Breakfast at Richmond Inn was disappointing. It was just toast, sunny side up egg (which the waiter misnamed omelette), tea and some fruit. The tuk-tuk I hired yesterday came as promised, a trifle late; shrewd of him to book me for the return trip. There was plenty of time for the train anyway so I walked to the main street of nearby Nanu Oya and bought a kind of sweet bun.
I guess if the dog has survived this long it knows that the track isn't in use that day or that it can scoot off in time. And anyway if it doesn't panic the carriage will just pass over it.
Third Class differed from Second only in that the seats were straight-backed and less comfy. The altitude being lower, the scenery wasn't as impressive as the stretch between Ella and Nanu Oya. Again, tea plantations dominated.
In the train I chatted with a Malaysian girl who was travelling with friends. We shared observations about travel.
Approaching Kandy, which is a city of moderate size, about 125,000 inhabitants, Wikipedia informs me.
I was able to replenish my cash at a Commercial Bank ATM just outside the station. As for the train to Colombo I was undecided if I would try to get an unreserved seat, or take an aircon bus, in two days' time.
By this time I was thoroughly sick of Sri Lankan curries and hankered for a western meal. Spotting the smart-looking City Hotel with its set tables I seated myself. Alas, the waiter informed me that the western items on the menu were not available. So it was rice and a selection of curries again. Sigh.
At least afterwards I was able to find a gelateria in Kandy Centre where I tried the spicy kochchi, and coconut with jaggery flavours. The waiter watched as I tasted the kochchi, expecting me to wince at the piquancy but really it was similar to the chilli in Aztec chocolate drink. Jaggery is a bit too sweet for my palate though.
I took a couple of pictures at the head of Kandy Lake before hailing a tuk-tuk to my homestay. Through insufficient foresight I had not realised that my accommodation required a tuk-tuk to reach as it was in a rural area a few km out. The cost wasn't the issue, but I would have to do my sightseeing all in one session as it would be inconvenient to return in the middle of the day. Due to fatigue, I decided to postpone sightseeing until the next day.
The owner of the house served me with a refreshing passionfruit and lime drink with a pinch of salt. He was a amicable retired manager. He and his wife had a lovely, tastefully furnished bungalow. They rented out the spare room, which was immaculate and had an ensuite bathroom. She was currently in Colombo resting after a medical procedure. So I missed out on her home cooked meals, mentioned in reviews, and had to get some small eats for dinner at a shop on the main road. Their daughter was a flight attendant with Emirates.
Breakfast was sumptuous again, comprising rolls with sambol, roti, toast with butter and jam, plus banana, papaya and pineapple. I declined the offered omelette.
I shared a tuk-tuk to the station with the Dutch ladies. They had sponsored kids in Sri Lanka many years ago, and were going to visit one of them, now grown up, in Kandy.
The platform filled as the train approached. The tourists were mostly in the first and second class carriages. There were a few Germans in my carriage. Sri Lanka is popular with Europeans as the time zone difference is manageable at 4-½ hours. The ride was enjoyable though it was hard to obtain scenic shots as vistas were distant. Tea plantations were everywhere.
The train was a blue Chinese made one and adequate. The difference between first and second class consisted merely in the comfort of the seats. For once in my trip I didn't sweat on public transport. I tracked our progress on my GPS and the line was tortuous.
Besides plantations there were also villages. Now and then I spotted villagers clutching mobile phones. Wireless technology has leapfrogged the need for provisioning landlines.
The line doesn't run into Nuwara Eliya, but stops at Nanu Oya station. Before engaging a tuk-tuk for the 8 km ride, I found that I could only get a third class ticket for the next leg to Kandy as other classes were sold out. The following leg on the service I wanted to Colombo could not be reserved. I would have to chance it on the day.
Richmond Inn was probably a colonial guesthouse from the look of it. Sri Lankans run it now of course. The post office also has the colonial look. I wondered what the British expats did after independence in 1948. Would some of them have had difficulties adjusting to a cold England they had never lived in before? I had read that some settled in Australia. In those days the world was far less connected and it was a great leap of faith to settle in a country one knew little about.
The rest of the day will be in the next post.
