We decided to make like a local and catch the bus to Sigiriya, an ancient monastery built on top of an imposing rock (think Uluru with historic ruins on top). The bus took 2.5 hours to Dambulla, where we changed and caught another to Sigiriya (40 min). Naturally, whilst waiting for the bus in Dambulla, the tuk-tuk drivers told us that there is only one bus per hour and they take one hour to get to Sigiriya, but, thanks to reading other peoples blogs (http://www.kancando.com/2013/01/kandy-to-sigiriya-sri-lanka-by-bus.html), we knew to stay firm and ten minutes later the bus turned up (interestingly, the same tuk-tuk driver that was trying to elicit our business advised us the bus had arrived, which is testament to Sri Lankan peoples good nature).

Sigiriya did not disappoint. Definitely check out the museum before climbing, as it gives perspective of the vast history of the place. We were a bit apprehensive about climbing the (sometimes hairy) staircase with Alex’s leg, but he did well and we were so proud that less than 13 weeks after his second surgery, he made it relatively easily! The tuk-tuk driver who took us from the Sigiriya bus stop to the entrance (for 100 rupees, less than $1 –you can walk this, I think it is around 1km), offered us lunch after the climb at his ‘restaurant’. True to his word, he picked us up and were whisked away to a private curry and rice at his home/hotel. He had recently built two tree houses in addition to two other rooms which looked pretty cool, but seeing as we still had our bags in the hotel room in Kandy, we continued back after lunch. 7pm we arrived back to our hotel, exhausted but happy.