We decided to make like a local and catch the bus to Sigiriya, an ancient monastery built on top of an imposing rock (think Uluru with historic ruins on top). The bus took 2.5 hours to Dambulla, where we changed and caught another to Sigiriya (40 min). Naturally, whilst waiting for the bus in Dambulla, the tuk-tuk drivers told us that there is only one bus per hour and they take one hour to get to Sigiriya, but, thanks to reading other peoples blogs (http://www.kancando.com/2013/01/kandy-to-sigiriya-sri-lanka-by-bus.html), we knew to stay firm and ten minutes later the bus turned up (interestingly, the same tuk-tuk driver that was trying to elicit our business advised us the bus had arrived, which is testament to Sri Lankan peoples good nature).

Sigiriya did not disappoint. Definitely check out the museum before climbing, as it gives perspective of the vast history of the place. We were a bit apprehensive about climbing the (sometimes hairy) staircase with Alex’s leg, but he did well and we were so proud that less than 13 weeks after his second surgery, he made it relatively easily! The tuk-tuk driver who took us from the Sigiriya bus stop to the entrance (for 100 rupees, less than $1 –you can walk this, I think it is around 1km), offered us lunch after the climb at his ‘restaurant’. True to his word, he picked us up and were whisked away to a private curry and rice at his home/hotel. He had recently built two tree houses in addition to two other rooms which looked pretty cool, but seeing as we still had our bags in the hotel room in Kandy, we continued back after lunch. 7pm we arrived back to our hotel, exhausted but happy.

23 June 2014 Horton Plains

The Horton Plains circuit is a wonderful leisurely three-four hour walk. We were lucky to see a herd of Sambur in the early morning mist. The scenery began a bit like Scotland, with moors and low lying ferns, but quickly changed into forest. We were also grateful that we made it to to World’s End before the rest of the tourists. We were not allowed to bring any plastic into the National Park, which was cool, though we still managed to see a small amount of plastic rubbish during the walk – there is just no stopping some people. The walk itself is quite stunning, with changing landscape every 15 minutes or so. Waterfalls, lakes, varied vegetation, if you enjoy nature at all, we heartily recommend Horton Plains.

24 – 26 June 2014 Ella

The next day we caught the 11am train to Ella. When the train arrived the locals advised us we would have to get down onto the train tracks to board the train. We bought third class for 40 rupees each (about 35c). Third class in this instance was fine, we heard stories of people being packed in like sardines, but we were lucky to have four seats to ourselves for most of the journey. We never bought first class as it is air conditioned and the windows are always closed. Local vendors cruise the isles selling fruit, yoghurt and local fried chickpea goodies. It is a beautiful train ride through large valleys of tea plantations. We were a little bit anxious that we might miss our stop as we didn’t know which train station was before Ella, but naturally the locals sitting across from us just knew that we would be going to Ella and advised us as we were approaching.

We hadn’t booked any accommodation, and when we arrived, asked one of the local touts to recommend a good guesthouse. Straight away a very polite man advised us he had a guest house with Wi-Fi and hot water for 2000 rupees and that he would take us there to have a look first. The guesthouse was a little way out of town, but the owner advised he was happy to take us in and out of town in his tuk-tuk for free, sweet! When we arrived, we were extremely happy, it was a huge, very clean practically new room right on the doorstep of little Adam’s Peak. Unfortunately he is not online yet, but his guest house is called ‘Chill’. I was almost a bit disappointed that we had booked our accommodation somewhere else for the next two nights as this place was fantastic. True to his word, the owner (Daneshka) took us into town after a hot shower and we ate at ‘Chill’ bar, which was also great. Alex ordered the curry of the day, which was nine curries! The staff kept coming up and asking if he wanted more!

Next morning we climbed little Adam’s Peak, which was a fairly easy 20 minute stroll. The top has amazing 360° views and well worth the effort. Lunch at a very local restaurant followed by a few drinks at Chill Bar again, we could get use to this! We had dinner back at the Waterfall Guesthouse which is a beautifully located place in the forest http://waterfalls-guesthouse-ella.com/. We had dinner with two other very interesting couples. Next day we decided to chill at the guesthouse as it was such a lovely place to just be.

19 – 21 June 2014 – Kandy

From Colombo we caught the train to Kandy, the second largest city in Sri Lanka. Second class tickets were more than adequate, as you can put the windows up and get a welcome breeze as you watch the life of Sri Lankans pass by. The Sinhalese (majority of the population) are proud that Kandy resisted several waves of European invasion and it is a bit of a religious icon. Although the city was still busy, bustling and a bit run down, it is set on a lovely lake and the green hilly surroundings quite charming. We made the mistake of not writing down the address or phone number of the hotel we booked via email, courtesy of Shehan’s free wi-fi. The tuk-tuk driver told us he knew where the hotel was, but didn’t and (of course) recommended another hotel. We bit the bullet and stayed there one night, but took off early the next day to the hotel we had originally booked. We do not begrudge the tuk-tuk drivers, they are generally very helpful and, although they all try to sell you (relatively) overpriced tours, you can’t blame them for trying, particularly in the off-season.