver it was six hours. Major Burn. This meant that we would arrive at our accommodation for the night till 10pm. We had splashed out on a swanky room too. At 11.30pm we finally got into bed after hours and hours of traffic jams and "safe" driving. The driver had his full beams on for about five hours as a safety pre caution which meant that every other driver coming the other way flashed him repeatedly or put their full beams on as they were passing. As a passenger this becomes funny, annoying then you see dots and then a headache and then you become partially blind.
M & C xxxx