Polonuwara

From Wikipedia:
Sri Lanka’s Cultural triangle is situated in the centre of the island and covers an area which includes the World Heritage cultural sites of the Sacred City of Anuradhapura, the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, the Ancient City of Sigiriya, the Ancient City of Dambulla and the Sacred City of Kandy.

From me:
We already know that the "World Heritage" label should be viewed with suspicion. Now I am thinking that this so-called "Cultural Triangle' may be a con.
No comparison with places like Angkor Wat or the teples of Southern India - or Grant's Tomb for that matter.

As mentioned, we are staying in the Hotel Kandalama, near Dambullah, as our base for the starting 5 days. The caves at Dambulla are ok if you can handle the 400 stairs and more Buddha statues than you can shake a stick at, some of which are fairly well done.

On the other hand, today's trip to Polonaruwa was a major disappointment. We chose it because it is supposedly less-ruined than Anuradhapura. But it turn out to be a rip-off in my opinion and, what's worse, a flagrant insult to the principles of Buddhism. These religio/beauraucratic idiots make visitors take off their shoes and hats to walk in the burning sun on superheated stones just because the ugly and totally wrecked remnants were once a temple. And the charge is $25 for this torture! If they were really operating in the spirit of Buddha they would provide some shade at least. In short, a disgrace. It made me sick.

There was only one reclining Buddha statue worth seeing at Polonuwara and that does not justify a four-hour round trip from Dambulla.

The Sri Lankans seem to be ticket obsessive also. After you buy your ticket it is recorded by hand in a ledger. Then when you enter various parts of the site, perforated parts of the ticket are removed. When you go through the museum and come to the end and go through some doors to the bathroom they won't let you back in, when you leave the site, the ticket is recorded in a ledger again. Here are some photos from today:

The only thing worth seeing at Polonuwara

Would you travel four hours, burn the soles of your feet and risk heatstroke to see this?

This termite mound interested me more than all the other forms at Polonuwara

Laundry in the river next to the museum was also interesting.

The museum didn't allow photos (for no damn good reason) I had to take this one surreptitiously. It shows a 1000 year old relief which mysteriously prefigures the election of Theodore Roosevelt as President of the US.

On the way back we saw an elephant grazing with cows.

And two good friends in the latest monk fashion.