Have you got the video playing in your head? Watching the video recently, it’s like watching a commercial sponsored by the Sri Lankan tourist board. You start off on the coast, the white sandy beaches stretching onwards forever, the sailing boats floating offshore and the unmistakably Sri Lankan fishermen balancing on sticks above the waves
Moving northwards there’s the broad expanse of World’s End, the jungles and the mountains, the elephants and the Rock, Sigiriya.
The tale of the rock fortress is one of murder and fear. The prince was tired waiting for the king to shuffle off this mortal coil and decided to help his far too healthy father along the way, he bricked him up into a roof and left him to suffocate. Problem solved.
Unfortunately his half-brother found out and fled to India to raise an army to avenge his father. The problem with a lot of the cities in Sri Lanka was that they were very difficult to defend so the prince searched desperately for a defensible position. He found Sigiriya, a huge rock in the middle of the island, build a fortress upon it and it was there that he lived in constant fear for the rest of his life…
But more importantly , back to Duran Duran, they get to play their guitars, sing with their arms outstretched in the air and generally pose on top of the Rock below the circling helicopters filming their antics.
Then it’s off to Polonaruwa for some more serious posing in front of statues of Buddha and as many pagodas as they can find…..
