Blogs from Horton Plains NP, Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

Dneska se stalo něco, co se ještě asi nikdy nestalo. Jestli jsem necim znamy, tak faktem, ze nerad brzo vstavam. A jelikož jsme včera vstavali na vychod slunce na Adam's peaku, tak byla pravdepodobnost brzkého vstavani velice mala. Ale plan byl neuprosny a abychom dneska všechno stihli, měli jsme snidani objednanou na pul sestou, takze jsme si uzili tousty a mohli přitom obdivovat vychod slunce nad krajinou. Teda teoreticky mohli, protože jsme všichni byli ve stavu, kdy vyorana mys by proti nam byla cila jako rybicka. Ale asi tam nekde za oknem nejaky vychod slunce fakt probehl, protože vecer fakt probehl zapad slunce a při odjezdu uz bylo svetlo… Ten sileny a naprosto nesmyslny plan, kvůli kteremu se Pavlik nemohl poradne vyspinkat, obsahoval navstevu parku Horton plains, jizdu vlakem a prozkoumani mestecka Ella. Jediny, kdo s ... read more

Our first stop today was a gem shop that designs, makes, and sells jewelry. This wasn't on the agenda. Their prices were so ridiculous. But it was a short visit and then we were off to a botanical garden, one of four near Kandy I think. Some of us walked with Sujee, by accident, and he showed us some great stuff. Fruit bats, tiny bees he found by accident, and he is quite knowledgeable about plants. I was content to walk with Sujee and hear what he had to say about certain areas of the garden. This place was not cheap to enter. It was 1100 LKR, although I'm sure Sri Lankans don't have to pay that much. Afterwards we drove back to Kandy and I walked around the local market with Danielle and Nicole taking ... read more

We bid farewell to Kandy and headed off through the manic morning rush hour to catch the train, a short hop in 3rd class to the nearby Peredenia Junction before boarding another Expo Rail carriage for our journey up to our next stop in Haputale. Given our time constraints we flipped a coin and chose a few days in Haputale rather than the larger town of Ella which, everyone tells us, is beautiful. The train journey was amazing, sharp peaks and dramatic 500m vertical plunges punctuated by mile after mile of beautiful geometric tea plantations, pickers perching on impossibly steep slopes providing the basis for our daily cuppa. This, now, is the Sri Lanka people have waxed lyrical about, it really is quite spectacular. Haputale is perched on a ridge between two peaks, it has to ... read more

Iata-ne iar in autogara din Welimada. E chiar in centrul orasului langa ceas. In fiecare oras exista un astfel de ceas in mijlocul unei piete. Se spune ca aceasta "traditie" a fost inaugurata pe la 1800 de catre sotia unui guvernator englez, disperata ca localnicii nu prea au notiunea timpului exact :). Ca de obicei dupa cateva intrebari gasim pe cineva care ne spune unde sa asteptam autobuzul. Si a venit chiar la 7:30. Dupa un drum cu ceva peripetii, am ajuns si in Ohiya. In acest sat, unde de fapt nu exista decat o gara si 5 case, nu ar veni nici un turist daca nu ar fi rezervatia naturala-Horton Plains si World's End. Cand ajuns langa gara, era soare foarte puternic si cer senin. Am luat un tuk-tuk pana aproape de Hill Safari guesthouse, ... read more