Sri Lanka: Kandy & Ella

Hello all

We are at the end of our ten days in Sri Lanka. Tonight we fly to Kuala Lumpar and then to Kalibo airport in the Philippines.

Sri Lanka has been great. We have had to travel on some long journeys but the destinations have been worth it.

From Hikkaduwa beach we took a train to Colombo (2 hours) and from there we took another train to Kandy (3 hours). They wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so crowded and if we had seats!

Kandy

Lush and green, Kandy was a lot cooler than Colombo so it was a nice break from the heat. We visited the Royal Botanic Gardens and roamed the city for a day. We had planned to go to Sigiriya rock but it meant a 6am wake up to locate a bus, a bus transfer and it would take 6 hours there and back. So we decided to miss that one out.

Ella

Our favourite destination so far. This was the famous train route from Kandy to Ella. We got 2nd class tickets so that we could hang out the doors and windows for the best view. The views were absolutely breathtaking. The train took us high into the mountains, through tea fields and dense forest.

Once we arrived in Ella it had just gone 6pm and the sun was just setting with the most beautiful colours. We found our accommodation and headed out for dinner. We couldn't believe how many foreigners there were. Ella is a popular destination! In the morning we set off on a hike to Ella rock. The beginning of this hike is along the train tracks which was such a cool experience because the tracks are not only used for trains but all the locals follow it along on their way to work and school. There are lots of farms alongside the tracks so we got to meet a lot of farmers on the way too.

From Ella, we took the 9.20am train back to colombo. It took ten hours. Luckily this time we were able to book 1st class (6 pounds!) so we had air conditioning and a seat. We then had to take a bus from Colombo for another hour and a half to Negombo and stayed the night here.

The last ten days have flown by!

xxx G & T