Blogs from Kandy, Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 5

Aufstehen, Sachen packen und frühstücken. Um 8.30 Uhr starten wir mit dem Tuk-Tuk zum Bahnhof. Unterwegs machen wir noch einen kurzen Zwischenstopp, decken uns mit Wasser und Keksen ein und verschicken endgültig unsere angesammelten Postkarten, versehen mit den besten Weihnachtsgrüßen. Mal sehen ob sie bis dahin ankommen. Am Bahnhof sind schon ziemlich viele Leute, die meisten sind Backpacker auf dem Weg über das zentrale Hochland zurück an die Westküste. Wir treffen Christian, einen Schweizer aus Zürich, mit dem wir uns sehr nett unterhalten. Aaron wird ihn während der nächsten Stunden in die Geheimnisse seiner Spielewelt einweihen. Die 3. Klasse ist erstaunlich komfortabel, die Sitze sind ok, Fenster kann man öffnen, das sorgt für ein angenehmes Klima. Bester Platz zum Rausschauen während der Fahrt sind die offenen Zugtüren. Man kann sich den Wind ins Gesicht blasen lassen ... read more

Hotellet vi har vært på de siste dagene har veldig bra standard men mangler svømmebasseng. Dette er til Michael sin store glede under bygging. Han sitter hele dagen å følger med på bygningsarbeiderne og kommentarer hvordan ting burde ha bli gjort. De har lagt ferdigplener rundt bassenget men på slutten gikk de tom for ferdigplen og hva gjør man da?? Jo da går man ut i haven til hotellet og graver opp litt plen her og litt der! Ferdigplenen leveres ikke i ruller som hjemme men i små ruter på ca. 30x30 cm. Det ferdige sesultatet ser helt jævelig ut, men de er fornøyd så da er det sikkert bra! Nå er vi ute på reisefot igjen. Startet kl. 05;00 med en biltur på 3 timer for å rekke toget kl. 09:20 fra Elle. Elle er ... read more

Today we drove to Dambulla Caves which date back to 1st BC. The amazing complex of 5 caves was used by a King who upon regaining the throne commissioned magnificent carved images within the living rock. Fran sat this one out as Keith climbed for about an hour and covered about 250 steps and sloping rock to reach the caves. It was an awesome sight to see these caves and its status of Lord Buddha plus his followers. Fantastic view from the top and worth the walk. We then continued to Kandy which is the second largest city in Sri Lanka. On route we stopped at the Matale Spice Gardens. At the entrance Keith spotted a 1950 Morris Minor Lowlight Saloon car parked under a palm tree garage. Fran has never seen me move so fast ... read more

A bit of a lazy morning, and cases packed we set off for mission 555, we take the metro into the shopping centre and head for "at the top" which is on the lower ground? we have fast track tickets and are put into a side room for drinks and dates, and by pure chance they are celebrating its 5th birthday so are given a presentation box with a commemorative silver coin in it. We go through all necessary safety checks and are then taken to the lift. The lift is fast and you are at the top, floor 148, in 60 seconds , we were greeted with Armarni sweets and juice and were able to walk around at leisure, the views were amazing and could see for miles. We then went down to floor 125 ... read more

The train to Kandy was pretty painless and more or less on time. We didn't actually go all the way there hoping off instead at nearby Peradeniya. We had arranged a couch surfing host somewhere in the middle of nowhere and Benjamin had arranged for a tuk tuk driver to meet us there and deliver us to our did for the night. The tuk tuk had a puncture and we had to walk the last hundred yards or so. Benjamin lives in a beautiful location deep in the hills a few miles outside of Kandy. He was working when we arrived so we were met by his mother who treated us to a delicious chicken curry lunch. After a rest (travelling is so tiring!) the tuk tuk reappeared and took us into town just in time ... read more