Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Monday: got picked up at 7.30 as arranged and we went to pick up my trekking partners- I had no idea who they were going to be, but it turned out to be a Dutch family. The dad, an artist, was in his 60s and the mum, a TV documentary director, in her 50s with a kid of 11. We had an hour or so drive to the starting point and luckily it was dry and sunny. We walked about 13km in total, a slower pace and more breaks than I'm used to, but it was a very beautiful walk through the hills of knuckles range. The family were twitchers so we were identifying many birds, we saw monkeys, numerous lizards, a giant squirrel (which looked like a tree leaping badger), then a huge cobra was on the path in front of us! We passed through local villages growing an assortment of fruit and veg and terraces of rice paddies. We stopped for lunch by a stream where we could swim and the food was great- a proper lunchbox with rice, veg and egg. We then had a climb up to a peak where we were camping. It was far more sophisticated than my recent trek lodgings- cement huts with the tents inside to shelter from the wind and rain. There was a real toilet and toilet paper and even a shower (cold though). We arrived about 3.30 and had a hot drink, I chatted to the Dutch couple- they are very nice. I read a bit and then at 6.30 we had dinner, again it was very impressive food. I read some more and slept.
Tuesday: breakfast at 8- a small feast of traditional foods and fruit. Then we walked and entered the "wet zone"; this is the thing with Sri Lanka, it has such biodiversity on a small island. However, I soon noticed my socks were covered in blood and I had been bitten by leeches on each ankle. They are notorious here and we all spent much of the morning picking them off our ankles, although I was less prepared than the others and didn't even have any long socks to tuck my trousers in to. The bites didn't hurt or itch but they bled for ages! Then the Dutch guy realised he'd lost his glasses and so we rested a bit while he went back to search for them but he didn't find them. We saw many more birds and the barking deer, the locals keep water buffaloes to help with ploughing the fields, so lots of them. The kid was lagging today, so lots of breaks! We finally made it to the lunch spot about 2pm- it was a really nice little village and we went to a families house where they'd prepared a feast for us! Lots of traditional vegetable dishes. The best thing about the day was that we didn't see any other tourists (nor yesterday) and just saw the locals picking the tea and doing their washing or collecting firewood, etc. It was only a 30 minute walk from the lunch spot to the campsite and we made it just as it started to rain! So we were really lucky with the weather! I read a bit and washed my feet; luckily the Dutch lady is your typical mum and more prepared than me, so she lent me plasters and some long socks for tomorrow. Then 3 others turned up- an English guy and 2 Spanish, they were doing a 2 day trek. So we all had dinner together and then had a campfire and the guides were playing the drum and singing some traditional songs for us.
Wednesday: breakfast at 8 again, including the traditional stringhoppers which are like thin spaghetti in balls and served with diced coconut with chilli, tomato and red onion. A tougher day today with more climbing and navigating the slippery rocks at the top of the waterfall, still the easiest hike I've done recently though. Some stunning views- the edge of this waterfall offered a view far better than last weeks "worlds end" and no tourists! A lot of leeches though and we all spent the whole day plucking them off our ankles and out of our socks. The kid was in his element with the adventure, but it was the old fella who was a lagging today. So lucky with the weather again- warm, sunny and no rain!! We made it back about 5.30 and had a decent meal; we are staying at the same place as last night so we could leave some stuff in our tents today.
Thursday: a final morning of hiking, including stopping at another waterfall to swim. The Dutch guy was moaning how hungry he was, whereas I hadn't eaten so much for weeks. But we arrived at a village where another local family had lunch waiting for us and then the van come to pick us up and dropped us back in Kandy.
The hike was great and the highlight of Sri Lanka so far- it is a beautiful country with amazing wildlife and it was nice to see outside the tourist bubble. It made me appreciate being here and how lucky I am still to be travelling- I've decided that the cold, wet and cloudy places the weather serve to make you miserable (doesn't bode well for going back to England).
I had a much needed shower and walked the 6km round trip to the town to find out about buses for tomorrow and treat myself to ice cream. Talking to a Sri Lankan anaesthetist who owns the hostel who's worked in ipswich hospital.
Friday: got a tuk tuk to the bus station with an Australian guy and the 9am bus to Trincomalee. It was one of these old things that looks like it belongs in a museum, but it wasn't too full and was only £1.10. The journey took about 5 hours, but I'm staying at a small beach town 30km outside, so I caught another bus and somehow managed to find the hostel. The weather was very hot and sunny, so I walked to the beach- it is an endlessly long, sandy beach lined with palm trees and so looks idyllic. I wanted to enquire about diving, but I was so lazy that I agreed to what the first place was offering for tomorrow. I walked back to the road and wanted to get a bus back to Trincomalee for food and an ATM- I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now gone 5! But do you think any buses would stop for me, I even went back to the hostel to ask if I was doing something wrong or standing in the wrong place- I wasn't! But I had a hundred tuk tuk drivers stopping- I have no patience with them, they pester you constantly! Eventually I made it into town about 6 and had a good meal and found a cash machine. It's an area that suffered greatly in the conflict due to it's diverse population- so many temples, mosques and churches! It also got hit by the Boxing Day tsunami and you can still see emergency relief housing and many signs showing the tsunami evacuation route.
Saturday: I had to be at the dive centre for 8.30. Got kitted up and I was diving with a Japanese lady and the guide. I was doing two boat dives, which I hadn't done before- you roll off the edge of the boat. It was great to be diving again and the water was so warm, even in a short wet suit. But the visibility wasn't as good as the Red Sea and there wasn't so much sea life, plus the Japanese woman was a hopeless diver- she couldn't control her buoyancy so kept floating up and the guide had to go after her or else she'd sink! Plus, she used her air quickly, so we got less time in the water than the other group. But we did see unexploded bombs from the recent conflict. We'd finished about 12.30 and I wanted to do some snorkelling at nearby pigeon island. However, it worked out really expensive alone and I needed other foreigners to share the price of the foreigners ticket. So I sat on the beach and waited as 100s of Sri Lankans come and went off on boats to the island. A lot of Sri Lankan tourists- I've never seen a beach with people wearing so many clothes; there is a high Muslim population here so all these poor women in full burkas! Two hours later I gave up as it was getting too late to go snorkelling, but I did add to my tan! I got a bus to another nearby beach town for some dinner and got an impressive meal at a nice little family place. Finally managed to get a bus back..... The last few days have been tough, it's just felt that everything is against me and I'm not enjoying Sri Lanka as much as I should, even insofar as the hostel not having a book exchange so I have nothing to read (the Hungarian communist book was good!). I've been keeping an eye on flights and they are getting ever more expensive, I explored options flying via a few countries, but it still worked out expensive and I'm not fussed about going elsewhere at the moment. So the cheapest I could find was 21st, arriving on the 22nd. It gives me another week to see the rest of Sri Lanka.
This whole trip has been a challenge and hard work, however, I think it will be remembered more positively on reflection, as I already look back on the walk in Israel with nothing but pride and fond memories. It's certainly given me 6 months of amazing experiences that will be with me forever. But I am tired of arranging hostels, buses, navigating new places and fighting with relentless tuk tuk drivers, etc. so I know it's time to head back and start planning a shorter trip when I'm refreshed as there is still many places I want to go!
Sunday: got a bus to Trincomalee and had some breakfast- traditional string hoppers! Then got the bus at 9.45 to Anuradhapura- a lot of white people!! It took about 3 hours and I found the hostel who gave me some advice about what to see. This was the capital of Sri Lanka for many years and is a national heritage site thanks to it's ruins and religious sites. But it was $25 for entrance to some of the main sites and, although I had decided I wouldn't skimp on my last week, I just didn't think it was worth the money to be surrounded by tourists and see a few more temples and rocks. So I got a bus to Mihintale which was 30 mins away and cost 15p. Here there is a site that was one of the founding spots for Buddhism in Sri Lanka and there's some ancient ruins, a big rock to climb for a viewpoint and a monastery with a couple of huge Buddha and it only cost £2.50! It was a very enjoyable afternoon, although hot and a lot of stairs. Far more Sri Lankan pilgrims than white tourists and they all make the climb of staircases carrying sacks of sand to the monastery which was interesting to watch! I come back and talked to a few people in the hostel, before going out for food- a good fish kottu! Then in the evening the hostel done a tour of a couple of the recommended local sites for £1.50, so I went along with a few French and Dutch girl. We went to a couple of the most significant temples and he explained a bit of the history and some of the buddhist rituals, which was cool although it drizzled for much of the evening.
Monday: I got some breakfast and then had to find the old bus station which was an adventure! No one was particularly helpful and/or didn't speak English and I was getting harassed by the rude tuk tuk drivers. But I found it eventually while exploring more of the city on route. Only an hour and a half journey. Found the hostel and then headed out to the famous cave temples here. Was it worth £7.50?? Hmmm, lots of Buddha statues in caves, with some paintings dating back a couple of hundred years. Lots of monkeys, which are always cute and amusing to watch! I walked back and explored the relatively small town. A sociable hostel and so I had dinner with everyone and sat chatting to numerous nationalities.
Tuesday: I got a tuk tuk to Sigirya with an English and Andorran guy. We had a lot of fun climbing up the smaller rock which was £2.50 rather than £20 and included a bit of bouldering. Unfortunately my trousers ripped which was quite amusing, but luckily I was wearing knickers! It was great views of the big rock and surrounding plains. We bid farewell to the Andorran guy and me and the Brit got buses to Polonnaruwa, which is an ancient city of ruins and temples. We hired bikes and cycled around the large site. You may recall how incapable I am on a bike and I had warned the English guy, but he was very patient and it was ok when we escaped the traffic. I hadn't been overly enthusiastic about more ruins, but it was an enjoyable afternoon and there was a few impressive and ornate temples and big pagodas. We didn't finish til about 6 and dropped off the bikes before getting a bus back to Dambulla and grabbing some food! I was trying to make plans for tomorrow and then a few people in the hostel were planning a safari in a nearby national park for tomorrow so I decided to stay and join them!
This time next week I'll be home.... Kind of sad, but generally looking forward to seeing everyone and having a rest and bit of luxury!
- comments
Mum Looking forward to seeing you sweetheart and catching up on the bits that didn't make the blog! Enjoy the safari! Stay safe, love you xx
Auntie vic So glad the Dutch mum gave you long socks!!!! Sounds like you packed loads in. Looking forward to seeing you and hearing all the non blog making stories! Love you lots xxxxx
Auntie vic
Geoff Have enjoyed reading of your escapades from a safe vantage point. Thank you. I'm sure there will be another trip to look forward to.
John Good blog Alex. Sounds as if it's the right time to come home. Sounds as if you have had a lot of adventures. It will be good to see you again & hear you stories, There will be another trip soon. Take care & see you very soon xxx
Darren Hey crazy girl you survived a kid haha . Glad you enjoyed it ! I know it's been hard but we are all looking forward to you coming back to work . But your not working the night of the 22nd so don't even try! Enjoy your last few days take care