Friday, 22 August 2014

Sri Lanka - Hill country!

The train ride from Colombo to Kandy is a beautiful one with views out over the hills and mountains; mist filled valleys and lush green vegetation. The train ride is extremely bumpy, almost like being on a boat, so if you suffer from travel sickness, be warned! Take travel sickness pills and a vomit bag (just in case). Russell, who suffers quite badly from sea sickness was feeling pretty queasy most of the way. The train takes about 2.5 hours and you can buy snacks and drinks on the train but note my previous comment about the bumpiness. I wore a hot cup of tea during the trip.

I love Kandy, much preferred than Colombo. There are more travellers and backpackers (or maybe it's just that they're all concentrated in the smaller town of Kandy so you run into them more). When we got here in the evening the weather was fine but the last two days it has rained almost constantly after about 9:30am. You may want to consider an umbrella (or wet weather gear) and some waterproof shoes if you don't want sqidgy footwear from all the dirty puddles. You're likely to have an eye taken out by an unresponsible umbrella handler so I recommend getting one of your own simply for added protection from a spoke in the eye. We paid about 500 rupees for one in the local supermarket on the Main Street across from the Pub but I'm sure you can find them cheaper. Also the supermarket stinks of old fish.

We splurged on the more expensive Queens Hotel. We thought we could afford $70 per night for a few nights. We found out that they then add on three different types of taxes so we ended up paying about $100 per night. We booked through booking.com and assumed the price would be all inclusive. Make sure you read the fine print. The hotel is old and charming however, built in 1844 and still holds that old world charm with live piano playing downstairs in the evenings. Our room is neat but basic with a view of Kandy Lake. It can be pretty noisy as it's on the main road but everything seems to stop about 11pm and the vehicle noise all but disappears. You may get a few highly irritating barking dogs however that seem to be able to bark constantly for a number of hours. 

We went up the 'the Pub' the first night for dinner which is only a block away from the Queens. Great place to relax at the end of a full day with chairs and tables out on the balcony overlooking the main street. Food isn't too bad and they have a pretty good cider available too. Prices aren't the cheapest but for atmosphere you can't go to wrong as it's a pretty popular backpacker/traveller hang out. Another eating/drinking place which is much cheaper is on the road behind the Queens Hotel called the Victory Hotel and Bar. There are only 3 couches on the veranda with views of the street so you may be hard pressed to get the best spot. A lot more local people frequent this place, probably because it's quite cheap with large serving sizes. Live music (a gentleman who played the guitar and sang and tried his best at attempting the flute too), quite good service and the Manager wanders around the floor checking that everyone is happy. The menu is mostly traditional but they will alter the level of chilli upon request. Downsides are that they didn't have eftpos facilities whilst we were there and the pepper shaker was full of dirt. Good thing we checked first.

We also tried out the Tea Centre across the road from 'the Pub'. It has a shop downstairs and a little cafe upstairs. Menu options are limited with you basic tea choices (normal teas, green tea, ice tea etc) and a small selection of cakes and sandwiches. For a coffee you could try out the Cafe Natural Coffee next to the Sacred Tooth temple although at Ru 500 per coffee it's not the cheapest option. We personally find the coffee in Sri Lanka to be extra strong and bitter but this place does cappuccinos and lattes and their only tea item which is a green tea maccha latte which tastes like extra sweet warm milk. Be warned that if you don't like things too sweet always ask for sugar separate. A lot of teas and other drinks come pre-sweetened enough to rot your teeth so if you're diabetic be particularly careful. At breakfast I asked for a freshly squeezed juice at the juice stand and they spooned about 4 teaspoons of sugar in before I could protest. Most places also have free wifi although you usually have to ask for the password.

We visited the Temple of the Sacred Tooth which is a pilgrimage spot for many Buddhists in Sri Lanka and it shows in the number of tourists inside. It gets a lot of school groups and other tour groups through and can be very hard to move at times. There are a lot of people who hang around trying to sell their services as a guide. The temple has licensed guides if you do want one and they will automatically show you their ID. They are generally available near the ticket office so don't enlist someone not showing you ID out the front or near the first entry point. Covered legs and shoulders is essential for entry for all genders and no shoes allowed of course. You'll likely be charged Ru 100 upon trying to pick your shoes up from the shoe kiosk. 

We also went and viewed the giant Buddha on top of the hill behind the railway station. We caught a tuk tuk up there for return Ru 400 (we didn't bargain so you can probably get it cheaper) but if you're feeling very energetic you can make the trek up the hill. Entry to the temple is Ru 200 per person and you must take your shoes off. The view from the platform on the back of the Buddha is fantastic and looks out over the main area of Kandy and to the hills on the other side. 

We've decided to make our way to Dambulla where the cave temples are and then Sigiriya with the infamous pillar of rock (sometimes called the Lions Rock). We were quoted $500 USD for a tour of the cultural triangle and then to be dropped off on the east coast but we declined hoping to find cheaper. After a trip to the train station we discovered that there are no trains to Dambulla. We were going to try and find the bus station ticketing office when we were accosted by a gentleman offering his taxi services to take us on a trip to the cave temples, some other temples of interest and then drop us in Sigiriya for Ru 6500 or about $55 AUD. By road Sigiriya is probably about 80kms but on the roads around here it feels like more. We figured for petrol and waiting times this wasn't to bad for the 2 of us, certainly less than back home and given we only have a week left in Sri Lanka it seemed the best option. We have nothing to recommend this gentleman to us though so we have our fingers crossed that he is legitimate and honest.


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