Woke up a bit hung-over. Possibly due to the intake of alcohol last night combined with sleeping in a room with A/C - spanish girls had turned it on before we came back from the bar. Penguins would find the room temperature a bit too cold for them.
Decided not to do anything today so stayed in bed all morning until hunger forced me to go to the kitchen at make a sandwich. Not much to say about the afternoon. Went for a swim in the ocean. So nice to be able to do that without stingersuits.
Laid back evening in the hostel.
tirsdag den 30. november 2010
mandag den 29. november 2010
Rainbow beach
Arrived in Rainbow beach early in the morning after night on "bus-ride-from-hell". Not really much to say but concluding that 14 hours in a bus is not really nice. When the bus A/C doesn't really work, there are small seat, grumpy/wierd driver etc. it all adds up. Couldn't get the room in the hostel due to cleaning so we left our bags and went shopping for some food.
Came back to hostel, got the room and made some food. Booked trip to Fraser Island - and crashed on the bed. Nice that it was not moving :-) Short walk in the afternoon to check out the town. So much different than Airlie. Totally laid back place. Went to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine in the late afternoon before going home to cook, have a few beers and a trip to the local bar later in the evening.
Came back to hostel, got the room and made some food. Booked trip to Fraser Island - and crashed on the bed. Nice that it was not moving :-) Short walk in the afternoon to check out the town. So much different than Airlie. Totally laid back place. Went to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine in the late afternoon before going home to cook, have a few beers and a trip to the local bar later in the evening.
søndag den 28. november 2010
The Whitsundays
Woke up to a beautiful morning just of the shore of Esk Island in the Whitsundays. Had a bit of trouble sleeping during the night so I got up on the deck and fell asleep in the fresh morning air. Woke up at around 8 and breakfast was ready a little later. It was so nice with a quiet morning eventhough all of us were on the boat. Had breakfast and a short safety explanation by the skipper before we went snorkling. Beautful reef but the water was a little bit full of "stuff" so only when the sun was shining it was possible to see all the fish and colors. But the reef was fantastic.
Stayed there for an hour before we set course towards "home" only stopping for a short swim at another reef. Got back to marina at 4, back to the hostel for all our luggage and then wait a bit for the bus. Got picked up Greyhound bus and realised that the seats we were assigned to did not exist. A bit of panic but we found two empty seats. The same story was repeated at 2 in the morning when new bus driver asked us to move to our seats. He was the wierdest so far - but we made it to Rainbow beach.
Stayed there for an hour before we set course towards "home" only stopping for a short swim at another reef. Got back to marina at 4, back to the hostel for all our luggage and then wait a bit for the bus. Got picked up Greyhound bus and realised that the seats we were assigned to did not exist. A bit of panic but we found two empty seats. The same story was repeated at 2 in the morning when new bus driver asked us to move to our seats. He was the wierdest so far - but we made it to Rainbow beach.
lørdag den 27. november 2010
Waltzing Mathilda
Early departure for marina. Got on the boat and had a wonderful day sailing on "Waltzing Mathilda". Fun skipper and boat guy. And a great group of people to hang out with. Swiss, Japanese, English, Swedish, German. Rather mixed group but nice to hang out with them all.
Walk on island after lunch. Turtles in the bay poking their head out of the water as if saying: What are you doing in our back yard.
Transfer to island, did a short walk there before going to the beach for a little afternoon nap and a little swim - in stinger suit.
Back on boat for a short leg to Esk island. Dropped the anchor and enjoyed the evening with beers and good food. Life is good.
Walk on island after lunch. Turtles in the bay poking their head out of the water as if saying: What are you doing in our back yard.
Transfer to island, did a short walk there before going to the beach for a little afternoon nap and a little swim - in stinger suit.
Back on boat for a short leg to Esk island. Dropped the anchor and enjoyed the evening with beers and good food. Life is good.
fredag den 26. november 2010
torsdag den 25. november 2010
Airlie Beach....
Relaxed. Finished reading book about Fusion. Great story.
Went for a few drinks in the bar in the evening.
Was asked for ID by bar security guy. Had to run back to room to find old drivers license. Almost as good as Christmas gift.
Went for a few drinks in the bar in the evening.
Was asked for ID by bar security guy. Had to run back to room to find old drivers license. Almost as good as Christmas gift.
onsdag den 24. november 2010
Airlie Beach
Arrived Airlie beach in the morning. Waited for 1 hour to get room key. Total chaos at front desk of hostel. Got tiny but ok room. Private double with the essentials - 4 walls, bed, window, door, fridge.
Realised what "schoolies" is about. Town totally flooded with 16-17-18 year olds out for their first party.
Tried to book boat trip. To go to the Whitsundays. Not really that succesful. Finally asked at our own place. Got a place on a boat in two days - but also got two free nights at the hostel. Almost win-win.
Realised what "schoolies" is about. Town totally flooded with 16-17-18 year olds out for their first party.
Tried to book boat trip. To go to the Whitsundays. Not really that succesful. Finally asked at our own place. Got a place on a boat in two days - but also got two free nights at the hostel. Almost win-win.
tirsdag den 23. november 2010
Heading south
It rains in the rain forest. Realized that during the night and in the morning. Lots of water coming from the sky. Waited for the bus to pick us up later in the afternoon.
"Pete-mate" arrived with the bus just when we had the worst shower of the day. Got soaked just running 10 meters to the bus. Only comfort was that he told us he just dropped off the whole group at the beach before picking us up.
Went for a short river cruise on our way to Cairns. Saw a couple of "small" crocs but nothing like the monster we met the other day. Afternoon tea before we headed for Cairns. Only a short drive to Cairns. Dropped of at the food court and had dinner while waiting for 00:25 with Greyhound bus.
Bus driver warning us for ½ hour about all the bad things that would happen if we did not follow the law. Mostly how much we would get fined. Appearently everything is illegal in Australia.
"Pete-mate" arrived with the bus just when we had the worst shower of the day. Got soaked just running 10 meters to the bus. Only comfort was that he told us he just dropped off the whole group at the beach before picking us up.
Went for a short river cruise on our way to Cairns. Saw a couple of "small" crocs but nothing like the monster we met the other day. Afternoon tea before we headed for Cairns. Only a short drive to Cairns. Dropped of at the food court and had dinner while waiting for 00:25 with Greyhound bus.
Bus driver warning us for ½ hour about all the bad things that would happen if we did not follow the law. Mostly how much we would get fined. Appearently everything is illegal in Australia.
mandag den 22. november 2010
Rain in the rainforest
Woke up to the sound of rain. Like real rain. Had planned to walk to Cape Tribulation during the day so we had late breakfast waiting for the rain to stop.
Set out on our walk along the beach, climbed a small hill and we arrived on the Cape beach after a beautiful walk. Decided to hang out a bit on the beach before heading back. Had to leave not too late in order for the tide not to make it impossible to walk along the beach. Nearly made it back to the camp before we got hit by a rain shower. Not that it lasted that long but we were soaked anyway.
Changed to some dry clothes before we went to the bar to play some pool and just relax. No problem doing this kind of traveling for the next weeks to come.
Set out on our walk along the beach, climbed a small hill and we arrived on the Cape beach after a beautiful walk. Decided to hang out a bit on the beach before heading back. Had to leave not too late in order for the tide not to make it impossible to walk along the beach. Nearly made it back to the camp before we got hit by a rain shower. Not that it lasted that long but we were soaked anyway.
Changed to some dry clothes before we went to the bar to play some pool and just relax. No problem doing this kind of traveling for the next weeks to come.
søndag den 21. november 2010
Pete-mate
Early morning pick up again. This time by "Pete" or more appropriately - Pete-mate. Steve Irwin wannabe guide the finished each and every sentence with the words: "No worries, we'll get there, too easy.
We spent some time driving around Cairns picking up a few other day trippers before heading north. Stopped a couple of times to do a short morning walk in the forest. Learned a few things about plants. Pete-mate was a really good guide. Also showed us the wine called "Wait-a-while". When it hooks you you automatically wait a while.
Headed further north to a small animal shelter. Got out of the bus only to realise that I had picked up a leach that was now feeding on my blood from my toe. Had to use a lighter to get it off. Hello Australia. Really nice walk in the park looking at crocs, kangaroos, birds, lizards.
Spent the rest of the morning driving north, stopping at a few other scenic locations. It rained a bit but no worries - it is supposed to do that in the rain forrest. Got to the cable ferry crossing the river - just before getting to the other side of the river a BIG croc surfaced and both Pete-mate and the boat guy got really excited. It was one of the "big ones". Only 2 or 3 of those in the entire river and it was a monster 5-6 meters and really ugly. Decided not to go swimming.
When we got to the last bridge we ran into a slight problem - too much water in river had flooded the road so we were dropped of, had to balance on new, not finished bridge walking 100 meters to cross river. Not in tour description but it worked fine: -) Got picked up at the other side of the river just before the next rain shower started. Good timing. Dropped of by driver at PJ's jungle lounge, room, bar, hang-out. Will be nice to spend the next couple of nights there.
We spent some time driving around Cairns picking up a few other day trippers before heading north. Stopped a couple of times to do a short morning walk in the forest. Learned a few things about plants. Pete-mate was a really good guide. Also showed us the wine called "Wait-a-while". When it hooks you you automatically wait a while.
Headed further north to a small animal shelter. Got out of the bus only to realise that I had picked up a leach that was now feeding on my blood from my toe. Had to use a lighter to get it off. Hello Australia. Really nice walk in the park looking at crocs, kangaroos, birds, lizards.
Spent the rest of the morning driving north, stopping at a few other scenic locations. It rained a bit but no worries - it is supposed to do that in the rain forrest. Got to the cable ferry crossing the river - just before getting to the other side of the river a BIG croc surfaced and both Pete-mate and the boat guy got really excited. It was one of the "big ones". Only 2 or 3 of those in the entire river and it was a monster 5-6 meters and really ugly. Decided not to go swimming.
When we got to the last bridge we ran into a slight problem - too much water in river had flooded the road so we were dropped of, had to balance on new, not finished bridge walking 100 meters to cross river. Not in tour description but it worked fine: -) Got picked up at the other side of the river just before the next rain shower started. Good timing. Dropped of by driver at PJ's jungle lounge, room, bar, hang-out. Will be nice to spend the next couple of nights there.
lørdag den 20. november 2010
Frankland islands snorkling
Got picked up early in the morning for our trip to Frankland Islands. 7 am. Small bus arrived at the hostel. Japanese guide introduced the trip - and herself like: "My name is Maiko - just call me Shaggy".
Weird silence in the bus for 30 seconds. Drove for 45 minutes south of Cairns to board a big boat. Several other busses arrived. Perhaps 50-60 persons on the trip. Did a slow cruise down the river before hitting the ocean. Rain in the morning. It never rained on the islands according to our guide.
Once we got close to the island we got into smaller boats and were transferred to the beach. Stinger suit on we hit the waves and did a really good morning snorkling trip.
Turtle, fish, corals. Everything. Not too much sunshine but it really didn't do that much difference. It was great to experience a beautiful reef - "the right way".
Nice lunch on the beach, a guided walk on the island with a story about how the ecology is interconnected, how the island was created and that sort of information. Nice with a little insight for once. Transfer back to the big boat and the reverse story from the morning.
Cooking our own food for dinner - again. Nice. Got to get ready for our trip to Cape Tribulation and Daintree tomorrow.
Weird silence in the bus for 30 seconds. Drove for 45 minutes south of Cairns to board a big boat. Several other busses arrived. Perhaps 50-60 persons on the trip. Did a slow cruise down the river before hitting the ocean. Rain in the morning. It never rained on the islands according to our guide.
Once we got close to the island we got into smaller boats and were transferred to the beach. Stinger suit on we hit the waves and did a really good morning snorkling trip.
Turtle, fish, corals. Everything. Not too much sunshine but it really didn't do that much difference. It was great to experience a beautiful reef - "the right way".
Nice lunch on the beach, a guided walk on the island with a story about how the ecology is interconnected, how the island was created and that sort of information. Nice with a little insight for once. Transfer back to the big boat and the reverse story from the morning.
Cooking our own food for dinner - again. Nice. Got to get ready for our trip to Cape Tribulation and Daintree tomorrow.
fredag den 19. november 2010
Chillin' Cairns
Slept most of the morning. Was woken up by the sound of rain. So it rained all morning. And we stayed in bed. Decided it was time for breakfast at 12 - mostly because of urgent need to also go peeing. Muesli and milk for breakfast. I mean milk as in real milk. Not the kind of white plastic crap we have been used to for the last 3 months.
Did a bit of washing. Much needed.
Went back to bed and served breakfast for Malene - also Muesli. Tried to book a day trip to the reef tomorrow. Hope the weather will be a bit better by then.
Finally got out of the hostel and went to - the mall - managed to get coffee just before the coffee shop closed, did some shopping for food and other necesities. Sim card !
Came back to hostel and spent a full hour trying to activate sim card and internet. Who said it was going to be easy. Got confirmation email from tour company to go snorkling on Franklands islands tomorrow.
Made real dinner again. Soup and corn on the cob.
Did a bit of washing. Much needed.
Went back to bed and served breakfast for Malene - also Muesli. Tried to book a day trip to the reef tomorrow. Hope the weather will be a bit better by then.
Finally got out of the hostel and went to - the mall - managed to get coffee just before the coffee shop closed, did some shopping for food and other necesities. Sim card !
Came back to hostel and spent a full hour trying to activate sim card and internet. Who said it was going to be easy. Got confirmation email from tour company to go snorkling on Franklands islands tomorrow.
Made real dinner again. Soup and corn on the cob.
torsdag den 18. november 2010
G'day Australia
Arrived Cairns early in the morning. Got out of the plane, baggage, customs, security, taxi to hostel. All in less than one hour. How effective. Got room and slept for 5 hours. Travelling makes you really tired for some reason. Or maybe it was just that we had been pushing it really hard the last couple of days.
Took a walk in the afternoon. Something is clearly wrong in this part of the world. No traffic jams, no endless honking from cars and tuk-tuks. No blue/grey-ish color of the air due to pollution. Nobody asking you for anything. Nobody wants to touch your skin. In fact you can walk on your own, undisturbed and just enjoy being on holiday.
Went to local mall - the only one in Cairns. Got some fresh food and vegetables to eat. Walked to the beach, had food on the way, back to mall to shop for dinner. Back to hostel and relax a little before cooking dinner (corn and a canned soup). Delicious. Looking so much forward to the breakfast tomorrow.
Took a walk in the afternoon. Something is clearly wrong in this part of the world. No traffic jams, no endless honking from cars and tuk-tuks. No blue/grey-ish color of the air due to pollution. Nobody asking you for anything. Nobody wants to touch your skin. In fact you can walk on your own, undisturbed and just enjoy being on holiday.
Went to local mall - the only one in Cairns. Got some fresh food and vegetables to eat. Walked to the beach, had food on the way, back to mall to shop for dinner. Back to hostel and relax a little before cooking dinner (corn and a canned soup). Delicious. Looking so much forward to the breakfast tomorrow.
onsdag den 17. november 2010
Flight mode all day
In transit all day. Left Colombo one hour late at 3 in the morning. Had a quick stop in Bangkok before flying to Hong Kong. Went directly to lounge and had a bit of food before having the shower of the month. Cathay has some really nice facilities!
Stayed in the lounge for a few more hours for some food, writing our travel notes and sending them home to friends and family incl videos uploaded to youtube!.
Left Hong Kong at 23:50 for Cairns. On plane realised that there were shaving kits in the business class toilet! With nice razors and gillette shaving form. Spent some of the boring time on the flight getting rid of one week old beard. Finally you can do something useful when flying. What a novelty.
Stayed in the lounge for a few more hours for some food, writing our travel notes and sending them home to friends and family incl videos uploaded to youtube!.
Left Hong Kong at 23:50 for Cairns. On plane realised that there were shaving kits in the business class toilet! With nice razors and gillette shaving form. Spent some of the boring time on the flight getting rid of one week old beard. Finally you can do something useful when flying. What a novelty.
tirsdag den 16. november 2010
Last day in Sri Lanka
Somebody had set the alarm for 6 in the morning. Which ment that we were ready to go to the temple at 7. Which also meant that we were the first tourists on the top. The golden buddha temple is a kitchy gift from the japanese and not really an attraction - but the rock caves at the top were amazing.
5 in total, some pretty big, containing buddhas, statues, paintings. We could enjoy it all in the cool morning with only one or two other tourists around us.
Walked down, packed our stuff and left Dambulla by bus. Headed for Colombo and made the mistake of not getting off the bus in time. Instead we stayed on it through the totally terrible traffic of Colombo, to the main bus station and back north towards the airport and beaches. Wasted at least 4 hours that way. Finally at the beach we found a place for a drink and some food. Not much access to the beach though. Agreed with the owner of the bar that his driver could take us to the airport.
Plane was a bit delayed. Not something you want on a 2 am departure but in the end we left Sri Lanka. Such a nice and beautiful place, but we had had our share for now.
5 in total, some pretty big, containing buddhas, statues, paintings. We could enjoy it all in the cool morning with only one or two other tourists around us.
Walked down, packed our stuff and left Dambulla by bus. Headed for Colombo and made the mistake of not getting off the bus in time. Instead we stayed on it through the totally terrible traffic of Colombo, to the main bus station and back north towards the airport and beaches. Wasted at least 4 hours that way. Finally at the beach we found a place for a drink and some food. Not much access to the beach though. Agreed with the owner of the bar that his driver could take us to the airport.
Plane was a bit delayed. Not something you want on a 2 am departure but in the end we left Sri Lanka. Such a nice and beautiful place, but we had had our share for now.
mandag den 15. november 2010
Turbo tuk with Raju
Don't we just love these mornings where we have to get up at 5 to get ready for early departure. NOT. Raju picked us up at 6 and then we headed north towards temples and rocks. Really fast. Stopped after 20 minutes at small road side temple. Raju put a little money through a lid in the wall, mumbled something before we instantly drove off again - he told us it was insurance with the gods. We like that kind of insurance. Hope it works all day.
Passed Dambulla at 7:51. Fastest tuk-tuk ride even according to Raju. I believe him. Not long after we reached the first destination - Sigiriya. A big beautiful place where the centrepiece is the remains of an extinct volcano. Only the hardended lava remains the rest of the mountain is gone. So what somebody did many, many years ago was to build a big castle around and on top of the volcanic piece of rock. We walked the ruins, climbed the rock and enjoyed every minute out there. So much to see. Got back to Raju after 3 hours and set course for the next place.
Polonaruwa was only 1½ hours away. It is equally impressive - a massive place filled with ruins, temples, statues and just stunning atmosphere. Almost no people there. So while we switched between walking the place (the site is 3x2 kms) and having Raju taking us from one site to the other it was almost too much to take in.
At 2 in the afternoon we figured that we had seen most of what we wanted to see. Asked Raju to head back towards Dambulla only with a short food stop on the way. Hunger was beginning to kick in. So we found a place close to Dambulla, had a short lunch stop and then headed for Dambulla to find a place for the night. Raju insisted on taking the "scenic" shortcut through the jungle road. After 3 kms we met a big elephant that was standing next to the road eating a tree. He seemed to like it there, Raju slammed the brakes and waited for 10 minutes before turning around. Elephant-Tuk: 1-0
Found a guesthouse in Dambulla - 1200 RS (DKK 60). New record for a night. Standard - or lack of it - matched the price but it had a bed, mosquito net, washroom and a door with a lock. What more can we ask for? And it was close to the temple we want to see tomorrow. And we were too tired to bother anyway. 10 hours in a tuk is something you can feel and taste.
Had just enough energy left to go to the other side of the road to the fruit stall to buy some bananas. Asked for two bananas - they looked at me in a really odd way and gave me a bunch of bananas for 20 rupies.
Passed Dambulla at 7:51. Fastest tuk-tuk ride even according to Raju. I believe him. Not long after we reached the first destination - Sigiriya. A big beautiful place where the centrepiece is the remains of an extinct volcano. Only the hardended lava remains the rest of the mountain is gone. So what somebody did many, many years ago was to build a big castle around and on top of the volcanic piece of rock. We walked the ruins, climbed the rock and enjoyed every minute out there. So much to see. Got back to Raju after 3 hours and set course for the next place.
Polonaruwa was only 1½ hours away. It is equally impressive - a massive place filled with ruins, temples, statues and just stunning atmosphere. Almost no people there. So while we switched between walking the place (the site is 3x2 kms) and having Raju taking us from one site to the other it was almost too much to take in.
At 2 in the afternoon we figured that we had seen most of what we wanted to see. Asked Raju to head back towards Dambulla only with a short food stop on the way. Hunger was beginning to kick in. So we found a place close to Dambulla, had a short lunch stop and then headed for Dambulla to find a place for the night. Raju insisted on taking the "scenic" shortcut through the jungle road. After 3 kms we met a big elephant that was standing next to the road eating a tree. He seemed to like it there, Raju slammed the brakes and waited for 10 minutes before turning around. Elephant-Tuk: 1-0
Found a guesthouse in Dambulla - 1200 RS (DKK 60). New record for a night. Standard - or lack of it - matched the price but it had a bed, mosquito net, washroom and a door with a lock. What more can we ask for? And it was close to the temple we want to see tomorrow. And we were too tired to bother anyway. 10 hours in a tuk is something you can feel and taste.
Had just enough energy left to go to the other side of the road to the fruit stall to buy some bananas. Asked for two bananas - they looked at me in a really odd way and gave me a bunch of bananas for 20 rupies.
søndag den 14. november 2010
Sightseeing Kandy
Slept a bit late. Got up and told the guy at the guesthouse that it was ok to prepare our Sri Lankan breakfast. His answer was "what?". Reminded him that we had ordered it the day before. Like yesterday evening. He had obviously forgotten. Got the Western breakfast instead. Played a little song using "toast on plate"-technique. Must have real food soon !
Walked around the lake in town, looked at the holy "temple of the tooth" from the outside and went to the mall for some food we could bring to the botanical gardens. Got a tuk-tuk to the gardens that are just outside the town. Must say that it was really impressive to walk there and see all the trees, bushes, palms, flowers - everything. Turned out it was also the (only) place in town for teenagers to walk hand-in-hand so there were a lot of kissing benches.
Went back to guesthouse and discussed the plans for the next days. Got in contact with BA to change flight out of Sri Lanka so we could leave a day or two earlier and avoid connecting flight to Cairns via Brisbane - that would also save us 6 hours of flight.
After discussing trip plans for the next couple of days we called the tuk-tuk guy from last night - Raju. Difficult to understand him on the phone but he was at the guesthouse in 5 minutes and then we spent most of an hour talking to him about what we could do. We want to go to Sigiriya rock temple and Polonaruwa site. He says it cannot be done in one day and two days are also a problem. On the other hand we don't want to end up in the middle of nowhere when we might have a connecting flight out of Sri Lanka at the other end of the trip. Still needs confirmation from BA. So we are in kind of the same situation as always. Agreed with Raju at the end to be picked up at 6 in the morning to go "as far as we can" tomorrow. Then we'll just deal with him as we drive.
Got a free ride to local chinese restaurant as thank you. Good food even though Malene mistook a green (strong) chili for a green bean and lost part of the feeling in her mouth.
Walked around the lake in town, looked at the holy "temple of the tooth" from the outside and went to the mall for some food we could bring to the botanical gardens. Got a tuk-tuk to the gardens that are just outside the town. Must say that it was really impressive to walk there and see all the trees, bushes, palms, flowers - everything. Turned out it was also the (only) place in town for teenagers to walk hand-in-hand so there were a lot of kissing benches.
Went back to guesthouse and discussed the plans for the next days. Got in contact with BA to change flight out of Sri Lanka so we could leave a day or two earlier and avoid connecting flight to Cairns via Brisbane - that would also save us 6 hours of flight.
After discussing trip plans for the next couple of days we called the tuk-tuk guy from last night - Raju. Difficult to understand him on the phone but he was at the guesthouse in 5 minutes and then we spent most of an hour talking to him about what we could do. We want to go to Sigiriya rock temple and Polonaruwa site. He says it cannot be done in one day and two days are also a problem. On the other hand we don't want to end up in the middle of nowhere when we might have a connecting flight out of Sri Lanka at the other end of the trip. Still needs confirmation from BA. So we are in kind of the same situation as always. Agreed with Raju at the end to be picked up at 6 in the morning to go "as far as we can" tomorrow. Then we'll just deal with him as we drive.
Got a free ride to local chinese restaurant as thank you. Good food even though Malene mistook a green (strong) chili for a green bean and lost part of the feeling in her mouth.
lørdag den 13. november 2010
Train to Kandy
Left Ella by train on cloudy morning. Such a nice ride for the first 2-3 hours. Then it started to get a little monotonuos. However trainride supposed to be 6 hours turned out to be more like 8 hours. First class ticket with "panorama view". Sort of....
Felt like being on train in 1950 + tracks from 1880-ish.
Got very close to Kandy - small junction station when train suddenly started to go opposite direction. Realised by asking train ticket man that we should have left the train at the platform for another "unannounced" train to Kandy. So he yelled that we "go off now, go off now" when our train was doing 15 km/h. When we had the chance to do it we jumped from the train - backpacks and everything. Our train went for Colombo - we walked 100 meters down the track to the platform only to find the Kandy train still waiting for us. Sri Lankan in-efficiency we love you but only when we need you. Realised that we were only 5 km from Kandy station. Found a Tuk when we came to Kandy and got the last real room at the guesthouse he took us to.
Found supermarket in small shopping mall - civilisation we love you too.
Dinner at restaurant at the other end of town turned out to also be Sri Lankan in-efficiency but we didn't really need it then. Waited 1 hour for pancakes only to be told (when we finally asked) that they had problems in the kitchen so no pancakes tonight. Owner was sorry but what does it help when you would rather like to be in your room - close to the bed.
Felt like being on train in 1950 + tracks from 1880-ish.
Got very close to Kandy - small junction station when train suddenly started to go opposite direction. Realised by asking train ticket man that we should have left the train at the platform for another "unannounced" train to Kandy. So he yelled that we "go off now, go off now" when our train was doing 15 km/h. When we had the chance to do it we jumped from the train - backpacks and everything. Our train went for Colombo - we walked 100 meters down the track to the platform only to find the Kandy train still waiting for us. Sri Lankan in-efficiency we love you but only when we need you. Realised that we were only 5 km from Kandy station. Found a Tuk when we came to Kandy and got the last real room at the guesthouse he took us to.
Found supermarket in small shopping mall - civilisation we love you too.
Dinner at restaurant at the other end of town turned out to also be Sri Lankan in-efficiency but we didn't really need it then. Waited 1 hour for pancakes only to be told (when we finally asked) that they had problems in the kitchen so no pancakes tonight. Owner was sorry but what does it help when you would rather like to be in your room - close to the bed.
fredag den 12. november 2010
Ella Rock
Planned to climb Ella Rock today. Started with a nice Sri Lankan breakfast - more curry. The route was described as "Walk along the railroad" so we went to the station, also to check out departure possibilities for tomorrow. Asked at the station the local ticket guy just pointed at the tracks when we said Ella Rock. So we jumped down and walked along.
Crossing a few streams we made it to the tea plantation, left the rail road track and managed in some way or another to make it all the way to the top but got lost a few time. Meanwhile the weather had changed a lot and now it was more foggy/misty view from top. But the clouds opened for a moment or two and the surrounding landscape was stunning. Stayed on the top for ½ hour and was joined by Swiss couple who came from Kandy so we chatted a bit with them. Walked back to town only getting lost once.
Mikkel decided to go for massage coming back from the walk. "Lasante" - was more like getting beat up for one hour. Curry dinnner one last time before leaving tomorrow. Still delicious though.
Crossing a few streams we made it to the tea plantation, left the rail road track and managed in some way or another to make it all the way to the top but got lost a few time. Meanwhile the weather had changed a lot and now it was more foggy/misty view from top. But the clouds opened for a moment or two and the surrounding landscape was stunning. Stayed on the top for ½ hour and was joined by Swiss couple who came from Kandy so we chatted a bit with them. Walked back to town only getting lost once.
Mikkel decided to go for massage coming back from the walk. "Lasante" - was more like getting beat up for one hour. Curry dinnner one last time before leaving tomorrow. Still delicious though.
torsdag den 11. november 2010
Beautiful Ella
Got up to a nice morning and a some breakfast. Got ready for a walk up the road to little adams peak. A small mountain that can be walked in about one hour. Walked through the tea plantations in really nice weather enjoying the views of the surrounding landscape. Got to the peak and could see far, far away. Walked back to town before the rain started.
Lunch disaster. All places in town closed when we wanted lunch. Ended up with local place doing two sandwiches in 55 minutes (No pizza - powercut so oven not working).
Kitchen course planned for the evening. Actually the local owner called it cooking course - in reality it meant sitting in the kitchen to see how local curry was made. Only a couple of powercuts in the evening to disrupt the experience. The owner was very nice and we spent a couple of hours talking to him while he cooked and we asked all kinds of questions about Ella, curry and Sri Lanka in general.
Lunch disaster. All places in town closed when we wanted lunch. Ended up with local place doing two sandwiches in 55 minutes (No pizza - powercut so oven not working).
Kitchen course planned for the evening. Actually the local owner called it cooking course - in reality it meant sitting in the kitchen to see how local curry was made. Only a couple of powercuts in the evening to disrupt the experience. The owner was very nice and we spent a couple of hours talking to him while he cooked and we asked all kinds of questions about Ella, curry and Sri Lanka in general.
onsdag den 10. november 2010
Heading for the hills
Woke up at 3:55 to unfamiliar sound. Realised it was not coming from Malene or something she was doing - there was a mouse trying to eat our crackers - or at least chew its way through the packaging. Turned on light - mouse fled to the top of the ceiling - turned light off - mouse back at the crackers in a few minutes. Decided to throw crackers out of front door - mouse still running around. Managed to get a little bit of sleep before alarm went of at 5:30. Shower, get dressed, packing, short walk to the road to wait for bus.
Beautiful morning, clouds in the horizon to cover for sun but could see reflections of sun on other higher clouds. Fantastic. Bus arrived at 6:20, got seats and realised that the armed forces liked to travel by bus. Lots of guys with guns onboard. Most of them smiling.
Arrived in Ranomafana after 2 hours of driving on twisted roads. Asked bus man what bus to take to Welawaya - it turned out our bus continued so we jumped back in again. No problem getting on another smaller bus in Wela and the drive from there to Ella was only 27 kilometers on some very twisty narrow roads in the hills. Beautiful scenery - but a bit too many earthslides and rocks on the road for the ride to be totally comfortable.
Arrived at the guest house. Picked a nice room with balcony and went for a cup of tea. Realised that the only two guests also were Danes so we had a short chat about their trip and what they had seen north of Kandy and in the hills. They left and we were the only guests. Did a couple of hours of internet for the first time this week and realised that is what the usual spam in the inbox.
Went for some food in town - found a nice cafe and when we ordered food a tuk-tuk arrived with a surround-set so big that it could only just be in there. So we had lots of music for lunch. And some wraps with chicken and veggies. Took a short walk in town and went back to the room. Did some more internet and chat until a powercut killed the connection.
Ordered curry for dinner and went to massage place to check it out. Malene decided to do one hour massage - I went back to guest house. Then the rain started totally crazy. Malene came back from her massage and we went to dinner.
Totally nice dinner with lots of different curry dishes. According to guidebook supposed to be the best in town. We believe the book.
Beautiful morning, clouds in the horizon to cover for sun but could see reflections of sun on other higher clouds. Fantastic. Bus arrived at 6:20, got seats and realised that the armed forces liked to travel by bus. Lots of guys with guns onboard. Most of them smiling.
Arrived in Ranomafana after 2 hours of driving on twisted roads. Asked bus man what bus to take to Welawaya - it turned out our bus continued so we jumped back in again. No problem getting on another smaller bus in Wela and the drive from there to Ella was only 27 kilometers on some very twisty narrow roads in the hills. Beautiful scenery - but a bit too many earthslides and rocks on the road for the ride to be totally comfortable.
Arrived at the guest house. Picked a nice room with balcony and went for a cup of tea. Realised that the only two guests also were Danes so we had a short chat about their trip and what they had seen north of Kandy and in the hills. They left and we were the only guests. Did a couple of hours of internet for the first time this week and realised that is what the usual spam in the inbox.
Went for some food in town - found a nice cafe and when we ordered food a tuk-tuk arrived with a surround-set so big that it could only just be in there. So we had lots of music for lunch. And some wraps with chicken and veggies. Took a short walk in town and went back to the room. Did some more internet and chat until a powercut killed the connection.
Ordered curry for dinner and went to massage place to check it out. Malene decided to do one hour massage - I went back to guest house. Then the rain started totally crazy. Malene came back from her massage and we went to dinner.
Totally nice dinner with lots of different curry dishes. According to guidebook supposed to be the best in town. We believe the book.
tirsdag den 9. november 2010
Last day at Stardust
Last day in Arugam bay. Walk to Pottuvil in the morning to find a place where I could get a much needed hair cut. Sunny and a hot day - 36 degrees and sunny but still not too bad walking on the road to town where we didn't manage to find a place for hair cut. Walked back to Stardust.
Had a nice swim in the ocean. The wind and wawes had calmed down (turned our that there was a typhon a few hundred miles away the other days, we didn't really notice) but no typhoon now so we had a swim. Meanwhile in Denmark the first snow was on its way. What a blessing to be here instead :-)
Lunch at local place where we were the only guests.
Tuk-tuk to nearby village of Panama in the early evening. Saw a lot of peacocks, rice paddies, a few crocodiles in the local reservoir, water buffalos in the distance.
Had the stardust curry dinner. Very good, a bit spicy. Waiter was really entertaining with great humour but was not sure how to react when Malene said the dinner was too spicy. It tasted great but the chicken was a bit on the hot side. Still good though. Had dinner with German guy - Oluf. He had done his part of traveling all over the world. Had some great input to our trip and some great stories to tell. Nice guy to share dinner with.
Early to bed - must catch bus at 6 in the morning for Ella. Hope it's a bit colder in the hills.
Had a nice swim in the ocean. The wind and wawes had calmed down (turned our that there was a typhon a few hundred miles away the other days, we didn't really notice) but no typhoon now so we had a swim. Meanwhile in Denmark the first snow was on its way. What a blessing to be here instead :-)
Lunch at local place where we were the only guests.
Tuk-tuk to nearby village of Panama in the early evening. Saw a lot of peacocks, rice paddies, a few crocodiles in the local reservoir, water buffalos in the distance.
Had the stardust curry dinner. Very good, a bit spicy. Waiter was really entertaining with great humour but was not sure how to react when Malene said the dinner was too spicy. It tasted great but the chicken was a bit on the hot side. Still good though. Had dinner with German guy - Oluf. He had done his part of traveling all over the world. Had some great input to our trip and some great stories to tell. Nice guy to share dinner with.
Early to bed - must catch bus at 6 in the morning for Ella. Hope it's a bit colder in the hills.
mandag den 8. november 2010
Relaxing in Pottuvil
Hanging out. Took a long walk on the beach in the morning to the end of the laguna. Walked past at least 70 boats on the beach that belonged to the local fishers.
Did some reading in the afternoon. Started on a new book on fusion power. I like science books when they are coupled with contemporary history. I don't pretend to believe that we are doing better now but they were crazy in the 50's and 60's when it came to what fusion and not at least fission could do. Great fun to read about all the people, polotics and money involved in trying to pull of something very difficult and all the secrets and cold war fears coupled to fusion and fission.
Nice dinner at Stardust in the evening. Fish and veggies. Yet another good day of vacation.
Did some reading in the afternoon. Started on a new book on fusion power. I like science books when they are coupled with contemporary history. I don't pretend to believe that we are doing better now but they were crazy in the 50's and 60's when it came to what fusion and not at least fission could do. Great fun to read about all the people, polotics and money involved in trying to pull of something very difficult and all the secrets and cold war fears coupled to fusion and fission.
Nice dinner at Stardust in the evening. Fish and veggies. Yet another good day of vacation.
søndag den 7. november 2010
Heading east
Bus early morning from Tangalla to Pottivul/Arugam bay. 7:03 on the bus in the morning. Too early for a Sunday. First bus driven by local Schumacher-wannabe. Did not touch the road too much on the way to Monaragala.
Standing up in bus for 6 hours. No seats. Getting warmer and warmer as we get closer to coast.
Arrived in the afternoon in Arugam bay. Everything looked to be closed down due to low season. Local welcome commitee tells us "no rooms, very pricey, all closed down" - we had a reservation and confirmation mail some days earlier so no panic but nice to experience some of the things they warn about in the travel guides :-)
Got nice beach cabana and had some late lunch. Tired after loooong trip in bus and early start in the morning. Slept a bit in the afternoon on the beach and had nice dinner. Give us some more of that, please.
Standing up in bus for 6 hours. No seats. Getting warmer and warmer as we get closer to coast.
Arrived in the afternoon in Arugam bay. Everything looked to be closed down due to low season. Local welcome commitee tells us "no rooms, very pricey, all closed down" - we had a reservation and confirmation mail some days earlier so no panic but nice to experience some of the things they warn about in the travel guides :-)
Got nice beach cabana and had some late lunch. Tired after loooong trip in bus and early start in the morning. Slept a bit in the afternoon on the beach and had nice dinner. Give us some more of that, please.
lørdag den 6. november 2010
Relax, relax
Got a beach cabana instead of "Chalet". Small hut with a bed - and a door in the floor. Funny detail that revealed a bathroom the size of the hut in the basement - 16 m2 bathroom. Haven't tried that before in my life I believe.
Did nothing the whole day but eating some food, a few drinks and reading my book. Finished book on the moon missions - "Moon dust". Really fun reading - to me at least.
Did nothing the whole day but eating some food, a few drinks and reading my book. Finished book on the moon missions - "Moon dust". Really fun reading - to me at least.
fredag den 5. november 2010
Tangalle
Had a swim in the ocean in the morning - after breakfast. Not too impressed with beach. Too much litter and crap.
Left for Tangalla around noon by local bus.
No problems getting there with two busses. Only deluxe cabana (Chalet) available for first night. Nice room but too far away from restaurant. Had to walk on beach for a while to get there. Not a big problem though - but we would rather stay close to the bar :-)
Left for Tangalla around noon by local bus.
No problems getting there with two busses. Only deluxe cabana (Chalet) available for first night. Nice room but too far away from restaurant. Had to walk on beach for a while to get there. Not a big problem though - but we would rather stay close to the bar :-)
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