On Saturday, June 1st, the journey through Sri Lanka started. The main and cheapest mode of transportation here is the local bus. A ride (usually 2-3 hours) usually costs no more than 1€ and there is always a bus that takes you to your destination, so I will be getting around here by bus for the next two weeks. My first stop was Ella. Ella is located in the highlands and takes 4 hours by bus, which cost me about 230 rupees, equivalent to 1.15€. For the low price, a luxury ride is not guaranteed.
The seats on the buses are very narrow, so they may be optimal for children, but not for adults, and not every grown person is super slim. And if you're unlucky, like I was on this trip, you'll be squeezed between two men who were not exactly slim. And being squeezed is an understatement :) But that's part of traveling, getting to know new and foreign cultures, so it's part of the experience. After months of heat, the 20 degrees felt incredibly good! I immediately checked into a hostel and enjoyed my first real cappuccino in my favorite café here for the next few days. Ella is basically just one street surrounded by tea plantations and mountains. The main attractions are the 'little Adam's Peak' and the 'Ella Rock'. I also quickly made friends in my hostel (so quickly, like never before!) including 3 Canadians from Montreal, whom I joined the next day to hike Ella Rock together. That's actually another story...in short: 2 other guys (one German and one Dutch) joined us. We set off on a scooter, I sat behind one of them and sometimes felt like I was going to die :D then we got lost or rather, William (my driver) and I were eventually alone and when we found the other guys' scooters (without them), we sprinted up this Ella Rock.
During the last third, I almost died! I felt like a fat, old woman with heart problems. Seriously, I had to stop and take a break every 10 meters. I was really embarrassed because normally I love hiking, but I don't know what was wrong with me. I guess those 2 months of extreme relaxation were a bit too much :D Anyway, the view was amazing!
By the way, we met the others at the top. In the afternoon, we went to the famous 'Nine Arch Bridge',and luckily a train passed by. A lot of railroad romance!On the way back, I walked along the tracks. And don't worry, no train came! But it was really beautiful.The next day, I climbed little Adam's Peak, this time alone. I had actually met an Indian guy in my hostel who wanted to come along, but I woke up in such a bad mood that I had to be alone. And it was the right decision :) towards the end of the climb, there are also some steps. Although the 'ascent' was much easier than to Ella Rock, the steps killed me again :D But the view was totally worth it! There were 3 smaller hills and for the third one, you have to climb a bit, but I was alone there the whole time and had the amazing view all to myself.On the way back, it started to rain and not even 2 minutes later, when I was in the hostel, it started pouring from all holes and it rained the whole day! In the next few days, I took the most famous train route in Sri Lanka, promising pure railroad romance!So romantic...Such views and tea plantations as far as the eye can see... Then we went to the east coast, because there are very few other tourists and sometimes it's a bit strange. So I went to Arugam Bay on the east coast. There I ended up in the only fully booked hostel in Sri Lanka! Arugam Bay is the surfer hotspot, so I was surrounded by surfers. Unfortunately, I didn't go surfing again because I got sick and then there was a pool party..no comment :D My next destination was Polonnaruwa. It's pretty much in the middle and north of Arugam Bay. And there is actually a bus that goes to the city Y at 8 in the morning, where I would only have to switch buses, BUT one thing that is slowly annoying me about the locals is that everyone says something completely different - 'no, no, the bus doesn't go there' and/or 'oh, the bus only leaves in 2 hours' 'you have to go to X, there you can catch a bus to Y' 'No, you have to go there...' blah blah and they want to convince you to take a tuk-tuk. I fell for that trick when I went to the east coast and was also ripped off. No, not with me. So, I took 3 buses and it took 6 hours to get to one destination.In my accommodation in Polonnaruwa, I met a German couple who are traveling Sri Lanka with a rented tuk-tuk. Super cool! I got along with them quite well and the next day, we explored an ancient temple complex together by bike. Then they kindly took me 40 km with their tuk-tuk, so I only had to take a short bus ride to Dambulla. On Monday, June 10th, Johanna, whom I met in the children's home, joined me.We spent our last week together in Sri Lanka. Because being alone here is sometimes a bit difficult or rather a bit lonely. In Dambulla, we rented a scooter and drove to Sigiriya Rock. (This is the Sigiriya Rock) On top, there are still remains of - I think - (a) royal palace.Many travelers advised me against it because this rock costs a whopping 25€ entrance fee, but I have to say it was worth it. 360° view. And it looked much bigger than in all the pictures. Even from the other rock, it suddenly looked much smaller again.And it was really windy too!The ascent or descent was also not without its challenges...On our way back, street dogs started fighting with the monkeys...living life on the edge, I would say.And I also think this photo is awesome. The next morning, we wanted to climb Pidurangala Rock for the sunrise. From there, you have a wonderful view of Sigiriya. Unfortunately, we were too late and saw the sunrise from the scooter instead. It was such a shame because it was so beautiful! But by now, we have learned to always see the positive aspect. Once we reached the top, we were the only ones after 10 minutes, as everyone else had already turned back.In the afternoon, we went to our last destination: Trincomalee. More precisely, Nilaveli, a place slightly north of it. Even more precisely, right on the beach. We found a beautiful hotel that had lovely little bungalows, so all we had to do was fall into the sea.It was a DREAM! With a dream breakfast:And a dream dinner! One time we had a typical Sri Lankan curry *.*From Tuesday to Monday, we spent our time there. We chilled a lot (we're professionals by now), splashed around in the sea, went snorkeling and saw 2 turtles and 5-6 sharks (!!) and I even went diving finally. On Monday, we took the bus from Trincomalee to Colombo and from there, we went towards Negombo to an airport hostel. We were on the road for almost 10 hours...and we were dead tired when we finally got to bed. The next day at 10:55 pm, it was finally time for me to go to Indonesia, which I had been eagerly anticipating! And unfortunately, Johanna and I have permanently parted ways, as she headed to Cambodia.I'm looking forward to sharing more adventures very soon! I have big plans...
