Blogs from Ella, Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 2

This morning it was time to say goodbye to the best place we've stayed at in Sri Lanka. Another huge breakfast (£1.75 each) was prepared to see us on our way by the ever helpful manager. Nature Park is just £6 a night, has great rooms, bathrooms that drain, hot showers, excellent wifi, more fans than you can shake a stick at and great food (dinner £2.50 each). The manager will help you out with safaris, transport etc and is a lovely guy. Do us, him and yourselves a favour and go and stay there. A tuk tuk was the cheapest option to get to Ella and who wouldn't turn down a trip in one anyway? We'd been lazy today and had a lie in until 6 but hey, we're on holiday! We were on the ... read more

Hello all! My plan is to try and keep this brief and not too much of a ramble...if it turns into that then I apologise in advance and don't blame you for not keeping up to date with it! So after a pretty hectic last two months we finally set off to Sri Lanka to begin our adventure but before I get into the travelling bit there are a few people I want to say thank you to first! First of all thank you to all of you that we've bored to tears over the last couple of years talking about our plans which probably never seemed like they were going to materialise...but they have so enjoy work whilst we don't have to for a year!!! Thanks to Andy, Danni, Izzy and Skye for a great ... read more

One of the attractions of Ella is Little Adams Peak. Adams Peak (the real one) is famous throughout Sri Lanka both as a holy site for pilgrims and also a hike for tourists to watch the sunrise. Well Little Adams Peak (LAP) is a lot shorter but great views from the top at sunrise. So why am I telling you this, well, to prove he doesn't need me to get lost, Chris set off to walk it this morning. He did this believing I'd run it as I was planning to do, unaware I'd decided a sleep in was order of the day. Just before breakfast he arrived back, hot and tired. Seems he had missed the turn off and carried on along the main road towards Colombo. Luckily a caring tuk tuk driver stopped and ... read more

Via een tussenstop aan de Cave Temples in Dambulla (vijf grotten met ongeveer 150 Boeddhabeeldjes en muurschilderingen) en een spice garden wat verderop (waar we niet enkel uitleg kregen bij een hele resem kruiden, maar ook een massage voor Yves en Ella) bereikten we Kandy, thé place to be tijdens de jaarlijkse festiviteiten van de Perahera. We namen zonder al te veel spijt afscheid van Su. Vanaf hier zouden we ons met het openbaar vervoer verplaatsen. Dat privévervoer is bij nader inzien toch niet aan ons besteed; de onvoorspelbaarheid van elke dag ontbrak, we hadden zelfs heimwee naar de vaak oncomfortabele ritten en misten het om plakkerig op de bus te staan (of in het beste geval zitten) met de plaatselijke bevolking, om de geuren en kleuren van het land op te snuiven en om de ... read more

Quelle surprise de voir tous ces touristes étrangers à Ella! Sur la cote Est, nous étions les seuls, mais la rue principale d’Ella est bondée de routards en sac-à-dos et aux chaussures de marche ! La rue est d’ailleurs jonchée de restos et cafés où les prix doublent par rapport aux autres villes du Sri Lanka. Par contre, sur Booking.com, nous avons trouvé un grand bungalow surplombant le village et la forêt pour 20euros la nuit (pour nous 3). Nous mettons également nos baskets et nous voilà partis à la découverte des collines environnantes. Le village d’Ella est perché à 1100m d’altitude, et il fait moins chaud qu’à la plage ! On respire. En 5 minutes, nous sommes sortis de la rue principale, et on se retrouve dans des champs de thé. Je crois que c’était ... read more