Smiling in Ceylon 2 - Anuradhapu

这次行程基本可以分成几大块：

• 文化三角洲
  
• 中部山地茶园
  
• 海滩·古堡
  

文化三角洲（Anuradhapura，Polonnaruwa，Sigiriya）。

文化三角洲（Culture Triangle）指的是以Anuradhapura，Polonnaruwa和Sigiriya为首的文化古城区域。无数古迹，无数寺庙存于其中。没有文化，不懂历史的我只是瞎看看。

Day2 (2/7/2013) – Anuradhapura

Negombo的清晨，天边微红。

司机还没来，和酒店老板娘确认行程，一一写下。等了良久，司机Lucky终于出现，和老板一阵摇头晃脑后我们上车出发了。今天的目的地是Anuradhapura。

Anuradhapura是一个拥有2500年历史的古城，在公元前是斯里兰卡的首都并且持续了一千年。这么古老的地方，自然要去膜拜下。

路上路过一座正在修建的印度庙，Lucky硬要让我们去看一下。盛情难却，就下车去了。印度庙修建得很新，色彩斑斓，雕刻精美。无奈不知道这个庙的名称，问了保安，回答了一串我连发音都困难的词句。作罢，反正知道是一个印度庙。

来到Anuradhapura，Lucky先带我们去找住处。住宿区主要集中在新城，新城并不大，路过了网上推荐的Lake View Restore，又路过了好几家看起来不错的旅馆，Lucky就是不停下，来回开了好几圈，最终在一条小路上弯来弯去停在了一家旅馆前。我进门去问价钱看房间，和老板谈价钱的时候一只巨大的蚱蜢从面前爬过……房间设施一般，小花园不错，价钱并不便宜，由于不想再挪动，我们决定在这里住下，之后再和Lucky沟通。

没想到在写这篇游记的时候才发现，原来这家旅馆也是LP推荐的。但说实话，如果不是包车的话，我并不建议住在这里，因为实在是有点偏。

放下行李先去吃饭。找了LP推荐的Casserole，被同伴戏称“开塞露”（上海话）。到了一看，上面写着中餐！但其实并不是中餐，只是做得有点像中餐而已。我们点了各色炒饭和汤，味道还不错，即刻被我们指定为晚餐的首选地。

茶足饭饱后出发去古城。

顶着烈日，我们的第一站是Isurumuni Rajamaha Viharaya。在LP上的名称叫做Isurumuniya Vihara，门票Rs200每人。

摘录一段LP中对她的描述：

This rock temple, dating from the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (r 247–207 BC), has some very fine carvings. One or two of these (including one of elephants playfully splashing water) remain in their original place on the rock face beside a square pool fed from the Tissa Wewa, but most of them have been moved into a small museum within the temple. Best known of the sculptures is the ‘lovers’, which dates from around the 5th century AD and is built in the artistic style of the Indian Gupta dynasty of the 4th and 5th centuries. There is a lovely lotus pond in front.

这座寺庙原本不在我们的计划中，应该说，因为我们原本对于这座古城也没有详细的计划，于是任凭Lucky带着我们去了这个寺庙。寺庙里人烟稀少，现在回想起来，滚烫的沙地和痛彻心肺的脚底心给于我的记忆远远大于了这个寺庙原本能够给我的印象。于是只记得古老的砖墙，里面一个巨大的卧佛，以及庙外一个充满叫声的蝙蝠洞。来之前只看到人家攻略上写午后地上十分烫，可从来没有人能写赤脚踩在地上被石子咯得是有多痛！在此提醒将要去的同学们，如果你们本身身体不是特别强壮健康的话，请注意带上一双袜子，会减轻很多脚底板按摩后带来的剧痛。

Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba是第二站。同样摘录一段LP中的描述以作补充：

Behind the Folk Museum, this fi ne white dagoba is guarded by a wall with a frieze of hundreds of elephants standing shoulder to shoulder. Apart from a few beside the western entrance, most are modern replacements for the originals from 140 BC.

This dagoba is said to be King Dutugemunu’s finest construction, but he didn’t live to see its completion. However, as he lay on his deathbed, a false bamboo-and-cloth finish was placed around the dagoba so that Dutugemunu’s fi nal sight could be of his ‘completed’ masterpiece. Today, after incurring much damage from invading Indian forces, it rises 55m, considerably less than its original height; nor is its form the same as the earlier ‘bubble’ shape. A limestone statue south of the great dagoba is popularly thought to be of Dutugemunu. The land around the dagoba is rather like a pleasant green park, dotted with patches of ruins, the remains of ponds and pools, and collections of columns and pillars, all picturesquely leaning in diff erent directions.

Slightly southeast of the dagoba you can see one of Anuradhapura’s many monks’ refectories. Keeping such a large number of monks fed and happy was a full-time job for the lay followers.

Dagoba在中文中是舍利塔的意思，里面真的有舍利么？嘿嘿。

进入这座塔的路上能看到很多动物，比如四处流窜的猴子，肆意躺坐的小狗，盘旋飞舞的乌鸦，还有优雅漫步的白鹤。绕着白塔转了一圈，继续抵御着脚底板的疼痛。一路上一直有一只小小狗跟着我们，时不时过来蹭蹭以示友好，小黑和它玩了好久，它很开心，似乎已经很久没有人这么跟它玩耍了。走到一个佛像前，一只猴子居然在吃供品，无人管束，倒也平常。白塔的另一端，几个虔诚的教徒在佛塔前安静地跪拜，无声无息。一切都是那么宁静，除了我时不时发出痛苦的呻吟……

出了Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba，去看著名的大菩提树。终于可以穿上鞋子沿着大路走了。

路上路过Brazen Palace（So called because it once had a bronze roof, the ruins of the Brazen Palace stand close to the bodhi tree. The remains of 1600 columns are all that is left of this huge palace, said to have had nine storeys and accommodation for 1000 monks and attendants. It was originally built by Dutugemunu more than 2000 years ago, but through the ages was rebuilt many times, each time a little less grandiosely. The current stand of pillars (now fenced off ) is all that remains from the last rebuild – that of Parakramabahu around the 12th century.）。

当时并不是它如此有名，因而没有进入，连照片也没有好好拍一张。憾。

再往里便是著名的大菩提树Sri Maha Bodhi。另收门票200Rs/人。

The Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred bodhi tree, is central to Anuradhapura in both a spiritual and physical sense. The huge tree has grown from a cutting brought from Bodhgaya in India by the Princess Sangamitta, sister of Mahinda (who introduced the Buddha’s teachings to Sri Lanka), so it has a connection to the geographical heart of the Sinhalese religion. The sacred bodhi tree is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world; it has been tended by an uninterrupted succession of guardians for over 2000 years, even during the periods of Indian occupation. There is not one but many bodhi trees here; the oldest and holiest stands on the top platform. The steps leading up to the tree’s platform are very old, but the golden railing around it is quite modern. The railing and other structures around the trees are festooned with prayer fl ags. Thousands of devotees come to make off erings at weekends and particularly on poya (full-moon) days. April and December are particularly busy months as pilgrims converge on the site for snana puja (off erings or prayers).

进入菩提树大院男女分开通道，当时的我脚底板已经痛到不行，真没有勇气再赤脚走进去了，在同伴的鼓励下，一步一歪艰难缓慢地来到菩提树下，去发现菩提树被围起来，只能仰望，连摸一下都不能……这就是已经长了2000年的那棵神奇的树么？好像正好碰到当地人对着菩提树诵经祈福的时候，很多人端坐着或双膝跪地，一起念诵着我们听不懂的字句，在这种气氛中，我们也安静地坐下，默默聆听，感受着这种虔诚的氛围。

从菩提树出来，我们告诉Lucky不要每个景点都带我们去了，我们只想再去看看Moonstone。为啥呢？因为它是LP上的Top Choice之一嘛~ 是不是有点太迷信LP了？呵呵。

在去Moonstone的路上，一不小心又路过一个小景点，就是Kuttam Pokuna (Twin Ponds)，皇家浴池。

The swimming-pool-like Twin Ponds, the fi nest bathing tanks in Anuradhapura, are east of Sanghamitta Mawatha. They were likely used by monks from the monastery attached to Abhayagiri Dagoba. Although they are referred to as twins, the southern pond, which is 28m in length, is smaller than the 40m long northern pond. Water entered the larger pond through the mouth of a makara (mythical multispecies beast) and then flowed to the smaller pond through an underground pipe. Note the five-headed cobra figure close to the makara and the water-filter system at the northwestern end of the ponds.

其实吧，就是两个同样大小的方形池子，水面泛着幽幽的绿色，没什么特别，特别的应该就是他的故事而已。

期间还路过了正在修缮的Abhayagiri Dagoba。舍利塔好像都长得差不多，只不过这个不是白色的，而是黄褐色。

The huge Abhayagiri Dagoba (confused by some books and maps with the Jetavanarama), created in the 1st or 2nd century BC, was the centrepiece of a monastery of 5000 monks. The name means ‘Hill of Protection’ or ‘Fearless Hill’ (though some local guides mistakenly claim ‘Giri’ was the name of a local Jain monk). The monastery was part of the ‘School of the Secret Forest’, a heretical sect that studied both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. Chinese traveller Faxian (also spelt Fa Hsien) visited in AD 412. The dagoba was probably rebuilt several times to reach its peak 75m height. It has some interesting bas-reliefs, including one near the western stairway of an elephant pulling up a tree. A large slab with a Buddha footprint can be seen on the northern side, and the eastern and western steps have unusual moonstones made from concentric stone slabs.

还有Samadhi Buddha。

After your investigations of guardstones and moonstones, you can continue east from the Abhayagiri to this 4th-century statue, seated in the meditation pose and regarded as one of the fi nest Buddha statues in Sri Lanka. Pandit Nehru, a prominent leader in India’s independence movement, is said to have maintained his composure while imprisoned by the British by regular contemplation of a photo of this statue.

回来后看了下地图，发现Lucky还挺能给我们顺道看景点的，哈哈~

终于，我们在黄昏时分来到了Moonstone。

A ruined 9th-century school for monks northwest of the Abhayagiri Dagoba is notable for having the finest carved moonstone in Sri Lanka; see how many species of animals you can find in its elaborate carvings. This is a peaceful wooded area full of butterflies, and makes a good place to stop and cool off during a tour of the ruins. It is often falsely described as Mahasena’s Palace or the Queen’s Pavilion. Look for the fine steps featuring plump little figures.

月亮石的雕刻堪称精美，月石的外围雕刻呈火焰状,中间刻着狮子、大象和牛等动物造型,内圈则是刻着象征人类欲望的藤草。

参观完Moonstone，这一天的行程终于结束了。在回酒店的路上路过一个湖，应该是Thissa Wewa。正碰上日落时分，人们在夕阳下的湖中洗澡游水玩耍，映着落日余辉，天边出现变幻莫测的晚霞，忽然发现，这才是一天中的亮点。

附一天线路图如下。