Sri Lanka - they said, take the train...

Today we have another blog from Jonas, because Bella's article wouldn't have turned out too positive ^^

Different country, different people, different customs... we didn't have many expectations of Sri Lanka. We didn't do much research beforehand... at least I (Jonas) didn't. In our hostel in Ho Chi Minh, we actually managed to find a German Sri Lanka Lonely Planet (travel guide) just 2 days before our departure. It was an old edition, but at least something to get informed. I no longer like to use the internet to find out about countries. It ruins many beautiful moments. Through all the edited, perfect pictures on Instagram and Co., you get a pretty distorted view of how things are supposed to look. Sri Lanka is the perfect example for that. So we landed in Colombo late at night and had already booked a hostel near the airport. The next morning, we took the train directly to the mountains. The train routes here are supposed to be very beautiful. They are advertised as one of the most beautiful in the world. The expectation was high.

From our hostel, we took the first train to Colombo from where we continued. It was like the S-Bahn in Germany, with the difference that there is no air conditioning here, but windows, and the doors are open the whole time. At the main train station, we had some time to buy our next tickets and sim cards for our phones. Then we waited on the platform until our train arrived. There were already quite a lot of people here when the train arrived at platform 3, 30 minutes before departure. Suddenly it became hectic. Everyone grabbed their belongings and rushed towards the train. I was still at the kiosk to buy water. Bella realized that we had to be quick if we still wanted seats and she ran into the train. When I finally got on the train, there were only a few seats left. There were still 30 minutes until departure and the train was already full. More and more people streamed in and stood in the aisle. Eventually, people started passing their backpacks and bags through the window for others to store them in the overhead compartments. Then it started... the train started moving and at every door, young people hung on so they could still make it on. Just like you know it from Indian trains on TV, it's the same here. It's insane to experience something like this live. After the first 2 stops, the train emptied enough so that no one was hanging on the outside anymore. So now we were in a wagon full of people, without air conditioning, enduring 5 hours until Kandy at 36°C. I found it very interesting... Bella... well... judging by her facial expression, she is not having much fun. Just like everyone else in this wagon. Everyone looks exhausted and empty. It's only interesting for the first hour, then the landscape repeats itself and the sweat drips from body parts you had forgotten could sweat at all.

Just before Kandy, there were only a few people left and a little girl came and stood by our window. When the lady next to me stood up, we let the girl sit between us and she fell asleep directly on Bella's shoulder. That brought a smile to our faces again towards the end of the trip.

In Kandy, we only spent one night as a stopover on our train journey. The final destination was Ella. So we just walked briefly through the second largest city in Sri Lanka in the evening.

In the morning, we went back to the train station to continue on to Ella. Bella would have preferred to take a tour bus with air conditioning, but unfortunately, there is no such option here. Local bus or taxi would be the alternative. Since Ella is at 1041m, the temperatures are not as high anymore and I was able to persuade Bella to take the train again, which was a small topic of argument in the evening. There is actually a first class in this train, which is also air-conditioned, but who would have thought, it was fully booked. So we had to travel with a second-class ticket. The platform was crowded again. This time, however, with tourists and only a few locals. You can tell that it's still vacation time in Europe. I would say that 70% of the people on the train were tourists. Nevertheless, it wasn't as crowded as the last train, but this time we couldn't find a seat either. The train already came from Colombo and was already fully packed when it arrived at the station. So there we stood with many other travelers, with our backpacks, in the aisle, and hoped that the few locals in the train would soon get off. Of course, the others had the same destination as us. 5 hours passed, during which Bella was able to sit on the floor for a while. However, it's not that easy here, as there are constantly vendors passing by with water, nuts, or some kind of pastry. You get used to it and some small talk with the other travelers helped to pass the time.

At the beginning, an Australian woman said how great it is that you can take the "most beautiful train route in the world" and that you should enjoy it. She had it easy, she had a seat. Two hours later, however, she didn't seem to enjoy anything anymore. The looks in the train were empty and exhausted again. Even those who were seated. Well, the last part is supposed to be the "highlight" of this trip. She then took out her camera again, but her expression said: "Screw it, I just want to arrive".

It's really nice to travel through the mountains, passing huge tea plantations, small villages, over bridges, and through tunnels... speaking of tunnels... every time we entered a tunnel, the kids and teenagers in the train would howl like mangy dogs. At first, it was funny, but after the 5th tunnel, it was just annoying. But for them, it's of course something special to go through a tunnel, and from this perspective, it's actually nice that at least someone experiences a moment of joy.

30 minutes before arrival, some people actually stood up and we were able to sit down for a short while.

In my opinion, the route is a bit overhyped. Our train rides in Myanmar definitely had more to offer and we could sit comfortably.

I don't want to badmouth the train. If you travel in the off-season, when there are fewer people and the temperatures are below 30°C, you might be able to enjoy the ride more, but 6 hours on the train are always exhausting. It's better to make more stops along the way.

The new impressions we experienced make up for the hardships a bit. We will definitely remember these two trips for a long time.

And for those who complain about Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) should try riding the train here. Trains don't arrive on time here, and they don't even have the problem of air conditioning not working. The trains are overcrowded here not only on weekends but also during the week, unlike in Germany.

The price is less than 50 cents per person and ride, which is of course totally okay.