Where the heck are we now?

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Ella, Sri Lanka

Our last part of the scenic train ride took us to Ella through grand landscapes. The train track was situated high in the mountains so we could look down on the villages as we passed through...

There were tall waterfalls and higher up we were surrounded by mists...

Then the sun appeared...

Watching the world go by...

Our homestay was located a short walk outside town...

It only had two rooms and the other was empty so we had the terrace to ourselves...

With lovely views...

We weren’t too impressed with the town of Ella, being the last stop on the train it is very popular with a main strip full of cafes and stores catering to a younger crowd...

And a Post Office with some of the least expensive stamps we have bought in any county...

Posting cards to our grandchildren...

Since Ella is located in the mountains there are many places to hike, so we were up early one morning to do so but even early in the day it wasn’t long before we were hot and tired...

The dogs got it right...lie in the shade...

As we walked the views were beautiful...

There were some tough spots on the trail...

But also shady paths...

The last part to the top was through a lot of steps...

But we made it to the top...

To be rewarded with awesome views all around...

Another popular landmark is the Nine Arch Bridge which is located outside of town. The bridge was built at Gotuwala between the Ella and Demodara stations during the British Colonial period. Locally it is known as ‘Ahas Namaye Palama’ meaning nine skies bridge in Sinhala. The name derives from the visual experience. When you stand below the bridge and look up you can see the sky through the nine arches.

The unique part about this bridge is that it is built entirely from rocks, bricks, and cement with no use of steel or metals throughout the structure. The bridge was commissioned in 1941 and the story goes that as the bridge was being planned World War I broke out. The steel and metal materials destined to be used in the bridge were reassigned to be used for military purposes. The materials were then gathered in the form of rocks, bricks, and cement to make sure the bridge construction still went ahead.

People come here for the views as well as hoping to catch the train going by...

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In order to get there we hiked up another hill and when we got to the top realized we would have to go down again, it wasn’t a pretty sight seeing me scoot down the path mostly on my hands and knees!

We did get a picture of the train coming over the bridge...

It is such a pretty place here with the tea gardens, the mountains and jungle all around...

Since we were not going back up the hill we decided to walk back to town on the train tracks...

Such beautiful countyside as we walked...

The road down below shows are high up in the mountains we are...

As we travel we realize some of our best days are the ones we sit and watch the local life going by...this lady was doing the same...

The pineapple truck came by and this young man brought her some pineapples which she promptly declined and sent him back for more...

Around town there were lots of brightly coloured temples...

And brightly coloured cafes...

Flowers everywhere...

Every morning there would be people selling their produce on the side of the road...

This little one was having her lunch while her grandfather was selling cold coconut drinks...

And how could we forget the delicious food prepared by our host every evening...

We enjoyed our stop here but are now heading south and some time on the beach!

Monday, May 7, 2018

Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

The next stage of our trip was also on train from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya which is rated as one of the most scenic train trips in the world. We couldn’t get reserved seats for the trip so ended up with second class unreserved and hoped for the best.

There were a lot of people standing but after a couple of stops we were fortunate enough to get seats only to be told a few minutes later there was a train derailment ahead so we all had to get off, not happy campers. We were then told to wait for buses to come to take us past the train derailment to another station. We all waited in the heat for over an hour, herded on over crowded buses, bussed around the mountains for almost another hour, only to be deposited at the next train station amd told we had to wait another 2 and half hours for the next train...it was quite the journey that day!

The bus...

Still waiting...

Eventually after many hours delayed we got aboard the slow train for Nuwara Eliya and again were fortunate to find seats for the whole journey.

The train went through many small towns...

School girls waiting for the train to pass...

Laundry day...

This little boy was with his father at one of the shops along the way...

Nuwara Eliya is in the center of the country and is located at one of the highest elevations of over 6000 feet so has a more temperate climate. It wasn’t long before we were travelling through some of the hill country landscape...

The train was the iconic blue Sri Lanka train with people hanging out the sides as we rolled along...

As we got closer we came into tea country as Nuwara Eliya is a very important tea growing area in Sri Lanka. The hills were similar to ones we saw in Munnar in India...

The town is often referred to as “ Little England” as it was settled by English and Scottish tea planters in 1846 and still retains some of the colonial charm. Our homestay house was built by the British in 1892 but now belongs to a Sri Lankan family whose father purchased it from the British when they left the area. It has such beautiful flower and vegetable gardens...

Our host and his sons working in the garden, they grow enough produce for their own use and then sell the rest...

There are many gorgeous homes in this little town...

Surrounded by beautiful flower gardens...

Even the Post Office is pretty...

And there is a golf course in the middle of town...

And a race track, all left by the British...

There are still some of the old hotels including the Grand Hotel in operation here. The original building was constructed in 1828 as a holiday residence for the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Edward Barnes. In 1892 it was sold and began life as a hotel which since has been upgraded to the luxury building of today. The grounds are so well kept...

We enjoyed the evening buffet at the hotel and it was indeed very grand. There was a dress code to dine there so Don had to wear a sarong, no picture as he wouldn’t allow it!

The town is a tourist destination for a lot of Sri Lankans and it being a holiday weekend the hotel was crowded as well as the rest of the town. Many places including homes were decorated with paper lanterns which were lit at night.

Decorations at our homestay...

Another attraction here which is just outside town is Gregory Lake built in 1873 by one of the British governors, it was meant to provide electricity but is used mainly for leisure and recreation. There were lots of people enjoying the day...