Sri Lankan trains...
Can fuck right off, too. The buses up to now have been great, but apparently this train journey from Kandy to Ella is a "must-do" - we'll get to that after quickly documenting our stop in Kandy.
We had just planned to spend the night in Kandy, mainly as a base to embark on the train ride of a lifetime. We arrived and refreshingly had a tuk-tuk driver that haggled his way down on the price, as we offered to pay 150rupees (75c), and he said no, 100 was enough (50c). We soon realised why he was so honest, as our hostel, 335 Holiday Homes, was a minute away, max. The hostel was lovely, not much of an atmosphere, but very new, very clean, and the owners very helpful - even making us a packed breakfast for our train journey the next morning.
We got up and out the door for 7a.m., following the "insider tip" of heading to the station before Kandy, called Peradeniya Road. A few blogs say this is the place to go, as you're more likely to get a seat on the train.
A great way to spend the morning, and we returned to the hostel feeling re-energised, ready to take on another bus journey. This time we're heading down to the south coast, where we'll be finishing off our Sri Lankan visit, We've loved it so far, and Ella has been the highlight up to now.
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Can fuck right off, too. The buses up to now have been great, but apparently this train journey from Kandy to Ella is a "must-do" - we'll get to that after quickly documenting our stop in Kandy.
We had just planned to spend the night in Kandy, mainly as a base to embark on the train ride of a lifetime. We arrived and refreshingly had a tuk-tuk driver that haggled his way down on the price, as we offered to pay 150rupees (75c), and he said no, 100 was enough (50c). We soon realised why he was so honest, as our hostel, 335 Holiday Homes, was a minute away, max. The hostel was lovely, not much of an atmosphere, but very new, very clean, and the owners very helpful - even making us a packed breakfast for our train journey the next morning.
We got up and out the door for 7a.m., following the "insider tip" of heading to the station before Kandy, called Peradeniya Road. A few blogs say this is the place to go, as you're more likely to get a seat on the train.
The calm before the storm
However, the blogs are lying. Maybe it's because it was a Sunday we left on, but the train was absolutely rammed, regardless of what station you got on. Too rammed, in Dani's case, as she wasn't able to even get on the train! Stu was pushed onto the train beforehand, so mild panic was setting in. Thankfully, the train goes to Kandy and then turns around, so Dani was able to jump on second time round. We were separated for the entire journey, but most importantly we made it. Stu even got a seat about 3 hours in. And Dani was able to sit at the train door, which allowed for the best views on the train. Was it worth it? Yes in some ways...but not without its drawbacks. The scenery is breath-taking, but comfort levels are at an all time low. If you're in Sri Lanka you're most likely going to do it, so just be prepared. That scenery though:
After finally getting off the train, we gathered ourselves, and headed to our next hostel Ella City Reach. Nice hostel, located just a minutes walk from the lovely little town of Ella. That evening, we were the last allowed in the queue for a highly recommended restaurant, Matey Hut. The restaurant only has about 6 tables, which explains the queue. The food was unreal, and rice and curry wasn't "finished" for once. Result!
Top of our to-do list in Ella was to go to the Nine Arch Bridge, so we set off the following morning to get a glimpse, and even managed to time it right to catch a train passing:
A storm was forecast for that afternoon, so we then took shelter in Chill, a cafe/bar in the town, and tried to catch up on some of this not-time-consuming-at-all blog:
We'd kept in touch with the three girls mentioned in the last post, Shannon, Karlijn, and Marlot, who had left us on the train to visit different towns along the route - and we were very quickly reunited, as they graced us with their presence at the cafe. We stayed late into the evening before going next door for a pizza (and 6 cocktails...) at 360 degrees:
Which was a lovely way to close out our last night in Ella. Not finished there though, as the next morning we fitted in one more activity on the list - walking/hiking to Little Adam's Peak.
A great way to spend the morning, and we returned to the hostel feeling re-energised, ready to take on another bus journey. This time we're heading down to the south coast, where we'll be finishing off our Sri Lankan visit, We've loved it so far, and Ella has been the highlight up to now.
Also, just to note, Shannon introduced us to Polarsteps, an app which Stuart has set up an account for, and is now embedded at the bottom of the blog. It's an app that tracks each stop you make on your travels, which should give a handy visual representation of the travels so far. You can see where we've visited by zooming out on the little map, so have a look. It also will give the game away as to how far behind we are on the blog posts, as it updates with your current location, so you can see where Stu's phone currently is. Oops. Does look cool though!
Right, that's it, on to the south coast.
Big love, Dani & Stu.
Right, that's it, on to the south coast.
Big love, Dani & Stu.
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