An even shinier new driver today in an even newer and shinier Toyota Prius, took us to the palace at Sirigiya, about 10km east of the hotel.
This is a fabulous archaeological site, comparable in scale and herculean effort to Chichen Itza and Angkor Watt.
The site is a huge overhanging isolated outcrop of garnetiferous hornblende gneiss rising abruptly some hundred or so metres from the plain below. At ground level concentric moats enclose the remains of water pleasure gardens from the fifth century AD. Then you begin to climb marble steps through a boulder garden until you reach the rock outcrop itself.
Many boulders have rows of shallow step marks carved into them as footings for brick walls, and sinuous drip-ledges, shallow vermiform runnels to divert water from trickling down overhangs into inhabited spaces beneath.
Increasingly steep flights of steps lead to a steel spiral staircase bolted to the vertical rock surface. This climbs upwards to an overhang which forms a gallery for ancient paintings of apsaras on the rock wall.
You then pass along a corridor where the smooth plasterwork is inscribed by old graffiti, to a rock shoulder from whence the final steel staircases ascend to the summit palace. This climb feels quite exposed, but has fabulous views over the deeply wooded countryside below.
At the top are the remains of a surprisingly small brick palace, a water tank carved out of the impervious gneiss, and various ancillary buildings. A throne is also entirely carved from the rock. The views are stunning in all directions. The quantity of bricks which have been carried to this height is astounding.
Christine identified that what we were standing on was an inselberg. We had previously looked at the valley shapes around Ella and Nuwara Eliya and thought they showed features of glacial origin, but dismissed the idea as Sri Lanka was far too close to the equator to support a Pleistocene ice sheet. What we suddenly realised was that the landscape here must be far, far older than that. The rock is two to three thousand million years old, the landforms we see now are indeed glacial, but formed during the Carboniferous glaciation which deposited the tillites of South Africa. At this time Sri Lanka would have been much further from the Equator.
We later visited the excellent site museum which seemed to confirm the theory.
After such a lot of climbing it was time for lunch and the driver took us to a very well patronised establishment for delicious rice and curry.
The afternoon belonged to the swimming pool and planning the last stage of the Indian tour.
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Saturday, 30 January 2016
Kandy to Dambulla
Our shiny new driver in his shiny new Toyota Prius turned up precisely on time and we drove northwards. Our first stop was the Hindu temple at Matale, a gaudy confection of innumerable gods and goddesses piled high above the solemn prayer space.
Next we stopped at the Luckgrove spice garden. Here a most knowledgeable gentleman of Ayurvedic persuasion showed us around, which was useful as we had somehow omitted the spice garden during our tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens the day before yesterday. We learnt many uses of both the endemic cinnamon and the rest of the imported spices also grown here. The world view behind it all seemed shaky but hey, if it's been working for a millennium or so there is probably something in it. We saw cocoa and vanilla pods, cloves, pepper, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger, galangal, sandalwood and cardamon that I remember.
Lunch was a little bizarre as we were taken to a very upmarket and very empty restaurant, architect designed to sit over an equally empty elongated infinity pool, surrounded by paddy fields and a mango orchard. We never did find out why as the driver's command of English didn't support complicated questions, but the rice and curry were fine albeit needlessly expensive.
Then onto the rock cave temples at Dambulla. We had expected caves to be cool, but these are not really caves and are both hot and humid. They are at the top of a giant gneissic rock outcrop involving the climbing of a staircase of considerable height to reach them.
What has happened is that onion skin weathering of the gneiss has formed a natural overhang at the top of the outcrop. The space beneath the overhang has been enclosed by manmade walls and divided into separate compartments, the so-called caves.
Inside are many enormous gilded reclining Buddhas, surrounded by a multitude of standing and sitting effigies. The sloping ceiling and vertical walls are covered every inch with paintings directly onto the rock. Many of these are Buddha images, but also scenes from his life and life to come. Where inspiration was lacking the rock was painted in a checkerboard pattern, giving a slight tartan feel to the proceedings.
Back down the steps where a troupe of black eared monkeys had taken up residence, and a short walk along the road brought us to the Dambulla Painting Museum. The museum keeper obligingly took our money and switched the lights on. We were the only visitors.
The museum housed a chronologically arranged collection of carefully made copies of wall paintings from every inaccessible part of the island. It was well described even if some of the exhibits were more than a little baffling to the untrained eye. Very interesting to be able to compare stylistic development over the centuries.
The museum keeper closed the museum as we left. I don't think he has a busy job.
A few miles further, over a long sinuous dam, the road brought us to the Amaya Lake hotel where we are staying in our own garden villa in some luxury. The lake must have been relatively recently dammed as there are still the remains of dead trees sticking out of it.
Next we stopped at the Luckgrove spice garden. Here a most knowledgeable gentleman of Ayurvedic persuasion showed us around, which was useful as we had somehow omitted the spice garden during our tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens the day before yesterday. We learnt many uses of both the endemic cinnamon and the rest of the imported spices also grown here. The world view behind it all seemed shaky but hey, if it's been working for a millennium or so there is probably something in it. We saw cocoa and vanilla pods, cloves, pepper, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger, galangal, sandalwood and cardamon that I remember.
Lunch was a little bizarre as we were taken to a very upmarket and very empty restaurant, architect designed to sit over an equally empty elongated infinity pool, surrounded by paddy fields and a mango orchard. We never did find out why as the driver's command of English didn't support complicated questions, but the rice and curry were fine albeit needlessly expensive.
Then onto the rock cave temples at Dambulla. We had expected caves to be cool, but these are not really caves and are both hot and humid. They are at the top of a giant gneissic rock outcrop involving the climbing of a staircase of considerable height to reach them.
What has happened is that onion skin weathering of the gneiss has formed a natural overhang at the top of the outcrop. The space beneath the overhang has been enclosed by manmade walls and divided into separate compartments, the so-called caves.
Inside are many enormous gilded reclining Buddhas, surrounded by a multitude of standing and sitting effigies. The sloping ceiling and vertical walls are covered every inch with paintings directly onto the rock. Many of these are Buddha images, but also scenes from his life and life to come. Where inspiration was lacking the rock was painted in a checkerboard pattern, giving a slight tartan feel to the proceedings.
Back down the steps where a troupe of black eared monkeys had taken up residence, and a short walk along the road brought us to the Dambulla Painting Museum. The museum keeper obligingly took our money and switched the lights on. We were the only visitors.
The museum housed a chronologically arranged collection of carefully made copies of wall paintings from every inaccessible part of the island. It was well described even if some of the exhibits were more than a little baffling to the untrained eye. Very interesting to be able to compare stylistic development over the centuries.
The museum keeper closed the museum as we left. I don't think he has a busy job.
A few miles further, over a long sinuous dam, the road brought us to the Amaya Lake hotel where we are staying in our own garden villa in some luxury. The lake must have been relatively recently dammed as there are still the remains of dead trees sticking out of it.
Friday, 29 January 2016
Last day in Kandy
Christine's birthday today and she opened many cards. Today is not so much of a sightseeing day, more a shopping day.
We walked around the rather new and still not fully populated air conditioned City Centre shopping mall, then down the road to the fully populated if less sophisticated traditional market.
On the way to elevenses I purchased 100g of white tea, ending up with a surprisingly large volume of tea as it weighs very little. Afterwards we wrote postcards then went on a foray to find the post office to buy stamps.
After a swim in the hotel pool, we walked alongside the lake to the Kandian Cultural Centre. Here we watched a program of Kandian dancing culminating in fire walking. All was accompanied by vigorous drumming, flute and conch blowing. The finest dancers costumes reminded me of the tin man from the 'Wizard of Oz'. The best wore hats with pom-poms at the end of long chords, so that they could accentuate their music by tossing their heads and causing the pom-poms to fly into the air above.
Then back to the 'Stag's Head', the rooftop bar at the Casamara, for the traditional beer at sunset. followed by a short walk to 'the Devon' for a final magnificent meal. We had a vegetable biryani, lentil curry, mixed raita and onion pakoda ( a sort of deconstructed bhaji ) all for R1000, about a fiver for the pair of us.
And so to bed, it had been a memorable birthday. Christine had two really good presents as well. The first was a video of Ellen crawling for the first time. The second was that after we had wasted hours yesterday trying to book a night bus in India because they wouldn't accept foreign cards, Giles managed to organise tickets for us with the help of his Indian colleagues.
We walked around the rather new and still not fully populated air conditioned City Centre shopping mall, then down the road to the fully populated if less sophisticated traditional market.
On the way to elevenses I purchased 100g of white tea, ending up with a surprisingly large volume of tea as it weighs very little. Afterwards we wrote postcards then went on a foray to find the post office to buy stamps.
After a swim in the hotel pool, we walked alongside the lake to the Kandian Cultural Centre. Here we watched a program of Kandian dancing culminating in fire walking. All was accompanied by vigorous drumming, flute and conch blowing. The finest dancers costumes reminded me of the tin man from the 'Wizard of Oz'. The best wore hats with pom-poms at the end of long chords, so that they could accentuate their music by tossing their heads and causing the pom-poms to fly into the air above.
Then back to the 'Stag's Head', the rooftop bar at the Casamara, for the traditional beer at sunset. followed by a short walk to 'the Devon' for a final magnificent meal. We had a vegetable biryani, lentil curry, mixed raita and onion pakoda ( a sort of deconstructed bhaji ) all for R1000, about a fiver for the pair of us.
And so to bed, it had been a memorable birthday. Christine had two really good presents as well. The first was a video of Ellen crawling for the first time. The second was that after we had wasted hours yesterday trying to book a night bus in India because they wouldn't accept foreign cards, Giles managed to organise tickets for us with the help of his Indian colleagues.
Thursday, 28 January 2016
The Royal Gardens at Peradeniya
Walked to the National Museum only to find it closed. Not for the day, but for at least a year due to renovation works. We're not having a lot of luck with Sri Lankan museums!
Never mind, a quick purchase of comestibles from the local bakery and we are on our way by tuk-tuk to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, about 10km outside Kandy.
Almost 150 acres of superbly manicured gardens on a lovely sunny day. Highlights were the palm avenues, including one of coco-de-mer with its huge fruits, a brilliantly comprehensive collection of cycads (and near relatives the zamias and encephalartos). There were giant bamboo stands higher than many trees, and trees that looked as though they had black flapping leaves until you realised that they had been colonised by thousands of giant fruit bats.
The spectacular palm avenues must have been each a quarter of a mile long. Three wide pathways lined by hundreds of equally spaced Royal palms, Cabbage palms or Palmyra palms. In addition there were enormous specimens of Kauri trees from New Zealand, and other exotics from all over the tropics.
We arrived about 11am and had wandered around most of the collections by 4pm. The gardens themselves were started by Kandian kings in the 18th century, but vastly extended by the British as they sought to find which exotic plants from other parts of the empire could be commercially successful for settlers in Ceylon.
Back to Kandy by tuk-tuk. An altogether faster journey than by car, mostly because we drove on the wrong side of the road past much of the traffic jam. Tuk-tuks do that.
Never mind, a quick purchase of comestibles from the local bakery and we are on our way by tuk-tuk to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, about 10km outside Kandy.
Almost 150 acres of superbly manicured gardens on a lovely sunny day. Highlights were the palm avenues, including one of coco-de-mer with its huge fruits, a brilliantly comprehensive collection of cycads (and near relatives the zamias and encephalartos). There were giant bamboo stands higher than many trees, and trees that looked as though they had black flapping leaves until you realised that they had been colonised by thousands of giant fruit bats.
The spectacular palm avenues must have been each a quarter of a mile long. Three wide pathways lined by hundreds of equally spaced Royal palms, Cabbage palms or Palmyra palms. In addition there were enormous specimens of Kauri trees from New Zealand, and other exotics from all over the tropics.
We arrived about 11am and had wandered around most of the collections by 4pm. The gardens themselves were started by Kandian kings in the 18th century, but vastly extended by the British as they sought to find which exotic plants from other parts of the empire could be commercially successful for settlers in Ceylon.
Back to Kandy by tuk-tuk. An altogether faster journey than by car, mostly because we drove on the wrong side of the road past much of the traffic jam. Tuk-tuks do that.
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
First day in Kandy
We were late for breakfast, possibly by several decades. It was a gloomy affair lightened by the choice of background music. Out of the speakers came the refrain 'I've seen better times....', we looked at each other and burst out laughing.
We are getting to know the hotel electrician quite well. Yesterday he fixed the TV so it now at least shows a single channel which he proudly fixed to BBC News. Today he's replaced the batteries which power the safe deposit box so we can use it again.
After breakfast we walked to the temple of the tooth but I wasn't allowed in because I was wearing THE WRONG TROUSERS. Didn't take long to return in longer trousers though, and the temple complex was fascinating.
We dutifully shuffled past the shrine where Buddha's tooth is locked away in multiple nests of caskets, amidst a long queue of believers carrying floral offerings. Meanwhile a creche of wailing children waited with their mothers to receive blessings. With the flowers, incense and noise it was quite an experience.
Then to a small octagonal turret housing a small octagonal library. Some conventional books but the older ones beautifully made of bound palm leaves.
A new shrine followed with panels detailing the history of the tooth up to the 19th century, then the museum of votive offerings and other paraphernalia. My favourite exhibit was a pair of tusker jingle bells which were attached around the ankles of the elephant that carried the reliquary in processions.
After stopping to admire the Kandian King's audience house, a magnificent open wooden pavilion, we entered the Tusker museum. Here proudly stands the stuffed national hero of an elephant called Raja who bore the reliquary for 50 years until his demise in 1988.
The archeological museum, housed in a long bungalow which was formerly a King's palace, was mostly full of carved pillars and posts. We wandered back via various gaudy Hindu shrines, stupas and sacred Buddhist Bo trees.
After lunch we walked two miles around the ornamental lake that occupies the centre of the city. It was built by the last king, a tyrant whose supporters helped him build the dam to flood the paddy fields of the valley floor, and whose opposition were then staked to the bed of the newly forming lake. It is now alive with fish, ducks, storks, herons, egrets, comorants and even a pelican.
Finally we visited the Garrison Cemetery. This is a beautifully maintained poignant reminder of the sacrifice previous generations of British made to settle this land. So many died of tropical disease at such young ages, and so many of those were children. We were shown round by the caretaker who opened the small museum for us, and left feeling quite humbled by the courage demonstrated to come out here in those times.
Supper occurred at the Devon restaurant again. Superbly cooked Indian food, albeit with erratic service, but on average costing five pounds for the two of us!
We are getting to know the hotel electrician quite well. Yesterday he fixed the TV so it now at least shows a single channel which he proudly fixed to BBC News. Today he's replaced the batteries which power the safe deposit box so we can use it again.
After breakfast we walked to the temple of the tooth but I wasn't allowed in because I was wearing THE WRONG TROUSERS. Didn't take long to return in longer trousers though, and the temple complex was fascinating.
We dutifully shuffled past the shrine where Buddha's tooth is locked away in multiple nests of caskets, amidst a long queue of believers carrying floral offerings. Meanwhile a creche of wailing children waited with their mothers to receive blessings. With the flowers, incense and noise it was quite an experience.
Then to a small octagonal turret housing a small octagonal library. Some conventional books but the older ones beautifully made of bound palm leaves.
A new shrine followed with panels detailing the history of the tooth up to the 19th century, then the museum of votive offerings and other paraphernalia. My favourite exhibit was a pair of tusker jingle bells which were attached around the ankles of the elephant that carried the reliquary in processions.
After stopping to admire the Kandian King's audience house, a magnificent open wooden pavilion, we entered the Tusker museum. Here proudly stands the stuffed national hero of an elephant called Raja who bore the reliquary for 50 years until his demise in 1988.
The archeological museum, housed in a long bungalow which was formerly a King's palace, was mostly full of carved pillars and posts. We wandered back via various gaudy Hindu shrines, stupas and sacred Buddhist Bo trees.
After lunch we walked two miles around the ornamental lake that occupies the centre of the city. It was built by the last king, a tyrant whose supporters helped him build the dam to flood the paddy fields of the valley floor, and whose opposition were then staked to the bed of the newly forming lake. It is now alive with fish, ducks, storks, herons, egrets, comorants and even a pelican.
Finally we visited the Garrison Cemetery. This is a beautifully maintained poignant reminder of the sacrifice previous generations of British made to settle this land. So many died of tropical disease at such young ages, and so many of those were children. We were shown round by the caretaker who opened the small museum for us, and left feeling quite humbled by the courage demonstrated to come out here in those times.
Supper occurred at the Devon restaurant again. Superbly cooked Indian food, albeit with erratic service, but on average costing five pounds for the two of us!
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Nuwara Eliya to Kandy
We left the extremely comfortable Villa Cassandra after a very good breakfast. Off we set for Kandy along a valley covered with finely manicured tea bushes. Most of the tea estates we passed seemed to bear Scottish sounding names. I don't know whether the Jake's are historical, or whether they just sell more tea that way.
The day was sunny and hot as we reached Ramboda falls. Here despite a notice saying 'No Barth' (sic), there were plenty of people splashing in the water. The Sri Lankans have a very cavalier attitude to spelling, generally resulting in a phonetic if not grammatical similarity to the meaning they are trying to achieve.
The next stop was the Glenloch Tea Factory. Here a delightful young Sri Lankan lady gave us a tour of the factory, explaining the various stages of tea production. Apparently all the picking is used for black tea, only the youngest leaves for green tea, and only the unopened buds for white tea. The tea is wilted, cut, sifted with the oversize being returned to the cutter, left 1.5 hours to oxidise/ferment if it is for black tea, thoroughly dried, stalk particles removed electrostatically, winnowed to remove the undersize (dust) and finally bagged.
When we got to taste a cup, it tasted just like normal, everyday, common or garden tea!
Lunch occurred in a modern light and airy roadside restaurant and was a selection of tasty rice and curries.
It was lucky that we stopped for lunch as we became entangled in one of the infamous Kandy traffic jams. It took over an hour through the heat and dust to cover just a mile or so from the outskirts to the centre.
We reached the hotel at 3pm and said goodbye to the driver. We may see him again on Saturday when we leave for Dambulla, or it may be another driver. We are staying at the venerable Casamara hotel, picked for its central location and swimming pool. It needed a revamp last century, but still seems to function well and looks aren't everything. The vintage lattice gate lift could come from a film set.
Monday, 25 January 2016
World's End
The alarm rang at 3:45 and by 4:30 we were driving out of town. The Villa Cassandra, bless them, had prepared a packed breakfast to take with us. As we drove along the moonlit roads, we joined and were joined by various minibuses forming a small unofficial convoy.
Up we climbed, crossing and recrossing the railway we had arrived on yesterday. Soon after we found ourselves enveloped in fog as we corkscrewed up the mountainside. Higher we climbed until we broke out of the fog as the sun rose, about 6:30. The views over the mountains were superb, we were in a sort of cloud forest with tree ferns.
We entered Horton Plains National Park paying the R6080 entrance fee ( well, the entrance fee plus a load of other official charges and taxes by which it was enhanced). The trail left from the open but unmanned visitor centre some distance inside the park where we left the driver and ventured out on foot.
We were not alone. Tourists from all over the world were surging down the path. We successfully overtook a particularly noisy Chinese family all shouting to each other at the tops of their voices. Life got quieter as we got further into the walk, although an aerial view must have looked like a line of gaudy ants processing across the landscape. My favourite was the Chinese ladies' liking for plastic flowers in their straw hats.
We went first to Little World's End, then onwards to World's End itself. In both cases the gneiss of the mountainous plateau at an altitude of 2000 - 2100m drops away a thousand metres into the lowlands to the south, probably along fault induced scarps. The sun was shining and we had a clear view, only possible at this time of day because by 9:30 it has clouded over and their is nothing to see. This was probably the high point of our Sri Lankan tour, and certainly the most scenic breakfast stop.
The trail is circular and we proceeded through a strange landscape of grassland dotted with rhododendron trees to Baker's Falls. There is a lot of hydrothermal alteration to the gneiss, and I suspect the falls are where a more altered facies is faulted against a less altered one.
A welcome cup of coffee after the 9km walk and then a very slow descent to the hotel, mostly because we had to wait over half an hour at the level crossing for two trains to pass through.
After a rest we asked the driver to take us to Hakgala Botanic Gardens some 10km out of town. Again foreigners milked for R1100 as against R50 for locals, but can you complain when the standard of upkeep of these Victorian gardens is impeccable? A large army of gardeners is employed, using only hand implements looking to be themselves of Victorian pedigree. It wasn't flower season, but the acres of arboreta with most trees named made up for it. We followed the route suggested in the foreign visitors leaflet without difficulty. I was most impressed with the indigenous tree ferns, a species of Cyathea, and a weird version of the monkey puzzle tree from Australia (Araucaria).
Going back to the Grand Indian for supper so I'll post this now.
Up we climbed, crossing and recrossing the railway we had arrived on yesterday. Soon after we found ourselves enveloped in fog as we corkscrewed up the mountainside. Higher we climbed until we broke out of the fog as the sun rose, about 6:30. The views over the mountains were superb, we were in a sort of cloud forest with tree ferns.
We entered Horton Plains National Park paying the R6080 entrance fee ( well, the entrance fee plus a load of other official charges and taxes by which it was enhanced). The trail left from the open but unmanned visitor centre some distance inside the park where we left the driver and ventured out on foot.
We were not alone. Tourists from all over the world were surging down the path. We successfully overtook a particularly noisy Chinese family all shouting to each other at the tops of their voices. Life got quieter as we got further into the walk, although an aerial view must have looked like a line of gaudy ants processing across the landscape. My favourite was the Chinese ladies' liking for plastic flowers in their straw hats.
We went first to Little World's End, then onwards to World's End itself. In both cases the gneiss of the mountainous plateau at an altitude of 2000 - 2100m drops away a thousand metres into the lowlands to the south, probably along fault induced scarps. The sun was shining and we had a clear view, only possible at this time of day because by 9:30 it has clouded over and their is nothing to see. This was probably the high point of our Sri Lankan tour, and certainly the most scenic breakfast stop.
The trail is circular and we proceeded through a strange landscape of grassland dotted with rhododendron trees to Baker's Falls. There is a lot of hydrothermal alteration to the gneiss, and I suspect the falls are where a more altered facies is faulted against a less altered one.
A welcome cup of coffee after the 9km walk and then a very slow descent to the hotel, mostly because we had to wait over half an hour at the level crossing for two trains to pass through.
After a rest we asked the driver to take us to Hakgala Botanic Gardens some 10km out of town. Again foreigners milked for R1100 as against R50 for locals, but can you complain when the standard of upkeep of these Victorian gardens is impeccable? A large army of gardeners is employed, using only hand implements looking to be themselves of Victorian pedigree. It wasn't flower season, but the acres of arboreta with most trees named made up for it. We followed the route suggested in the foreign visitors leaflet without difficulty. I was most impressed with the indigenous tree ferns, a species of Cyathea, and a weird version of the monkey puzzle tree from Australia (Araucaria).
Going back to the Grand Indian for supper so I'll post this now.
Sunday, 24 January 2016
Ella to Nuwara Eliya - into the clouds.
The day started with a problem. As I reorganised the money in my wallet (with seven denominations the notes get very muddled) I realised that all the R5000 notes were missing. We tried hard to make sense of it, but couldn't. Pretty sure we hadn't spent it, but who would take just the largest notes and leave the rest? Complete mystery.
Now we didn't have enough to pay the guesthouse, but luckily our driver loaned us sufficient. We drove to the ATM to replenish our cash but it wasn't working. As we were parked outside the bank the driver asked for the address of the next hotel. As I opened the display book with the reservations in it, a shower of banknotes landed in my lap!
What must have happened was that the pile of large denomination notes must have got trapped between the pages of the book when I was sorting them out the day before. We could hardly believe it. Such a relief, the driver thought it was funny too.
We were dropped at the very pretty Ella station and boarded the train for Nanu Oya, the station for Nuwara Eliya. We had reservations in the observation car, a first class carriage at the rear of the train with panoramic windows at the back.
The seating was luxurious, the suspension meant we trundled along ( I estimated the average speed as between 13 and 14 mph), and the overhead fans were new. The views were tremendous. Much of the uplands were either forested or given over to tea plantations. The track wound upwards clinging to the mountainsides and climbing a thousand metres during the journey, which took the best part of three hours.
Through tunnels we went accompanied by whoops and echoing screams from children in the lower class carriages. Eventually we hit cloud base and it started raining. Mountains loomed out of the mist and we passed the summit and started to descend. As we did so, passing wide valleys with waterfalls, the rain eased and stopped.
The driver was waiting for us at the station, it had only taken him half the time for the journey, and found our hotel for us. The Villa Cassandra is very new and our room is beautifully appointed.
We ventured into town on foot, explored the market, then later took a tuk-tuk to the excellent Grand Indian Restaurant for supper as it had decided to rain again.
Now we didn't have enough to pay the guesthouse, but luckily our driver loaned us sufficient. We drove to the ATM to replenish our cash but it wasn't working. As we were parked outside the bank the driver asked for the address of the next hotel. As I opened the display book with the reservations in it, a shower of banknotes landed in my lap!
What must have happened was that the pile of large denomination notes must have got trapped between the pages of the book when I was sorting them out the day before. We could hardly believe it. Such a relief, the driver thought it was funny too.
We were dropped at the very pretty Ella station and boarded the train for Nanu Oya, the station for Nuwara Eliya. We had reservations in the observation car, a first class carriage at the rear of the train with panoramic windows at the back.
The seating was luxurious, the suspension meant we trundled along ( I estimated the average speed as between 13 and 14 mph), and the overhead fans were new. The views were tremendous. Much of the uplands were either forested or given over to tea plantations. The track wound upwards clinging to the mountainsides and climbing a thousand metres during the journey, which took the best part of three hours.
Through tunnels we went accompanied by whoops and echoing screams from children in the lower class carriages. Eventually we hit cloud base and it started raining. Mountains loomed out of the mist and we passed the summit and started to descend. As we did so, passing wide valleys with waterfalls, the rain eased and stopped.
The driver was waiting for us at the station, it had only taken him half the time for the journey, and found our hotel for us. The Villa Cassandra is very new and our room is beautifully appointed.
We ventured into town on foot, explored the market, then later took a tuk-tuk to the excellent Grand Indian Restaurant for supper as it had decided to rain again.
Saturday, 23 January 2016
The trek to Ella Rock
After a late breakfast we started our trek to Ella rock. Luckily this involved buying a bottle of water and the vendor helpfully pointing out that we had in fact just passed the totally unsigned little road we needed to take to the railway track.
We walked along the railway track, wondering what a steel cable at the side was for. Rounding a bend we found it attached to an old semaphore signal, complete with failsafe counterweight. Elegant Victorian signalling still in use.
An increasingly loud series of horn blasts heralded the arrival of an express train. We stood at the trackside as it rumbled past. Sometimes the rails were attached to the sleepers, at other times not, but given the sedate speed of the trains, minor track imperfections are probably immaterial.
What was fascinating was that we weren't alone. A large section of the population was using the track as a pedestrian thoroughfare. Don't try this in the UK.
After we had crossed a bridge where the steel plates had been made long ago in Middlesborough, we came across a navvy gang of about 30 workers mostly equipped with adzes, brewing huge vats of mid-morning gruel over open fires by the trackside. One indicated we should follow a small footpath down from the track. This seemed to go through the living room of someone's shack which was unexpected, but did lead to a bridge over a waterfall which was as anticipated.
However we soon realised that we hadn't passed a station on the railway that we should have, and weren't on the path we had planned to take. Never mind, we thought, if we get really lost we will just head back towards the railway, otherwise just keep climbing. We were encouraged by meeting fellow hikers descending and eventually found ourselves in a tea plantation that existed on our maps. Our maps were cartographical fantasies mostly drawn from memory and posted on the internet. They bore little resemblance to each other and even less to the topography.
Up we climbed as the path became ever steeper as it wound through an eucalyptus plantation. For a very long time everyone we met said it was only ten minutes to the top and finally it really was.
The view from the summit was spectacular. Towards Ella the village could be seen scattered across the mountain at the top of the pass. Through the Ella gap, a deeply incised river valley, towards the ocean serried ranges of hills lost themselves in the mist where the coast must have been.
We explored a path from the summit which led to a serene Buddha statue sat in a cave and a view of a distant waterfall, then retraced our steps noticing that magically everyone else had disappeared. As we descended the reason became clear. The heavens opened and our footpath soon reverted to its previous existence as a watercourse.
By the time we had regained the tea plantation the rain had abated but we were convincingly soaked. I had unfortunately heeded Christine's advice not to carry the cagoules and now paid the price for my folly. The only dry parts of us were our feet, encased as they were in hiking boots.
This time we followed the main path, partly accompanied by a couple of local children hopeful of being given sweets, pens or money which disappointingly for them didn't occur. We found the railway easily and walked along it, but approaching Ella the rain resumed with if anything greater force.
After changing clothes we went into the village for a rather late lunch. We had thought that rotis would provide a light meal, but here they turned out to be very large and filling.
Later we tried to go back to the AK restaurant only to find it shuttered and closed. At a bar on the village high street we found out why. Today and tomorrow are classified as full moon days, Poya days in the Buddhist calendar, when no alcohol can be served. So fruit juice and coca-cola had to suffice to quench our thirst. A day of unexpected events.
We walked along the railway track, wondering what a steel cable at the side was for. Rounding a bend we found it attached to an old semaphore signal, complete with failsafe counterweight. Elegant Victorian signalling still in use.
An increasingly loud series of horn blasts heralded the arrival of an express train. We stood at the trackside as it rumbled past. Sometimes the rails were attached to the sleepers, at other times not, but given the sedate speed of the trains, minor track imperfections are probably immaterial.
What was fascinating was that we weren't alone. A large section of the population was using the track as a pedestrian thoroughfare. Don't try this in the UK.
After we had crossed a bridge where the steel plates had been made long ago in Middlesborough, we came across a navvy gang of about 30 workers mostly equipped with adzes, brewing huge vats of mid-morning gruel over open fires by the trackside. One indicated we should follow a small footpath down from the track. This seemed to go through the living room of someone's shack which was unexpected, but did lead to a bridge over a waterfall which was as anticipated.
However we soon realised that we hadn't passed a station on the railway that we should have, and weren't on the path we had planned to take. Never mind, we thought, if we get really lost we will just head back towards the railway, otherwise just keep climbing. We were encouraged by meeting fellow hikers descending and eventually found ourselves in a tea plantation that existed on our maps. Our maps were cartographical fantasies mostly drawn from memory and posted on the internet. They bore little resemblance to each other and even less to the topography.
Up we climbed as the path became ever steeper as it wound through an eucalyptus plantation. For a very long time everyone we met said it was only ten minutes to the top and finally it really was.
The view from the summit was spectacular. Towards Ella the village could be seen scattered across the mountain at the top of the pass. Through the Ella gap, a deeply incised river valley, towards the ocean serried ranges of hills lost themselves in the mist where the coast must have been.
We explored a path from the summit which led to a serene Buddha statue sat in a cave and a view of a distant waterfall, then retraced our steps noticing that magically everyone else had disappeared. As we descended the reason became clear. The heavens opened and our footpath soon reverted to its previous existence as a watercourse.
By the time we had regained the tea plantation the rain had abated but we were convincingly soaked. I had unfortunately heeded Christine's advice not to carry the cagoules and now paid the price for my folly. The only dry parts of us were our feet, encased as they were in hiking boots.
This time we followed the main path, partly accompanied by a couple of local children hopeful of being given sweets, pens or money which disappointingly for them didn't occur. We found the railway easily and walked along it, but approaching Ella the rain resumed with if anything greater force.
After changing clothes we went into the village for a rather late lunch. We had thought that rotis would provide a light meal, but here they turned out to be very large and filling.
Later we tried to go back to the AK restaurant only to find it shuttered and closed. At a bar on the village high street we found out why. Today and tomorrow are classified as full moon days, Poya days in the Buddhist calendar, when no alcohol can be served. So fruit juice and coca-cola had to suffice to quench our thirst. A day of unexpected events.
Galle to Ella via Yala
There was a black car parked outside the villa when we went out to find breakfast. When we returned it was still there but this time accompanied by our driver.
We drove eastwards along the ocean front, stopping once to pay to take the photo of some fishermen who earned their living by perching on poles above the water and dipping their fishing lines in it in a desultory manner. Still, hard work in the blazing sun.
The land became more agricultural, with many rice paddy fields, and then drier as we progressed eastwards.
The driver arranged for a safari into Yala national park, home to the greatest concentration of leopards in the world. We had lunch and transferred vehicles in Tissa. The safari vehicles are pickups with raised seating over the load area. This gives the visitor an excellent view of the wildlife, and allows the wildlife to see if the visitor looks tasty.
The roads in the park are rutted and potholed. An unsteady and constantly rearranging procession of safari vehicles wallows and lurches aWeing, stopping when any animal appears, which is surprisingly frequently.
We saw multitudinous birds, probably the commonest were peacocks and peahens. The prettiest were junglefowl, bee-eaters and cat-fishers. The rest consisted of sea eagles, green pigeons, cormorants, huge storks, green parrots, spoonbills, pelicans, various undistinguished waders, ibis, brahminy kites and kingfishers.
We saw quite a few beautiful elephants brousing the foliage. One trundled across the road in front of us but had disappeared into the jungle by the time we reached the place. There were also herds of water buffalo, spotted deer and wild pigs. We watched a family of Sri Lankan white monkeys lope elegantly across the ground from one tree to another with the babies clutching their mother's tummies.
Lone mongooses and an iguana ferretted amongst the undergrowth. We saw a huge elk like antelope sitting in a pond whilst nearby on the bank a 6 metre freshwater crocodile lay sunbathing.
The view over a lake covered in lotus flowers to enormous smooth rocks beyond was entrancing.
It was a memorable safari even if no leopards were spotted. The sun was setting as we left, weaving our way through herds of cattle on the road, and it was quite dark by the time we rejoined our driver at Tissa.
The road climbed increasingly steeply up to Ella and it was very slow going. We reached the White House where we were to stay at 9 pm, eleven hours after starting. Luckily the AK Restaurant just round the corner was still serving spicy pasta dishes, and we retired well full of spaghetti.
We drove eastwards along the ocean front, stopping once to pay to take the photo of some fishermen who earned their living by perching on poles above the water and dipping their fishing lines in it in a desultory manner. Still, hard work in the blazing sun.
The land became more agricultural, with many rice paddy fields, and then drier as we progressed eastwards.
The driver arranged for a safari into Yala national park, home to the greatest concentration of leopards in the world. We had lunch and transferred vehicles in Tissa. The safari vehicles are pickups with raised seating over the load area. This gives the visitor an excellent view of the wildlife, and allows the wildlife to see if the visitor looks tasty.
The roads in the park are rutted and potholed. An unsteady and constantly rearranging procession of safari vehicles wallows and lurches aWeing, stopping when any animal appears, which is surprisingly frequently.
We saw multitudinous birds, probably the commonest were peacocks and peahens. The prettiest were junglefowl, bee-eaters and cat-fishers. The rest consisted of sea eagles, green pigeons, cormorants, huge storks, green parrots, spoonbills, pelicans, various undistinguished waders, ibis, brahminy kites and kingfishers.
We saw quite a few beautiful elephants brousing the foliage. One trundled across the road in front of us but had disappeared into the jungle by the time we reached the place. There were also herds of water buffalo, spotted deer and wild pigs. We watched a family of Sri Lankan white monkeys lope elegantly across the ground from one tree to another with the babies clutching their mother's tummies.
Lone mongooses and an iguana ferretted amongst the undergrowth. We saw a huge elk like antelope sitting in a pond whilst nearby on the bank a 6 metre freshwater crocodile lay sunbathing.
The view over a lake covered in lotus flowers to enormous smooth rocks beyond was entrancing.
It was a memorable safari even if no leopards were spotted. The sun was setting as we left, weaving our way through herds of cattle on the road, and it was quite dark by the time we rejoined our driver at Tissa.
The road climbed increasingly steeply up to Ella and it was very slow going. We reached the White House where we were to stay at 9 pm, eleven hours after starting. Luckily the AK Restaurant just round the corner was still serving spicy pasta dishes, and we retired well full of spaghetti.
Thursday, 21 January 2016
Last day in Galle
The Muhsin Villa doesn't do charm, elegance or breakfast, but it compensates with a comfortable mosquito netted bed and quietly efficient air conditioning leading to a good night's sleep.
We ordered breakfast at the Pedlar's Inn Cafe just round the corner which proved to be very good but enormous, far too much for this climate.
The morning passed in ambling about the picturesque streets and the two austere Christian churches, one Dutch the other Anglican. Religion doesn't seem to be much fun here.
At lunchtime we discovered rotis at the Mansion Cafe. Thin small folded pan-fried pancakes with lightly curried vegetable and/or meat fillings, very tasty.
Opposite was the intriguing Mansion museum, an eclectic series of collections of erstwhile implements displayed in the hope that the visitor might purchase some jewelry made in the premises. As most of the gemstones for sale are probably synthetic, the visitor didn't.
Back to the air conditioned room for a cool down, then walked to the ultra-luxurious Raj style Amangalla hotel for afternoon tea. The white tea was delicious and cucumber finger sandwiches leant an even more Edwardian feel to the ritual.
A final circumambulation of the old town's fortifications brought us back to the Old Dutch hospital for beer o'clock. Although it was too cloudy to see the sun set, the temperature had dropped to about 28C and it was superb strolling weather.
The highlight of the day however had to be supper. We ate at the Lucky Fort Restaurant where they provided rice and no less than ten individual dishes of different curries to share. Rather like a tasting menu but ample for two people. The curries today were: pineapple, breadfruit, red chicken, cucumber, sweet potato, fried potato, bean, okra, dall and roasted aubergine. Absolutely delicious, cooked and served by friendly people, and you could get a beer too!
We ordered breakfast at the Pedlar's Inn Cafe just round the corner which proved to be very good but enormous, far too much for this climate.
The morning passed in ambling about the picturesque streets and the two austere Christian churches, one Dutch the other Anglican. Religion doesn't seem to be much fun here.
At lunchtime we discovered rotis at the Mansion Cafe. Thin small folded pan-fried pancakes with lightly curried vegetable and/or meat fillings, very tasty.
Opposite was the intriguing Mansion museum, an eclectic series of collections of erstwhile implements displayed in the hope that the visitor might purchase some jewelry made in the premises. As most of the gemstones for sale are probably synthetic, the visitor didn't.
Back to the air conditioned room for a cool down, then walked to the ultra-luxurious Raj style Amangalla hotel for afternoon tea. The white tea was delicious and cucumber finger sandwiches leant an even more Edwardian feel to the ritual.
A final circumambulation of the old town's fortifications brought us back to the Old Dutch hospital for beer o'clock. Although it was too cloudy to see the sun set, the temperature had dropped to about 28C and it was superb strolling weather.
The highlight of the day however had to be supper. We ate at the Lucky Fort Restaurant where they provided rice and no less than ten individual dishes of different curries to share. Rather like a tasting menu but ample for two people. The curries today were: pineapple, breadfruit, red chicken, cucumber, sweet potato, fried potato, bean, okra, dall and roasted aubergine. Absolutely delicious, cooked and served by friendly people, and you could get a beer too!
Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Bentota to Galle
Last breakfast at the impressively welcoming 'Waterside Bentota' where we found that they had organised our train tickets from Aluthgama to Galle for us. Tuk-tuk to the station and this time Second class travel on an express train.
The difference between third class at R50 and second class at R110 ( 55 pence) is that due to this exorbitant price, you get a seat. Plus the overhead fan appears to be attached to the carriage ceiling and the train rumbles along rather than rattles along. True the wide open windows and doors still give you the benefit of the incessant horn blasts, but this seems to be a common feature of all modes of Sri Lankan transport.
Reached Galle ( the final letter is redundant, the name rhymes with all) around mid-day. I estimated the speed of the express train to be about 30 mph. Tuk-tuk to Muhsin Villa on Lighthouse Street. In complete contrast to the last hotel, this is a somewhat austere and gloomy Muslim establishment, but chosen for its location in the heart of the old town.
Spent the afternoon wandering around the streets and bastions of the old town. Temperature about 32 or 33C. We missed the museums in Colombo as they were closed for a religious holiday. We missed the museums here as the guidebook confidently voted at least one to be definitely the worst in southern Asia.
In the evening we went searching for a beer. This turned out to more challenging than we had anticipated. Most of the town appears to be dry and we ended up back at the old Dutch hospital which like its counterpart in Colombo had been converted to westernised eaterys and drinkerys.
Supper in a small cafe consisted of rice and curry, the local staple diet. It came with multiple dishes of strange vegetables but all were edible in spite of being only dimly visible.
The difference between third class at R50 and second class at R110 ( 55 pence) is that due to this exorbitant price, you get a seat. Plus the overhead fan appears to be attached to the carriage ceiling and the train rumbles along rather than rattles along. True the wide open windows and doors still give you the benefit of the incessant horn blasts, but this seems to be a common feature of all modes of Sri Lankan transport.
Reached Galle ( the final letter is redundant, the name rhymes with all) around mid-day. I estimated the speed of the express train to be about 30 mph. Tuk-tuk to Muhsin Villa on Lighthouse Street. In complete contrast to the last hotel, this is a somewhat austere and gloomy Muslim establishment, but chosen for its location in the heart of the old town.
Spent the afternoon wandering around the streets and bastions of the old town. Temperature about 32 or 33C. We missed the museums in Colombo as they were closed for a religious holiday. We missed the museums here as the guidebook confidently voted at least one to be definitely the worst in southern Asia.
In the evening we went searching for a beer. This turned out to more challenging than we had anticipated. Most of the town appears to be dry and we ended up back at the old Dutch hospital which like its counterpart in Colombo had been converted to westernised eaterys and drinkerys.
Supper in a small cafe consisted of rice and curry, the local staple diet. It came with multiple dishes of strange vegetables but all were edible in spite of being only dimly visible.
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Last day in Bentota
Alarm on for 6am this morning for a 7am boat safari up the Bentota Ganga. After weaving our way through mangrove thickets we sailed upstream along the wide misty river.
Lots of birdlife to be seen including herons, eagles and darting iridescent blue kingfishers. Amazingly our hawk-eyed boatman spotted cleverly camouflaged water monitors draped along branches overhanging the water at heights of about ten feet. We had no idea these large lizards could climb, let alone that they roosted in trees!
Eventually after various encounters with a small crocodile, an almost invisible green snake and birds looking like cormorants, we reached a tranquil backwater where the surface was covered in fuschia coloured water lilly flowers, their leaves floating serenely on the water surface.
Turning round, we stopped at what looked like a fish farm but was in fact a floating piscine pedimassage establishment. Christine sat with her feet dipped into various tanks each containing shoals of different size fish which nuzzled and nibbled her toes. She pronounced the experience very relaxing.
We had a tour of the various plants grown in the garden here including cinnamon, vanilla and black pepper, and met the resident porcupine. He was an amiable creature who raised his variegated quills obligingly for us. Usually nocturnal and vegetarian they are apparently very partial to the fruit of the Balsa tree.
It was 10:30 before we got back for breakfast, followed by snooze to make up for the early start.
Tuk-tuk to beach and lunch at 'the loft' before paddling to visit the rocks at the northern end of the beach. Similar to the other end but further away. I think the round trip was about five kilometres. The rocks were gneisses, probably quartz, feldspar and a mafic which looked like augite, with veins of large crystals resembling pegmatites.
Back to 'the loft' to watch the sun set for the last time over Bentota beach, beer in hand, then tuk-tuk back to the hotel. The going rate is R200 which is one pound for the pair of us.
Lots of birdlife to be seen including herons, eagles and darting iridescent blue kingfishers. Amazingly our hawk-eyed boatman spotted cleverly camouflaged water monitors draped along branches overhanging the water at heights of about ten feet. We had no idea these large lizards could climb, let alone that they roosted in trees!
Eventually after various encounters with a small crocodile, an almost invisible green snake and birds looking like cormorants, we reached a tranquil backwater where the surface was covered in fuschia coloured water lilly flowers, their leaves floating serenely on the water surface.
Turning round, we stopped at what looked like a fish farm but was in fact a floating piscine pedimassage establishment. Christine sat with her feet dipped into various tanks each containing shoals of different size fish which nuzzled and nibbled her toes. She pronounced the experience very relaxing.
We had a tour of the various plants grown in the garden here including cinnamon, vanilla and black pepper, and met the resident porcupine. He was an amiable creature who raised his variegated quills obligingly for us. Usually nocturnal and vegetarian they are apparently very partial to the fruit of the Balsa tree.
It was 10:30 before we got back for breakfast, followed by snooze to make up for the early start.
Tuk-tuk to beach and lunch at 'the loft' before paddling to visit the rocks at the northern end of the beach. Similar to the other end but further away. I think the round trip was about five kilometres. The rocks were gneisses, probably quartz, feldspar and a mafic which looked like augite, with veins of large crystals resembling pegmatites.
Back to 'the loft' to watch the sun set for the last time over Bentota beach, beer in hand, then tuk-tuk back to the hotel. The going rate is R200 which is one pound for the pair of us.
Monday, 18 January 2016
Monday in Bentota
After a splendid breakfast featuring Sri Lankan omelette and bacon, we were taken in the hotel's boat across the lagoon to the weekly Monday vegetable market in Aluthgama. All manner of fruits, vegetables and dried fish on sale in a large and very well patronised market. I think most of the local population do their weekly shop here. A walk in the town with the boatman ended in a dress shop where Christine purchased two fetching pairs of loose trousers bearing elephant designs ( or ephelant in Zoe speak).
Back across the lagoon we sailed, then caught a tuk-tuk to Geoffrey Bawa's house at Lunuganga ( literally salt river). Here the locally famous architect spent 50 years developing his weekend retreat of 25 acres of former rubber plantation into a Portmeirionesque pastiche of buildings and gardens fronting onto a lake. Here we saw ebony, ironwood and balsa trees, both water and land monitor lizards, and probably the closest ha-ha to the equator. What particularly intrigued us was that he had employed a small army of men to lower a hill by just 4 feet, still involving an enormous amount of hand excavation, so that he could view the lake from his breakfast terrace. The labour could have been spared had he sat at the other side of the house, but that was where he liked to drink his gin and tonic at sunset. We recognised a kindred spirit.
Tuk-tuk north to Bentota railway station and lunch again at 'the loft', then a paddle southwards to examine the rocks at the nearby headland. In my day they would have been termed Archean gneisses. Looked to be very highly metamorphosed sediments.
Tuk-tuk back to the hotel, and a beer sitting on the lawn by the lagoon as the sun set gently into misty clouds.
Back across the lagoon we sailed, then caught a tuk-tuk to Geoffrey Bawa's house at Lunuganga ( literally salt river). Here the locally famous architect spent 50 years developing his weekend retreat of 25 acres of former rubber plantation into a Portmeirionesque pastiche of buildings and gardens fronting onto a lake. Here we saw ebony, ironwood and balsa trees, both water and land monitor lizards, and probably the closest ha-ha to the equator. What particularly intrigued us was that he had employed a small army of men to lower a hill by just 4 feet, still involving an enormous amount of hand excavation, so that he could view the lake from his breakfast terrace. The labour could have been spared had he sat at the other side of the house, but that was where he liked to drink his gin and tonic at sunset. We recognised a kindred spirit.
Tuk-tuk north to Bentota railway station and lunch again at 'the loft', then a paddle southwards to examine the rocks at the nearby headland. In my day they would have been termed Archean gneisses. Looked to be very highly metamorphosed sediments.
Tuk-tuk back to the hotel, and a beer sitting on the lawn by the lagoon as the sun set gently into misty clouds.
Sunday, 17 January 2016
Colombo to Bentota
Tuk-tuk to the rail station where the man in the tourist information centre proceeds to organise various rail tickets and car with driver for eight days, most of the rest of the trip, for GBP260 all in. Surprisingly the price hadn't increased but less surprisingly it has to be a cash transaction. I would be more suspicious if the office wasn't right next to the transport police.
A man accompanied us onto the train to find us seats, but we lost him in the crush and I sincerely believe there were no seats to be found anyway. It was a second class only train and we settled for sitting on our rucksacks at the end of a carriage. This was very good because we were right by the open doors of the carriage and as long as we didn't fall out we had a great view of the countryside and fresh air too!
For an hour and a half we rattled southwards, often with the beach on one side of the train and a constant ribbon of compounds, huts, bungalows, houses and shacks on the other. This was accompanied by the frequently blaring train horn and the occasional smell of fish.
Then, luckily I spotted the town name we were heading for on the door sign of some local functionary. The locals love titles, my favourite is Station Master ( Acting). Out we popped and only after the train had rattled away did we spot the station sign. Luckily it was the right one!
Tuk-tuk to the Waterside Bentota Hotel, after a few wrong turnings and phone calls by the driver, he eventually found it. Very pretty place fronting onto a lagoon.
As we sat on our balcony overlooking the water, I saw a large log start moving. It turned out to be a six foot long water monitor lizard lazily swimming along the shoreline.
In the afternoon we walked to the Bentota seaside, a beautiful sandy beach, and paddled in the sea. At beer o'clock we found a bar called 'the loft' which served an expensive cold beer on the second floor balcony as the sun set over the sea.
Tuk-tuk back to be met by one of the hotel staff with a plate containing the largest prawns we have ever seen. Did we want them for dinner? Yes please! They were caught in the lagoon and were delicious.
Train arriving.
Fort railway station
View from our balcony
Saturday, 16 January 2016
Last day in Colombo.
Forgot to mention last night's meal. If you had asked me before whether peanuts, chicken and mango were likely to form an acceptable flavour combination, I would have been sceptical. However a wrap containing diced chicken and mango in a lightly spiced peanut sauce was spectacularly good.
After a very good breakfast, we walked northwards to the Fort district, dallying by a lake to watch water fowl and Sri Lankan couples coyly snogging behind umbrellas. A passing Hindu temple was sufficiently garish to extract R500 from us, and thence via an old Dutch hospital now revitalised as upmarket eaterys to the railway station. Here we found an information office that offered to arrange all of our forward travel as far as and including the cultural triangle as a combination of train tickets and car with driver for GBP260 all in. Probably too good to be true!
Back via tuk-tuk (R250, Meter? What meter? Says meter taxi on the outside but no meter on the inside!) Good fun though.
Today our first impressions of Colombo were confirmed. Very clean and impressively un-smelly for a tropical city. Well organised and with a lot of development going on. Looks like a nascent Singapore. The people seem very pleasant and welcoming and we could walk the streets with the only hassle being occasional requests from passing tuk-tuk drivers to patronise their vehicles.
Back to the hotel and a swim in the rooftop infinity pool. Then a stroll in the park, past hundreds of paintings on display for sale, mostly large multi-panel images belonging to the local exuberant ( and possibly post-exuberant) school of art.
View of the swimming pool with the Laccadive sea beyond.
After a very good breakfast, we walked northwards to the Fort district, dallying by a lake to watch water fowl and Sri Lankan couples coyly snogging behind umbrellas. A passing Hindu temple was sufficiently garish to extract R500 from us, and thence via an old Dutch hospital now revitalised as upmarket eaterys to the railway station. Here we found an information office that offered to arrange all of our forward travel as far as and including the cultural triangle as a combination of train tickets and car with driver for GBP260 all in. Probably too good to be true!
Back via tuk-tuk (R250, Meter? What meter? Says meter taxi on the outside but no meter on the inside!) Good fun though.
Today our first impressions of Colombo were confirmed. Very clean and impressively un-smelly for a tropical city. Well organised and with a lot of development going on. Looks like a nascent Singapore. The people seem very pleasant and welcoming and we could walk the streets with the only hassle being occasional requests from passing tuk-tuk drivers to patronise their vehicles.
Back to the hotel and a swim in the rooftop infinity pool. Then a stroll in the park, past hundreds of paintings on display for sale, mostly large multi-panel images belonging to the local exuberant ( and possibly post-exuberant) school of art.
View of the swimming pool with the Laccadive sea beyond.
Friday, 15 January 2016
Friday in Colombo
Arrived safely in Colombo. Very smooth journey with Sri Lankan Airlines. Food was good although we weren't really hungry. Slept a lot then woke up to see huge seiff dunes below us in Oman.
Taxi was waiting for us at the airport and it turned out to be some sort of festival holiday so the journey into the city was rapid due to lack of traffic.
Had a lot of trouble with the phone until I remembered it will only log on to a mobile network after resetting. Taking the battery out and replacing it did the trick, although it now is an hour wrong and thinks it is January 1st 2012. I can live with that.
Later walked to Galle Face Green, a piece of grassland by the sea that comes alive after dark with thousands of people promenading, eating seafood from hundreds of illuminated stalls, with children flying kites overhead by the light of the stalls and the moonlight. The temperature was about 30 degrees C and there were lots of locals paddling in the sea.
Walked about a mile back to our very comfortable hotel, the Cinnamon Red, and the room with spectacular views on the 14th floor.
Taxi was waiting for us at the airport and it turned out to be some sort of festival holiday so the journey into the city was rapid due to lack of traffic.
Had a lot of trouble with the phone until I remembered it will only log on to a mobile network after resetting. Taking the battery out and replacing it did the trick, although it now is an hour wrong and thinks it is January 1st 2012. I can live with that.
Later walked to Galle Face Green, a piece of grassland by the sea that comes alive after dark with thousands of people promenading, eating seafood from hundreds of illuminated stalls, with children flying kites overhead by the light of the stalls and the moonlight. The temperature was about 30 degrees C and there were lots of locals paddling in the sea.
Walked about a mile back to our very comfortable hotel, the Cinnamon Red, and the room with spectacular views on the 14th floor.
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Final preparations....
Well, we are due to take off from Heathrow at 20:40 today and land at 12:40 in Colombo tomorrow.
I've solved the problem of Christine's hat by wearing it for a bit. My head being larger has stretched it back to size and it now fits her's nicely again!
Everything has fitted into the two rucksacks and two day bags, and we can still lift them, so we are all ready to go.
Well, we are due to take off from Heathrow at 20:40 today and land at 12:40 in Colombo tomorrow.
I've solved the problem of Christine's hat by wearing it for a bit. My head being larger has stretched it back to size and it now fits her's nicely again!
Everything has fitted into the two rucksacks and two day bags, and we can still lift them, so we are all ready to go.
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Preparations again....
Hooray, Christine has been sent two visas by the Government of India! With no less than eight visas between us we are now fully authorised for the trip. I do hope they have only charged for one each.
Packing and getting the house ready to leave are seriously underway. We've just discovered that Christine's straw sunhat no longer fits. Perhaps her brain is getting larger after all. We will have to try stretching the hat, or else her 'Jane of the jungle' camouflage number will see service again.
Hooray, Christine has been sent two visas by the Government of India! With no less than eight visas between us we are now fully authorised for the trip. I do hope they have only charged for one each.
Packing and getting the house ready to leave are seriously underway. We've just discovered that Christine's straw sunhat no longer fits. Perhaps her brain is getting larger after all. We will have to try stretching the hat, or else her 'Jane of the jungle' camouflage number will see service again.
Monday, 11 January 2016
More Preparations....
Picked up snorkelling vests today from Decathlon today. Small/medium was the right size for both of us but I must have a very big head as getting it on is a tight squeeze across the ears. Christine didn't have that problem, I can only surmise it's due to her smaller brain. Anyway they look well made and should prevent us from sinking!
Mixed success with the Indian visas. I've received no less than six emailed to me today, all identical, from that wonder of information technology that is the Indian Government. Christine has yet to receive even one.
Picked up snorkelling vests today from Decathlon today. Small/medium was the right size for both of us but I must have a very big head as getting it on is a tight squeeze across the ears. Christine didn't have that problem, I can only surmise it's due to her smaller brain. Anyway they look well made and should prevent us from sinking!
Mixed success with the Indian visas. I've received no less than six emailed to me today, all identical, from that wonder of information technology that is the Indian Government. Christine has yet to receive even one.
Sunday, 10 January 2016
Preparations...
Just misspent the whole day obtaining (hopefully) Indian e-Visas. Started at 10 am, finished 6 hours later at 4pm. You couldn't make it up, and the Indians certainly couldn't program it. Time after time the applications were lost, retrieved, lost again and failed to retrieve. Oh dear, back to the start for the umpteenth time. Each time they were retrieved various bits of data surreptitiously reverted to their default settings. Difficult to spot amidst multi page forms requiring all sorts of family history, recent mug shots in jpg format and the photopage of your passport in pdf format. Really, why on earth require a photopage in pdf, especially one which has a special anti-photographic security seal over it.
Just when we thought we were done, the site refused to accept payment for Christine's application and despite repeated requests to pay, just refused to work. The only way round it was to open yet another application and go through the whole wretched time-wasting procedure again, thankfully resulting in an accepted payment the second time.
And then after all the hassle and a non-refundable $60 lighter per person all you get is an email saying they may email you a visa in 72 hours time for you to print out. Well, I hope they do because that will be perilously close to departure time.
I wish the Indians would copy the Sri Lankans, compared to this fiasco getting a Sri Lankan electronic travel authority was a breeze!
Just misspent the whole day obtaining (hopefully) Indian e-Visas. Started at 10 am, finished 6 hours later at 4pm. You couldn't make it up, and the Indians certainly couldn't program it. Time after time the applications were lost, retrieved, lost again and failed to retrieve. Oh dear, back to the start for the umpteenth time. Each time they were retrieved various bits of data surreptitiously reverted to their default settings. Difficult to spot amidst multi page forms requiring all sorts of family history, recent mug shots in jpg format and the photopage of your passport in pdf format. Really, why on earth require a photopage in pdf, especially one which has a special anti-photographic security seal over it.
Just when we thought we were done, the site refused to accept payment for Christine's application and despite repeated requests to pay, just refused to work. The only way round it was to open yet another application and go through the whole wretched time-wasting procedure again, thankfully resulting in an accepted payment the second time.
And then after all the hassle and a non-refundable $60 lighter per person all you get is an email saying they may email you a visa in 72 hours time for you to print out. Well, I hope they do because that will be perilously close to departure time.
I wish the Indians would copy the Sri Lankans, compared to this fiasco getting a Sri Lankan electronic travel authority was a breeze!
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