To really explore Sigiriya, you need to climb 1200 steps to the top, which I thought was beyond our capabilities, and we were prepared to wander round the gardens instead. As it happened, the very slow trip from Colombo (roadwork) had left no time even for this and we got only within telephoto distance of Sigiriya. But we did get to the Sigiriya Museum (good but photography not allowed inside) and we had an add-on excursion involving rides on a boat, with hats made for us from lotus leaves by the boatman, a bumpy ride on an oxcart, and a visit to a farm where we had a delicious simple meal served on banana leaves and eaten with our fingers, and where a patient lady tried not very successfully to teach Frances some skills necessary if you are going to live at subsistence level here. And then there was the batik factory.