Post 7 - October 6th

 Last night, Judith sent a message to our driver, Sura, letting him know she changed her mind about buying that sapphire ring.  By the time we finished our breakfast and met Sura he had contacted the store, ring production was underway, they will arrange to bring it to our hotel at our next destination.  The salesman at the gem store and Sura know each other; there is a strong level of confidence that the gem store is legit.  There are concerns that the ring may need to be further sized when it is received, but it’s a beautiful stone in a minimalist setting.  Admittedly, I’m not drawn to bling, but I will acknowledge it’s really a striking ring.  I’m amazed by just how sparkly it is.  

This morning we are taking the train today to Ella, high up in the hills of Sri Lanka.  We are going 3rd class because the windows open.  We get to the train station and need to wait a bit before the train arrives.  The Kandy station has a Victorian feel to it with shelters and waiting chairs that have curling wrought iron.  There is a sheet metal roof supported with metal bars that crows like to perch on.  I avoid areas of the platform that have a lot of dried bird shit.  

I fill my time walking down to the end of the platform.  There are fewer people here and as I get my selfie, a young man sitting at the last bench asks via signing if I wanted him to take my picture.  I nodded “no” signed back that my selfie would be fine.  Then he patted the empty bench beside him inviting me to sit on the bench.  To this day I’m not sure what would have happened had I accepted his invite but there’s no way I wanted to find out.  I just kept walking down the platform towards the crowds and where Judith and Sura were standing. 

View of the platform.

The train arrives and we begin to board.  There is a small crush of people getting on, just like the airlines.  That always puzzles me because all the seats are pre-assigned.  We settle into our seats.  Judith’s research suggests that the right side of the train is the better side, but not only are we on the left side, we are also facing backwards.  Oh well, I know we’ll enjoy the ride. 

Boarding time.

The train conductors wear uniforms.  They look very smart.  I’d overheat wearing that outfit.  

There is a large group of young travellers in their 20s that occupy the seats around us.  We find out that they’re Belgians that are on a group tour.  The tour leader is about 40 and is from Belgium as well.  As after the train leaves the station, a Sinhalese threesome begin singing and playing a small congo like drum and the whole train car erupts in song.  We do our part by adding our percussion bits.  Eventually, at the next station or two, the Sinhalese threesome get kicked out of their seats because they didn’t have tickets for them.  I uploaded a short clip of the music but I’m not sure if it will work.  Reach out via WhatsApp, email or Messenger to let me know. 

The train ride is 6.5 hours long and winds uphill through tunnels, over trestles, but mostly alongside the mountain ranges in the central interior of the country through manicured tea plantations.   Sri Lanka’s railway network was conceived, designed and implemented by the British colonial government in 1864. The original purpose was to transport tea from the mountain highlands to the port of Columbo.  The line we’re on today was completed in 1924.  Kandy sits at the base of the highlands.  Ella is much higher in the hills and tea would have been loaded onto cars to begin their journey to other parts of the world.  Around 1960, passenger traffic took over freight (mainly tea) as the main source of revenue for this line. 

 

The train stops at many stations along the way.  Most have platforms, but some require you to climb down onto the ground.  We spend the time looking out the window.  At one point we go between cars and have our picture taken by one of the Belgian group, but I stop after the drunk Sinhalese singer (the one with the red shirt) comes and tries to hold onto me to prevent me from falling out.  I call it a day and return to my seat.

Hanging out the doorway in between train cars.  If the clear space narrowed by the train cars due to branches, rocks or a tunnel, you had to advise the photographer, who was hanging out a window but with their back to the imminent danger, to duck back into the car.  

And we pass some waterfalls.  It rained periodically throughout the day so the falls were well fed.  

We arrive in Ella and are met by our guide Sura, at the platform.  He has driven from Kandy to Ella, transporting our large suitcases.   Because he can drive faster than the train travels, he arrives well before we do.  

We are driven directly to our hotel.  We’re staying at this very lovely hotel:  98 Acres Resort and Spa.  The room is huge and well appointed.  There’s a seating area to the side that I didn’t capture in this picture.  The bathroom was very large; but we had to put up with a squeaky door.

And this was the view from our balcony.  There’s tea being grown in the valley below.  That’s Little Adam’s Peak in the foreground.  

We go and have dinner at the hotel.  It’s a lot uphill to the restaurant and drizzling so we elect to use the hotel’s Tuktuk service.  Even so, there are about 40 more stairs to get to the restaurant.  Judith is fine going up stairs but has issues going down them, particularly if there are no handrails.  Almost all of the outdoor stairs in Sri Lanka have no handrails and the restaurant steps are no exception.  However these are well spaced, so while it’s not fast, Judith can navigate these stairs.  Going to bed, we decided not to draw the curtains overlooking our view so that we could enjoy it upon waking.