Its been a long day but here we sit on our balcony surrounded by hills, a waterfall as our view with a wine and a beer…and at days end we’re happy!!
First thing this morning we were to be picked up at 7.30am by our Tuk Tuk driver, Janaka, but we couldn’t sneak out without the ceremonial breakfast and farewell which included photos and pledges to tell everyone how wonderful they were. And honestly by this stage we were used to them and they were used to us, including the fact of an old lady travelling with her young daughter. Nonetheless we were relieved when the Tuk Tuk huffed and puffed its way up their driveway with us and our luggage.
So…We are now in Ella after the really lovely train trip through magnificent tea plantations. It was a 6 hour train trip and after 6 hours even the most lush, beautiful scenery can become repetitive. But certainly you don’t get many more fantastic train voyages.
We got here and are staying in a great place overlooking a waterfall. We have a not-too-difficult trek into town along the railway line (Rose said she felt like she was in the film ‘Stand by Me’) and we headed straight into town to find a place for a drink and a bite to eat, the former taking precedence. It is a very backpacker oriented town, very trendy and the most geared to tourists we have come across to date. We had a meal and the walked back home along the train tracks, scrambling to get off the tracks to give the train right of way before we were killed.
But here we are now on our balcony with a most splendid view drinking the supplies we bought in town as priority one, as we understand there is a public holiday tomorrow and that no one is allowed to sell us any alcohol! We must endeavour to ensure we are strict in our rations!