Sri Lanka, Polonarauwa: Buddhist Temples, Monkeys and Lunch At Local Village

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Sri Lanka: Buddhist Temples, Monkeys and Lunch At Local Village

Join me on another great adventure vlog, this time from Sri Lanka’s ancient Buddhist Temples in Polonnaruwa. 

Throughout my 10 day adventure in Sri Lanka, this day was definitely my favorite day! While doing adventurous activities and staying at luxury hotels are fun, Polonnaruwa is what I travel for, to see something real and authentic. Welcome to piece of paradise!

Polonarauwa, Sri Lanka - Hofit Kim Cohen - Vanilla Sky Dreaming

I’ve always loved history, it was always my favorite subject in school. However, I never really cared too much for ancient ruins except for the ones in Rome, Athens and now in Sri Lanka. There was something so beautiful and mystical about Polonarauwa, as I mentioned in my video below, I felt like I was walking into a real life jungle book. It wasn’t until I arrvied in Polonarauwa, that I understood why there were all the monkeys hiding and living in ancient ruins in the movie The Jungle Book. However, the moment I got there, I realized that they REALLY just love hanging out at ruin temples.

Gray langur monkeys in Sri Lanka
Gray Langur Monkeys! Aren’t they just beautiful?!

There were hundreds of monkeys there, probably thousands. Sri Lanka has 2 different popular species of monkeys, Toque macaque monkeys and the Gray langur monkeys. Ever since I visited Kerala, India, I have been obsessed with monkeys while traveling in Asia. They are just amazing creatures to watch. I have so much monkey footage from both India and Sri Lanka that I could probably make a National Geographic video lol, probably should.

Buddhist monk in Polonarauwa sri lanka - vanilla sky dreaming

By the way, did you know it’s against the law to face your back towards Buddha at any given time? Not even for a second when you walk away or to take a quick photo. There are actual police and security at all the ancient ruins sites and outside any temple, watching your every move. They actually get paid for this. I had no idea how serious it was until I accidentally did it myself 🙈 they made sure I deleted all my photos.

Polonarauwa sri lanka Buddha - hofit kim cohen

When visiting a Buddhist temple most people bring or buy flowers and offer them to the statue by placing it in front of Buddha and praying/making a wish. Since I am Jewish, this is forbidden by Jewish law. It’s the act of practicing idolatry and Jews don’t do that. As a Jew, I’m also not allowed to go inside any temples, but since this is an outdoors historical site, I figured I’d have a look. I’m obsessed with the art of architecture, especially Asia’s style. So I got a flower because it was beautiful, but had my friend Nik make good use of it since he feels a strong connection to Buddhist.

Anyways if you get a chance to visit Sri Lanka, definitely visit Polonarauwa, it’s just a stunning place to visit.

Polonarauwa, Sri Lanka - Hofit Kim Cohen - Vanilla Sky Dreaming

After visiting Polonarauwa ruins, we headed over to a local village home, where they hosted us for lunch. As I mentioned in my video, I just love this! I love to see how people really live, what they eat, how their house is set up all over the world. I think it’s really special and gives you a real insider look into the life and culture of the places you’re visiting. The home we visited, had a nice set up on their property called, “Gami Gedara”, which is considered a vegan restaurant on Trip Advisor. It’s actually how that family makes a living. The entire family helps prepare the meal including mom, daughters, grandmother and then men in the family also help out. I also highly recommend an experience like this in Sri Lanka and other countries in the world, it really helps the locals. Other than that, the food was just amazing, it was served as a buffet with over 18 items to choose from and the family was so kind and sweet.

Gami Gedara is located at 1906 Bendiwewa, Polonnaruwa 51000, Sri Lanka – Phone #: 94712940474

NOW TO MY VIDEO! ENJOY AND SUBSCRIBE!

 

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