The Oldest Tree in the World!

Or so they say.   The Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 BC here in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and is still standing today.

Like most old things, it needs some support in places and is heavily guarded since the Civil War here in Sri Lanka (Historically it has always been well looked after, as a building used to stand on the site which held 1000 Monks).

It is said that the original planting came from came from the right branch of the same Bodhi tree that Buddha sat under and gained enlightenment.

It was pretty cool to see and is located in the city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka – a roughly 7.5 hour train ride from the Colombo (the web said 3 hours!!!!).  A veteran of many train rides, I must say that they are soo much better when you can hang out the window/door to pass the time.  And, it was a nice ride. Lots of rice fields and coconut groves.  And, every so often, massive Buddha statues out of nowhere!

I’m happy I came (I may not have if I had known the train would take so long).  It is super quiet here and very peaceful.  I went on a bike tour of the Dagobas, Monasteries, lots of massive Buddha statues (another thing that was quite common to see from the train) and other ancient ruins here.  It was super hot/humid and I had to retire in the early afternoon, but was the best tour I’ve taken yet.  

This Hindu temple is being rebuilt after it was destroyed during the Civil War.

Dagoba - not just where Yoda lives...  They build these around sacred relics.  This one is over 2100 years old!  I've got to read more about it.  The guide's English, while good, couldn't really explain full what this is.

Some cool tiles?

Onto Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya in the next couple days before arriving in Kandy.  Looking forward to it!