Once again I appear to have totally messed up the dates in my blog!
I was obviously going to write more, but figured Yala deserved a post all on its own!
Tracey and I left Tissamaharama and drove the 2 hours up into the hill country and our next stop, Ella.
It’s great to be visiting places in Sri Lanka that I haven’t been to before and to be doing it with Tracey is fabulous.
The drive was great, very picturesque.
Our hotel, ‘Ella’s Edge’ was exactly as described, on the edge of Ella with a magnificent view.
Once we had figured out the slight issue with the rooms, we settled in and then went by Tuk Tuk to a café overlooking the fabulous 9 Arch Bridge, also known as The Sky Bridge.
The viaduct was designed to connect 2 mountains on the Badulla to Colombo railway. It was envisaged by the British shortly before the outbreak of WW1 however but when it came to construction all the steel needed was diverted back for the war effort. It was then constructed and built with stone and cement largely by Sri Lankan engineers and workers, it was completed in 1921. It is a stunning piece of architecture and design. It is an iconic & popular landmark in Ella.
The Tuk Tuk, with our driver, Kumarah took us up quite steep, bumpy and somewhat scary dirt roads to the spot where he could leave the Tuk Tuk then walk down the steep steps to the café, Café Soul.
This route down was a little steep, which I didn’t love. But it was worth it as the views of the bridge were spectacular. We were also lucky enough to be there when not one but two trains crossed the bridge!
Most of the trains stop on the bridge to allow passengers to take photos.
It’s quite scary seeing people sitting on the edge of the bridge, with a long sheer drop to the valley below! 😳
We were there on a Sunday which meant it was very busy, lots of Sri Lankans visiting Ella for day trips.
We climbed back up the hill, and stopped in Ella for a bit, had a refreshing cocktail 🍹then went back to our hotel, chilled, got changed and back into Ella for dinner. We chose a place recommended by The Lonely Planet, The White Rabbit, it was busy, but great vibes, live music and delicious food. I had a Sri Lankan Jackfruit curry, so good.
Then back for a good nights sleep!
I set my alarm for 6am so I could see the sunrise. It was wonderful!
I looked, enjoyed, photographed then went back to sleep! 😴😍
For our second day we had asked Kumarah to take us to a little place outside of Ella, called Demodara. From here you can get the calypso train the short distance to Ella, crossing the 9 arch bridge! All for the princely sum of £3!
The train was fabulous, we snagged a couple of stools in the open carriage, sat back and enjoyed the odd and vaguely mariachi band playing music and the fantastic views!
It was so much fun! 🤩🎉 Being on the bridge was amazing. Fun seeing it from a different angle.
The whole thing only took around 35 minutes, but it’s definitely worth doing.
Kumarah picked us up at Ella train station and we drove to Halpewatte Tea Factory for a tour.
Again, stunning views, and an interesting and informative tour of the tea factory, who knew how much work goes into your daily cuppa! 🫖 ☕️ 😮 Fascinating.
We went back into Ella for dinner and ended up leaving one quite fancy place which couldn’t seem to get our food order correct after numerous attempts we cancelled the food and found a much less fancy but fabulous place that served good, tasty Sri Lankan food! Winner. 🏆
As a special treat Tracey & I had booked an afternoon at Ravana Pool Spa, handily this was on the route to climb ‘Little Adam’s Peak’ which Tracey wanted to do, I had said I’d do as much as I fancied, which turned out not to be very much tbh! 😳 There are a lot of very steep steps, and lots of people. Going up is hard work, but coming down for me is a nightmare, both for my knees and my worsening fear of heights and falling!
So Tracey did the last (steepest bit) on her own, and whipped up there like a mountain goat!! Impressive 😍
I waited for her and spent the time enjoying watching people doing the ZipWire and a little 6 year old boy doing the climbing wall!
Once Tracey had returned we walked back to the Rana Pool Spa. We were a little early for our booking so we had a Cocktail, obviously 😁 I had a really tasty Bloody Mary.
Our VIP pool experience was fantastic. We had a nice big bed area and a wonderful infinity pool!
We went a little mad and ordered a bottle of French Rosé Wine, which was great, it appeared to start a trend though as then everyone around us started ordering it, which meant when we wanted a second bottle they’d run out!! 😮😁 We compromised on a nice bottle of dry white!
It was a brilliant afternoon, and towards the end we got chatting to the 2 couples next to us. They were in Sri Lanka on holiday from India, New Delhi, they were great fun and super friendly (the wine might have helped!) we exchanged numbers and they have told me I must contact them when I arrive in New Delhi! Which I most certainly will! We are also also invited to Anupam’s sisters wedding in November! 😂
All in all a fantastic day!! Finished off with more delicious curry at the same restaurant as the previous night and finishing Tracey’s Gin back at the hotel! 🤣
Getting up for our train to Kandy the next morning was a little challenging 😜 But we made it to the station for 8.30ish!
It’s a little chaotic on the platform but once the train arrives it all gets sorted. We had reservations in 1st class, comfy seats, air con, they also came around and asked for our food order, result! We both ordered Veggie rice. When it arrived it turned out not to be part of the ticket price! But still enjoyable.
The train journey from Ella to Kandy is another ‘Must Do’ in Sri Lanka.
The train takes around 7 hours to wind its way through miles and miles of lush green hills and tea plantations. The views are truly spectacular. I was even brave enough to do the obligatory leaning out of the open train door!! In fact I think I spent most of the journey at the doorway as the views were so incredible.
Up there as one of my favourite experiences in Sri Lanka.
We arrived in Kandy at around 4pm and made our way to the hotel.
We had opted to change our hotel in Kandy for one with a pool. The one we chose was quite fancy, and very gorgeous, the pool however was tiny! 😂 It really didn’t matter because everything else was perfect. 😍 The comfiest bed on the whole trip! 😴😴😴
We opted to go out for dinner to a place again recommended by The Lonely Planet. Another hit! Great live music, good grub and the most delicious cocktails! 🍸
Sadly Thursday was Tracey’s last day with me! She was heading to Colombo at 10 pm that night for a 4am flight!
We spent the best part of the day at The Royal Botanical Gardens, which were simply gorgeous. A really large area of lush planting, stunning native trees, flowers, wildlife, completely glorious. 💚🩷❤️
We saw loads of Fruit Bats or Flying Foxes roosting in the trees, they are huge. A strange little man offered to sell us one for £1! random, we declined. A decision I somewhat regret! 🦇🤔🤣
We then went back into Kandy to visit the Temple of the Tooth. A very holy Buddhist Temple that holds part of Buddhas a tooth. It also has a museum dedicated to Raja the Tusker, a very beloved Elephant used for important processions. He died and was then preserved and kept in the museum.
For our last nights dinner we managed to persuade the hotel to make us a Sri Lankan curry, which wasn’t on the menu. It was fabulous.
Then it was time for my beautiful friend to leave! 🥺
It was a tad emotional saying goodbye and just felt all kinds of weird to be saying goodbye in Sri Lanka and not going to the airport together!
It has been unbelievably fantastic to share our time together in Sri Lanka, seeing and doing things that will stay in my heart and mind forever.
Thank you my darling Tracey for everything. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I will try and catch everything up tomorrow.
No new books yet!
Happy Sunday lovelies.
💚💙🩵🦇🩷
Hereandthereclaire.com 