houseatdusk

Last full day and another opportunity to take an amazing train. The famous line from Galle to Colombo takes you along the coast - pretty much on the beach along some of it. This train was a lot more crowded than the one up in the hills so I planted myself by an open door on the coast side. One of the happiest travel moments of my life! Again I was too nervous to do the hanging out of the door thing, but I got a great view of this stunning coast line and chatted to the locals. This area was devastated by the 2004 tsunami. I heard one story that on the morning it happened the tide was unusually low. This led lots of people - families, children, everybody to go out on the beach ... read more

A couple of days of lazing on Mirissa beach and it's the first time I've experienced proper heat since I've been here. It's very nice but it could be anywhere. I should have just chilled for my time here and read my book, but instead I made the huge mistake of going on a whale spotting tour you see advertised all over. Six hours on a little boat chasing after a whale, left and right, round and round, up and down - I was so sick! Eventually they gave me a mattress to lie down on and I slept through most of it. They did wake me up when the blue whale was spotted and I managed to force myself to the side of the boat to see its nose and a great spurt of water ... read more

I love trains. To me it's the best way to travel. No traffic, beautiful views, colourful people. So civilised! I have yet to go to India and experience the trains there - I have been warned I might not hold such a romantic view afterwards but today's journey from Kandy to Bandarawela was one of the best I have been on so far. It takes six hours of climbing and circumnavigating the highland region until you come out above the valleys and can see miles of tea plantations, mountains and sweet little villages. The train itself was reasonably comfortable and the carriage next to me was full of one big happy family laughing and singing the whole way. We seem to have lost our ability to stay close to our families in the west, and I ... read more

Today a trip to the most iconic place in Sri Lanka, and the image that made me want to go there the most, Sigiriya Rock. It's odd appearance is down to it being a volcanic plug of hardened lava, the rest of the volcano having long ago eroded away. That's how old it is! What it actually represents seems to be slightly disputed. I had a young guide who told me it always was a royal palace, but apparently there are new archaeological discoveries which suggest it was a monastery, and some of the palatial features were added much later. Who knows? Who cares - it's beautiful anyway. I also like that there is still so much to be discovered here by future generations, and there are places in the world where we don't have all ... read more

Took the bus to Polonnaruwa - another of the ancient cities. I was a bit daunted but it actually was great fun. Everyone uses the local buses here - families, school kids, little old ladies, labourers, businessmen and even monks. You just jump on - sometimes as the bus has started moving! There is incense burning constantly which I love, colourful garlands everywhere and they showed a Sri Lankan movie which seemed to be a dramatisation about the arrival of Buddhism here, and felt very like a Sinhalese 'Game of Thrones'. An old lady sat next to me and suddenly picked up my wrist and tied a Buddhist thread around it. I am blessed! The journey was a bum-numbing three and a half hours but I totally enjoyed it. Arriving in a wet Polonnaruwa early afternoon ... read more