Our driver arrived on time at 10.30am and this time we had a minivan as we were now 4 people and a lot more luggage. We were on our way to Sigiriya for 3 nights and our driver made the 4-hour journey very interesting. Pointing out different trades en-route and even stopping and taking us in to a toddy "shebeen" which was full of older men drinking palm sap which when left for a few hours becomes alcoholic - this was served in large plastic mugs from a hatch and we were offered some, but declined. Kim did have somebody take a bit of a shine to her though …….

Arriving early afternoon, we were in time for a late lunch and a swim in another great pool. Dinner was a huge buffet with lots of choice. Again, nice location set in large grounds with the noise of peacocks and plenty of monkeys.

We were planning to take it easy and just do one thing a day and mix up the sightseeing with relaxation. Our first morning we set off for Dambulla's famed rock cave temple. It was a half hour climb up to the top to where the 5 caves contained 150 beautiful Buddha statues and paintings. Apparently, Buddha images were first created here over 2000 years ago. We got duly "togged" up so our bare shoulders and knees were covered and admired the caves and also the beautiful views. On the way back we stopped at a "wine shop" which was hidden away and all alcohol was behind bars - we bought a bottle of local vodka. The rest of the day was spent by the pool and finishing off with another large buffet dinner.

The following day we got picked up at 7.00am by a driver and his jeep Heather had found on line to go and visit Sigiriya rock where it is advised to climb early before the crowds appeared and it got too hot. Kim stayed behind because of her knees and was disappointed but turned out our driver gave her a tour of the local area and they came across an elephant being washed in the river, so Kim duly got in with it to help. She no longer had "FOMO".

We, on the other hand, climbed the archaeological site that is Sigiriya rock which involved plenty of steep climbs but was worth the view when we got to the top. It is also known as Lion Rock as there are two enormous lion paws which previously also had a lion dating back to the 5th century, which has now disappeared. At the very top is the ruined site of King Kasyapa's palace, although some believe it was a Buddhist monastery. After wandering around the top and admiring the views we made our way down to get back to Kim.

Our driver then took us to a local temple and to a reservoir before stopping on the roadside for a "local" lunch. We were then going on safari and made our way to Minneriya National Park. We spent a lovely 3 hours where we were so lucky to see elephants in huge numbers with the dramatic backdrop of the ancient Minneriya reservoir. All ages of elephants, with some really tiny babies, it was so great to see.

So, a relaxing day turned in to a 10-hour activity day but was wonderful and we went to bed happy.

Another early start at 7.00am as we were going to climb Pidurangula rock in the morning before continuing our journey to Kandy. This was a real highlight and the temples predate Sigiriya. It took us about 40 minutes to climb up with a final, very tricky scramble over boulders which Kim and I both found difficult. However, once we got to the top the views were just fantastic and gave us a perfect view of Sigiriya rock that we had climbed the day before.