On the road again - Journey to the Maldives

We woke up to bad news. The curfew hadn't yet been lifted and they weren't sure when it would be. We checked out a poster of all the animals we COULD see, which included leopards (most of why we were there) and sloth bears (who knew? but they looked so cool!). We waited and they finally said the curfew would lift at 6:30 but the park wouldn't open until 8 am, too late for us since we had to get to the airport.  We went back for a nap since we woke up so early, had breakfast and were on our way.  On the way back we saw a bunch of soldiers and police and the roads were pretty empty. Schools were closed and I'm not sure what else.  We saw lakes where they get salt from.

Anyway the ride was quicker than anticipated and even the security to get into the airport was quick. They had mirrors to check under cars and checked in as well. 

They changed the route for cars so they wouldn't be too close to the runway. They weren't allowed to take us all the way to the doors, but close enough it wasn't a big deal. Then we immediately went through security to enter the building. We went through security again and then despite being 7 hours early we were luckily able to check in.  Thankfully we finally had wifi, though social media was banned and we heard there's going to be another curfew 8 pm - 4 am.

The flight is nice. We left our headphones in our checked bags by mistake but there's plenty of leg room and over 120 movies!

We're fans of Sri Lankan airlines.

It's a quick and easy flight.  We went back a half hour though, so now we're 2 hours ahead of Israel.

The airport

When we land we'll have almost 2 hours before a speed boat picks us up to take us to Maafushi, the local island we're spending the first few nights at.

I'm not sure if I'll blog anymore since our plan is just to relax but we'll see! You never know what adventure we'll end up on.

Off to Safari - Wilpatu National Park

On to Wilpatu!

We woke up and finally got in an air conditioned car that was prearranged to take us to Wilpatu National Park where we were supposed to go on a safari.

The most crazy parts of our adventures are over. On to prearranged and more relaxed.
It was nice having a guide for a bit. He told us a bit of Sri Lankan history and more about the 30 year war. He told us about the coconuts and the people of Sri Lanka. He told us a bit about the differences between African and Asian elephants, and about the process of becoming a guide in Sri Lanka (my question of course).

Since I already wrote about the awful bombings I'm going to skip over that here.

As we got close to Wilpatu our guide said we wouldn't have food for the safari, so we stopped to get.  I misunderstood so we got 4 apples, 2 oranges and a small watermelon. We later realized we didn't need anything.

We then stopped at the side of the road and a jeep came to pick us up and drive us to the camp we were staying in. It was 2 pm and we were supposed to start our safari at 2:30.  We checked in and sat with the manager to go over what foods we'd have since he knew we had major restrictions.

Then we dropped our stuff in our tent (for us it seemed like glamping but I'm sure some people consider it roughing it - there was a bed and a side table and even a bathroom with a flushing (barely) toilet and shower!).

We went out to safari! Unfortunately our driver didn't speak English and we didn't have a guide, but it turned out fine. We drove about 12 minutes to the park and started through. We saw tons of peacocks and spotted deer. We saw all types of birds including some sort of hawk and junglefowl. We saw some orange birds, blue birds and more. We saw mongoose and a wild hare and a small deer like animal that kind of hopped. We also saw the butt of a water buffalo! Thankfully our guide seemed to know most of the animals names in English and was able to point them out to us.  He also had a book of birds he showed us when there was one who's name he couldn't think of.

But that was it. Suddenly we turned back and didn't know why. It wasn't until we were back at the camp that we learned that due to the bombings the country was put on curfew starting at 6 pm, so the park closed at 5 pm.

Back at the camp the wifi didn't work, but thankfully an Israeli girl was able to get into her email and let me email our families to let them know we were safe.

We played a few games then went to dinner. They were so great to us.  They gave us all whole fruits and vegetables, TONS of them, hard boiled eggs,  and a brand new still in the package knife and cutting board. We cut up a nice salad and had delicious fruits for dessert.  Throughout dinner there was an awesome lightning storm for us to watch and luckily no rain!

There was a bit of confusion about who was doing our morning safari, but we got it settled and set an alarm to be up at 5 and out at 5:30!

Relaxing in Colombo

Saturday, April 20

We woke up late and just relaxed a while, read and prayed and started in on our passover food that we'd brought with us. 

We went to Chabad again for lunch and met a guy who's girlfriend got appendicitis and was in the hospital so he came for lunch and to bring her some food.

The chabad family had friends visiting who live in Beer Sheva. It was cool learning their different stories and hearing a bit about their experiences. The family in Sri Lanka seemed to love it.  The wife has given birth twice in Israel and twice in Sri Lanka and is happy with both.  They bring in preschool teachers who board with them to teach the kids.  They sound really happy.

Their friends met at chabad in Mexico. The wife wasn't religious then, and didn't even know what chabad was, but she didn't like the Mexican food so someone told her that chabad had Israeli food.  She went and became curious about chabad and started learning and the two ended up back in Israel.  They want to start a chabad in another country but she doesn't want to leave her family, so they'll only do it if/when her family is ready to move with them.

It was a very enjoyable lunch, and then we went to see the Independence Hall.  It wasn't so far and the walk was really pretty.  It seemed to be a more upscale areas with homes with big yards and a cricket club where there was a practice going on.  We also passed a nice park where there were lots of couples sitting and cuddling.  We've noticed there's tons of PDA here. All the parks are full of couples and they're all over each other and it doesn't seem to matter how religious they are.  Some of the women are covered all except their eyes and they're still cuddling in public. It's a bit confusing for us.

Anyway Independence Hall was cool.
Unfortunately we couldn't go into the museum because it cost money and we don't use on chag or shabbat, but there was a structure on top that we went into that had a bunch of pictures. They were numbered so I decided it must be the story of the independence of Sri Lanka and made up a story to go with it.  Meir wasn't thrilled with my tendency to be short and concise. I think he would've preferred if I fleshed it out a bit.

From there we went back to the apartment. One of the reasons we chose this place was the pool and we hadn't yet taken advantage of it so now we did.  It was an amazingly beautiful rooftop pool. The weather was perfect and the water was warm.

A woman came up in a fancy dress with photographers and we're not sure if she was a bride or a model.

It was a perfect and much needed relaxing day.

Colombo City

Friday, April 19

We slept in a bit Friday then headed out.  The plan was just to walk around Colombo, but we wanted a good last Sri Lankan meal for breakfast since we wouldn't be eating local food once Passover started.  Maria recommended a place but I forgot the directions so we just started toward Colombo 11 (Pettah) since that's where we wanted to go and figured we'd stop along the way.

It was super hot again and not as easy to find a place as we'd thought. We finally found a cute little lake area with pelicans and swan boats and a few places to get food. We decided what we wanted but it turned out since it was another holiday  (Poya, the new moon holiday) All they had was Fried rice and rotti so that's what we got.  It was a good last meal before passover though.

From there we walked along (trying to use map me) and found the Red Mosque. Then some guy started chatting with us and took us around to see some Hindu Temples and we asked him to bring us to the Pettah market which is where he said he was going anyway. I'm pretty sure we went a crazy route and it was super hot out  (in case you haven't caught onto the theme yet). Once we got to the market I was a bit over it. We saw it for a minute, said bye to the guy and moved on (amazingly he was actually just being friendly and didn't want a tip!)

We went to Colombo Fort (district 1) which was right next to 11. On a map it looks like it's on the water but the water is all just a commercial port and land they plan to build up so for now not great.  We stopped in the Kingsbury hotel for a bit of AC, bathrooms and water. When I asked if there was anywhere to fill waterbottles they were great and just gave us new ones.
Then we went to see the lighthouse, and then to see the Sambodhi Chatiya. We had no clue what it was, all we knew was that it's north of the lighthouse. It was literally right there. A huge thing on white stilts like it said. We still didn't know what it was but we saw that people were on top and we saw the stairs so we decided to go up.  It said to remove our hats and shoes so we did.

More stairs. But at the top was basically a sort of temple? A big room with religious artwork.  It was cool even though we still aren't sure exactly what it was.

From there I was exhausted so we took a tuk tuk to Gangaramaya Temple. I think it has the most concentration of Buddhas in the world.  I'm not sure if it was due to Poya but there were lots of people there praying, walking around trees, there seemed to be a sermon and people got chocolate and drinks after.  Everyone was dressed in white to celebrate. We saw the smallest Buddha statue in the world and buddhas made from all different materials from ivory to gold to wood and more. From there, we went across the way to the temple on the lake (the entrance to the larger Temple covered this as well).

There's also a small island on the lake that we took a short walk around, and then got a tuk tuk back to the apartment.

We had an hour and a half to get ready for the holiday and relax.

Meir was right, when we showed up at chabad, we were among the first. We didn't end up starting until over an hour later, and we sat by the front door a while helping people get in and just making sure it seemed like they belonged. When the seder finally started it was a lot of people, but fewer than I'd worried. We sat with an Israeli family with two daughters, and a young Israeli couple just out of the army. 

We sang and laughed. The tables behind us got rowdy (they were Israeli but seemed like frat boys). The Rabbi also got drunk to the point where when he wanted to speak a bit he couldn't form a thought and started just singing instead.  He even asked one of the Israeli guys if he'd say a few words of torah in English, which clearly would never happen. It was taking a while to wrap up after the meal so we finished on our own, but it was definitely a great experience.

Sad Days in Sri Lanka

Hi all,

Just wanted to update. We're at the airport in Colombo, flying to the Maldives in 4 hours. We thought security would be way tighter than it was. WiFi works for email, but they put a block on social media which includes WhatsApp, so we can't use those for now.

We left Colombo at 9 am yesterday morning, an hour before the bombings. We were heading north to Wilpatu National Park for a safari.

About an hour later we were in Negombo and got rerouted. Our driver mentioned something about something going on at a church. We had a feeling something was up. About a half hour later he told us about the six bombings, one of which was the reason we got rerouted. We spent a long time talking to him about terrorism and the 30 year war here and how all in all the religions here live together peacefully so it's a huge shock after 10 years of peace.

We weren't worried, since we knew we were going away from the areas affected.  During our safari, they instituted a nationwide curfew so we had to end early. We hoped to make up for it this morning but the safari was supposed to be at 530 and the curfew only ended at 6 so the safari couldn't start until 8 and they were worried about checkpoints and security on the way to the airport.

Anyway we're fine. It's a bit weird. We were at the Kingsbury hotel Friday just for a bit of AC, the bathroom, and water. Our host also kept telling us to go to the buffet at the Shangrila which we skipped because of Passover.

It's definitely very sad. We passed the hospital in Negombo today where many of the victims were taken, and our driver explained that private hospitals also took people in and donated supplies free of charge. There was a line outside since apparently visiting hours are only 12-1. There's army presence everywhere we drove today, and white flags up to represent sadness.

Negombo Hospital (public)

Line to visit friends and family for visiting hours

We're ready for a different experience and to see what it's like in the Maldives!

The Coast - Bentota and Galle

Thusrday, April 18

I know I wasn't going to take another train, but this was supposed to be empty and only an hour and a half.

It wasn't empty.

But at least it was an hour and a half. We stood the whole way.  At first we were on the wrong side of the train. Not such nice views and sun coming in. Then someone offered for me to take his spot on the other side which was shady and ocean views.
When we got off at Bentota, some guy asked where we were going. We told him a river cruise and he told us to follow him, that we could walk (good thing, we'd been told we would need to take a tuk tuk).

We passed a few on the way so it was clear he was taking us to someone he knows. We agreed on a price of 5000 rupees and set out. We started on a big river, and drove along the side to see a water monitor. Then we went into the lagoon, or mangrove forest, where we saw a baby crocodile!

Sleeping goanna

That's a monkey!

There was also a tree full of bats, water monitors sleeping in trees (they told us that water monitors' skin is poisonous to touch, and that it kills its prey with its tail), black monkeys (apparently Sri Lanka has 3 types of monkeys, black, white, and brown -the brown are the mean ones that steal your stuff), a green snake (it looked like the one I almost stepped on and turns out its poisonous), and pelicans in the top of a tree.  From there they took us to a spice/ herb garden where a doctor showed us around and explained and demonstrated how different herbs and spices can be used.

He put a natural hair removal cream made from wild potatoes that made a bald spot on my arm and Meir's leg. He told us about cinnamon and cacao and cardamon and black pepper and more. Then of course he brought us to a shop but we decided not to buy. Meir asked why he doesn't sell the hair removal internationally and he said because they don't have enough of the wild potatoes and plus they make it by hand so they can't produce that much.

Then we went on and they brought us to a gem store to see how they make gems (apparently a huge industry here).  We left quickly since we didn't want to be pressured to leave a tip and knew we wouldn't buy.

On our way back our guide told us about a place with turtles so we said we were interested in going.  What we didn't understand was that meant going back to land and taking a tuk tuk, and then it was a turtle protection and rehabilitation center. Despite not understanding what we were going to, we loved it.  It turns out they buy turtle eggs from fishermen and bury them. Once they hatch, they keep the babies for a few days in a covered tank so the birds don't get them and then let people come and release them.  If we'd come in the evening we would have been able to do that. Instead we got to hold them, so no complaints.

Apparently there are 6 types of turtles in Sri Lanka, the green turtle being most common.  They have all the types in the center, as students come there to research the turtles.  They have a bunch who are healing after being caught in nets and rescued. They also have an albino turtle!  It was definitely worth the stop.

From there to continue to Galle we had to stand outside to get a bus. We weren't 100% sure where to get it and then buses kept going by without stopping and the ones that did stop weren't going where we needed. I was so hot so I hid in the shade and told Meir we had 5 minutes to find a bus or we were taking a tuk tuk. Of course as soon as I said that the right bus came. We finally had seats!

We got to Galle starving and went into the city to find food. We saw a sign for a restaurant and went in and it was 100% locals. There was no AC, just fans, and we didn't know what half the stuff on the menu was but we ordered and it was delicious! We got Fried rice and kotthu. So good.

Then we continued on to the fort. It wasn't quite what we expected but it was cute. We walked along the perimeter a while and on the walls. We saw a goanna near a crow and Meir was convinced it was going to kill the crow with his tail so we watched a while but it was clear the goanna was more interested in something in the ground.

When we continued it got more crowded and we found where everyone hangs out. There were kids playing and learning cricket, we even found a small beach and stuck our feet in the very comfortable waters!

We wandered through the town a bit and stopped for AC in a shop. I also really wanted a mango juice so we got, but we learned that mango juice when it's not mango season is a bad idea. It wasn't very good so the woman who made it added lime juice for a bit of flavor.

Around sunset we headed back to the entrance and saw a cricket game going on. Then we had to find the express bus to take back. It wasn't so easy, the ones that said the place we were supposed to go (just outside Colombo) were closed, and someone directed us to one that said a different place. Turns out it was the correct bus in the end thankfully.

We learned that there are highways! It took less than 2 hours in the express air conditioned bus to get back.

When we got to the end of the line, we weren't positive where to go, but we saw people getting on a bus that turned out it was headed to Colombo City. We jumped on and hoped to get off somewhere close to where we were staying. Luckily Maria, the woman we were staying with, had told us about an offline map called Map me, so you can track where you are without data. We used it to figure out where to get off the bus.

We got off near the chabad, and decided to go find it to make sure we'd know where it was for the next night.  It was easy to find thankfully, and then we found a restaurant nearby for dinner.

I finally got hoppers! Only problem was once it was in front of us we weren't sure how we're supposed to eat them but they were delicious even if we did it incorrectly. Meir also got a really sweet cookie shake which was good for a pre pesach meal.

Back at the apartment we semi planned out the next day and I hid pieces of cracker around our room for bdikat chametz (which took Meir a while to find and it didn't help that I forgot where two were).
And that's that for this day!

Another train - to Colombo

Wednesday, April 17

I said I wouldn't take another train without a reserved seat.  Well we didn't have that and we needed to get to Colombo. This time I splurged for second class. We said goodbye to the family (who ended up being at the train station with us heading to Nuwara Eliyah for a day trip - turns out there are games going on for the holiday) They had 3rd class tickets though. If we'd known we might have also gotten and travelled together a bit.
Anyway the train arrived and 2nd class was as bad as third. A bit of a waste of money.
This time I stood about 4 hours. There was an Irish couple with us and the woman was NOT happy.  They ended up getting off in hopes that a bus would be better.
As Meir told me, I was a trooper, but not so thrilled. Finally I ended up half sitting with my feet on someone's suitcase and my butt on a little table. It wasn't at all comfortable but I just couldn't stand anymore. We still had 2 hours until Kandy when we thought we'd be able to get seats. With about an hour left someone finally offered me her seat. I got in a nice nap. At Kandy the person next to me moved and a few people tried to sit but I kept it for Meir. We watched a movie and finally at 8 pm we made it (we had left at 9:40 am).  It was such a long way.
When we finally got out we weren't positive where to go but thankfully had our host's number so the cab (regular car this time) called and we found the place. Our host wasn't home so we left our bags with the guard and went down the street for food. It's a cute cafe called Caramel Pumpkin and we got pasta and a salad and amazing iced tea.
By the time we got back our hostess was home.  The apartment is beautiful and has great views. We sat with her a bit and she gave us some advice and helped us plan the next day and we showered and went to bed.

More Rocks - Ella

Tuesday, April 16

The power came back on in the middle of the night which meant the lights turned on and woke me up.  Needless to say another night I didn't sleep great.

We woke up with our alarm and headed out. 

Start on the train tracks 500 meters until we see a bridge and turn right before the bridge.  Does this count as a bridge? There does seem to be a small path before it... maybe not let's keep going.

Don't be scared if dogs bark at you. Okay, glad we were warned.

We passed a few people walking which put us more at ease and then saw a definite bridge. We turned right.

Continue until a road for cars and then turn left. We walked up a bit of a hill and found a dirt road so turned left. Some guy who was walking ahead of us confirmed we were going the right direction. We passed someone walking with a few cows. We got to a fork in the road and the guy ahead of us went left, but pointed for us to turn right so we did.  We still hadn't found the water (small like a shower), small temple, or gate.
We kept going and going and going. It was clear we wouldn't make it for sunrise, but we were walking through a forest and the light was beautiful. We finally passed a bit of water. Then we walked into an area that said "This way to a Monastery, going through to Ella Rock prohibited." We took that as a good sign we must be going the right direction.

We got out the other side and a dog started leading us. I thought we should trust him (we are in Buddhist country where resurrection is a thing) but Meir wasn't having it. When we decided to take a different way than the dog, he came back and joined our way.

Another dog joined but we started thinking it was time to turn back. Just as we did we ran into a bunch of locals who confirmed we'd been going the right direction.  We walked with them a bit and then they turned and told us to keep going.

And we finally made it. We think in the end it was 4.5 km. So much for 2.5.

It was definitely beautiful, and we stopped and ate a bit. We also met some people who apparently work for a travel company here. Two were from Holland, trying to create a program for people from there to come to Sri Lanka.  They gave us tea and some advice and we turned back.

The way back was quicker since it was light out and we had a better idea where we were going, though we did make a few wrong turns (we ended up where the dog had tried to take us).  Also a man decided to lead us even though we tried telling him we knew where we were going, and then he asked us for money for leading us. We said no since we'd kept trying to tell him to go home.

We made it back and breakfast was waiting for us. It was 8:30 (we'd thought we'd be back by 7:30 or 8) and we ate and I had to lay down, but our host told us he'd take us into Ella at 9:30, so we didn't have long to recooperate and we were back on our feet!
He drove us to the bottom of Little Adam's Peak and explained how to go to the other places we wanted then he was off and we started yet another climb. (Ella's rock wasn't really much a climb though the way we went, just a nice hike).

We could see Ella's Rock on our way, and about halfway to the top there's zipline that Meir didn't want to do so we skipped.  We saw a kid climbing a tree and he posed when Meir took a picture but then ran after us for money (I tried warning Meir that was going to happen...)

Then the stairs began.  It was hot and sunny and we took it slow but it was so worth it. At the top there are small areas of shade that we made sure to take advantage of. We bought an ice cream cone (thank goodness they sell food everywhere!) and took pictures. Meir doesn't like heights but I love the edge so he took a few photos of me there and there was a Buddha up there! Also tons of dogs and puppies (a lot of people were feeding them) and amazing views of course.

After not too long we decided to head back down.  We ran into locals, one of whom seemed dehydrated and offered them some water.  They don't seem to plan for drinking much on hikes...

Anyway on the way down our host had told us to check out the 98 hotel, a very fancy hotel. It reminded us of the Beresheet in Israel, all villas on the edge of a mountain with awesome views.

From there we saw there was another way to the nine arches bridge, so we took that way.  We passed a tea plantation that was unfortunately closed due to the holiday.  We went through a few small local villages and bought a king coconut along the way. I wasn't a huge fan but I think Meir liked it and apparently it's like a natural energy drink.  When he finished it he wasn't sure what to do and decided to throw it, but we were going downhill and he threw it uphill so of course it just rolled down to us. Finally he threw it to the side as it seems locals do.
Anyway we got to the bridge which was crazy crowded since everyone is on vacation from work. The bridge in itself was pretty (it looks like it's out of Harry Potter) and we found a small shady area to rest a bit. Then we asked someone how to get back to Ella town and they told us to go through the tunnel on the other side of the bridge. So we crossed the bridge and entered the tunnel. Turned out it wasn't too long, but there were people inside playing drums and dancing and basically just partying.

On the other side we realized we'd been directed just to walk on the train tracks, which wasn't quite what we'd expected. Meir was cool but I was a bit freaked out. It was also super hot with no shade (again).  Thankfully there were a bunch of people on the tracks though which made me feel better.  Not far from the station, my fear came to life and the train came! We heard it well in advance and saw people moving off the tracks, so we went with them.  They had a good spot with lots of space so we joined.  From there we could see the station so it wasn't far back.

I was starving so we went to Chill, which our host had recommended. It was really crowded but we took someone's spot as they got up. It was worth it, super yummy and a welcome break. It also rained while we were there so it was good just being under cover.

We decided we didn't feel like going to a waterfall and we realized all tea plantations would be closed so sadly that was out of the picture.  Instead we just walked around the city, but it's really tiny and not much to see other than some cool post cards that we didn't actually buy.  We did learn, however, that Sri Lanka used to be called Ceylon, hence the name of the tea. We also went back to the train station to try to buy tickets for the next day since we knew the train to Colombo was about 10 hours and really wanted to have seats, but it was already too late. At least we learned the schedule.

We decided we wanted a drink, so we sat at a place that advertised happy hour, but when we ordered they told us those drinks weren't included so we left. We tried a few more places unsuccessfully and contacted our host to let us know where we were and that we'd be ready to come back soon. He told us he could get us just then, so we ditched the bar and went to wait for him outside.  As we waited Meir bought us some food for the train the next day (thank goodness).

When we got back to the house we really wanted to shower and we had snacks (sweet of course) waiting for us.  Our hosts had friends in from Colombo (the district, not city), and invited us to come down into their home and meet them.  It ended up being great! We spoke with two university age girls for a while.   They taught us that Sri means prosperous or lucky and Oya (which comes at the end of many town names) means stream. They told us a bit more about Buddhism and we told them about Judaism. Most people here have never heard of it.  One guy asked us if we were Christian or Muslim and when we said no Jewish he said "oh, like Catholic right?"

Our hostess was cooking but wouldn't let us come into the kitchen to help.

Then our host invited Meir upstairs for a drink on our porch with his friends.  We (and the girls we were with) assumed that meant it was a boys club type thing but Meir was immediately sent back down to bring me up. They gave us Carlesburg (which apparently has a factory in Sri Lanka) and brought us another huge dinner of fried rice, what we think was tuna, dahl curry, lots of veggies and fruits. We learned that the drinking age is 18 (though the can said 21) and that locals always drink before eating so they'll get drunk on an empty stomach. 

I was pooped from such a long day so despite enjoying time with them, I ditched and went to sleep.

Train to Ella

Monday, April 15

Another early morning. We woke up because our host recommended we leave for the train at 7 am for an 8:30 train (15 min drive). Not knowing anything we listened. It was a waste. We got there and all the reserved seats were sold out (as we'd been warned) so we just got general 3rd class tickets. To explain, 1st class is pretty much only foreigners and with AC. Second class is a bit more mixed, with more seats, and third class is a bit mess though there are seats there as well. Thankfully the windows and doors are open though, so as long as you stay by a door if you don't have a seat it's not too bad heat wise.

Anyway the train was delayed so we just sat there until we finally left around 9:15.

Now started the craziness. The train came to a stop. We knew it wasn't the first stop but wow. It was already packed.

First, we had to make sure we found third class. Then everyone is crowding the doors. People are sending their bags in and out windows.  In order to get in (we're traveling with two big suitcases and two backpacks - not ideal but we had to bring all our food for passover) I shoved my suitcase into a door, which in turn moved people out of the way and I walked in after it. Then I made Meir do the same, but he barely made it in. We realized piling our backpacks on the suitcases gave us a bit more space, but we were basically stuck in the doorway but avoided being too close since didn't want our stuff falling out of the train.

We traveled that way for about an hour and a half being shoved this way and that every time people came in and out. I started feeling sick from the heat and crowd, but thankfully the people in the corner moved so we were able to move our suitcases to the corner and sit on them. I half fell asleep for about ten minutes but then we got to a stop where people moved their bags out of the storage area, so we were able to put our suitcases up and out of our and everyone's way.  We thought we'd be able to sit too, but everyone seemed to be saving seats for people and they didn't let us.  We made it to other doors though, and I was able to sit near the door, which really helped me feel better, and though not the best, was definitely an improvement.

It was just on the floor, but I had something to lean against and just sitting with the fresh air was great.

We met a young couple from the Maldives, the wife was a disaster relief worker.
I spoke a bit with the kid who was sitting with his feet outside, and the older man sitting with him kept pointing out nice views.

With about an hour left in the ride, the kids mother came over and offered me her seat.  It was so nice to sit in a real seat. A little while later Meir also got a seat after standing over 4 hours.  He almost gave it up but I told him after standing so long it's not selfish to stay seated.

And we finally made it. We weren't positive where we were going and with our big bags we waited for some people to clear out (also interesting fact you give your ticket as you leave the station, not when you enter - at least for standing room)

We stopped by an atm (something else we learned is to travel with dollars or the local currency. We brought Israeli shekels and they won't change them). When we looked for a tuk tuk to take us to where we were staying, we couldn't find one. But good thing. We were standing by the street and this guy pulled up and said "Orchid Villa?" We said yes and hopped in, despite not being 100% sure this was for us.

We remembered that our booking was supposed to have a great view, but we also thought it was meant to be closed to downtown Ella. It wasn't. We climbed a hill and kept going further and further.  Apparently our host had whatsapped us to say to get off the train at a different stop, but we don't have data so we never saw the message.  He seemed really nice though but his English was pretty broken.

As we pulled in we saw a deer that even I was excited about! (despite growing up with deer in my backyard). We only saw it from afar but it looked like a different species than I'm used to.  Speaking of animals I don't think I mentioned yet that they have this animal that seems to be a mix between a squirrel and chipmunk that you see all over.

Our idea had been to put our stuff in and go to a restaurant for dinner, as we hadn't really had a Sri Lankan meal yet, but after seeing how far we'd gone from town we realized that was unlikely.

We brought our stuff up to the room and wow. We already knew we'd chosen perfectly. It was peaceful and beautiful with a great view and a porch for sitting and meals.  Our hosts came up and asked if we wanted dinner and we said yes and they asked do we eat this do we eat that is spicy okay etc.  They went above and beyond.  They brought us milk tea and we watched their cat try to attack a wild peacock.

View from our room

Tea never comes alone. They brought us all the holiday cakes they'd made for us to try.  This country loves sweet. It's great for Meir, a bit much for me.

This is our second host to have a rottweiler who they keep tied up.

Our host, Somi, asked if we drink beer and we said yes so he said he'd go out and get for us but we decided to go along for the ride.

We went into Bandarawela and stopped for gas, but the place we stopped was out (apparently the day before gas stations were closed for the holiday so everyone was filling up) so we went to the more expensive place next door.  Gas is 170 rupees / liter = $1/liter. Way cheaper than in Israel but they still consider it expensive.
From there we went to a liquor store for the beer. We got Lion beer because the local beers seem to be that or Carlsberg which we already know and don't love. 

Everything was behind the counter so you have to ask for what you want, you can't really browse. We put it in the car and went to a bakery but whatever it was our host wanted wasn't available. Then he took us to the Bandarawela Hotel. One of the fanciest and a very old hotel.  He spoke with the receptionists and one of them took us to check out the presidential suite.  As an agent, I'd say it was a bit of a run down old 5 star hotel, but probably worth staying in for the experience.  You could definitely see the old beauty in it.

We went back to the house and dinner came out. So much dinner. Cooked jack fruit (I think I prefer fresh - it also looked like meat so we got confused and double checked a few times before eating it), dahl curry, pumpkin curry (so yummy!), fish (with bones and scales - very not LeeAnn friendly but Meir enjoyed it), a huge bowl of rice, salad, a plate of fruit.  It was a feast.

The Lion beer was better than we expected for a light beer.

Our hosts came up to chat. It turns out the mother is a teacher, she's been teaching 29 years, and (only making 40,000 rupees/month) and the dad works at an insurance agency. The daughter who we thought was like 15 it turns out is 21 and in university studying we think food science.  Apparently it's pretty common for people to go abroad to England or Australia after graduating to start their careers, so she's debating going to England for 5 years. They asked to see our wedding photos, since they knew this was our honeymoon, and they brought up their wedding album for us to see.

They taught us a bit about Sri Lankan history, that there was a 30 year war with terrorism including bus and train bombings that ended in 1995.

They taught us a few words like anAsi- pineapple (similar to the Hebrew ananas) and estuti - thank you.

After dinner our host wrote out and explained directions to Ella Rock, where we wanted to go for sunrise the next morning. He told us it was 2.5 kilometers so we figured we'd leave an hour before sunrise and be fine.  He also mapped out the rest of the day for us, so we'd come back, have breakfast, head into Ella to climb Little Adam's Peak, see the 9 Arches Bridge, go to a tea plantation and a waterfall.

The best laid plans right?

We asked for a flashlight (torch) for the morning walk, showered (cold showers - the power went out which supplied the hot water) and set an alarm for 4:45 am.

(Sorry this post was a bit all over the place!)