We left Ella in the morning, and as such also the mountain country. En-route we had a stop at Ravana Falls (which included an opportunity to buy rocks) before making it to our home for the next night – a permanent tent site about an hour away from Yala NP. Before lunch the site’s naturalist took us for a walk through the area surrounding the camp, showing us the plants and a bit of wildlife of the region.
Category Archives: _Asia_
Train to Ella
We got back into Nuwara Eliya around midday – and with our train scheduled to leave around 15:00, we had enough time for an early lunch, before making it to the train station.
The train did pull in a slight bit late. We had reserved seats in third class – and those were now our home for the next good three hours and until arrival in Ella. While third class may sound bad, it was actually quiet acceptable – certainly not worse than German second class on a regional train – plus the landscape rolling by catered for a welcome diversion. For the first part of the journey we made it through tea country, overlooking the tea gardens of the Ella region. The scenery changed gradually over time – away from the rolling hills of tea to a more mountainous setup with bigger differences in elevation, cliffs down and great valley views.
We got into Ella a bit later than expected, hence made it straight to the hotel. Though with Ella being more of a base for activities in the area around (i.e. mainly consisting of guesthouses, restaurants, bars and coffee shops – and no real attractions) we did not really miss out much.
It’s the End of the World as we know it (and I feel fine)
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Given where we were heading for today, I just had to quote the title of a well known R.E.M. piece here … though – admittedly – I still had yesterday’s hike up Adam’s Peak in my legs and knees, so … Continue reading
Teatime in “little England” …
We made it back to the hotel in the late morning, where (a rather late) breakfast was waiting for us. The tour continued after a quick chance to freshen up. We continued deeper into the main tea production area, heading for Nuwara Eliya (nick-named Little England). En-route we stopped at a tea factory for a quick tour through the production process; as today was a Sunday, there was not much happening here – so the focus of the tour was more on the tasting room and the (slightly over-prized) factory shop (assuming one made it through the hordes of Chinese tourists on a tea-buying mission).
After having gotten a glimpse of the production process, we made it to the Grand Hotel in Little England for the classic High Tea experience (and I still cannot believe, that my British / OZ travel companions really needed a German to actually bring that option up).
After tea there was – of course – an opportunity to check out town and get an understanding, where its nick name is coming from. For me – having been up since 1am – it was a short evening (after a long day) and I ended in bed fairly early.
Up Adam’s Peak
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If there was one really EARLY morning on this trip – it must have been today. On the agenda today we had the climb up Adam’s Peak. The hike typically starts around 02:30am in the small village of Dalhousie – … Continue reading
Kandy Botanical Garden
This morning we spent close to two hours in the botanical garden of Kandy. Originally only open to Kandy royals, these beautiful gardens are now open to everyone.
From the gardens we continued our trip towards tea country …
More of Kandy …
Today was a free day and a welcome opportunity to sleep a slight bit longer. Most of us made it to downtown after (a late) breakfast; for me it was more sightseeing around the temple of the tooth, a walk around the lake – and the first real espresso since my transfer in Amsterdam.
We got together again in the evening for a Kandyan Dance Performance. The performance turned out fairly touristic; I am not so sure, if all that dancing was indeed Kandy or even Sri Lanka style – – – at least the part with balancing those revolving plates … I am sure, I have seen that before (maybe the acrobats in Beijing?). Anyhow – the show was entertaining enough 😉
After the show we made it to a Tamil restaurant for dinner – followed by a visit to a dodgy bar (the bar turned out completely fine … so nothing dodgy here).
Kandy – Market & Temple of the Tooth
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From Dambulla we continued towards Kandy. En-route we had a stop at a spice garden – where we got a good introduction into spice production, before making it over to the showroom for the sales pitch; lunch came together with … Continue reading
Dambulla Cave Temples
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This morning we had an early start once more, again to beat the crowds – this time at the Dambulla Cave Temples. The place has a history of more than two thousand years; there are a total of five caves … Continue reading
Dambulla Vegetable Market
We made it to the hotel in Dambulla in the late afternoon. Most wanted a break after all that sightseeing and (even more so) after all the food.
We met up again in the evening for a visit to Dambulla’s wholesale vegetable market – to get a glimpse of Sri Lanka’s diversity, when it comes to fruit and vegetables.
As most of us were still pretty full from our late buffet lunch, many of the group joined in for a snackfood crawl in downtown Dambully. Priya here gave us an introduction to classic Sri Lankan snack foods – instead of dinner, we were essentially snacking through, trying bits here and pieces there … good flavors and just the right amount of food.
