Ella and off the beaten track
Ella is in the hills of central Sri Lanka and where we stayed for a couple of nights after Yala. On reflection we should have stayed longer as it's a lovely little village with just a couple of streets set on a plateau between some peaks. It's at about 1100 meters, so thats around the summit of Snowden in old money.
Right look up, no don't look right or the quick way down!
On the road up, we were constantly climbing for about ninety minutes.
On our way, these are the Ramana falls
The view from our hotel room looking at another peak
You can see the tea terraces, looking down from our room.
On the climb up, please note number 1 assistant and sherpa is carrying the camera bag and our kit, whilst I'm happily snapping away : )
The ubiquitous Buddha atop "Little Adams Peak.
The view east from Little Adams Peak at around 1400 mts (guestimated) somewhere near the top of
Ben Nevis.
The exertion had us back in teeshirts and enjoying the breeze. Please see Donna's new friend popping up, she has a way with the ubiquitous dogs here.
These young ladies appear quite comfortable on their little perch.
However from this angle, you can see their little perch is precarious at least and actually terrifying with a sheer drop in front of them.
Horticultural graffiti, don't suppose Alan Titmarsh would approve eh!
Maybe Alpine flora in the tropics?
On our way down, near the summit, this is high end accomodation, there's also a helipad up here.
Once we got off the peak we followed our planned loop and sat for a cup of coffee at this "Chi Wallahs" little viewing point. This is known as "Nine Arches Bridge"
Can you see why?
And this is the train that we will be catching tomorrow to Columbo
We went down to give it a closer inspection.
Hmmm this is interesting eh!
Hey little doggy we can do that to and standing up! See what I mean, everywhere we go, they just love her.
I wonder what's on the other side..... we hope it's not a train
Oh look it's an enterprising young lady selling coconuts to travellers
"Help help it's the hooded claw" Donna has always wanted to live out her fantasy of being
We put this link in for our younger audience to find out who she was and it's also there to jog the old foggies!
However Penelope (Donna's alter ego) was less likely of being run over by a train and more likely of getting stampeded by cattle and a man in some dodgy wellies.
Seems like this strech of track is a short cut for all sorts of traffic.
Donna has really got to grips with this photography and always takes a nice picture eh!
Oh look a telegraph pole, is it a D pole? shall I climb it? Ten years ago I may have needed to. These days even if I look at it for too long, it's at risk of groaning and just toppling over.
Donna now has full control of the camera and I'm now 1st assistant!
Its a stand off, the first one to blink or the first assistant get's it.
A working lady on her way home from market, she wasn't smiling till I pulled the camera out. But then we both knew I had to cough, this snap cost us a hundred roops or fifty pence. We don't have too pay but it just wouldn't be right not to!
This is the heart of the tea plantation industry in Sri Lanka.
Yup.... you got it, so did she, another hundred roops.
I must keep an eye on this spell check as it changes it to troops!
Tea workers village within tea plantation. Didn't see any satellite dishes or even a TV ariel.
Unfortunately what you don't get in these pix doesn't carry the sound track. Within the little community, life may be around the poverty threshold with limited opportunities. It may be more of a Shanti town than a village. But it functions, dog's bark at cats and chase tuktuk's. Kids scream and skip around. Life goes on devoid of outside influence and unaware of the outside world's toil's and tribulations. With the greatest of respect for these people, I doubt they are aware of Kim Jong Un and WMD's, Trumpland, ISIS, Brexit, Bitcoin or Job Centres. Even without the so called safety net that the welfare state affords UK citizens. This nations empathic nature has much to offer!
Lady tea picker off to the drying process.
See I told you, here's one I looked at for too long!
Does that signal mean safety or scarper?
Warning do not try this at home, this sequence was carried out under strict supervision. All be it by Donna...... welcome to my world!
The end of our little walk and a ninety minute jaunt along the track back to town. Ella train station as with the whole railway network was surveyed and commissioned by the British and built by the Sri Lankans. It's nostalgic, spotless and is another fine example of the Raj and it's legacy.
We have seen so many scenes like this at so many stations for the last few days.
The little garden in the station
With all the modern conveniences, this platform wants for nothing.
Converging lines - just trying to be arty.
"Time with the Station Master"
After asking the station master, would it be OK to take the picture. It was taken by pointing the camera through the little hole on the counter where you hand over your cash in exchage for your ticket. It's the same snap as above with a different crop, we couldn't agree on which was nicest. So it's one of those BOGOFF deals eh!
Zoom zoom..... rush hour in Ella
Breath in.
Ella is so well planned with it's taxi rank and picnic area right outside the hypermarket.
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