Train tracks, train ride, tea
Third, and last, day of our road trip started quite early: just after the sunrise we decided to take a walk to a nearby waterfall. The hotel owner pointed down the railway tracks… It turned out to be a local road! And a very busy one.
Walking to Sunday school
We only needed to wait for the morning train to pass and could safely walk, as there wouldn’t be next one for quite a few hours. There were kids going to Sunday school passing us by, in pristine white clothes – not sure how one manages to keep clothes so clean with very basic facilities we’ve seen in or next to huts.
Waterfall turned out to be a little dry but views down the valley made up for that! And I managed to do a mini-climb on a way back 
Just few rocks up…
After breakfast, which we had on a terrace, surrounded by mountains, still bit covered with morning mist, came time to catch the train I mentioned above. Our driver really recommended the ride for beautiful views so we took his advice.
Having no luck with securing places in fancy viewing carriage I have settled on a doorstep. Which proved to be great decision – we were going at speed slow enough for me to take pictures, weather was warm and somehow I managed not to fall out, even though some slopes beneath my feet were good few hundred meters down. Thankfully, I have no fear of heights! 
Train ride
It has also proved to be a great vantage point to watch other passengers. Like the guy on the picture, who has spent the entire journey standing on the step and leaning out – which must have been particularly risky in numerous tunnels we’ve passed and in those places where the railway run right next to the rocks…
Speaking of tunnels, after having crossed one we’ve stopped. In the middle of a forest, no station or anything. People got off the carriages, had fag breaks, chatted etc. … nobody came to explain what’s going on, nobody seemed concerned. Well, they did a bit when train started up – there was a mad scrambling back up but than we didn’t move, so everyone got off again. I think we have been waiting like that for 30 or so minutes. Than the train gained speed to make up for the delay and I didn’t feel so confident on my doorstep any more. I had no choice of movement though, with at least five people standing right behind me, so I grabbed the handle and held on to it. Pictures from that part of the trip are somewhat shaky…
Tea plantation
At Nanu Oya we have been greeted by our driver and proceeded to the last point on the list, which was tea plantation visit. I liked it a lot, even though we didn’t get to see much of activities as it was Sunday. But the trip of the tea factory was really interesting and I was glad to see that this particular plantation has been set up in such a way that workers formed a real community that has been cared for (for example there was school on the premises and the code of work has been established to ensure workers were not exploited).
After that and lunch in an Italian (sic!) restaurant (Again, recommended by our driver. On our own we would probably stick to buying some junk food in a local supermarket for fear of upsetting our stomachs) we set off to Colombo. Back to work on Monday, although in my thoughts I was still seating on that step looking out at the views. One of the most fantastic feelings I’ve ever had!
Bit more patience…
… the third (and last) part of our trip will be available soon! Stay tuned for tea plantations, walking down the railway line and some more. And than – JAPAN!
Charging elephant and legged cobra
Have you ever seen an elephant in real life? For those of you who have – isn’t that just one of those surreal creatures? I like elephants, the sheer fact they are there, impossible to ignore, making a statement by just standing and looking at you, makes me like them. I kept on thinking it over and over as we watched herds of elephants in the distance, crossing Uda Walawe National Park.
Chillin'
They seemed to be happy (because of the way their mouth is shaped, I guess) and slightly bored with all the attention, basically ignoring the fact of three land rovers full of people watching them from distance of meter or two. We’ve seen elephants bathing, grazing, and scratching their backs against a tree… Even fighting over a girl.
The highlight of elephant-watching came, when one male elephant wanted to show off to a herd of females. He decided a land rover would be a perfect target to show off his strength and, before we knew it he started charging with a trunk high up and making a “tututuuuru” sound*! I didn’t even manage to raise my camera… Fortunately our driver was faster and drove away. And the elephant wasn’t persistent. Still, I think I will never forget that feeling – no time to get scared, really, just frozen to the spot.
Peacocks and cobras
The park is known for its bird-spotting opportunities, and we were really lucky that day. 
I didn’t know peacocks could fly that high! Maybe because the ones I’ve seen so far (in Warsaw, in Lazienki) had their fly-feathers cut off. We’ve seen eagles, parrots, kingfishers and yellow-winged cutie called little green bee-eater. It amazed me, just how many different species of birds there were. But what I enjoyed the most was silence. Couple of times we would stop, the driver switched off the engine and we were standing in the middle of forest and could hear only wind and a distant thunder (yes, bad weather did continue to pursue us). After one of such peaceful breaks, we took a turn and spotted a cobra! The appearance of our car must have given it quite a start, as it stood up, with an outstretched collar, and disappeared almost instantly. Again, no time to even lift the camera… Oh well, as Roger said “It legged it too fast”. So it did. I was leaving Uda Walawe still chuckling over an image of a cobra legging it into the high grass…
It was already dark when we arrived at Ella, where we stayed for the night. It got even darker, as we sat to dinner in a local restaurant and the whole area experienced a blackout. Full service has not been restored until the following day. What we were to learn as we got to our hotel on a top of quite steep hill. But I will save that story for next post.
* Or however you want to call that sound
Smoke on the beach and antiques in Galle
Smoke on the beach
It was around 11 pm on a Friday evening when we arrived to the hotel in Hikkaduwa, accompanied by lightning and sound of thunder. No rain yet… We decided to have a beer before calling it a night – all good until we came down to restaurant, got our bottles and took few steps to sit at the beach. Five minutes later it was pouring rain from, and in all, possible directions. So much for sitting outside – we retired to restaurant area under a roof, cheered to lizards on the ceiling and that was it. Lizards, by the way, are quite common here, always running on walls and ceilings, for some reason. Maybe it is because of the flies… I mused about if for a second before falling asleep. And after positively checking for no lizards on my walls and ceiling.
Hikkaduwa
Morning started with refreshing bath in the ocean followed by a walk along the beach to check out the morning catch. Not too good, I think it was maybe a handful per person… It was interesting to see how many people were involved in the whole process of fishing, not only by being on the boat but helping in hauling it out to the beach, stretching the nets, chasing (or not) away the dogs. Still, the whole community caught maybe a handful of fish per person. I hope it was not their only meal that day!
We came back to have breakfast at the ocean (second try after beer the night before). This time no rain but we were covered in clouds of smoke instead: neighbor decided it is good time to replace old palm tree roofs… Still, I would recommend the“Drifters” hotel to anyone looking for value for money and clean bathrooms in Hikkaduwa
Making laces at a speed of light
The owner is really nice and at one point we are actually thinking about giving up the idea of two days in a van in favor of two days on the beach. But our infallible driver showed up at 10 and off we went to…
… Galle
When I think of Galle I think of a sleepy town with a sleepy fort. Maybe because we have been there around noon, so streets were rather empty. Our main point of interest was an antique store which was a cover up for a gem store Mind you, there was a lot to see and buy there apart from nice shiny jewelry, but it was quite obvious what the main source of revenue was. The whole place was an old colonial house with a courtyard in the middle. For some reason there were two people working at their workstations there: one was an old lady making laces. She was throwing around tiny wooden blocks with a thread attached to them – and she was doing it at a speed of light. Amazing! We made a short walk around the fort walls, had a look at the fort tower and set off for our next stop: Uda Walawe National Park.
Coming up soon…
… after over a month of silence, will be post about weekend trip to a National Park and tea plantations, with a train ride in between!
For now, enjoy the pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036483&id=77802740&l=1952a4baca
One paragraph: Beautiful Scotland
Edinburgh Castle
Just got back from Edinburgh. This time it was private trip for my cousin’s wedding. I have been there before and need to restate it: it is so beautiful. Need to go back again!
I managed to snap few pictures between breakfast and the service. Unusually (?) for Scotland, it was sunny and qutie warm. Until we got out of the church, that is…
On heaven and hell… :)
Heaven is Where:
The Police are British,
The Chefs are Italian,
The Mechanics are German,
The Lovers are French
and
It’s all organized by the Swiss.
Hell is Where:
The Police are German,
The Chefs are British,
The Mechanics are French,
The Lovers are Swiss
and
It’s all organized by the Italians.
Recycled from an email I got today
Twenty meters down
“Have a look here, Miss” – I leaned against the wooden railing and looked down – “The shaft is 20 meters deep. They work down there in half-an-hour long shifts. Than they are taken out. We have to pump water out every two hours. It is damp down there. They have a candle that warns them against gases. We have to change location of the mine every seven, eight years, when we can’t find any more gems. The last one was just few meters from this one” – our guide waved to the right. I peeked from underneath a roof made of palm leaves. Indeed, there was a shallow hole in the ground nearby. “We fill them up after we stop using them” – I heard the guide behind my back.
The mine
We have just walked ten minutes into the jungle, leaving our air-conditioned car behind. The driver joined us to have a look at the mine too. So we were there, being showed around by someone who might have been the owner or maybe manager. “Here, this is how raw moonstones look like” – he led us to a small table. As we were looking at the gems, one of the miners was panning muddy-looking substance in a small water basin. He found some and put them on the table without a word. He’s fingers were a picture for “worked to the bone”. I am still not sure what his face was expressing: resignation, thoughtfulness, oblivion – it was hard to tell. As we turned around he was still pottering in the gemstone on the table. I still have an uneasy feeling that I should have spoken to him, acknowledged his existence somehow…
The workshop
We left the mine and proceeded to the workshop. In one part the workers were using some chemicals to grind the gems and then were finishing them at the flame. In the other part – much darker for some reason – two craftsmen worked on rings, earrings, pendants – we could see it all in the shop next door. That and much more.
We walked out without a purchase “The gems weren’t that stunning” said my friend and I nodded, somewhat absent-minded, they weren’t. We asked the driver to go to the mask museum and I realised I forgot to ask the question: how did those miners get out of the shaft? There was no ladder, no lift. There was a bucket going up and down though.
(According to wikipedia.org Sri Lanka produces the highest quality moonstone. According to indexmundi.com and wikipedia the rate of unemployment in Sri Lanka is 6%. According to the U.S. Department of State “[the] minimum wages [in Sri Lanka] are insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and the standard family of five, but the vast majority of families have more than one breadwinner”.)
-
- Panning for moonstone
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- The shaft
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- Half an hour spent on the surface is spent on operating the bucket lift
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- Grinding workshop
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- Making jewelery
Monsoon rain
I have been talking a lot about monsoon season here. I thought I will show you how it looks in practice: got a good opportunity to do so, as I managed to capture the rain cloud as it was moving through the city.
Here the movie:
And here the link in case the upper one doesn’t work:
Enjoy!
Twelve rupees away
Temple of Reclining Buddha
The driver got back to the car, beaming. “She said the temple is 12 rupees away from here”. We looked at each other a little lost. “As far as 12 rupees will take you. On a bus”. “Oh, I thought, that can’t be too far”. The temple we were looking for was home to 35m-long statue of reclining Buddha, one of the longest and oldest in the world. Twelve rupees turned out to be good 5 km, partially on asphalt, partially on a grit road across the jungle. We passed some cinnamon trees on the way. Later during the day we would also learn how cinnamon sticks make it from the trees to coffees and Christmas decorations. But now all we cared about was seeing the statue and whether suspension is going to last until the end of the day.
Temple of Reclining Buddha
Setting off in style…
The three of us set off form Colombo at the “break of dawn” – around 7 am. We had tight schedule for one day, or at least so it seemed. The trip was rather on the posh side: travelling in air-conditioned car with a driver, with lunch planned in one of the hotels on the way. Needles to say, the car had even hotel logo on the side doors. “Oh, well, so much for trying to blend in”, I thought. It turned out that having a driver was both blessing and necessity if we were to see what we wanted to see. The temples were off “main” roads and Rodrigo (yup, native Sri Lankan) had to stop at least dozen times during the day to ask for directions.
Reclining Buddha and tour of his life
Back to the winding road and the car. We finally managed to find the right crossroads and arrived to the temple.
Statue was magnificent! It also helped that we have stopped in a different temple on our way up and got a short tour of Buddha’s life story and few more bits and pieces that help in understanding what it is that we are looking at. I now know he was a prince, actually have wife and kids. And actually died, or achieved nirvana, at the age of eighty… I always thought it was earlier on. Anyway, it was a delightful start of the day and we arrived at the temple of Reclining Buddha in great moods.
The 1st temple on our way
