Animals magic in Dambulla

There is a bit of an animal theme developing on the Dambulla leg of this Sri Lanka tour, writes Alison Mitchell in the Test Match Special blog in BBC.

Walking back down from the caves it is impossible to miss the inevitable sellers making the most of the visiting tourists. We happened across a snake charmer, who hastily began piping a haunting tune which brought forth two swaying cobras with intricate diamond patterns on the back of their heads.

I was happy enough to watch from a distance but was less enthused when the chap shut the cobras back into their wicker basket and approached me with a python in his hands, which he seemed eager for me to touch, hold, hug, kiss, you name it.