Kandy and Tangalla

After a few cozy and beautiful days and a difficult farewell to Yala and his family, our journey continued to Kandy.

Kandy is a city in the highlands highly praised by the Lonely Planet.

To get there, we decided to take the train. The first leg was from Kalutara to Colombo, along an idyllic route right by the sea. The ticket price for 2nd class from Kalutara to Colombo was 3 euros for 2 people. After a relaxed train ride, we arrived at the bustling main train station in Colombo. There, we briefly visited the charming Asian train station toilet, which would have given every hygiene freak all the diseases in the world. We were delighted to find that our train to Kandy was already ready, even though the departure was scheduled for an hour later. We just managed to get to the entrance door, as all the carriages were already completely overcrowded. So we stood in the intermediate carriage in sweltering heat, and yet more and more passengers kept boarding. Before we had to carry more passengers piggyback, we decided to leave the completely overcrowded train and went to the bus station. From there, we drove the 110 km to Kandy in 6 hours, amid loud honking and breathtaking overtaking maneuvers. Completely exhausted and dripping wet, we arrived at our destination. From there, we took a tuk-tuk to our private accommodation that we had booked through Airbnb. Claire welcomed us with a warm smile and a cup of tea. The next day in Kandy, we visited the beautiful botanical garden and did some sightseeing. Unfortunately, we didn't like this highly praised city at all. The smog was even worse than in Bangkok, the noise was deafening, and the hustle and bustle and the smells of rotting meat and other nice things, which we don't want to mention here, led us to the conclusion that we are not city people.

We agreed that we urgently needed peace and relaxation! And what could be better than a solitary white sandy beach. So off to the south coast to Tangalle. It's only a strong 200 km away! That's practically a stone's throw away, and after a 10-hour bus ride with loud Sri Lankan pop music and a light show in the pink bus, we were already at our destination.

Finally arrived in paradise! An infinitely long white sandy beach, palm trees, and deserted. A dream! Our Robinson Crusoe hut was only 10 meters from the sea. The bathroom was on the lower floor and the bedroom with terrace on the first floor. Since the hut was open all around, we could see the stars at night from the bed above the sea. The most beautiful hut we have ever been in!

The days passed with sweet idleness, a book, and beer. It was fantastic, and we recovered extensively.