24/09/2018 - 02/10/2018
After our first few days exploring the hectic city of Colombo and getting our first glimpse of the Sri Lankan tropical landscape and the exotic beaches it is so renowned for, we were both looking forward to seeing more of what this alluring country had to offer.
Our next stop was to the city of Kandy, a large city in central Sri Lanka surrounded by lush green mountains, high piled with even more tropical plants where the monkeys roam freely and where tea plantations blanket the hillsides. However, it was just a quick pitstop for us to get to our final destination of Nallathabnniya to climb Adams peak mountain for another sunrise hike and hopefully spectacular view. Instead of dossing for the evening in Kandy however we had read about a cooking course in the outskirts of the city so decided to sign up as we love a good curry and the curries in Sri Lanka from our experience so far were rather tasty and just a tad spicy to say the least which Paul loved but me, not so much! We were picked up from our guesthouse which to my great amusement was surrounded by flurries of monkey families hanging out on the adjoining rooftops and brought to the residence of our chef for the evening nestled high in the winding bumpy roads of the Kandy mountains which our tuk tuk just about managed to navigate. Over the next few hours I quickly realised that our trip in Sri Lanka had been RUINED!…. the food we helped prepare in the outside kitchen area was outstandingly delicious and would be the best food we would try in all of Sri Lanka. We learned about the large variety of different spices and unusual looking vegetables that I had seen previously in the street markets of Colombo often used in Sri Lankan cooking. We helped prepare dishes such as Dahl, beans, aubergine, pumpkin, chicken and papadams, all the while sipping on an ice cold beer. We can’t remember now how to make much of it as we were too excited about eating it all but luckily he gave us some instructions to bring home with us to try and attempt. A trip to the EuroAsia food shop when we get home will defiantly be in order but somehow I don’t think we will come close to recreating that Sri Lanken deliciousness and of course, the spice!
Come the end of our unique culinary experience we were absolutely stuffed with food and our mouths burning from the Sri Lankan spice. We both slept super soundly that night after collapsing into a food coma but just as well as the next morning we would take the train from Kandy to Hatten where we would stay in the shanty town of Nallathanniya to climb Adams peak mountain.
The unique experiences in Sri Lanka just kept on giving as our train ride from Kandy snaked through the glorious green carpet of rolling tea plantations where colourful sari-dressed ladies could be seen popping their heads up from the sea of green. This train ride usually gets pretty full but we were lucky enough to find ourselves a spot at the train door which you may think gave us a good window seat by the door but no, it gave us a good door seat and by that I mean we had the opportunity to sit with our feet dangling out the train door as it whizzed between each station. Clearly safety isn't Sri Lanka’s thing as what western country would let you dangle out a train door traveling at god knows what speed but hey, it didn’t bother us, we had the chance to let the hair blow freely in the wind and we survived to tell the tale all the while enjoying the scenery from the open door rather than from behind a grubby window.
The town of Nallathanniya wasn’t much to lust over, in fact it was more of dreary and grimy town with shack built homes and litter strewn streets but it didn’t phase us too much as we were only using it as a base to climb Adams peak the following morning starting at 2am. After a not so great sleep on a rickety old metal frame bed where every movement creaked and cracked from the old spring mattress, we dragged ourselves up, put on the head lamps and headed on our way in the pitch black up the 5000 steps of the 2,243m tall mountain. Adams peak is well known for the sacred footprint of the Buddha near the summit and is considered as one of the main holy sites in the country for Buddists. We weren’t really here for the holy part however as I don’t think many other tourists ever are at these kind of things, but more so we were there for the supposed beautiful sunrise and views.
I don’t know whether it was the altitude we were at, the lack of a decent breakfast or the lack of sleep the few hours previous but as soon as we set off walking I started to struggle, feeling quite lethargic, each step we had to take tired me out even more and the top never quite seemed to get any closer no matter how many steps we took. So much for all the step aerobic classes I did before our trip I thought to myself as my legs were just not being cool! Cursing all the way up feeling very sorry for myself, I angrily groaned to Paul that this sun rise better be worth it. When we FINALLY reached the top after what felt like FOREVER (3 hours to be precise!) we rested our completely dead legs for the rest of the time while waiting for the sun to rise. I must admit that as the morning light began to take hold and the red glow of the sun started to make its appearance from behind the clouds we were greeted with a stunning view of the far off mountains and a cobweb of fluffy clouds lingering beneath the mountain ridge. It was definitely worth the sweat and angry cursing but to be honest once was enough for me, I don't think I could face those steps again!
When we got back down we were utterly shattered, legs like jelly but as the town was pretty bleak and we felt and looked even bleaker we decided to leave as soon as possible after a quick nap before check out. We headed back to the train station at Hatton and took the scenic train ride again continuing this time to the town of Ella. We weren't as lucky this time to get an open door view to dangle from but instead had to uncomfortably stand for the next hour which really wasn’t ideal with the hike we had just done but alas, the train emptied out at one of the stops along the way where we quickly ran to take two free seats that had become available. A resounding 'AHHHHHH' was mouthed by both of us as we got to take our seats….you know that feeling right? The weather unfortunately wasn’t great this time around as it never really is in the inland towns of Sri Lanka but even still we got a few glimpses of the tea plantations through the foggy clouds and to be honest we were just glad we got those seats!
Ella is a small town in central Sri Lanka, rich with diverse tropical Flora and Fauna, my favourite being the monkeys of course and where the weather forecast goes like clockwork being bright and sunny in the morning and cloudy with torrential rain in the evening. So because of the annoying weather, instead of a good lie on in the mornings which we really longed for, it was up early every day to do activities and fall into bed in the evening. Our first activity of our visit to Ella was to little Adams peak. Unlike big Adams peak where I nearly felt like dying after climbing 5000 steps, this one was supposedly much easier. However, with our calf muscles burning and both of us limping like two old fogeys, climbing the steps up the top was pretty difficult and I’m convinced everyone around us looked at us and thought ‘these guys seriously need get their fitness sorted’. We were lucky enough that when we got to the top, the clouds stayed away just long enough for us to get a glimpse of Ella rock which we were to climb the following day. The hillsides here are greener than green and bursting with fluffy plant foliage and tropical trees, thats if your lucky enough to get a glimpse of them through the ever changing cloud coverage.
When we returned to ground level as the approaching rain forced us to leave the splendid views behind we took a short walk to the impressive architectural feat that is the 9 arches bridge, one of the best examples of colonial-era railway construction in Sri Lanka and built in a deep valley surrounded by lush greenery. In Sri Lanka, unlike many European countries its totally acceptable to walk on train tracks to go between towns, and for children to walk home on from school. Being a bit hesitant at first, we laid our fears to rest and hung out on the tracks for a while waiting for an approaching train to come so we could get some snaps as it passed over the immense bridge. Luckily we could hear the distant horns of one approaching and so quickly stepped aside as it chugged passed us offering wonderful age old views as it did so.
The next day the stunning views just kept on giving, albeit more cloud cover, something you just got to get used to in central Sri Lanka unfortunately, we took the climb up to Ella's rock. It initially looked quite daunting from little Adams peak the day before but as we began the hike along more train tracks being followed by lots of hungry stray dog, through tea plantations, and through some forested areas where a steady incline ensued, we managed to reach the top after a fair amount of huffing and puffing with our legs still feeling the wrath of that hideously painful climb of Adams peak. The view at the top would have been wonderful if that cloud stayed away for just a few minutes but of course for us it didn't want to do that. We stayed about an hour hoping it would clear but the mist just drifted, teasing us every so often with glimpses of the valley below. Top tip if you come to Ella is to get your ass out of bed early morning before the rain comes in. It was however worth the climb, if even just to say we had made it to the top!
The next day we left the beautifully tropical town of Ella for the village of Udawalawe where we would hopefully get the chance to see more elephants in their natural environment by taking a jeep safari. If you havent guessed from my previous posts, I LOVE animals and I love nothing more than knowing they are in the wild, free to live their lives in peace. I was excited, in fact I was VERY excited to visit the park to hopefully get a few glimpses of the majestic elephants roaming free through the Sri Lankan plains. Our guide told us the best time to spot the elephants was first thing in the morning so another early morning would be had, on the road to the park for 6am. We were lucky that after just a few minutes upon entering the park we spotted a family of elephants in the distance, just chilling out stuffing themselves with leaves and branches. Despite the fact they were pretty far from the truck, it was a pleasure to see them in the wild, where they belong. For the next 2 hours as we meandered through the park we spotted a huge variety of animals from lizards, spotted deer, water buffalo, jackals, eagles, monkeys and crocodile. For about an hour however, we had not spotted any more elephants from our first encounter. Our hopes were beginning to fade that we would not see any more and to be honest we were getting bored of seeing the abundance of peacocks prancing around. WHERE WERE ALL THE ELEPHANTS I thought but then as we turned the corner of a winding dusty road we spotted an elephant right by the side of the road. As our jeep drew closer, the elephant grew bigger and as we reached him we quickly realised he was HUGE, like way bigger than the jeep huge. It was an amazing sight although just a tad scary as with his gigantic size he could probably have smashed the jeep in half with ease if he felt like it. We sat in awe and enjoyed watching him eating his 600 pounds of food he must eat every day to keep his weight. After that encounter luckily the elephants just kept on giving as we spotted a mother and baby playing in a mud bath which was utterly adorable and a few more lone elephants munching on trees by the side of the dirt track. It was a beautifully spent morning and one I wish I could do everyday even if the the elephants don't really offer much of a spectacle other than slowly roaming through the trees stuffing their faces!
As our previous few days were fairly hectic and as we were headed for India next which would undoubtedly be even more hectic we decided to spend our last few days in Sri Lanka flaked on a beach. We headed down south to Tangalle and paid a visit with our rented motorbikes to a few different beaches including Goyambokka, Medilla and Hiriketiya each offering fabulous see views and soft grainy sand overlooked by towering palm trees. We decided to spend most of our time however at Hiriketiya as it offered some surfing which only Paul attempted as for me the waves were just a bit too big and it had a bit more of a vibrant vibe than the other two beaches. It was two days of relaxation, sand and sea, just what we needed to end our tropical trip in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is a country where trying to describe it with words does not do it justice. One should go there and experience the country in all its glory and to experience the combination of culture, history, scenery and wildlife. We for one would love to go back but for now it was time to head to India!
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