Into the Hills

We had planned on seeing both Bundala and Yala National Parks, but after the splendors of Yala, we decided to forego the expenses of another safari and move up into the hill country of Sri Lanka.  The rugged hills begin abruptly about fifty or sixty kilometers from the southern coast and rise steeply to the  spine of Sri Lanka.  Here are the tea plantations and the old bungalows of the colonial English.  The misty heights and cool valleys were a place of refuge for the English, a hideaway from the hammer of the coastal sun.  

Following a toast and fruit brakfast, the standard guesthouse fare for Farang, we completed the packing ritual and crossed the road for the bus hailing.  We were lucky on the bus that we caught, a faster long distance bus, but not lucky on seating.  This Asok Leyland was packed to the gills.  Still, standing up near the front is cooler and bearable and we were moving in the right direction.

Standing at the front of the bus.

Let the bus scrum begin!

It is a full body press to get either on or off the bus.  Imagine playing Twister while standing up with a group of complete strangers and you will have a pretty good idea.  One simply has to force ones body past the bodies of others to embark or disembark.  Eventuall we got a seat at the front, directly behind the driver, a plum spot.  Our spot came complete with a seat mate as this bus was three seats wide on the right.

My One says that my shoulders are very nice to sleep on.  I guess that opinion is shared.

The bus slowed to a crawl as we began our ascent.  The road was narrow and twisty and not without a few obstacles.

The Hill Country begins.

A bit of landslide repair before continuing on.  This road work was definetly not up to WSDOT specs.

We arrived in the misty town of Ella, nestled amongst the peaks of the hill country.  This is a jumping off point for exploring the surrounding countryside and is most definately a travelers hub.  Lots of backpackers here, along with a cool traveler vide and a plethora of cafes and curry shops.  Things are easy.  We scored a lovely little guesthouse with a great veranda and have it all to ourselves.  This will be our base for at least three nights.  The blessings of traveling during the low season.  During high season this town is mobbed with folks and prices double.  All around us folks are busy renovating old guest houses or building new ones in anticipation of all of those high season rupees.

Settled and showered, it was time to explore and find some grub, but that is the stuff of another blog post.  Our transit days  here in Sri Lanka have been easy and fun, unlike some of the long hard slogs in Lao or Ecuador.  The bus system here works well and the train system is simply a joy.  Tomorrow will bring more train exploration as we have linked up with the East-West line that runs between Bundala on the East end of the Hill Country, the cultural center of Kandy to the North, and the capital of Colombo on the western shore.  From here, Sri Lanka is our wonderful little oyster.