February 14, 2024
Feb. 14th - Habarna to Dambula
I really enjoyed the Athkandura Hotel. One of the guys that works there is deaf and doesn't really speak. He had asked for my phone number when I first arrived, but I declined to give it out. I went to say hello and goodbye to him a couple of times on my way out, but he ignored me. I knew he was mad at me, but no idea why.
As I was leaving, he came over and if I interpreted it correctly (hand signals) he indicated he was mad at me because I kept talking to the three guys up front, but not him. I said I'm sorry, but the reality is they were the ones getting me ice and my meals. It's not like I carried on any social conversations with them. Still, I felt bad he had his feelings hurt because I don't want anyone to feel slighted, but then again, I'm just a hotel guest.
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Despite all the poop and me keeping an eye out for elephants, I was enjoying the lush jungle scenery. However, I had a disturbing incident this morning. A guy went buy me slowly on his motorbike and yelled, "hello" to get my attention. Of course, I look and he's got his dick out of his pants and is waving it around at me. I was not amused and my immediate knee-jerk reaction was to flip him off and my fingers followed his path. I didn't say anything and not much facial reaction, but I was pissed. He slows down ahead of me and is doing a u-turn. For a second, I got scared because I thought I had made him mad and realized how defenseless I was. However, he just wanted to ride by me and give me another view. I also knew I was on a busy highway so felt safe. In fact, just ahead there was a police checkpoint, and they had some vehicles pulled over. Wish they could have seen what was happening, but honestly, not sure they would have cared. My finger stayed up the whole time as he passed me again with me glaring at him. Something like this has not happened for a long time and I know it's best to ignore and not react. I think with all the men always shouting at me, I just got pissed off and instantly reacted.
It took a while for my mood to return to the happy place it had been.
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Traffic was a bit busy as I approached Dambula. I stopped at a store for some Coke Zero to take to my hotel and to get an ice cream. When I was unwrapping the cone, it popped out from the wrapper and hit the pavement. The girls in the store saw it happen and I just made a sad/pouting face. Don't think I didn't think about trying to dust it off and eat it anyways, but there were witness so I tossed it and bought another one.
I had a couple hotels picked out and just decided I would stay at Sundaras Resort. It had mixed reviews, but a pool. He showed me a room downstairs at my request, but it had a strong smell in the entire room, not just the bathroom which is a common theme. He then went to show me the room upstairs which although was nice, was up just too many stairs and it also meant my bike was staying downstairs although they said they could put it in the office. I just didn't want to deal with the stairs, plus it seemed overpriced. I opted to keep going. Just a short distance down the road was Sevonrich Holiday Resort which had excellent reveiws. Once I got there I remembered why I had opted for the other one. They only had a family room left. He said he'd give it to me for the price of a double, and then quoted a price that included breakfast and dinner. It seemed a bit much so I asked how much for just the room and how much to add on breakfast. He ended up lowering the price to a more reasonable number (which was a bit cheaper than the first one.) There was a small swimming pool and my room was pretty cramped, but it was worth the stay.
He had offered to drive me to the caves and said I could walk back, but I wasn't sure I wanted to go and I needed to cool down in the pool first. Once I was done swimming, I read up on the caves in my Lonely Planet guide and then realized because of some local disputes, the ticket office is further away and on the opposite side of the exit. He had already left so couldn't give me a ride, but gave me some directions through the back roads. Let's just say it was a much longer walk than I anticipated and up some hills as well. Grrrrr. The caves themselves are up 365 stairs and then you exit down another staircase to the main road. Let's do this.
It's a lot of photos, but remember, this is my journal too, so I want them in it. Just keep scrolling if you get bored. 😉 Oh, and if you want the history about this, google "Dambulla Cave Temple."
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When I got back, a few of us from the hotel were led to a place to watch the sunset. Although I had to climb another rock face and now my legs are feeling tired, it was amazing. It was also fun meeting some fellow travelers. There was even a couple of solo women. Usually, it's just me who's solo. When we got back, dinner was ready and we all ate at the same time so time for more chatting with a gal from the Netherlands and a lady from Australia who was very interested in doing her own bike tour.
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Today's ride: 14 miles (23 km)
Total: 1,020 miles (1,642 km)
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Makes me question weather I want to go it alone there.
I 've had a negative motorbike pervert encounter too, in Malaysia
What language are you bargaining in?
How far from Habarna to Dambula?
8 months ago
8 months ago
8 months ago