'And you follow trunk to tail' (Wir sind Helden)

During my 10 days at the meditation center, I realize that I won't have much time left to explore Sri Lanka peacefully before my visa expires. However, I am not motivated to go back to Colombo right away to extend my visa, so I decide not to change my plan, which I have carefully crafted during the endless hours of meditation, and continue traveling on the usual tourist route from Kandy.

But first, I had to spend some time in Kandy. It was probably not the best idea to book a bed in a huge dormitory with 20 beds. Sometimes frugality is overrated. Fortunately, not all beds were occupied on the first night, and I would have missed the interesting encounter with Vladimir, a Russian man who has been living in Varanasi, India for 17 years, where he says he teaches something related to botany at the university. He doesn't like the name Vladimir and prefers to be called by his German nickname, Klaus. Vladimir is also in Kandy, waiting for a new visa for India, which is not the first time in 17 years. I ask him for a tip on where to have dinner, and as if he knows that I love Masala Dosa, he takes me to a small restaurant on his way to the market, where I get the biggest Dosa of my life for a few cents.

Unfortunately, I only managed to eat half of it.

Later, I sit with Klaus Vladimir in the hostel's common kitchen. He talks a lot, and I understand only half, maybe a bit more. He tells me about his 19-year-old daughter, whom he hasn't seen in years because he doesn't fly to Russia and her mother doesn't let her travel alone to India; about his life in Varanasi, which I find hard to imagine; about mountain climbing under the influence of various substances; and about his hobby of collecting Rudraksha fruits. These dried seeds are used to make the typical prayer beads called Mala, which are used by both Hindus and Buddhists. I have never seen these fruits before and I am fascinated by their beautiful color.

Later, I read that they are also called 'Tears of Lord Shiva,' which definitely suits their color. Klaus found them somewhere at a secret location in the hills of Kandy, he says. He has a lot of dried Rudraksha beads of various sizes in his backpack. He himself wears the largest Mala I have ever seen around his neck. It weighs one kilogram. After a while, he gives me one bead and says that it belongs to me. I just have to promise not to give it to anyone else. Of course, I promise. It is not the first gift of this kind that I have received on my journey, and it will surely remind me of this interesting encounter several times.

The next morning, I go to the Visa Service Center to submit my passport. I don't receive any information about whether I will get the visa or not, but I have to wait until 4 PM. The Royal Botanical Gardens are not far from the visa center, so I decide to spend the waiting time there.

On the way, I pass by a Buddhist temple and notice that people constantly jump out of buses, cars, or motorcycles, hurry to the temple entrance, and then continue driving immediately. I stop for a while to observe this and see the small slot in the wall. Every bus stops here briefly, the ticket seller jumps out, inserts a few rupees into the slot, and off they go.

I reach the botanical gardens in five minutes and spend hours admiring beautiful, huge, and very old trees.

Here, three trees grow from the same root:

But there are not only beautiful trees here:

Six hours and 300 photos later, it's time to pick up my passport. I'm really curious by now and think about what to do if I don't get a new visa. Clearly, I will stay in Sri Lanka a bit longer and probably spend Christmas in Germany. However, this consideration is soon abandoned.

I have my passport back, with a second visa for six months in India. And although the idea of celebrating Christmas with my family is nice, I am happy that I can enter India again.

But now it's time for Sri Lanka. One last night in Kandy and then I can finally continue my journey. The next morning, I leave relatively early for the train station and take the train to Hatton. From there, I continue by bus to Dalhousie.

I love train and bus rides.

A baker's tuk-tuk. Unfortunately, I can't play the accompanying music here. I have heard it daily at the meditation center and never knew how to classify it. Now this mystery is solved.

On the way from the train station to the bus, I meet Emily and Keiran from Wales, who have the same destination as me. It turns out that we have even booked our rooms in the same accommodation. They are really nice, and together we enjoy the crowded bus ride, although we are offered seats after only a short time. When we arrive at the hotel, we are given a strong Ceylon tea to warm up - it is already quite chilly here at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level with cloudy weather. After a while, the clouds clear for a moment, revealing the view of Adam's Peak. The three of us hold our breath for a moment: "Oh, we're going to climb up there tonight? Seriously?" Emily briefly curses her boyfriend, whom she entrusted with the entire travel planning, and asks what will happen if she just stays in bed. But that is not allowed, of course.

Yes, we want to climb the approximately 5200 steps to Adam's Peak at night, or rather very early in the morning, to see the sunrise from there. The mountain is Sri Lanka's most significant pilgrimage site from December to May. The mountain is sacred in all religions, and especially on full moon days, thousands of people make pilgrimages to the temple located on the summit. At the moment, the temple is still closed, as are the tea and food stalls where you can usually replenish your energy on the way up. I prefer to climb during the off-season. There are still a few other people in the hotel, and after the owner describes the path to us very precisely using a map, we set a meeting time of 2:30 AM and go to sleep.

Equipped with headlamps, warm clothing, water, and bananas, we are ready to go.

The reclining Buddha - we're on the right path.

On the temple grounds, which are currently closed, there is said to be a footprint surrounded by various legends. Buddhists, of course, believe that Buddha left his footprint here. Christians and Muslims say it belongs to Adam, who was dropped off here by God to make his arrival on earth after being expelled from paradise easier. The view from up here could certainly have helped.

The triangle on the right side of the picture is the shadow of Adam's Peak.

It is quite cold up here, and being sweaty from the strenuous climb, we start to feel cold and slowly climb down the steps again.

From this perspective, I can't imagine that I was just up there. Emily and Keiran, with whom I actually wanted to continue traveling on the same day, decide to stay one more night in Dalhousie after the strenuous climb. I still feel a bit under time pressure and stick to my plan to take the bus back to Hatton and then continue by train to Ella after a hot shower and a hearty breakfast. When I arrive at the bus stop, I am told that the bus will only leave in 45 minutes. I realize that it will be extremely tight and practically impossible to catch the last train. Nevertheless, I don't let the persistent tuk-tuk driver convince me to let him take me to the train station for the exorbitant price of 1500 rupees instead of the bus ticket for 100 rupees. I take my chances and I'm also too tired to come up with an alternative plan spontaneously. So I just sit in the front row of the bus, which is already waiting, enjoy the interesting decoration, and fall asleep.

At 2:15 PM, the bus arrives in Hatton. It takes ten minutes to walk from the bus stop to the train station, maybe a bit longer with luggage and tired legs after a mountain climb. According to the schedule, my train leaves at 2:30 PM. I walk. Somehow, I have a good feeling about it. At the ticket counter, which I reach at 2:25 PM, I am told that I can only buy a ticket in five minutes because the train to Ella is delayed by half an hour. Lucky me. At the ticket counter, I meet Alex and Marius from Duisburg. They were also on Adam's Peak in the morning and have the same destination as me.

About 30 minutes later, the train arrives, and we set off for Ella on a railway line that is considered the most beautiful in the country. Unfortunately, it is foggy and rainy, so it is rather dark. There is not much to see when looking out of the open window.

Watching the other people in the train, especially in third class, is more interesting, though.

Alex and Marius spontaneously book a room in the same hostel where I have already reserved my room for the next two nights. When we arrive in Ella after a long journey, it is 8 PM and pitch dark. Actually, it doesn't feel even remotely Christmassy right now. But then I realize that it's almost the first Advent. I remember the many nativity scenes I saw during a walk through the streets of Mumbai on January 1st of this year, and I wonder how I will spend Christmas this year.

But now I have something else to do. Tomorrow, I am heading south to the rainforest. I quickly call Karina, who runs the hotel with her husband Sam, and ask if everything is okay. Then I go to sleep with a mix of anticipation, curiosity, and excitement.

...sorry, but it can't be done without the obligatory cat photo.

Next time, I will tell you about my experiences here in the jungle. My workplace is definitely not bad: