Colombo to Ella in 5 days:
Day 1 Colombo to Kandy
We arrived in Colombo after a LONG LONG Valentine’s day spent in airplanes and airport. Not much romance apart from an amazing pack of love hearts sweets which was easily the best gift I ever had from my great BF (slightly edited by rob) . First the 9 hours Cape Town to Doha, all in our day time which meant lots of films but not much sleep, and after the 5 hrs from Doha to Colombo. The transfers at Doha are pretty impressive, and the queue seemed huge but went fairly quickly thank God.
We probably slept about 2hrs overall. But we were glad to finally arrive in Colombo to start our adventure in Asia.
As we approached the luggage claim, something didn’t look right. Two bags arrived, looking like ours, one was Brucey’s but the second one wasn’t mine. I immediately thought the worst, and Bruce was taking the piss saying I get too paranoid too soon but what I feared actually happened. A huge Norwegian guy called Johnny took my bag instead of his. Same brand, same colour, same lock so easy to confuse. Luckily we got hold of him over the phone from his luggage tag and he was still at the airport so we were able to swap and get back my bag. Thank God, otherwise I’d be stuck with XXL shorts and massive t-shirts.
After this initial drama we exited and met with our driver Janaka, which soon became Jay-Jay. After sorting out our Mi-Fi situation (buying local sim card with data) as we usually do at the airport, we had to spend a few hours at the French embassy to sort out some paperwork which has given me and my mum a headache for the past few weeks. At some point I even thought I might have to get a flight back home since the situation was looking pretty desperate.
But thankfully a nice lady at the French embassy managed to help me certify the documents I needed, and I then had to spend what felt like hours at the DHL in Colombo to send the documents back to France and Italy. Fingers crossed everything should be on its way now, such a relief!
After the chores we started to make our way to Kandy, 3:30hrs drive from Colombo. We stopped for lunch and I had my first ever curry in Asia. Since is the first day of my life in Asia!
The curry was nice but VERY hot, or CHOT as Brucey would say. Apparently (Lonely Planet says) Sri Lanka is famous for having very hot food, and they had to adapt to the western pallates that cannot take all that chilli at once. We arrived in Kandy at 5pm and checked into our nice B&B called Villa 49. Very friendly, and we have a massive room on the top floor with a very big balcony.
Before dinner we visited the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic in the centre of Kandy, on the lake. Famous for storing one of Buddah’s tooths. It was very crowded, and they were playing some horrible horrible music but it was interesting to visit since amongst tourists there were also a lot of locals going to pray and honour Buddah with flowers. The most popular were red lotus flowers, since the legend says that Buddah as soon as he was born walked 7 steps and on each step a red lotus flower grew under his foot. Hence why they still bring this flower to him when they go and pray at the temple. The outdoor space of the temple was much more beautiful than the kitch interiors, with also a beautiful conservtory with burning candles all over. Very beautiful to see the temple reflect over the river that surrounds it.
We had dinner in a restaurant called PUB (creative name) , which was decent. Actually a great soup, and lovely dessert, but disappointing mains. We heard that Kandy is not famous for restaurants and most people tend to stay at their guest houses to eat, so we were lucky to find somewhere to grab a bite.
Now ready for a long sleep after the depravation of the flights last night. Sweet dreams!
Day 2 Kandy
We had a lateish breakfast at 9am at our hotel Villa 49 in the pretty garden. The lady is very proud of her homemade jams, made with fresh fruits of the season. One was passion fruit, and the second one is called sosi or sasi but the most shocking factor is that it is blue! It was tasty despite the weird look. Just like Brucey.
After breakky we visited the Botanical Gardens in Kandy. We thought we’d be disappointed after the beautiful Kirstenbosch gardens in Cape Town, but in the end we were actually pleased with it. There are some impressive bamboos, palms (royal palms avenue is impressive) and huge trees, and some of them have branches that look like arms extending from one tree to the next. There is a colony of huge bats that live on some of the trees, they looked like millions. They make a huge noise and fly over all the time. It took us a while to realise they weren’t birds.
Amongst the usual birds, we spotted some white cows, a few monkeys and a member of staff also came close to us carrying a huge black scorpion on a leaf to show us in order to get a tip. Very big, and scary. I don’t think I would take the risk of carrying it around on my hand just to get some cash out of it! A part from animals and tourists, which can easily be confused, there were a lot of locals and a few school kids coming for a day trip.
It took us about two and a half hours to walk around the gardens, which are very big. The map is very well made, so you don’t need a guide to see everything and understand what you are looking at. My highlight was the orchid house, a stunning collection. We also attempted a suspension bridge (the third of the trip) but we had to get back half way as it was getting too wobbly!
After that we had a whistle stop at Helga’s Folly, a famous hotel over the lake which looks more like an art gallery or a surrealist dream. Run and designed by Helga De Silva, who grew up in a world of ’50s hollywood celebrities, writers and politicians. Stereophonics wrote a single about her called “Madam Helga”. The place is worth a visit, although wouldn’t recommend to stay the night as it is hugely expensive compared to normal Sri Lankan prices, and it stinks! Probably due to a colony of monkeys that live on the roof of the spooky building. Amongst other famous people, Gregory Peck and Gandhi stayed here.
After we left it was already 2pm so we decided to get fast food, and conveniently for Bruce we ended up at KFC. But it was much more expensive (£3.50) than a local restaurant where you can get a huge curry for £1.50 which is much more filling, and the it wasn’t particularly fast as fast food should be. Definitely not recommended as an option, but Kandy really lacks restaurants so in case of an emergency it can be acceptable.
In the afternoon we went to the tea museum, which is 4km out of the city and it’s a big wooden warehouse where they show a lot of the old machineries used to produce tea, as well as providing a tea tasting, having a big floor only for traditional Ceylon tea shops, and one floor that covers a lot of the history of Mr Lipton, in which (I couldn’t help but notice) a lot of the pictures were marked as coming from the Unilever archives.
At 5pm our driver brought us to a traditional Sri Lankan dancing show held in a theatre near the Kandy lake. The music was unbearable, only drums and not very varied, but some of the moves were impressive, including several backflips. On the way out from the theatre we were all asked to gather around a pot with fire, and they ended the show with fire tricks and walked on the flames.
After that we started our drive to Kitulgala, which was meant to take us around 1:30hrs so we could get there for dinner at our lodge. But our driver got lost, due to Google Maps not being updated and sending us the wrong way. Unfortunately he only checked towards the end, and when we thought we were about to arrive, he spoke to some locals and found out that we were still 2hrs away since we came the wrong way. Starving and tired, we were a bit annoyed but tried to keep it together. I was feeling very sick on the road, the driving here is quite entertaining with small swirling roads, filled with tuc tucs and fast buses that keep overtaking each other, and the horns that never stop going. We almost lost it when we arrived at 10:30pm and found out that we were staying in tents at Kitulgala Adventure Resort, so humid that the bed was almost wet. The communal toilets and showers were so bad as well. They gave us the remaining of the barbecue dinner, completely cold but edible. We then went to bed, having to sleep in the tent with all our bags since there was nowhere else to put them.
We met their dog, which has three legs after a car accident, and is now called Tuc Tuc (three wheeled!). Very sweet.
The sound of the river was very strong from the tent and the humidity very strong, so we didn’t have much sleep, but it was definitely the most adventurous place we’ve been to so far in our trip.
Day 3 Kitulgala and Rafting
We woke up and had breakfast. Over the roof we saw three mini kittens, and also met the several other dogs that lived on Kitulgala Adventure resort. In Sri Lanka there is a dog on the road every 50 metres, it is quite incredible how many dogs you meet in a day.
After breakfast, we had rafting booked at 9am although we were doubtful because the poor Brucey got a bad migraine due to the lack of sleep probably.
We got a bit delayed to wait for his pill to kick in, but in the end he decided to go anyway as the distraction might be beneficial. We went to the rafting place by tuc tuc (my first ever!) and then had to walk down with the paddles towards the river after we got our helmets and life jackets on. The guys coming with us carried the boat on their head all the way down! Quite a skill.
It was really fun, some of the rapids were quite steep (class 2 and 3) and full of rocks, and of course we managed to capsize (quite scary) and fall in the river and get a few bruises on the rocks. Bruce was typically slow to rescue me, but luckily the other guys grabbed me by the life jacket until I was back on the boat and safe. The most scary thing is that the buggers told me there were crocodiles in the river! So I started shouting as I do, and when I got back in the boat they told me it wasn’t true. No crocodile. Ha Ha Ha. (GRRR)
It was also very entertaining to watch four boats of locals racing each other and getting each other soaked with paddles of water.
It was a great experience and we definitely recommend making the stop for one day in Kitulgala to go rafting, it’s worth the trip (even better if you don’t get lost and take the right way from Kandy).
After the rafting we came back to the campsite and had a shower in those awful toilets and showers (it had to be done to avoid river smelly clothes, hair and skin).
They prepared us a quick lunch which was unexpectadly delicious. Noodles with chicken and vegetables, so good we couldn’t stop eating!
We then started to make our way towards Adam’s peak, which took about 2hrs with some stops to check out the stunning views on the way. Rivers, lakes, tea plantations. Stunning, stunning sceneries. Arrived at our hotel Grand Adam’s Peak at 3pm and just chilled overlooking the mountain which was well needed. Early dinner and in bed by 7pm since tonight a 2am we are waking up to treck up the peak. Tradition says there is a footstep of the buddha on the top, hence why a lot of pilgrims are walking up every day. Very exciting!
Day 4 Adam’s Peak
The 2am start wasn’t that bad because I managed to fall asleep at 8pm. Bruce though was very naughty playing his stupid silly games until 11pm so he was more tired as per usual.
We left with our backpack, a litre of water each and our packed breakfast. Ready to roll.
As we walked towards the starting point, we realised that despite being the middle of the night it wasn’t that cold. The beginning was put offish, lots of small marquees selling crisps and it looked like the entrance of a gig at the stadium. Not particularly sacred!
At the start we got immediately very hot, and Bruce was literally dripping sweat as if he only came out of the shower and after 15 minutes he was already on full on complaining mode. I thought he would turn back and leave me to climb on my own. But, for once, he was resilient, and he slowly got into his pace and with a few compromised longer stops we slowly made our way to the top. I am very proud he didn’t give up! The first 2km were definitely the hardest. It took us just under three hours for 6km and an elevation of 970m. From the bottom you can see the trail lit up, that goes up to the top, where the peak is covered in foggy clouds, which are flickering in a pink light that comes from the temple. As you walk up you keep looking to that direction, and hope that the tip is getting closer and closer, sometimes just fooling yourself to get through.
Along the way there are the same marquees, that sell hot coffee and hot tea of course (the mountain is surrounded by tea plantations). There were quite a few tourists, but mainly local pilgrims coming up and coming down, all the way. It was impressive seeing old people, crooked men, young kids, teenagers, and mums and dads carrying toddlers all the way up the steep 5200 steps that bring you to the top of the peak. In the last kilometre it started to get colder and colder and we had to re-add all the layers that we gradually had taken off. The wind was blowing, and we started entering the cloud that characterise the peak, by that time it also started raining of course just to add to the pain and the slippery steps. We arrived at the last stop before the end and got a nice cup of tea, just before 6am which is when the sun rises. We then walked up the last 100metres and got up there in the wind, with a huge crowd of people, mixed between tourists and pilgrims, waiting in the freezing windy cloud, for the sun to show up. It was not an incredible sunrise, as the clouds were covering a lot of the sky. But it was still a great sensation, despite the masses of people trodding over your feet, and the awful drums coming relentlessly from the temple, to have earned that moment in which the sun comes out, and the mountains start coming out and the clouds turn pink. It was an amazing personal experience, which made us feel stronger and better for a short while. There is nothing like endurance to take your mind in a mystical place.
On the way down we stopped to eat our breakfast, made by the Grand Adam’s Peak Hotel which was just as disgusting as the dinner. We would definitely recommend the place to sleep, as it’s very close to the start of the ascent and only $25 with very clean rooms, but don’t eat there. It’s a rip off and it’s quite disgusting, even worse than robs cooking. The options are not many on the peak though.
The 5200 stairs down were pretty hard on the knees, and the steps are very uneven and sometimes very small meaning that you have to be very careful not to slip or twist your ankle. It would make even the strongest knees shake. It is much faster than the way up, that’s for sure, and you are also accompanied by some stunning views over the river, the mountains and the tea plantations. While on the way up only some stars and darkness surrounds you which makes it somewhat harder.
We got down before 9am, legs destroyed and we already felt like the day was going to end since we’d been up already for 7 hours.
After resting for an hour, we left towards Nuwara Eliya, a small colonial town which is known as Little England. On the way there we encountered some pretty waterfalls and some cheeky monkeys.
We had lunch at Grand Indian which is Top Choice on the Lonely Planet and we broadly agreed, especially after a couple of days of having shity food.
During the rest of the afternoon it started raining like crazy, so we were unable to do any outdoor activities unfortunately. My personal achievement was teaching Bruce how to play the most popular italian cards game, Scopa. Of course due to either the beginner’s luck or having a terrible girlfriend (we have a way of saying in Italy that says Fortunato nel gioco, Sfortunato in amore meaning if you are lucky with the cards you are unlucky with love) he won 11 – 10. I was quite angry but I managed to let it go eventually.
We stayed in our shity hotel for a few hours waiting for dinner time. We were quite unlucky with the accommodation in Nuwara Eliya since we booked a very well rated B&B with Booking.com called Sincere Wilderness, but they contacted us only a week ago to say that they couldn’t receive us anymore. Since it’s peak season it would have been hard to find a new place since this is a very popular spot. In the end they found us another accommodation after a few angry emails, called Wang Ne. It was horribly smelly, and full of flies everywhere. Very damp and with mould on the ceiling. Not impressed, and left a very bad review on Trip Advisor!
To cheer ourselves up we had a nice dinner at the restaurant within the St Andrew’s hotel, one of the famous English colonial hotels in the town. We had the buffet and a bottle of Sangiovese and we were happy again, and very stuffed of course – like always after a good buffet! We then went straight to bed and had a very very long sleep.
Day 5 Nuwara Eliya to Ella
After a quick breakfast at our disgusting B&B, we left to have a quick drive around and see our options. We opted to start with a walk around Victoria Park, but a very lazy and slow walk considering that our legs are destroyed from Adam’s peak. Carves especially, they are rock solid, and every movements automatically produces a groan. Victoria Park was nice and chilled, nothing special but pretty enough. Next to the entrance there is the pink post office, which is beautiful and it brings you back in time even by just looking at it.
By walking around the town we started noticing that Sri Lankan love a good quote, especially to put on their tuc-tucs to remark their philosophy of life. Here are some of our favourites:
We then decided to go even more back in time and visited the Hill Club. A members club, hotel and restaurant founded in 1876 by a group of British coffee planters as a private club for gentlemen. Ladies had a separate entrance at the back, as they weren’t allowed from the main entrance. The gentlemen bar and some of the rooms and old photo are fascinating. We easily spent an hour nosing around, and it was a nice surprise that they don’t charge to look as everywhere else! Definitely worth a visit if you are in Nuwara Eliya, it was one of our highlights. The Queen visited here in the 50’s and the cuttlery used for the dinner is still there. After a good look around we ended up playing tennis in the club’s court, very old school with little wooden sheltered stands, and a mini club house. Bruce destroyed me but I was happy because I managed not to get too angry. And I was getting a little better towards the end… Our sore legs didn’t allow for longer than 1 hour.
We then had a decent lunch by Gregory Lake, before making our way to the railway station where our train to Ella was departing. Apparently one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. The train was one hour late, but we were warned that this is the Sri Lankan style. The expectations were very high and they were more than fulfilled. The train is not to be missed, as it has the most spectacular views over mountains, tea plantations, waterfalls, forests, little towns. The train in itself is an experience as the windows are all open from the bottom (unlike our trains which are only open a tiny bit on the top) and the doors are all open, for all the three hours journey. Some of the locals stand leaning outside the train for the entire trip. When stopping at the different stations (including ours in Ella) there is not always a platform next to the train to get off on, often you have to walk down on the railway track and cross a couple of rails with your luggage and all, and climb up the only platform available. It is the most noisy train I’ve ever been on, the click-clack never stops, and the horn goes at regular intervals for no specific reasons. There were some pretty spooky bits, with very steep drops down valleys, the tunnels all felt scary, and there are very very thin passages in which you think the train will never manage to pass through. So far my favourite activity of the whole Sri Lanka trip.
We arrived in Ella at 7:30pm and Jay Jay was there waiting for us. He drove us to our b&b called Feelin’ Good, which was so good after a couple of nights spent in bad places. So clean and modern, with a shower that is separate from the rest of the bathroom, bliss! We stayed in for dinner and had some nice noodles and curd with honey which is a local dessert, very delicious.
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