On the day we were leaving for the airport I once again left everything to the last minute and it was filled with packing, re packing, meeting friends to say goodbye and going for lunch at the beach front (to calm the nerves!) At check in everyone was around 13-15kgs and I was 21kgs. Seriously! What on earth do I pack that I am so over weight?!?
In the coffee shop we realised that 1) Robs had never received her Sri Lankan visa (she has applied and paid but never received it... Problem!) and 2) Nix had some how misplaced hers between check in and having a cup of coffee. At this late stage there was nothing we could do so we just headed through to security with fingers crossed we wouldn't lose two of the awesome foursome!
Of course, saying good bye is always sad - there were tears! Robs was so sad to say bye to Tim and bean and I are sympathetic sobbers so within seconds of seeing robs having a cry, all three of us were in tears! We pulled ourselves together and as I got to passport control I opened the sneaky little card my mother gave me... Which made me start crying all over again! The poor little lady behind passport control was so uncomfortable she lent across the counter and said to me 'I'm sorry madam, are you ok?' It was hilarious... I started to laugh which made me cry more and when we eventually all gathered together all four of us burst into tears and were laughing uncontrollably at the same time!
And then we were off! The flight was very boring except for the scurry of people when an older gentleman collapsed in the isle and of course beanie was up and about and giving her medical opinions on what exactly had happened ;)
We got to Dubai and changed over for the next leg... As we got to the boarding gate the man looked at me, tore my ticket, smiled and said 'madam I am very pleased to tell you that you have been upgraded' - I was in shock! This had never happened to me before! I actually jumped and hugged him - poor little man didn't know what happened! Immediately I looked at nix and said 'she is flying with me' and he nodded and said that she too had be upgraded! Eeeeek!
Unfortunately (because we didn't all book together) the two Sisters were put in cattle class (not without them coming back and begging for am upgrade too) and nix and I boarded the business class bus (causing a massive stir with our excited yelps!). Omg. Business class is amazing. I can't even begin to explain how fabulous it was to have space (no man with his arms on my side of the seat as in the last leg) and the food was delicious! We even got treated to a glass of Moët - it would have been rude not to! The tray table is massive, they cover it with a white table cloth for you and we even got delicious, warm, fresh pastries.... The chair tilts back to a FULL BED and within minutes I was out like a light. BEST SLEEP EVER!
Unfortunately we had to leave our little heaven of BC and meet the two sisters who were very gracious about our good luck! We passed through passport control (no problems with the visa - shew!) and the little lady behind the counter was very confused by the 2 x Turtons and forgot to stamp robs passport! Luckily we realised and she hurried back to get the situation rectified as it would have caused serious issues on the way out!
We collected our bags, pondered the currency (as usual we had no idea of the currency and when faced with an ATM this is a problem!) and withdrew our 'budget' for the week - which was £160. We then visited about 4 of the 10 taxi counters in an attempt to negotiate. Of course, beanie found the cheapest and managed to bargain him down to almost 1/3 of his original price - subject to one condition, which breaks the first and most crucial rule of travelling - NEVER ACCEPT LUGGAGE FROM ANYONE. But we set off with a whole boot full of someone else's luggage and headed towards the clock inn - robs was quite concerned and kept trying to listen for the ticking bomb in the bags! But shew - no bomb, no drugs and no dodgy bits hidden in the bags!!!!
Our hostel was lovely. It was quite central and most importantly clean and with aircon ;) we caught the bus into town which was empty as we jumped on but as we got further into town filled out and within 10 mins we were packed like sardines with peoples crotches in our shoulders and their packets bumping us in the head! Of course we didn't have any idea where we were going so jumped off a stop too early and luckily the locals heard us talking about the train station and dragged us back on!
We queued forever to get our tickets for Kandy - as we couldn't read the local print and had to stand in 4 different queues. We made a 'special' friend who followed us around aimlessly and attempted to help us get to the right queue... Finally we got our tickets and Robs was the first to take on the local loo. Her face as she exited was priceless and she gasped 'mother of god!' She was in shock!
I find Sri Lanka a lot like India, Except a lot cleaner. In the main city Colombo there is hardly any rubbish - you actually have to look for it, although still not clean. The streets are layered in dust and dirt and, of course, spit. There are stray dogs running around and the streets are crowded with people bumping and bashing into you. There are some delicious smells of street food and then some horrendous smells of who knows what ;) The men want to tap you, touch you, greet you and even shout things like 'Hey you good thing' - we will take it as a compliment ;)
The walk around the bustling city of Colombo and the markets was entertaining but we were quite relieved to head home and have a good nights sleep! Robs was soooo excited about here first tuk tuk ride and we all 4 squashed into the tiny back seat and were whisked off home ;)
After quickly booking a hostel in Kandy we were asleep in seconds, unfortunately it was a 5.30 am wake up in order to make our train! We arrived early and sat on the platform relaxing until the train arrived! As it pulled into the station a little deaf Indian man ran up to us in a panic demanding (in charades) our tickets. We handed it over and he started waving furiously for us to run and follow him. Although we knew we had at least 20 mins this little man managed to get us to hurry after him and panic that we were going to miss the train. He sat us in our seats and then held out a piece of paper asking for a donation/tip for his assistance. Assistance with what? Making us stress? Anyway, not wanting to look stingy we handed over a small tip and told him to be off and go scan someone else!
The train ride was beautiful -
We arrived in kandy and were greeted by a friendly little old man at the hostel who started giving us advice on where exactly we should visit and what to see. Within minutes our whole stay was planned!
We took a tuk tuk down the hill to the gardens which has a very pretty orchid garden, some beautiful trees, winding pathways and a not so great herb garden ;).
On the way back to town we passed a jeweller and beanie decided to 'pop in for a few minutes'. The standard process is to first do a tour of the 'mines', then watch a video and then view every possible sort of stone possible! We did get a free cup of tea (score!) so at least the whole thing wasn't a complete waste of time! At the end they shuffle you past the jewellery design area and then it is time to buy! Bean, from the start, wanted a blue Safire ring but for some reason it took us almost three hours to choose! She ummed and ahhhed about the purple Safire, the 'shit-ring' (the salesman said it was a citrine but we heard shit-ring and that started the giggles and hours of entertainment! This entertainment lasted the whole week every time we went shopping for rings - which was a lot!!!!) and other beauties! In the end though, as expected, she chose the blue one in an amazing setting and we were so relieved!
They needed a few hours to adjust the size so we naively agreed to meet them at the pizza Hutt at 7pm. We didn't know where the pizza hutt was, but we agreed and crossed our fingers that beans (paid for) ring would show up!
After thinking we would have soooo much time during the day we now had about 20 mins to make it to the cultural dancing in peak hour traffic! In typical bean style she loudly proclaimed that as she bought a ring she now expected a free ride home - and guess what, we got it ;) We all piled into the van with one of the salesman and we broke rule number two of travelling - never accept a ride from complete stranger! The salesman kept shouting 'hurry hurry hurry' to the driver as we rushed through all the bumper to bumper traffic! But once again it all turned our perfectly and our salesman (who had a very cute giggle and the typical SL head bob and shake!) even ran and bought us tickets for the show before wishing us well and heading home!
The cultural show was filled with all sorts of local dancing and ended with fire walking over the burning coals! It was crazy... I don't know how people do it! Next stop was Temple of the tooth (or the tooth of the temple as per robs) where you have to cover from shoulders to ankles, else you are denied entry by the dress code police! We bought some lotus flowers and jasmine to 'offer' to Buddha and headed to see the famous 'tooth' of Buddha. It was so crowded in the temple and you literally get a few seconds view of the tooth and the monks shove you onwards!
As we stepped out the temple the salesman greeted us and handed over beans ring ;) relief! He even got down on one knee to present it to her ;) After this we were determined to have a delicious local meal (because all we had eaten since we arrived was fruit and breakfast bars!) so we had our first traditional SL chicken curry, rice and veg. It's completely different to a SA meal where the meal is focused around the meat - this one was a tiny piece of chicken each and sooo many veggies, all of course with added chilli/jalapeños! The owner told us we had to eat with our hands so we all gave our fingers and nails a good scrub and dug in!
After dins we headed home (squashed into a little tuk tuk) and went straight to bed. Nix managed to get herself locked in the bathroom and after about 20mins I eventually heard some panicked shouting from across the hallway and had to call the owner to 'release' her. I was in hysterics, couldn't even talk!
We woke up 6.30 to 'hike' up to the Buddha on the hill. Thankfully this time 20 min was 20 min (beanie normally rounds down!) and the stroll to the temple was quite pleasant! We were posing on the steps for a selfie when suddenly the monk came bustling down the stairs to collect our fee. In typical Beanie style she tried to haggle her way out of the charge (with a monk!) and barter him down... But to no avail - we paid ;)
That morning we had our first bus experience is Asia. We arrived in the bus stop with hundreds of busses all squashed together and men yelling (almost like at an auction - really fast) the destination of the trains. There three different busses heading our way and they all bargained for our business - settling on 50p for a two and a half hour trip. Wow!
Now to describe the bus trip, it was a pavement riding, road winding, babies vomiting, small seated, hot and sweaty, bumping bouncing bus! As we made our way to the high altitude (destination was 1868m) the road wound round and round and the air got chillier. The drivers here are crazy and over 50% of the time drive on the wrong side of the road! Of course it's 'safe' thanks to the toot toot of their hooters! Although at one point on the ride we did pass a truck that had flown over the edge!
Nuwara Eliya reminds me so much of India's tea regions (Darjeeling). There are brightly coloured houses on stilts on the side of steep mountains covered in tea leaves and surrounded by mist. So tranquil and beautiful! But, the problem is it is so cold and obviously us girls packed for warmer climates!
Our hostel (New Tour Inn) was right by the bus station (thank goodness because my back pack is HEAVY) and we managed to negotiate our rate down to about £5 each! Once again... Thank you beanie. We also hired a driver to take us to the tea fields and did a quick tour of the tea making process. Afterwards we sat down for tea (and some happy bday cake for Tim!!!) and admired the beautiful hill side view. The tea is made with a sweet condensed milk so we all put just a dash of milk in it ;)
On the way home we stopped in the tea fields for a photo and were quickly joined by the local workers who wanted to be included. We had the pics and straight away were tapped on the shoulder and told 'money' but the little red toothed Indian ladies. Obviously we weren't handing over money when they made the decision to join us, without a request so we smiled, turned and walked away. Unfortunately they followed us tapping and asking for 'money money'. Suddenly they changed and started shouting 'bum bum' over and over again... Which obviously means something to them - but to us it was 4 ladies running after us asking for some bum bum. Makes for an awkward situation - ha ha! We were in hysterics as we slammed the door and waved goodbye!
Later we were lying in bed and talking when there were a few knocks on the door - we opened to find the driver form earlier with beanies sunglasses in his hand! We couldn't believe he had come all the way back to return them! So kind! We went walking around town and beanie was trying on all the traveller pants! She found one banana flavoured leopard pants, but decided eventually on the peacock on steroids pants ;)
We had planned a big local dinner but once again after a day of fruit and bars and a big lunch (which accidentally happened to be Chinese - and burnt the hell out of our lips!) we decided a samosa was sufficient and headed to bed.
Next morning (Saturday) we were awake and out by 7.45, to catch the bus to get the train to Ella. We bounced like crazy on this bus and after we got off and went for tea/ treats at the local shop. We tasted all the pastries etc available and had some delicious tea (sorry to the girls who chose coffee - it was rank!)
We squeezed onto the train and luckily all found seats in third class! Bean and robs this time struck it lucky with only three people on their bench, where as nix and I were squashed with four people!!! The Train was very festive with all the local kids playing drums and singing, although each time we went through a dark tunnel they screamed at the top of their lungs and whistled! Yoh it was loud.
The view as we wound down the hills was luscious and green and so beautiful! We were at the top of these huge hills and the view seemed never ending!
We arrived at Ella and headed towards our next budget accommodation - Rawanas holiday resort. It's up one huge hill and walking up was HECTIC - especially with my 20 kg backpack! The quads were burning and I was starting to huff and puff when we eventually reached the hostel! The girls all started getting ready for the hike up little Adams peaks, but I could think of nothing worse - so I opted for lunch and a full body massage while they climbed a hill and over 340 steps... I think I won ;) especially when I heard the heavens open from the massage table! ( I have to admit the view was amazing!)
The massage was so relaxing and I was so de-stressed afterwards! The funniest part was when she was about to massage my bum and she ripped my pants off with the energy of of pre-sex scene in a movie. I was in shock and did a squeal but she continued without even noticing my discomfort! Hilarious! (No photo of that moment!)
The man at the hostel offered us dinner when we arrived and we thought we would decline and search for deliciousness in town... And this was another case of of our bad luck when eating. First we hunted for the Illusive 'blue house' that we had a photo of from Tim... No name, no definite location but a photo of the view from the roof. We walked up and down the main road but no luck, and just as we were about to give up - boom, there she was! So we ran up the hill and asked for dinner... Unfortunately they hadn't cooked that eve so we had to go some where else. So we walked up and down the road again, and opted to go back to our hostel for dins. Obviously, with our luck, when we got there they replied that as we hadn't booked earlier they didn't have enough food for us... So we headed up the road AGAIN! Eventually we found a lovely little local place with live music and a tasty curry and veg! We also tried the local spirits with ginger beer, which was super strong and cost more than our entire meal!!
After dins we had dessert which was curd and honey (apparently not bees honey, so one can only assume it's syrup!?) It was very odd tasting, but after adding some more 'honey' it stopped tasting so much of buffalo (to quote bean!)
Once again we woke at 5.30, these other three LOVE an early morning... I can't wait for a nap in. We caught the early bus which arrived late and much to our dismay every seat was taken and we had to stand... Immediately I had visions on 5hrs on the hot bus winding round the frightening bends, but thank fully the seat right opposite me became empty working a few minutes. I was overjoyed ;) next to get a seat was nix, who squashed in between six other people on the bench and probably would have been more comfy standing! Next was robs, who struck it lucky sitting next to a man who smelt like feet and had the worst body odour problem ever... She was almost gagging! As the journey went on we reshuffled to ensure we were all together and all sat together for the remainder of the trip... Robs still had the wiff of the stinky man most of the way! Luckily the bus stopped once during the 5hr trip and we made our way to the stand up and pee toilets! The queue was so long bean and robs ducked into the (spare) bush for a wee and were spotted immediately by the little Indians women in the queue ahead of us who giggled at the little white bums visible from the queue! Nix and I just waited patiently on the queue! Once we got to Matara we changed to the next bus where the crazy bus conductor (who honestly seemed like he was on drugs) tried to rip us off with changing us double what everyone was charged. Being foreigners, we had no option to pay... But, as you can imagine, we didn't do it quietly! I told him he was a disgrace to his country and we would tell everyone in our country (Australia according to nix!) that he had stollen from us, and bean has laid into him as well! Poor little man had no idea 4 girls could be so feisty!
Eventually we arrived in Weligama after what felt like days on the cramped bus and started walking towards the hostels to find a place to sleep. At the first street corner we lingered, to decide if we should go left or white, and a white car as it almost hit straight into us. He hooted and shouted and one of us (not to mention names) (not me!) (not bean) (not nix) (ha ha) (may have) told him to piss off. ;) unfortunately this infuriated him and he pulled over SHOUTING and swearing and pulling all sorts of signs at us. At first we were in shock but then as he rode off we all started laughing... Which obviously infuriated him even more! So he pulled over again, leaned over his wife in the passenger seat and started AGAIN! After venting all this aggression he swerved back into his lane and almost got t-boned by a bus! I found this hilarious and pointed and laughed... Which was the wrong thing to do!! Realising he had pulled over again and was now getting out of the car, we quickly crossed the road and tried to hide behind a tuk tuk, but I think the four of us white folk with 4 massive back packs couldn't hide very well!
Anyway, to cut a long story short I have never had so many f-bombs thrown at us in one convo and had some crazy man gyrating and doing actions to every swear word in my life. Eventually he stormed off... And us four high tailed it to the backpackers, Sakura surf Lanka, afraid of every white car to pass us by from then on!
We walked on the beach, and made out way to Mirissa which is quite a touristy beach down from Weligama, which was beautiful, although the day was quite cloudy and overcast so robs was the only one to brave the water!
The rest of the day was spent walking on the beach, watching some local cricket games and going to bed in huge comfiest bed!!!
AGAIN (can you see I'm not a morning person) we were up early so we could cram loads into the day. We caught the bus to Galle to go see the fort, which the tour guide book says is the most popular attraction in Sri Lanka. Well... After the ride there with the most crazy bus driver I don't think we were physically able to appreciate it as much as we should have. The driver was insane, I felt like I was playing a TV game when I was 7 years old and before I had any knowledge of road rules and how to drive. All four of us were clutching our seats (I honestly had nail marks in my hand!) and at some stages I could even face forward when he was overtaking on blind corners and slamming on breaks as we almost had head on collisions multiple times. Other cars has to pull off the road into the sand so many times because our driver was overtaking and would not turn back in.
At the fort we also had our bags with us in 30+ degrees so it was one of he most uncomfortable sight seeing experiences I have ever had, and after 10mins or so, we felt like we had had the experience and jumped back onto the next bus.
This driver was (a bit) better, but still crazy. I dont know how we haven't passed thousands of accidents this trip... Only one?!? The bus was again cramped and so there wasn't really space for us and he bags, so with some creative shapes we managed to all fit on - with bean straddling the bags with her knees by her ears! Everyone on the bus found this either hilarious or distasteful but the conductor wanted his fare so shuffled us all on. A monk in his orange attire, next to us slowly dug in his briefcase, extracted his camera and turned it slowly onto video... And then proceeded to take a video of beanie and her legs (literally moving the camera up and down her legs), then switched it off and put it away. It was the most random experience ever. So we got out out camera and took multiple shots of him... Just to prove a point! Also - there was some odd little man behind beanie (next to robs) who started playing with beans hair and then feeling her between the spaces on the seat. It was soooo weird! Robs, who was so terrified by the driving skills (or lack there of) was completely oblivious!
Eventually we arrived at Mambos and were delighted with the view from the beach - eventually we had reached the beaches everyone has spoke about! We changed immediately into our cozzies and went for a swim - but didn't realise that the current and back wash was so strong and within seconds we were about 100m off shore! We, thankfully, made it back to the shore but seriously had visions of us drowning on our first encounter with the sea! During the time here we saw about 5 or 6 others get into the same predicament and almost drown!!!
Hikkaduwa is a place made for sun tanning, shopping for jewels and eating cheap street food - famous for cheap and cheerful fun in the sun! It has long stretches of white sand beaches lined with palm trees - so far it's my fav place. We spent the next two days walking along the beach, bargaining for cheap jewels and loving the sunshine!
These are the things I have learned about my travel mates -
Nix trips over every single step possible... Even if there isn't a step, she will trip. And she has some epic one liners that make us laugh for hours!
Robs laughs at everything, except when she is struggling with her alien (tummy cramps)! She also thinks that everything that stinks smells like feet and hasn't eaten rice since the last piece got stuck in her nose for a couple of hours ;)
Bean loves to shop! And loves to bargain and take HOURS to do it! And if wasn't for her we would have doubled outer spend!!
And finally, if you want some good luck - apparently stick with me ;)
Sri Lanka has been great, the men are not very respectful to a group of 4 girls and we often felt like we were ripped off for just being a tourist - but all in all we saw some beautiful sights and made some amazing memories!
Next stop Malaysia ;)
