The Hill Country -

Our time in Kandy was spoilt a little by the rain that appeared to be sweeping across the whole of Sri Lanka. But, it didn’t stop us seeing some more interesting sites.
First (as Vanessa had been dieing to see all trip) we went to see some traditional Kandyan dancing. The costumes were quite similar to the Kathakali performance we’d seen in Southern India which I guess wasn’t to be too surprising given it’s proximity and Indian influences. At the end of the performance they cleared the middle of the front rows and brought out the fire eaters who then walked on fire and hot coals. Vanessa and I were right at the front and it felt staggeringly hot from where we were let alone actually sticking sticks of fire down your throat or walking across the coals..it was pretty spectacular.


The next day we thought we’d give the old Ayurvedic massage another try at a reputable place that our host had told us about. I’m pleased to report that this treatment didn’t involve a dark back room and being felt up by two virtually naked guys! The massage was exquisite and Vanessa and I lay side by side as we were soothed with nice music, oils and excellent massage techniques…we’d have been happy to have gone back! That day was also the day that the newly elected President was sworn in at the main Buddhist temple in Kandy. Traffic came to a halt and (as we’d seen when we looked round Colombo one day) armed military presence increased drastically. Although the situation in Sri Lanka had improved in recent years there was still a lot of unease and caution around such a potentially unbalancing event as an election.

Whilst in Kandy we’d read and heard a lot about the stunning views across the hill country when taking the train over to Ella. So, we took it and it lived upto expectations. The views were amazing as we passed along the side of mountains, through misty forests and alongside the infamous Sri Lankan tea plantations. Ella itself was an extremely small and sleepy town. So we stayed for a couple of nights..walked up Little Adams Peak, (there’s actually a proper Adam’s Peak near Nuwara Eliya but would have probably been a bit too extreme for our trekking skills and stamina) and visited a tea factory. A lot of the tea (surprisingly) in Sri lanka isn’t that great as they import the good stuff. It was interesting to see how it was made though and the technical ability of some of the machines to pick out the different colours of the leaves. We left Ella amidst a shroud of guilt. We’d made an old man very happy the day before by agreeing to him taking us down to the south coast in his minivan, a 4 hour trip which was going to cost a bit more than we budgeted. He was delighted and was going to meet us the next day. However, when we got back to our guesthouse, turned out the son of the guesthouse owner was also going that way the next day and said we could just pay for his petrol. So, after much deliberation we agreed to go with him...feeling terrible about letting down the poor old man who’d got so excited the day before. In a vain attempt to make ourselves feel better we left a small envelope of money for him (as I don’t think he gets more than one fare a week)..with the guesthouse manager. Whether he got it or not, we’ll never know!