Sri Lanka Part 3
We took a 5 hour 3rd class train journey (where we had people lining up to place their children on our knees JUST so they could sing us English songs they knew - like Jingle Bells for e.g. - wonderful!) and a 2 hour bus ride (from hell!) in order to reach the foot of Adam's Peak.
We got there at 10 p.m. but wanted to start the walk up to the top at 3 a.m. (in order to reach the top at sunrise you see - we don't mess around!) so suddenly found ourselves with 5 hours to kill in the middle of nowhere. We ate in the only shack that served food and WHAT a mistake that was. The food was obviously lethal but we felt too rude to decline (and nobody there spoke a word of English) so we ended up eating and then KNOWING we would be sick. Alex even tried to barf round the back (on a wild boar nearly which came out of nowhere, startled) by putting his fingers in the back of his throat - so that our climb would not be ruined.
We ended up sleeping on the floor of the reception in a fully booked guest house for a few hours (Alex periodically slipping off to the toilets - though miraculously we were not sick) until 3 when we set off in the complete dark.
I should say that pilgrim monks come to Adam's Peak every year to climb to the summit and kiss Adam's ACTUAL footprint. There is a string of lights to the summit which is 2,243 metres high (Alex tells me) which is very beautiful to see from afar.
All joking aside, you are in the middle of mountains and jungle so this lit 'stairway to heaven' looks like a trail of stars into the sky... in fact it is very difficult to tell where the lights end and the stars begin... they go so high up into the mist.
I am getting bored of writing now so I will just say that the thousands and thousands of steps you take the the top (it took us 2.5 hours without a rest) are relatively tough (although kids and mothers carrying children do it, all be it slowly) it was one of the most amazing experiences either of us have ever had. The climb into the clouds of mist and moisture at the very top was incredible (on vertical stairs cut into the rock) and when the sun came up at 6:30 it was truly amazing (but very cold!) because it was the first time we could see our surroundings, having arrived and then walked by night.
Alex thinks he can get the pictures up on the next post which I will call Sri Lanka 4.
We got there at 10 p.m. but wanted to start the walk up to the top at 3 a.m. (in order to reach the top at sunrise you see - we don't mess around!) so suddenly found ourselves with 5 hours to kill in the middle of nowhere. We ate in the only shack that served food and WHAT a mistake that was. The food was obviously lethal but we felt too rude to decline (and nobody there spoke a word of English) so we ended up eating and then KNOWING we would be sick. Alex even tried to barf round the back (on a wild boar nearly which came out of nowhere, startled) by putting his fingers in the back of his throat - so that our climb would not be ruined.
We ended up sleeping on the floor of the reception in a fully booked guest house for a few hours (Alex periodically slipping off to the toilets - though miraculously we were not sick) until 3 when we set off in the complete dark.
I should say that pilgrim monks come to Adam's Peak every year to climb to the summit and kiss Adam's ACTUAL footprint. There is a string of lights to the summit which is 2,243 metres high (Alex tells me) which is very beautiful to see from afar.
All joking aside, you are in the middle of mountains and jungle so this lit 'stairway to heaven' looks like a trail of stars into the sky... in fact it is very difficult to tell where the lights end and the stars begin... they go so high up into the mist.
I am getting bored of writing now so I will just say that the thousands and thousands of steps you take the the top (it took us 2.5 hours without a rest) are relatively tough (although kids and mothers carrying children do it, all be it slowly) it was one of the most amazing experiences either of us have ever had. The climb into the clouds of mist and moisture at the very top was incredible (on vertical stairs cut into the rock) and when the sun came up at 6:30 it was truly amazing (but very cold!) because it was the first time we could see our surroundings, having arrived and then walked by night.
Alex thinks he can get the pictures up on the next post which I will call Sri Lanka 4.
posted by Alex at 7:20 AM
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