Blogs from Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 14

Geo: 7.28446, 80.6375 Kandy is a previous capital of Sri Lanka and is also our driver's home town. Sanjeewa joined us for lunch at the rooftop restaurant over the Kandyan Arts Residency . We had asked him to join us previously but this was the first place he agreed.It was a very nice eat as much as you like buffet with some nice curries. We noticed that we were not charged for his meal so he obviously gets a free meal for bringing us there.Then we drove on to the Amaara Sky hotel just outside the town. It is a modern hotel with large rooms and lovely views but is otherwise a bit soulless although the people as usual are lovely. Later we went down to the bar but all they had was one variety of ... read more

Geo: 7.28446, 80.6375Stunning train rides through tea plantations, gorgeous beaches, whale watching, diving and extremely friendly people! That's just a start to this amazing country, this got us excited! We didn't even know what Sri Lanka had to offer until about a week or two before arriving. We only stayed one night in the outskirts of Colombo and took the train to Kandy first thing the next morning. Kandy is in the hills and is a nice place to base oneself for day excursions. Unfortunately it was cloudy the whole time but it didn't stop us from doing a tuk tuk tour which was great! The botanical gardens were really nice and also the tea factory was quite interesting.We stayed in a nice homestay up above the city which offered nice views and quiet surroundings. We ... read more

We left Nuwara Eliya after a well needed sleep. We had booked a train to Ella as this is a recommended route to experience the fantastic views of the hill country. We visited the local bakery and stocked up on food. The train station, in comparison to Indian train stations, is quaint and peaceful. We could see our train arriving from as far as the eye could see, and when it arrived we noticed that the trains are extremely high up. It is easier to leave the train as if climbing down a ladder. We found our seats, and were especially impressed that they can swivel to face either direction. We enjoyed he views as the rain came down, scoffed all our food and watched the Disney film 'Rio' on the TV. It made a nice ... read more

On the way to Kandy we made a couple of stops. First was at a spice garden where we were taken round free of charge. It was really interesting learning how natural herbs and spices are used in products we use at home as well as herbal medicines. At the end of the tour we were offered a massage by a student masseuse. After this we were taken to the shop and realised that these natural ingredients come at a high price! (Not even the thought of some natural hair thickening shampoo for Scott Donald could tempt us into buying). Second stop was to a waterfall after Marc had pestered Chin about it the previous day. The road leading to the waterfall was extremely windy and no fun at all. However it was worth it as ... read more

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