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Train riding in Sri Lanka is challenging for a second class traveller. (I'm all class, so I fit anywhere!) The overcrowding is stifling and the noise is ear wrecking; but it's one of the most exhilarating things to do. This train trip was particularly audacious. The train was already full to capacity having left the tourist capital of Ella earlier that morning and as I stood on the platform with my two packs turtled front and back, I wondered how it was going to be possible to board. I hoiked myself onto the first step and then clung to side rails and stared up into the faces of disbelieving travellers. "Yes, I'm coming in!" As the train started to move, I pushed up and into the bogie section of the carriage where there were at least 20 people intimately jammed. I looked through to the section between the carriages and there were six people sitting and standing on the articulated area. I shimmied out of my packs and found a spot to shove the large one under the central luggage shelf. I kept my little one on the front. There was no need to find a hand hold as there was no way I could fall. The people were so kind and not at all disturbed by the intrusion and a group of young men were happy to chat and take selfies with me. This is one benefit. You get to meet lots of people. The other bonus is that the doors are open and there is cool fresh air and amazing views to be had. Pretty difficult to take pictures and video, but here's a couple so you get the idea.
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The train journey to Hatton took about 3 hours and we were pretty whacked by the time we arrived. Out of sorts and negotiating skills, we got taken for a ride in a tuk tuk and were ripped off quite politely by "honest" Fazid. At 700 ($7) over the above rate of 1800lkr we accepted the ride and were told the whole way, what an honest and kind man he was. He wanted to stop along the way and show us the sights and give us a running commentary, but we not very enthusiastic. It was cold and wet and uncomfortably bouncy in his little green tuk tuk.  Yolanda and I left the comfort of our little Honey Bee homestay in Ella to board a train at 6.20am and travel an hour to the town of Haputale. We’d heard stories about the stunning scenery around this historic hill station and read about the walk up through Dambatenne, the huge tea factory built by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1890. We weren’t disappointed. Although the view from our little guest house was hazy, we could see the terraced tea plantations and mountains in the near distance. The small town seems to cling to the side of the hill and felt more local and less touristy than Ella. We headed off straight away and with the advice from the hotel owner, we caught the local bus up the steep, narrow and windy hillside. The bus was ancient and rickety, shaken ajar not only by the potholed road, but also by the biggest sound system. Local doof pounded from the big black speakers, one of which was underneath the back bench where I was seated. Exquisitely dressed ladies and young women, heading to Sunday prayers, swung their heads off their necks to check out the whitey chicks in the back seat. The boys and young men all were impressed with my hair (yup..attention seeking again!) and the conductor insisted on a photo.  This pattern of meet and greet has been a feature of my trip and will continue for the rest of the journey. I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I think of the many family photo albums around India and Asia and now Sri Lanka, that I will staring out of and the funny questions that the families will be asked about the crazy white lady with the pink/purple hair. Alighting at the terminus of Dambatenne Tea Factory, we headed for the hills and the zenith of Lipton’s seat where World’s End is viewed. Up, up, up we climbed for nearly 7km. Slowly and steadily stepping up through the tea pickers paths and when they weren’t accessible, the narrow switch backed road. We waved to the tea pickers and I chatted to a group of Tamil tea picking ladies who were having their tiffin break. They all wanted to feel my hair and there was lots of joking and laughter. I guessed that one of the younger ones suggested to the oldest lady in the group that she do the same. Much laughter followed and through nothing by smiles and gestures we shared a slightly wicked, but mutual humour.  It was hours later, and we still hadn’t reached the top. A car tooted and stopped and the three young guys on a day pass from the army, offered a lift to the peak. Phew! I was running out of fuel. The road narrowed as we passed through the entrance gate and there were many cars and tuk tuks shuffling and vying for a park on the edge of the road. Much to my relief, the guys ditched us as soon we parked - they were about 19yo and I’m pretty sure that from behind Yolanda and I probably appeared younger and they were polite but uncomfortable once we were in the car. Horton’s Plain National park spread out below Lipton’s seat and the view of World’s end, a plunging escarpment was spectacular. It’s possible that on a clear haze less day one could see all the way to the coast.  Bizarrely, there was a little cafe at the top that served sweet delicious tea and a small assortment of freshly made pittas/chapatis and deep fried dahl patties and one other thing that looked like an overweight battered onion ring. Served with a super hot and spicy chilli sambal. Here I learned about the food etiquette of these little cafes. On my first road trip to the mediation centre, my driver stopped for morning tea at a bakery come cafe, come confectionery store. I was gobsmacked at the humongous plates of food that was being served to the patrons. Large pizza sized platters were piled high with an assortment of yellow food of all shapes and sizes. It didn’t seem to matter how many people were in group they all received the same thing. The mystery was solved at Lipton’s seat. We were’t asked what we wanted, we were just presented with platters heaped with pittas and patties. We ate what we could, the plate was whisked away and a bill presented. Taken back to the servery, the ‘pieces’ were counted and subtracted from the total that had been presented. We were only charged for what we ate. 50lkr (40cents) a piece! The leftovers, I assume were presented to the next punter. Mmmmm... not too sure about this process but it seems to work ok and I haven’t been ill from eating anyone’s leftovers.
The walk back down the mountain started at a plodding rate and we were tempted to accept an overpriced tuk tuk ride from an opportunistic driver. However, we were both too stubborn and stingy and decided to keep plodding on. Very soon a car pulled up and the driver and his beautiful wife offered a lift back to Haputale. The couple and their two little children were holidaying from Colombo and were wonderful conversationalists and talked about their 10 years living in Sweden and their e-waste recycling business. Life on the road is full of surprises. I thank the universe every day for providing me with my wonderful life.  It would have been faster to walk the railway line to Kithaella, the starting point of the Ella rock walk. We hung around the Ella train station for an hour, 50 mins after the designated departure time, just to take the red rattler to the next stop on the Colombo line. I amused myself by talking to the locals and the tourists that were waiting for the blue Xpress train. We'd been warned not accept any offers of a guide once we arrived at Kithaella, however we fell straight into the clutches of a local shyster masquerading as a guide/farmer. He told us not to go up the regular path as it would take too long and he knew a short cut. DOH! We knew straight away of his ploy but he was harder than a leech to shake off. Ok mate, you can walk ahead of us, but we're not giving you any money. He got us completely bamboozled, so we were not able to find the correct path. Anyway, it was an adventure and we got to walk through some chest high wild lemon grass paddocks that in hindsight were probably home to the local cobra population.  The Honey Bee Guest House was perfectly located at the base of Little Adam’s Peak. We were able to take a short hike up the side of the rock on a little dirt road and then on stairs that had been chiselled out of the rock. At a little over 1140metres high, Little Adam's Peak is an easy climb and we had spectacular 360deg views across the valley. The Nine Arch Bridge is in between Ella station and Demodara station. It spans 91 metres and is 24m high. The architectural masterpiece is set in picturesque surroundings in between dense jungle and tea plantations.
 After spending a couple of days in Weligama, a beach side village in south Sri Lanka, Yolanda (from Spain) and I decided to split travel expenses by a sharing rooms and tuk tuks or taxis. She also had no real plan of what to see or where to go, so after consulting the oracle (The Lonely Planet), we figured that we couldn’t miss out on seeing the hill country. One slight hitch in that plan was how to get there. Travelling long distances in local buses isn’t recommended and after hearing some tales of treacherous driving and overcrowding we decided to find a private car and driver. (I’ve travelled in many local buses since due to necessity and they’re not so bad.) Our luck was with us and the charming Sunny, who is Nadia (from the mediation week) and Colin’s landlord, offered to drive us the 5 hours up to Ella in hills. As it also turns out he is the most caring and knowledgeable travel guide. We spent a beautiful morning, driving through large bustling towns and small rural villages, taking shortcuts and watching the greenery and lushness move past us. Sunny acted as horticulturist and pointed out various plantations. Groves of mango trees, clusters of coconut palms, rice paddies, tea plantations and the ubiquitous native cinnamon tree filled the landscape for hours. We drove past Uda Walawe National park and one of the elephants decided to hang out on the roadside.
We stopped to view a waterfall and then continued to climb, up up up towards the former hill station of Ella. Sunny casually navigated switch back after torturous bend and managed to stay clear of oncoming trucks, tuk tuks and crazy local buses. We let Google maps guide us to our lodgings located on a mountain on the other side of Ella. We soon realised that the place was inaccessible by any vehicle (other than a mule) and we couldn’t imagine spending two days hiking up and down and into town. Sunny to the rescue again and he phoned a friend who had a guest house in the best location for less than the price we were going to pay. |
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