Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara

The stupa at Mahiyangana. These guys are stringing lights on the stupa for some upcoming celebration. How would you like their job, climbing up those bamboo ladders with rungs tied on with some kind of twine?

A grand Bodhi tree in the Mahiyangana grounds. A truly peaceful spot in the shade of this tree.

Mahiyangana also has a bit of that carnival atmosphere made for tourists. This temple elephant was chained up so snug that he could hardly move, but while I was there it was time to give him a break and his handler released him and walked him to a drink and bath and then off elsewhere. In this shot, the elephant had just walked right up and stood face-to-face with me, sniffed at me a bit, and then turned and walked off. It doesn't show here, but he is actually very large: his eyes are about the level of the top of my head. Though very peaceful, facing something that big at just five feet away left me quite awed.