Coconut flatbreads and thoughts on traveling

The days in Kandy flew by quickly, and after completing my jungle wall, it was time to take a train to the small mountain village of Nuwara Eliya and then on to Ella. This train route is featured in every article about Sri Lanka as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. The impressive images of the brightly blue train chugging through lush, misty tea plantations and untouched jungle had captivated me as well. But when we arrived at the train station at 7:30 am, we were met with the devastating news – a train strike! And there was no indication of how long it would last. The two Australians I was traveling with and I could barely hide our disappointment. But there was nothing we could do, so we hopped into a taxi to at least cover half of the journey to Nuwara Eliya. Despite the almost constant rain, the taxi ride was quite eventful and impressive. Unexpectedly, we became part of the Sinhalese 'Tour de France', which here means that 100 cyclists were racing down the serpentine roads at full speed in pouring rain – without roadblocks. More than once, I thought they would end up on our windshield, but miraculously, everything went well.
However, the "picturesque mountain village" turned out to be unexpectedly crowded, bustling, and – cold. When we arrived in the afternoon, it was about 18 degrees Celsius, but at night, at nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, it cooled down significantly. The combination of continuous rain and extreme humidity resulted in a damp cold that seeped through every crack. I was relatively well prepared for it, but the two Australians were completely surprised that Sri Lanka doesn't always have sunshine and 35 degrees Celsius. Typical Australians. So, I shared all of my warm clothes, and by 5 pm, we were snuggled under thick blankets, wearing multiple layers of clothing, in our rather basic accommodation. It felt as if we were sleeping in a shoebox without any insulation or insulation in the October rain. The next day, we quickly left the so-called idyllic village and took a bus to Ella.
Ella has the reputation of being a small tourist hub amidst tea plantations and mystical mountains, and for once, that reputation was justified. The bus ride, on the other hand, surpassed all expectations. Although we were only on the bus for about 3 hours, I only managed to find a seat for the last half hour. By that time, I had already sweated multiple times, partly out of fear because the reputation of the bus drivers as absolutely crazy road hooligans turned out to be true. And partly because the narrow serpentine roads of the highland made me sway back and forth continuously for 2 hours, and I had to hold on desperately. Falling over would have been almost impossible since the bus was overcrowded beyond the comfort zone, and it was inevitable to have very close physical contact with others. However, my place was standing, with my head tilted under the luggage rack, in front of the first row of seats, where two monks sat, whom I really didn't want to step on more than necessary. Monks always have a guaranteed seat, but these two looked quite unhappy as I involuntarily swung my sweaty backside in front of their noses with an apologetic grin. With trembling arms, bruises, and calluses on my hands (and I really don't exaggerate, UNFORTUNATELY!), we finally arrived in Ella. After the less comfortable nights before, I treated myself to my own double room in a small guesthouse on the hillside, and damn, I was happy about it!!! The view was magnificent, and my hosts made up for their lack of English with warmth and care. Even though I will never understand why they adorned the entire balcony with ugly, brightly colored plastic flowers...
Although it rained a lot in Ella, I still went for a hike to "Little Adam's Peak," the little brother of Sri Lanka's most famous and tallest mountain. Originally, I wanted to climb Adam's Peak, where Buddha supposedly left his footprint... maybe also Vishnu, or Adam, opinions differ on that... But due to heavy rain, it was strongly advised not to do so. However, Little Adams Peak was absolutely magnificent as well, and I found the landscape and surrounding mountain peaks even more impressive and grandiose amidst mystical clouds than in pure sunshine. I also visited the Nine Arch Bridge, an architectural marvel from colonial times. Normally, the aforementioned blue train passes over it, offering a colorful photo motif – but not for me, it was raining. But that didn't matter, and after finding several leeches in my shoes again, I simply wanted to get away from that place quickly. However, even in erratic weather, Ella is a really nice and worth seeing place where you can feel comfortable. My personal highlight was the cooking class with Priya, where we prepared and enjoyed various local, traditional dishes. A Swiss family and I were the only participants, and we laughed and chatted a lot while Priya introduced us to the peculiarities and secrets of Sinhalese cuisine in fabulous English. In the end, we feasted on turmeric rice with beetroot curry, bean curry, pineapple curry, pumpkin curry, dhal, eggplant salad, coconut sambol (freshly grated coconut with chili, onions, and tomatoes), coconut rotti (salted dough flatbread with coconut flakes baked in), and papadam (chips made from rice flour). Everything tasted fantastic, and the heartfelt hugs at the end made me almost as happy as my full belly. The next day, Cameron and Thien from the hostel in Kandy also arrived in Ella, and we explored the lively bars and restaurants together.

This mix of being in the company of like-minded travelers and having plenty of time for myself, which I can use to explore and relax, is incredibly valuable to me. Neither one nor the other would be fulfilling in the long run, but the combination is great, and I'm always grateful for meeting such wonderful people. Traveling alone doesn't mean always wanting to be alone, but consciously taking time for oneself. My experiences as a solo traveler have shown me that you can find new friendships even in the most remote corners of the world if you are open-hearted and curious. Hardly any solo traveler enjoys being alone 24/7, and so many of them have a desire for connection and companionship. I love exchanging ideas with "strangers" who often become friends, as this opens up new perspectives and ideas that are hard to find in everyday German life. Although it always takes me some time to get into the mode of proactively approaching others... because at home, we simply don't have this mentality. In Canada, I was initially super skeptical whenever someone started a conversation for no reason, but there it was just normal to have a short chat about the weather or the last hockey game, even at the supermarket checkout. This open, spontaneous, and non-committal communication style is very rare in Germany but opens so many doors when traveling. Sometimes it only leads to a nice evening or a shared activity, but sometimes, and fortunately, luck has been on my side so far, it also leads to lifelong friendships.