Ella, Nuwara Eliya, and Kandy, Sri Lanka

Ella, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy

 Sri Lanka

Little Adam's Peak (I couldn't find Adam so settled with Luke)

I am writing this blog slightly late, three months to be exact. I will explain why in a future blog. But for now I am going to attempt to search through my below average memory banks (which is exactly why I need to write a blog). Let’s start where we left off, Sri Lanka. Whilst we were there we spent most of our time along the coast, but shockingly (at least to me) there is more to a country than it’s beaches.

Ella

We learnt our lesson. We got up at the crack of dawn to catch the earliest bus possible out of Arugam Bay to Ella. After still having nightmares about the bus to Arugam we did anything in our power to try and get a seat on the next bus (it was a great success). We caught three buses to get to Ella:

• Arugam bay to Monoragala - 3.80 AUD
• Monoragala to Weliwaya - 1.30 AUD
• Weliyama to Ella - 1.16 AUD

Having three buses broke up the journey perfectly and somehow the timing worked, so we didn't have to wait in between each bus. We arrived in Ella at 10.30am. Can I just say I only remember where the bus went and the cost because for the entire trip we (Luke) has been documenting our daily expenditure in our calendar. I would highly recommend doing this as it helps you stick to your budget (kind of). 

Where's Wally: Luke edition

We stayed in a home stay BnB (for lack of a better way to explain it) called “Little Cottage”. Just a short 10 minute hilly walk from the bus stop. This was one of the more expensive places we have stayed at 19 AUD (which now having stayed in London seems like a ridiculously cheap price). It was lovely and they gave us free tea and cake each day- which in my books makes the "high price" worth it (even if the tea cake was extremely stale). 

Nine Arch Bridge

Nine Arch Bridge

Ella is the place to go in Sri Lanka. Mainly for the instagrammable wonder of the nine arch bridge. See above photos for proof. This was built when the British colonised Sri Lanka. (Where hasn't Britain taken over). The walk to the bridge is beautiful and if you feel like going for a larger walk you can cover Little Adams Peak at the same time. All perfectly mapped out for you on maps.me app.  In terms of Sri Lankan culture, Ella isn't the place to go. But if western food, beautiful walks, ease of access and groggy nights out is, then enjoy. We had a good time but were happy enough only having few days.

Little Adam's Peak

Little Adam's Peak

One of the walking tracks around Ella, beware of people and trains trying to overtake you

One of the  draw cards for Ella is the journey there. The train ride from Kandy to Ella boasts of being one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. Think mountainous ranges, tea plantations, and waterfalls. But also think 6 hours straight on a train. Most people go from Kandy to Ella in one hit. We decided to go backwards (Ella to Kandy) and stop off half way as sitting for that long isn’t our thing (if we can help it). This took us to the mountains region of Nuwara Eliya.

Not the Nine Arch Bridge, on the train to Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya

We stayed at East Mount Villa. It was interesting trying to make our way there as its location on maps.me was not truthful (it was a 2km walk from town rather than the 950m it was boasting). Eventually we got to the oasis that was East Mount Villa (oasis/dump). If you are to visit I would definitely recommend staying elsewhere and if your pockets allow stay at the Grand Hotel.  

This is the most prestigious hotel in Sri Lanka. Here they offer high tea every afternoon at 3pm. You are even welcome to come if you are a pleb staying elsewhere (so we've heard).  Luke and I had our first ever experience with cucumber sandwiches and all you can drink tea. And if that's what it's always like in high society, sign us up. Before we left the Grand Hotel to get back to our oasis we started being nosey and walking around the hotel. The concierge spotted us and instead of getting kicked out we were given a personal tour around the grounds. It’s fair to say that we felt inadequate walking around in our grotty sneakers and our matching Kathmandu jumpers (fashionistas). 

Unfortunately the entire time we were in Nuwara Eliya it was raining and pretty darn cold. The maximum temperature was 12 degrees which for us tropical weather lovers (us being Luke, myself and my fungal ear infections) it was a shock to the system. Especially when our only options for clothing did not reflect the climate we were in. In the one break in the rain we went on a tour of Pedro Tea Plantation and got to see how tea is grown, dried and packaged.  

Walk back to town from Pedro Tea Plantation

There are plenty of waterfalls and great walks to do but unfortunately the weather was not on our side and we couldn't do much else. So we hopped back on the train and headed to our last stop Kandy. 

Kandy

Kandy wasn’t our favourite place, but we did stay at a great hostel called Kandy Backpacker Hostel (18 AUD per night). They put on a free cooking class every evening where we learnt to make coconut sambal and curry. We then got to eat it with all the other guests. If I was to go back to Sri Lanka I would only use Kandy as a stop over (aka I don't want to go back to Kandy if I can help it). You can get a bus from Kandy to the international airport in Colombo which from memory was around four hours. 

Next stop, Vietnam where we met up with Lukes parents Sue and Tim.

Love,

Claire and Luke (Luke was drinking a coffee in the Scottish Highlands while I was in Wanda the Van as I wrote this so he counts as a co-author too right?)

Lukes new favourite animal, the Hairy Coo (pronounced by everyone else as cow)