Interlude - When in Rome...

Dear reader, 

Forgive the delicate subject matter of this instalment. If you are of a nervous disposition, please don’t worry we will get through it together and be enlightened at the end. 

For me “when in Rome” while in Sri Lanka applies to eating local food, surviving public transport and now, how to use a toilet. 

You may have noticed on your travels to Asia an innocuous little water hose next to the lavatory. If like me you are a true stiff upper-lipped Brit you’ve probably ignored them and continue to use the toilet paper or bring you own when there is none. I never knew or wanted to know how things could be done differently. 

On this trip however, I was encouraged to try using what I am now calling the ‘personal hose’. In case you aren’t sure what I’m talking about it’s a flexible plastic hose attached to the wall next to the toilet. Usually with a chrome head consisting of a nozzle at one end and and lever at the other. It’s raison d'être is for cleaning up after a number 2. Having seen them on my gap year over 15 years ago the idea has taken years for me to get used to.

The first time you direct a jet of cool water at your most delicate area with intent is an extraordinary moment. Hovering in position. Thumb trembling over the trigger. “There is no going back after this”, I thought to myself...

...and why would you? It’s a most exhilarating and refreshing experience. Clean fresh water when and where it is needed most. Truly not what I was expecting at all, it leaves you feeling fortified and hygienic. 

So that is the story of how I learned to poo Sri Lankan style. Congratulations on making it this far with me. I hope my little story has been insightful and educational and I do hope that when the opportunity presents itself, you too will be able embrace something new or different no matter how trivial it may seem and no matter how long you have resisted. 

Alex 

Sri Lanka - Hill country

We’ve had a great 10 days in the hill country. It’s the central area and a lot cooler than the rest of Sri Lanka which has been a nice relief. 

We arrived in Kandy to torrential rain and got plonked in the middle of a very busy market by the bus. We negotiate past the many calls from tuk tuks to get in, market stall owners to buy some food and general stares (getting used to this now) to get to the railway station to buy train tickets for our next few days of travel. Turns out Sri Lanka has a strange ticket buying system. The reserved seats go on sale 30 days in advance and usually sell out very quickly. Then the only option is to turn up on the day you want to travel and queue up with everyone else. There is no maximum number they sell on the day. 

Kandy has a big lake where the Temple of the Tooth sits. We have to admit that we’re a bit templed-out and admire it from the outside only and imagine what the tooth looks like, as you can’t see it in real life anyway. Kandy has great views of the hills around and a huge Buddha sits on one the highest ones looking down on the city. But Kandy is very very busy and so polluted. It’s not our favourite place. We’re using it as a stopover before going to climb Adam’s Peak the next day. Alex gets in a game of pool while watching a gorgeous sunset so he’s very happy!

The train ride from Kandy to Ella is described in the guide book as one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. The views of the mountains and tea plantations are something else. Problem is, everyone else has the same guide book and Sri Lanka was named the Lonely Planet country to visit for 2019, specifically that train ride, so it’s BUSY. Not fun. Luckily we don’t have to battle for space for our big rucksacks as we’ve left them in the hostel to come back to Kandy after Adam’s Peak to do some trekking in the Knuckles Mountain Range. 

We buy second class train tickets but it’s so busy when the train comes we can’t get on the carriage but managed to squeeze in third class instead. We stand the whole way but luckily we only did part of this journey. Men with huge buckets walk up and down the carriages selling delicious snacks. We can’t get enough of these deep fried lentil cakes which are really similar to our favourite Mauritian snack gateux piments (literally, chilli cakes). The trains move super slowly and jerk so hard at each station everyone falls over. Taking a train in Japan is going to be very very different. 

The girl behind is eyeing up that lentil snack! 

We arrive in Hatton and get another bus to the base of Adam’s Peak. This mountain is also known as Sri Pada by Buddhists. They believe the footprint on the peak belongs to Buddha. Hindus believe the footprint is Lord Shiva’s. And Christians and Muslims believe it was Adam’s first step. Whatever you believe it is a very important pilgrimage route to the top involving 5000+ very steep steps. It’s traditional to climb in the middle of the night to arrive for sunrise. 

First view of Adam’s Peak from the bus

Our hostel nearly poisons Alex with all the dairy which made for a very grumpy start at 2.30am but we eventually make it to the top after 2 hours 40 mins being passed by locals in flip flops or even barefoot. We rang the bell at the top to signal our achievement of making it up. Sunrise really was spectacular and very special to see. It made the thigh burn very worth it. We were lucky that it wasn’t too busy on the top. A few days later on full moon which happened to fall on the weekend we were told it would take nearly 7 hours to get to the top.

The lit path from half way up 

Snuggling at the top to keep warm before sunrise

Walking down we got to see the wonderful sites that were pitch black on the way up. And marvelled at the people carrying huge loads on their heads up to the many tea shops which line the route. 

We treat ourselves to a nights stay in the middle of a tea plantation looking out onto a reservoir and sleep for 12 hours straight. The hotel grows its own veggies and Alex takes pictures of all the plants to show to his Mum. Food was delicious. Apparently there is a super luxury hotel around the reservoir where you get dropped off by sea plane from Colombo. Not quite in our budget, maybe next time!?

Heading back to Kandy we manage to buy third class reserved seats and it’s so much more comfortable. We get to hang out the train doors and watch the world go by, nursing our very sore calves from the climb hoping they’ll stop hurting for yet another trek the next day. 

Alex’s cousin recommended a trek in the Knuckles before we left so we made sure to fit this in and we were so happy that we did (thanks Will). With our amazing guide Chandi we walked in the foothills of the mountain over 13km stopping at viewpoints over the central province that went on for miles, swam in a cold but refreshing waterfall, walked through the tea plantations and rice paddy fields. We also learnt about the many spices that grow in Sri Lanka and how fresh they smelt and tasted picked from the trees. We managed to avoid any leeches and snakes (actual possibilities!). Phew!

View from Leopard’s Rock 

Pepper!

We splurge on another nice hotel which looks like we’re back in England. When the English came to Sri Lanka they found somewhere a bit cooler and planted all the tea and basically tried to recreate England there. This hotel had tennis courts, a croquet lawn, badminton courts, period furniture and rose gardens! It also had an outdoor heated pool with a magnificent view and a full body massage for £20, so we loved it and didn’t want to leave. 

After that we went to Haputale with yet more tea plantations. We stayed in a great homestay with no luxuries but with more breathtaking views and delicious home cooked curries where we sat and ate with the other guests. A group of Aussie uni students on their summer break are very friendly. We are gobsmaked to realise that when we were at the same stage of uni as them, they were only 2 years old!!

Steps down to our guesthouse 

We saw the views from Lipton’s Seat. Which again is on top of another giant hill where Sir Thomas Lipton of tea fame would sit and marvel at all his land, or something like that. 

Lipton’s Seat 

Rach’s Rock?

We’re now in Ella, a very nice town but quite touristy. We’re staying a little way out of town looking out on Little Adams Peak (named as it looks like Adam’s Peak but much smaller) which we climbed up yesterday. The sunrises from here are gorgeous. We also walked along the tracks down to Nine Arch Bridge, a feat of British engineering. Trains move so slowly and infrequently here walking along the tracks is standard for locals getting to work or town. We’ve hired a scooter from our guesthouse and roads feel a lot quieter and safer to drive on compared to everywhere else. The version of a petrol station here is a young lad from a little shop filling up the tank from old whiskey bottles. Alex climbed up Ella Rock this morning as Rach’s legs were done. 

Tonight we’re going to do a cookery course at Matey Hut where they serve the most amazing food (thanks for the recommendation S&M). 

And then tomorrow we head south to meet up with Hana, a friend of Rach from medical school who is married to Usman, a Sri Lankan. We plan to do a safari and hopefully see lots of elephants and possibly a leopard. We’ll also meet up with Loraine and Steve, parents of Rach’s primary school friend Hannah. It’s going to be great to see some familiar faces.

Rach and Alex x

Interlude - A meal to forget

In Anuradhapura after a long day of temple hunting we are sleep deprived, dehydrated and feeling less than fresh. 

We are informed by our 25 year old guesthouse host that there is a good place nearby to eat called ‘Walkers’ next to another place to drink called ‘Cottages’. 

So off we go along the road, intermittently coming across stray dogs that scare the bejesus out of Rachel.  

We have read the reviews which state that the food they were served was cold. Now at this point I would like to say that I’m not sure how the Babajuntly world tour committee ratified the decision to eat here. We will be reviewing our decision making processes in due course. Anyhow we arrive and there are people sitting eating. So it can’t be that bad right? Besides all the other places in town have equally sub optimal reviews. 

We go to the buffet and order one chicken and one fish meal. It comes with a selection of vegetarian curries. The man behind the counter is not impressed when Rachel asks if there is any milk in the food for me. So much so he turns his back on her for a full 30 seconds. Unnerved but undeterred we wait for him to serve us. 

We find a table and sit down hungrily awaiting yet another Sri Lankan feast. However the food is cold as described in the review and the ‘chicken’ is definitely not chicken. 

Rachel has an expression on her face which is hard to put into words. It’s sort of like she is experiencing physical pain and extreme disappointment mixed with a scowl. If you know Rachel you will know that she really likes eating good food so this would be particularly amusing if I wasn’t also experiencing an awful meal. 

I suggest that we just finish the vegetarian parts of our meals which we do, wordlessly. When I go to pay she hisses “don’t give them a tip!” We quickly leave. 

Like a gambling addict trying to make back some losses quickly I wittily try lightening the mood by suggesting we have some drinks to kill all the bacteria we have probably ingested. The unscientific, hopeful part of my brain thinks this might actually work. The rational part of my brain declines to intervene. Another oversight by the committee. We enter. 

It’s hard to describe this place. It’s sort of like a mash up between a road side corner shop that only sells beer and whisky and a bolted on wedding reception venue complete with covered chairs and curtains round the walls. 

I order a 500ml beer and a shot of Sri Lanka’s least finest whiskey. It arrives and I relax into my seat to write some of our blog and drink away the thoughts of dinner. Rachel is still unsure but I reason that we have spent too much time in our guesthouse and need to be out instead. Plus she can post the scathing trip advisor review I know she is already writing in her head. 

The evening progresses and Rachel relaxes somewhat, she posts the review, we order another beer, relax some more, write some of our blog and we start chatting to two men; the only other patrons of this ‘bar’. They tell us that they work in metal crushing and engineering respectively and ask us about our travels. 

The metal crusher is very chatty and says he likes Rachel’s face and inevitably asks where she is from. England doesn’t cut it so she explains her Mauritian and Filipino parentage.  I agree that she has a lovely face and we all laugh. He orders us another beer which we do not want but out of politeness I drink it (I pay for it the next morning with a hangover, or possible poisoning impurities in the whisky).

We chat a bit longer and when some food arrives for the other table they insist that we eat some. Luckily it is deep fried salty prawns. Which counteracts the excessive beer consumption by me. And further erases any memories of the thoughts we might have eaten rat earlier. 

By now it’s time to leave and call an end to the disastrous evening. We say our goodbyes to the metal crusher who announces loudly that he will be (drink) driving home. But carefully so not to worry! The engineer who was much less drunk asks for our number and we accidentally give him the number of a tuk tuk driver from earlier in the day. Oops!

It’s another odd Sri Lankan experience. So whoever you are Mr Metal crusher and Mr Engineer thank you for the free drink and food it was very kind indeed and helped us get over our terrible meal earlier that evening...

Alex

Sri Lanka - The cultural triangle

We arrived in Sigiria feeling weary from jet lag and a 4 hour bus ride from Colombo to Dambulla in cramped space-saving aisle seats. To top it off the bus nearly goes off before we can get one of our bags out of the back! Arriving at the cooler tree-shaded Sigiri Lion Lodge is a relief, made more enjoyable by a lovely host called Ajith.


Nothing like a refreshing shower to cool off...


Sri Lanka life lesson #1 - shower with the toilet seat down as you may lose your entire bottle of travel shampoo round the u-bend if you drop into the toilet!

It is not an exaggeration to say that every meal is a yummy curry. They come from little roadside places and are served in multiple small bowls with vegetarian dishes including pumpkin, ocra, banana flower, aubergine to name a few with rice and a chicken or fish curry. We’ve realised we can’t keep up the multi-course curries for every meal, despite the high step count, so have decided to stick with breakfast and dinner only. This is taking some getting used to with Alex’s tummy rumbling and some true Babajee-style hanger tantrums about 3pm. 

We start our tour of the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka with a sunset climb of Pidurangala Rock. It’s adjacent to and much cheaper than the more famous Sigiriya Rock. It’s a bit of a scramble near the top but there were no tearful breakdowns this time, unlike when we climbed Le Morne in Mauritius last year. The views from the top were incredible, looking over Sigiriya, water tanks, forest and mountains. We will soon realise that all the sites in this area involve climbing up LOTS of steps. Good thing we’ve got strong glutes and plenty of will power between us!

We woke up early the next day to beat the crowds and heat to climb Sigiriya Rock. The whole area is stunning. It’s a UNESCO heritage site and was where a king from the 12th century built his palace on the top of this giant rock. Alex climbed the equivalent of 76 floors all in his flip flops.



There are frescoes with naked ladies painted on the rock face. The lion’s paws were found during an archeological excavation. Queen Elizabeth II visited in the 50s don’t you know. The whole area is huge and has beautiful gardens, smaller rocks, ponds and also a moat with crocodiles in!

Adding our artistic skills to the other UK contributions

We took a local bus to Dambulla where they have ancient caves with intricate paintings and different Buddha statues. We recognise a fellow traveller from passing on the steps earlier in the day share a moan about the heat and constant sense of being shaken down for money and discuss the finer points of avoiding paying a shoe minder. There were lots of steps here too. Alex had to decline his first selfie request.

                             

Step count for today was 24,337 nearly at our all time best of 28000+ in Lisbon.



The next day we travelled to Polonaruwa which is the site of an ancient kingdom. Cycling around the ruins felt like exploring on the set of an Indiana Jones movie! We got a taste of the Sri Lankan bicycle maintenance standards when Rach’s front brakes fell off half way around and was left with suboptimal back brakes.



You also have to remove your shoes a lot in temples...


Sri Lanka life lesson #2 - don’t visit temples in converses unless you want them full of sand by the end of the day.



The ruins were very interesting to see. At the entrance of most of the buildings was a moonstone that was used to clean feet before entering. The different animals are meant to represent different stages of life - birth, disease, old age and death. Not sure about all the other bits in between though! There was also lots of wildlife around, mostly LOTS of monkeys trying to steal everyones food.

An example of a Moonstone

We stayed in a very cute guesthouse Thisara Guesthouse where the host Shamila cooked a generous spread for dinner and breakfast. We sat eating this looking out on the rice fields. Magic.

Another day another bus journey. We arrive at Anuradhapura and first visited Mihintale the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It is a very beautiful and peaceful place; again with lots of things on top of very high rocks which makes for gorgeous views but not kind on the legs especially in the heat.

In Anuradhapura we saw yet more ruins and huge dagobas. We tried to get through without having to pay the extortionate tourist fee but it was impossible! The museum had pieces that were 2000+ years old. Most interesting were intricate urinals that went through an ancient filtering system to give fresh water. Allegedly.

It’s an important Tamil festival celebrating a harvest festival while we’re here and a national holiday. It’s traditional to eat sweet rice and our guesthouse gave us some for breakfast. It was delicious.

By this point we had been travelling for a week and the clothes were running out...


Sri Lanka life lesson #3 - don’t try get laundry done the day before a Sri Lankan holiday as they wont be able to do before we have to leave again.

So instead we spent a couple of hours handwashing our clothes. Not fun but now we have clean pants.


Phew. We’ve done a lot of stuff the last week! Looking forward to sitting on a beach with our friends Hana and Usman in couple of weeks. Next we’re off to Kandy.


Rach & Alex