Wednesday 19th October – Oops Wrong Way (Chamche to Danaqyu 16km – 2200m)
We had been asleep for about an hour when the Nepali porters, not ours, who were staying on our floor decided to have a rambunctious party. The cacophony of noise was unbearable and at one stage I yelled at them to shut up I must have fallen asleep soon after as in the end I had a decent amount of shuteye. James wasn’t so lucky as his room was directly opposite. They were talking loudly, smoking and playing Tibetan music on their mobile phones. James only managed a few hours sleep. After breakfast on our balcony we were ready to depart at 8:15.
Our next stop was Tal and as we strode purposely off we passed a jeep on our right side. We continued to follow the road uphill and after about thirty minutes we glanced across the river and saw trekkers on the opposite bank. In a moment of clarity it dawned on us that we had missed the trailhead. Damn that parked jeep as it must have blocked our vision of the trail. It wasn’t all bad as we had the same views and saw some Himalayan lizards basking in the sun. The irony was that our porters were on the trail and they spotted us high above them. Again there were plenty of waterfalls to see with great views of the river and rugged terrain. To reach Tal we had to scramble down a goat track and then cross a new vehicle bridge. It was a short walk into the village and we stopped to fill our water bottles (40 rupees) at the safe water station.
Just as we were about to leave I made a sudden movement to my right which resulted in a stabbing pain to my head. I gingerly sat down as this sort of pain for me can lead to a migraine. Instead of a stop for a quick drink of water we found a restaurant where I could sit and try to relax. James is always great in this situation and helped me by applying pressure to the muscles in my right shoulder. Our 5 minute break had turned into nearly one hour.
I was still feeling a bit fragile when we set out so we set a slow pace for the haul up to Dharapani. This time we did follow the trail until we came to a suspension bridge which we had to cross. This meant that we had to follow the road as far as Karte. You can leave the road here and follow the old trail but given the way I was feeling we plodded upwards to the TIMS checkpoint at Dharapani. By the time we had registered Tika and Khrishna had arrived. It was nearly 14:00 and by the look on their faces we could see that they were fanging for some Dal Baat. We chose the Kangaroo Hotel for this festive occasion and decided on a vegetable noodle soup with garlic.
By 14:30 James and I were ready to plow on so we left the boys to their feasting. They know how to put it away. It was a steady uphill climb and like the earlier sections there are signposts that suggest some interesting diversions off the trail. If you had a 30 day itinerary and weren’t fixated on making the next village then you would be rewarded with a more fulfilling trek. About 30 minutes later we passed through the small village of Bargachap. I was slightly ahead of James and sat down to wait for him. He was taking his time I thought and then I saw him trudging up the hill with a scowl or a wry smile on his face. James had accidently taken a paved path and got to see most of Bargachap’s sprawling metropolis. Another quick drink and we were on our way again. Before we knew we had reached the outskirts of today’s final destination, Danaqyu.
There was a safe water station with the Tibetan Hotel directly opposite. The owner was keen for us to stay but we said that we would look at some of the other hotels further up the road. He asked us what we had paid for a room last night and we said zero. As quick as a flash he met that rate which meant that we had to look at a room. We demanded a room each and he acquiesced. On inspection the rooms were comfortable with plenty of space and included a power point so we can charge our electrical devices. There was a gas shower which to James disappointment failed to live up to expectations. There is once again wi-fi so we both managed a good chat with our loved ones. I chose the solar hot water and had a reasonable shower. James did some more doctoring on my shoulder before we adjourned for dinner. There is a strong wind chill factor and it is very cold as I sit here in the dining room writing this tome. It is only my puffer jacket and speedy fingers keeping me warm at the moment. So without further adieu I am off to the warmth of my sleeping bag.
Thursday 20th October – Up and Down, Up and Down (Danaqyu to Chame, 12km – 2710m)
It was another cold night but we both managed a good night’s sleep. By 7:00am it was warm enough to enjoy breakfast in the courtyard. Whilst we were eating there were plenty of early trekkers marching past. In fact when we took off at 7:50 there was no one left at our lodge. The first section wasn’t too difficult as we followed the road steadily upwards for about 30 minutes. The real fun began when we hit the old trail which was a steep climb up and old staircase and a rutted track. On this section we passed a couple of groups who were finding the going pretty tough. After about an hour and 15 minutes of sweat and heart quickening trekking the lower section of Timchi Village was in sight. We took a ten minute break here before slogging uphill yet again to reach the higher section of the village.
The scenery along this section is breathtaking and the clouds that cling to the peaks lend the mountains an air of mystery. The clouds are setting in and the wind is picking up which is making it a lot cooler. After following the road for a while we saw a sign that pointed to the old trekking and a conflicting sign that indicated the road. In the end we opted for the trail because after all it is a trek and we are men. The trail was excellent and interesting with a crossing of a suspension bridge at the bottom to top it off. We then entered a world of pain as we clawed our way up the slope and into the village of Thanchowk. We told our porters that we would meet them for lunch here but seeing it was only 10:45 we decided to push on. Quite a few trekkers had taken the road option which basically was cut into the side of the mountain and thus saved then from the punishment that James and I suffered.
We saw an old pine log on the side of the road so we thought this was the ideal place for a smoko break. The view was great but the peanut muesli bar was better. With our break over we struck out for Chame which I thought was four hours away but it turned out to be 45 minutes. At midday we arrived in the new section of Chame. We could have continued on for another 20 minutes to the old section but James struck a deal with the owner of the Kangla Inn Guesthouse. No free room tonight but we have two doubles for 100 rupee each. Once again there is Wi-Fi, charging points in the room, and the promise of hot water. It feels like we are glamping and not trekking.
After a protracted lunch it was time to brave the shower so I could get into some warmer clothes. The shower did not have much pressure but the piping hot water more than compensated for it. The bathroom even comes equipped with a very modern toilet cistern. James and I after a Dal Bhatt will surely punish that. With the access to Wi-Fi we decided to check the weather for the villages in front of us. Manang which we will reach in two days time is expecting a negative temperature during the day and dropping down to minus 10 degrees during the night. Afternoon rain is also expected. Well at least we know what we are heading into. Oy vey! That is enough rambling for today.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
The trek begins
Sunday 16th October – Detox Day or Just Relaxing
Shekhar and his staff cooked us up some fried eggs with potato and toast which really hit the spot. After breakfast we made a payment for 16 days of trekking ($16 or 1300rupees/porter), permits, accommodation and transport back to Besi Sahar. We also booked but have not paid for our flights back to Kathmandu which will cost about $US125. Not cheap but it will be worth it to avoid the long rough trip back. With the high finances over we took a walk down by the lake and arranged a couple of massages for 17:00. A little further along the waterfront I gave in to the juice salesman and had a detox drink of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. The price of 350 rupees was more than a happy hour beer but well worth it.
After a bit more walking and some last minute purchases by James we were ready for lunch. There are so many eateries to choose from but we could not resist one offering smashed avocado on toast with bacon and poached eggs. I continued my detox program with a cup of green tea and then a cup of ginger tea. Both were made with fresh ingredients and did not come in a tea bag. We had taken a footpath seat which is always a mistake as you are a target for every salesman and beggar that walks by. Our lunch eventually arrived and it definitely exceeded my expectations. It was the best poached egg that I have had in some time.
On returning to the hotel we retrieved the washing that we had done earlier this morning. This means that we will start the trek with a clean wardrobe. We then turned ourselves to the task of sorting and discarding the items for the trek. A monumental exercise but we now have our packs down to a manageable weight. With everything done we headed down to the lake front for our therapeutic massage. James and I shared the same room and two grown men in their undies is not the most pleasant of sights. Our massage began in earnest and both of us were squirming when they applied some real pressure into our knotty shoulders. The hour went quickly and hopefully the deep tissue massage will stand us in good stead when we start trekking tomorrow. To seal what was a pretty good day we, well I mean me enjoyed a large Nepali Ice beer at the happy hour price of 250 rupees. It was then off to the Pokhara version of the Everest Steak House where we enjoyed another top quality steak. I of course could not resist a couple of ice cold Gorkha beers.
Monday 17th October – Let The Trek Begin (Pokhara to Bahundanda 9+8km - 1310m)
Our taxi to Besi Sahar is booked for 8:00 so we took a leisurely breakfast and then finished our packing. It was time to meet our porters and we were a little surprised when I saw how old they were. They are mere boys when compared to us but they are 21 and 22 years of age. On questioning them we found out that their monikers were Khrishna and Tika with a combined experience of two or three treks between them. Well I suppose they have to get the experience from somewhere. I think my old friend Shekhar is making a few rupees out of this one. He should have tag teamed one of them with an experienced porter.
At 8:15 we all piled into the hatchback taxi. Obviously James was placed in the front seat while yours truly was sandwiched in the back. Our old driver was pretty experienced and he managed to safely weave his way out of Pokhara and onto the Prithvi Highway. The trip to the Dumre was unexciting and took about two hours. The driver who doesn’t say much took the turn off for Besi Sahar and soon had us moving along at a reasonable rate. That was until we caught up to one of the many buses that ply this route. I reckon that they must be on a 15 minute headway. It is difficult to pass them as the tarmac is only wide enough for 1.5 vehicles and the side of the road is mined with potholes. After a torturous, bumpy and squeezy hour we pulled up opposite the TIMS registration office at 11:35. The porters were hungry but we decided to purchase our bus tickets to Bhulbhule (600 rupees for 2/2). It was a smart move as the next bus was departing at midday.
The bus was on time and we were soon bumping our way along the goat track towards our destination. The road has improved since my last visit in 2012 but there are still plenty of hazards for the unsuspecting. These buses must be made of stern stuff as they take a real battering. Given the time of day it was only half full so we at least had a comfortable seat. I had heard that the road had been extended all the way to Manang but had not expected an extension up to Bahundanda. Anyway the bus just stopped along the road in the middle of nowhere whereupon the 15 year old conductor shouted Bhulbhule. We all piled out including a young French couple and started walking up the road in the direction of Ngadi. We reached there at 14:00 and decided that a late lunch was better than no lunch. I could see the tears of joy on the porter’s faces when we called a halt. James and I settled for our old lunch favourite which is garlic soup. It is guaranteed to ward off all sorts of maladies including advances from the opposite sex. We started off again at 14:30 as we wanted to reach our destination before dark and the last section is a long steep uphill climb. The pair of us were sweating like pigs as we hauled our sorry butts up the unforgiving slope. James who has not had the opportunity to train for the trek is really feeling it but he keeps plugging on. On the way up we were approached by a guy on a motorcycle proclaiming the virtues of his hotel. He weaved such a story that I thought we would be staying at the Hilton.
We eventually reached Bahundanda at 16:30 and collapsed into a chair. After a tour of the facilities I could tell that it wasn’t the Hilton. In fact one of my Dad’s old beach camps felt more homely. The saving grace however was that they had wi-fi which is something I have never had in Nepal whilst trekking. Our porters finally made it to the top and by the look on their faces they were done in. Their last job was to haul our bags up to our broom cupboard, oops I mean room. The hot shower did not eventuate but we were still hot enough not to care. The wi-fi however did work and I managed to contact Alice and have a trekking chat. After a good meal we hit the sack at 19:30. Even with the paper thin walls sleep came easy.
Tuesday 18th October – Lots of Waterfalls (Bahundanda to Chamche 12km - 1385m)
The other six trekkers that were staying at the salubrious North Pole Hotel started moving around at 6:00 as they wanted to be on the trail at 7:15. There were plenty of unsavoury noises emanating from all the rooms which meant it was time for breakfast. James and I had chosen the more sensible time of 7:00. After a decent omelet and a pot of tea was time to start walking. In the end we set off at 8:00 and were only a few minutes behind the other group. What goes up must go down and so it was for the first part of the trek this morning. We told the boys that we would meet them further down the trail and so we left them to their own devices. The trail is more or less the new road and the old trail overlapped. Fortunately for us at least there has been a couple of landsides which means there are no jeeps travelling in this section.
Our route took us through some thick verdant forest, past farms and included a few small creek crossings. Prior to reaching Ghermu there were a couple of spectacular waterfalls which had small rainbows. We passed the other group who decided to take a rest break in one of Ghermu’s restaurants. We crossed a large suspension bridge which gave us a great view of the spectacular waterfall at Syngae. After 2.5 hours of walking we decided to have a short break prior to heading off to Jagat.
This section basically follows the road but there are a couple of steep sections that really taxes the knees, legs and your wind. I went ahead to find a restaurant for lunch and left James to his own devices. We may have had a small breakdown in communication or I may have stuffed up but I chose the last restaurant in the village. James thought I had said the first restaurant and spent some before he tracked me down. I did however redeem myself by ordering him a bowl of onion and garlic soup which was laced with large pieces of both ingredients. As we were finishing our lunch our faithful porters arrived. They of course had a Dal Batt for lunch which seems to give them the energy to keep on going.
James and I set off at 12:30 and we both had no idea how long this section would take. We followed the road for a while and had great views of the boiling river below us. One of the small villages boasted access to a hot spring down by the river which was supposed to a twenty minute walk away. It was tempting but we want to spend the night in Chamche which has a special place in my heart but more of that when we arrive. Just beyond the village we had an opportunity to fast track it to Chamche by taking the low route along the road or the more challenging high route which was the old trail. The road less travelled was just for us and we were soon climbing upwards over an uneven trail that was slippery due to all the small waterfalls. When we crested the trail I was lathered in sweat. It was the good feeling you get when you conquer or master a difficult task. A little further on there was a good lodge called Rainbow View. It had spectacular views of the large waterfall on the adjacent side of the river and at the base there was a beautiful rainbow. Just past the lodge there was a strange sight. A soccer field had been constructed on the side of the mountain and it had a high wire fence to keep the ball from falling into the abyss. You would not like to fall over on the field as it is all dirt and stone without a single blade of grass. Twenty minutes later at 13:30 I arrived at Chamche.
I was going to have a look at a few hotels and then choose the best one for us. A young female at the Hotel Chamche tempted me to have a look at the rooms. They were definitely a large improvement on last night’s debacle and the shower was heated by gas. I feigned indifference and she then offered us free accommodation and 100 rupees off the Dal Batt. I could not resist the deal and signed off for the night. Now Chamche is close to my heart as in 2009 I stayed here with Jemma after she had gotten sick and it is the same hotel. The early finish to the day has given me the chance to catch up on the diary, wash some clothes and to give our legs a chance to recover. Most of the other groups have pushed onto Tal which is the next village. Oh, the shower was hot, the meal delicious and the wi-fi, yes wi-fi is working.
Shekhar and his staff cooked us up some fried eggs with potato and toast which really hit the spot. After breakfast we made a payment for 16 days of trekking ($16 or 1300rupees/porter), permits, accommodation and transport back to Besi Sahar. We also booked but have not paid for our flights back to Kathmandu which will cost about $US125. Not cheap but it will be worth it to avoid the long rough trip back. With the high finances over we took a walk down by the lake and arranged a couple of massages for 17:00. A little further along the waterfront I gave in to the juice salesman and had a detox drink of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. The price of 350 rupees was more than a happy hour beer but well worth it.
After a bit more walking and some last minute purchases by James we were ready for lunch. There are so many eateries to choose from but we could not resist one offering smashed avocado on toast with bacon and poached eggs. I continued my detox program with a cup of green tea and then a cup of ginger tea. Both were made with fresh ingredients and did not come in a tea bag. We had taken a footpath seat which is always a mistake as you are a target for every salesman and beggar that walks by. Our lunch eventually arrived and it definitely exceeded my expectations. It was the best poached egg that I have had in some time.
On returning to the hotel we retrieved the washing that we had done earlier this morning. This means that we will start the trek with a clean wardrobe. We then turned ourselves to the task of sorting and discarding the items for the trek. A monumental exercise but we now have our packs down to a manageable weight. With everything done we headed down to the lake front for our therapeutic massage. James and I shared the same room and two grown men in their undies is not the most pleasant of sights. Our massage began in earnest and both of us were squirming when they applied some real pressure into our knotty shoulders. The hour went quickly and hopefully the deep tissue massage will stand us in good stead when we start trekking tomorrow. To seal what was a pretty good day we, well I mean me enjoyed a large Nepali Ice beer at the happy hour price of 250 rupees. It was then off to the Pokhara version of the Everest Steak House where we enjoyed another top quality steak. I of course could not resist a couple of ice cold Gorkha beers.
Monday 17th October – Let The Trek Begin (Pokhara to Bahundanda 9+8km - 1310m)
Our taxi to Besi Sahar is booked for 8:00 so we took a leisurely breakfast and then finished our packing. It was time to meet our porters and we were a little surprised when I saw how old they were. They are mere boys when compared to us but they are 21 and 22 years of age. On questioning them we found out that their monikers were Khrishna and Tika with a combined experience of two or three treks between them. Well I suppose they have to get the experience from somewhere. I think my old friend Shekhar is making a few rupees out of this one. He should have tag teamed one of them with an experienced porter.
At 8:15 we all piled into the hatchback taxi. Obviously James was placed in the front seat while yours truly was sandwiched in the back. Our old driver was pretty experienced and he managed to safely weave his way out of Pokhara and onto the Prithvi Highway. The trip to the Dumre was unexciting and took about two hours. The driver who doesn’t say much took the turn off for Besi Sahar and soon had us moving along at a reasonable rate. That was until we caught up to one of the many buses that ply this route. I reckon that they must be on a 15 minute headway. It is difficult to pass them as the tarmac is only wide enough for 1.5 vehicles and the side of the road is mined with potholes. After a torturous, bumpy and squeezy hour we pulled up opposite the TIMS registration office at 11:35. The porters were hungry but we decided to purchase our bus tickets to Bhulbhule (600 rupees for 2/2). It was a smart move as the next bus was departing at midday.
The bus was on time and we were soon bumping our way along the goat track towards our destination. The road has improved since my last visit in 2012 but there are still plenty of hazards for the unsuspecting. These buses must be made of stern stuff as they take a real battering. Given the time of day it was only half full so we at least had a comfortable seat. I had heard that the road had been extended all the way to Manang but had not expected an extension up to Bahundanda. Anyway the bus just stopped along the road in the middle of nowhere whereupon the 15 year old conductor shouted Bhulbhule. We all piled out including a young French couple and started walking up the road in the direction of Ngadi. We reached there at 14:00 and decided that a late lunch was better than no lunch. I could see the tears of joy on the porter’s faces when we called a halt. James and I settled for our old lunch favourite which is garlic soup. It is guaranteed to ward off all sorts of maladies including advances from the opposite sex. We started off again at 14:30 as we wanted to reach our destination before dark and the last section is a long steep uphill climb. The pair of us were sweating like pigs as we hauled our sorry butts up the unforgiving slope. James who has not had the opportunity to train for the trek is really feeling it but he keeps plugging on. On the way up we were approached by a guy on a motorcycle proclaiming the virtues of his hotel. He weaved such a story that I thought we would be staying at the Hilton.
We eventually reached Bahundanda at 16:30 and collapsed into a chair. After a tour of the facilities I could tell that it wasn’t the Hilton. In fact one of my Dad’s old beach camps felt more homely. The saving grace however was that they had wi-fi which is something I have never had in Nepal whilst trekking. Our porters finally made it to the top and by the look on their faces they were done in. Their last job was to haul our bags up to our broom cupboard, oops I mean room. The hot shower did not eventuate but we were still hot enough not to care. The wi-fi however did work and I managed to contact Alice and have a trekking chat. After a good meal we hit the sack at 19:30. Even with the paper thin walls sleep came easy.
Tuesday 18th October – Lots of Waterfalls (Bahundanda to Chamche 12km - 1385m)
The other six trekkers that were staying at the salubrious North Pole Hotel started moving around at 6:00 as they wanted to be on the trail at 7:15. There were plenty of unsavoury noises emanating from all the rooms which meant it was time for breakfast. James and I had chosen the more sensible time of 7:00. After a decent omelet and a pot of tea was time to start walking. In the end we set off at 8:00 and were only a few minutes behind the other group. What goes up must go down and so it was for the first part of the trek this morning. We told the boys that we would meet them further down the trail and so we left them to their own devices. The trail is more or less the new road and the old trail overlapped. Fortunately for us at least there has been a couple of landsides which means there are no jeeps travelling in this section.
Our route took us through some thick verdant forest, past farms and included a few small creek crossings. Prior to reaching Ghermu there were a couple of spectacular waterfalls which had small rainbows. We passed the other group who decided to take a rest break in one of Ghermu’s restaurants. We crossed a large suspension bridge which gave us a great view of the spectacular waterfall at Syngae. After 2.5 hours of walking we decided to have a short break prior to heading off to Jagat.
This section basically follows the road but there are a couple of steep sections that really taxes the knees, legs and your wind. I went ahead to find a restaurant for lunch and left James to his own devices. We may have had a small breakdown in communication or I may have stuffed up but I chose the last restaurant in the village. James thought I had said the first restaurant and spent some before he tracked me down. I did however redeem myself by ordering him a bowl of onion and garlic soup which was laced with large pieces of both ingredients. As we were finishing our lunch our faithful porters arrived. They of course had a Dal Batt for lunch which seems to give them the energy to keep on going.
James and I set off at 12:30 and we both had no idea how long this section would take. We followed the road for a while and had great views of the boiling river below us. One of the small villages boasted access to a hot spring down by the river which was supposed to a twenty minute walk away. It was tempting but we want to spend the night in Chamche which has a special place in my heart but more of that when we arrive. Just beyond the village we had an opportunity to fast track it to Chamche by taking the low route along the road or the more challenging high route which was the old trail. The road less travelled was just for us and we were soon climbing upwards over an uneven trail that was slippery due to all the small waterfalls. When we crested the trail I was lathered in sweat. It was the good feeling you get when you conquer or master a difficult task. A little further on there was a good lodge called Rainbow View. It had spectacular views of the large waterfall on the adjacent side of the river and at the base there was a beautiful rainbow. Just past the lodge there was a strange sight. A soccer field had been constructed on the side of the mountain and it had a high wire fence to keep the ball from falling into the abyss. You would not like to fall over on the field as it is all dirt and stone without a single blade of grass. Twenty minutes later at 13:30 I arrived at Chamche.
I was going to have a look at a few hotels and then choose the best one for us. A young female at the Hotel Chamche tempted me to have a look at the rooms. They were definitely a large improvement on last night’s debacle and the shower was heated by gas. I feigned indifference and she then offered us free accommodation and 100 rupees off the Dal Batt. I could not resist the deal and signed off for the night. Now Chamche is close to my heart as in 2009 I stayed here with Jemma after she had gotten sick and it is the same hotel. The early finish to the day has given me the chance to catch up on the diary, wash some clothes and to give our legs a chance to recover. Most of the other groups have pushed onto Tal which is the next village. Oh, the shower was hot, the meal delicious and the wi-fi, yes wi-fi is working.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Dogmandu
Thursday 13th October – Porters and Permits
Apart from the barking dog we both managed a decent night’s sleep. I always think that Kathmandu should be renamed Dogmandu. We wandered downstairs at 8:00 and had a substantial breakfast that should keep us going for most of the day. Later in the morning I contacted Shekhar Pageni who manages a hotel in Pokhara. He is like Arthur Daley from Minder fame and Alice, Jemma, Telissa and I met him in 2009 in Pokhara. He is going to organize two porters for us and will charge 1300 rupees ($16) a day for each of us. There is still some coordination to work out and as we are hiring porters they need to be show on our TIM’s card (trekking permit). Presently we are waiting around for a mystery man who will arrive at the Tibet Peace Inn to organize the permits.
Well after a long wait we gave up waiting and headed off for some lunch. Along the way we advised the rafting agency that we would cancel if they did not have the required numbers by lunch time tomorrow. I needed a couple of items for the trek so we dropped into the Snowland trekking store which has served me well since 2005. My purchases were simple enough and they were able to supply me with a poncho, waterproof bag for my sleeping bag and a rain cover for the backpack. Our next stop was the Himalaya Java café which does a mean frozen mint lemonade. We chilled here for a couple of hours and I finished off with a expresso affogato. It was time to walk off our lunch so we hit the backstreets of Kathmandu for a couple of kilometres. We finished up on the Kitchen Curry rooftop and enjoyed a bit of people watching.
Our evening meal tonight was at an old restored Newari building called the Thamel House restaurant. I convinced James that we should try the buffet which has about ten traditional dishes. Some of the fare included bean curd soup, deep fried potato, lamb mince mo mos, wild boar, fish, grilled chicken, vegetable curry and back lentils. James couldn’t finish his meal but he did manage to squeeze in the yogurt and fruit salad desert. During dinner we were treated to some traditional Nepali dancing. I finished off with some rice wine which warmed up the old cockles. The meal and drinks set us back about $18 each which was expensive by Kathmandu standards but well worth it. It was a good end to a relaxing day.
Friday 14th October – A Change of Plans
Due to an increase in the number of guest’s breakfast this morning was more of a buffet. The food was similar to yesterday however the Bain Marie only kept it lukewarm. The tomato omelet however was freshly cooked and delicious. James adjourned to the room and while I was immersed in the Kathmandu Post the mystery man arrived. Shekhar’s friend was here to get copies of our passports and a photo which he was going to forward to Pokhora so we could get our TIMS and ACAP permits. He was a nice man and seemed to know what he was doing.
After sorting out our bags we headed off for a walk around the shops. Just before lunch we dropped into the rafting agency and to our disappointment they did not have the necessary numbers for the trip tomorrow. We ended up cancelling the trip and will now travel to Pokhora tomorrow. To achieve this goal we headed up to the Greenline Bus company and purchased two tickets. They were $US25 each but that includes travel insurance, water and lunch at a decent restaurant. The only downside is that we have to be at the bus depot at 7:00 in the morning.
With our business dealings over it was off to our favourite lunch place, the Pumpernickel Café. We ordered a fresh roll with goat cheese and a slice of ham which was really corn meat. It was delicious and the garden setting at the back of the café gives you a break from the hustle and noise of Thamel. With some time to kill we took a stroll down to Durbar Square to see what damage had been done in the 2015 earthquake. We did get sidetracked when on a side alley we spotted an interesting stupa. It was called Kathesimbhu Stupa and it radiated with colourful prayer flags and stone statues. Further on we passed a number of dentist shops which advertised their prowess with signs showing a grinning mouthful of teeth. At nearby Bangemudha Square there is a wooden shrine to the toothache god. It was easy to navigate our way as all we had to do was follow the yellow brick road or more truthfully the road was paved with stones. There were also plenty of locals on the move as they continued to celebrate the Dashain festival. We both reneged on paying the 1000 rupee cover charge as the sign outside proclaimed that at least 50 percent of the temples were damaged and many others were partially damaged. This was evidenced by the number of timber props we could see holding up sagging walls. Nevertheless it was a good walk and gave us a good workout.
Prior to dinner we thought we would visit a bar near our hotel that was called the Hole in the Wall. As we approached I could hear the strains of Johnny Cash being belted out of a speaker. I thought this is for me and ventured up the narrow staircase to a very small room. It definitely was a hole in the wall as it made my back deck look as big as Boondall Entertainment Centre. The owner is a young Nepali around 25 years old with a taste in music that brings a tear to this old fella’s eyes. His signage promised a cold beer and he delivered in spades. Slowly sipping my Nepal Tiger beer I couldn’t help but admire the old gramophone and posters that adorned the walls. There are a couple of other floors all of the same shoebox size. We left to the sounds of the Doors blasting out Changeling from their L.A. Woman album. Ah! Sweet memories and we’ll be back for more. Dinner tonight was at the Mountain Steakhouse which has taken over from my old favourite the Everest Steakhouse. The menu is the same with great cuts of beef that they import from Calcutta but sadly it has lost a lot of its charm as the old décor has all but disappeared. The manager who worked for the Everest Steakhouse told me that the old owner had gotten sick and sold up the business. On a side note the steaks are still delicious.
It is an early night for us as we have to be up at 6:00 so we can catch our bus to Pokhara.
Saturday 15th October – The Never Ending Journey (206km)
Well we did wake up just before the alarm went off and even had time for a cup of coffee. The Tibet Peace Inn has been a good spot to stay and as a bonus they even prepared a takeaway breakfast for us. James and I shouldered our backpacks and set off up the street en-route to the Greenline Bus depot. We hadn’t walked more than 20 metres when the first taxi driver stopped and asked if we wanted to avail ourselves of his services. Along with the rickshaw riders this scene was repeated many times as we trudged the 15 minutes to the depot. After loading our bags onto the bus we still had another 25 minutes to kill prior to our 7:30 departure. Our packed breakfast came in handy and I had soon eaten a couple of bananas and a boiled egg.
Finally, we were on our way and making good time through the suburbs of Kathmandu. In general the road wasn’t too bad but there are still plenty of sections that are quite potholed. The main thoroughfare to Pokhara is the Prithvi Highway and as soon as we started our descent into the valley of the Mahesh Khola we came to a standstill. Most of the trouble is caused by buses and trucks that cannot pass each other on the tight hairpin turns. It was stop, start for about 45 minutes before we were able to break free from the jam. The vehicles going up the hill were going to take a lot longer to clear. With all the delays, stopping, starting and potholes could feel a code yellow coming on. To relieve the pressure on my bladder I stood in the aisle for about twenty minutes. In the end I succumbed and knocked on the door of the driver’s cabin. I mumbled toilet please and within five minutes we had pulled over at a rest stop for a break and morning tea. I was the first out of the bus but there were a few others who were obviously in the same boat.
After a fifteen minute break we were on our way again and as there was a spare seat at the front I abandoned James for a window view. The road continued to follow the twisting, contorting Trisuli River passing the minor towns of Bhaireni where many white-water rafting companies set off from and Malekhu which is famous for its smoked river fish. We stopped for lunch at 11:30 at the River Side Springs Resort. It seemed to be popular with the Chinese as many of them were staying in the resort and enjoying the tranquility of the river as well as the swimming pools. The set menu of chicken and dal baht wasn’t too bad either.
With lunch over we hit the highway and four kilometres down the road we stopped. The problem was that a huge number of locals were wanting to visit the Manakamana Temple. Parking was at a premium which caused a massive traffic jam especially in the other direction. There is an Austrian engineered cable car that soars up an impossibly steep hillside to the temple that attracts all of the Hindu devotees. Once through the traffic jam it did not take long to reach Mugling which is the turnoff for Chitwan and Pokhara which is another 96km away. The next major town is Dumre which is the turn-off for Besi Sahar the starting point of the Annapurna Circuit. We will be back this way again on Monday. I could feel another code yellow coming on but luckily the driver pulled over for a rest break. The last hour of the journey went slowly and James felt a bit off when we finally reached Pokhara. The journey time was 8.5 hours and we made a resolution to take the 30 minute flight back to Kathmandu at the end of the trek.
Shekhar whom I immediately recognized was waiting at the bus terminal for us. He soon had us in a taxi which soon had us at his hotel the Global Inn. We chatted for a while about our families and I found out that his daughter is now married and living at Mowbray Park in Brisbane. There were no deluxe rooms available so we had to settle for the standard 2000 rupee room. It is comfortable and will serve its purpose for the next two nights. In the early evening we went for a stroll and were amazed at the number of people who were out and about. We eventually took a table at the Godfather Restaurant who were offering ice cold San Miguel beers for 250 rupees. There are no prizes for guessing their specialty however we opted for a pasta dish which we added some extras too. I thought that I would watch a little television but before I knew it I was chasing out the zzz’s.
Apart from the barking dog we both managed a decent night’s sleep. I always think that Kathmandu should be renamed Dogmandu. We wandered downstairs at 8:00 and had a substantial breakfast that should keep us going for most of the day. Later in the morning I contacted Shekhar Pageni who manages a hotel in Pokhara. He is like Arthur Daley from Minder fame and Alice, Jemma, Telissa and I met him in 2009 in Pokhara. He is going to organize two porters for us and will charge 1300 rupees ($16) a day for each of us. There is still some coordination to work out and as we are hiring porters they need to be show on our TIM’s card (trekking permit). Presently we are waiting around for a mystery man who will arrive at the Tibet Peace Inn to organize the permits.
Well after a long wait we gave up waiting and headed off for some lunch. Along the way we advised the rafting agency that we would cancel if they did not have the required numbers by lunch time tomorrow. I needed a couple of items for the trek so we dropped into the Snowland trekking store which has served me well since 2005. My purchases were simple enough and they were able to supply me with a poncho, waterproof bag for my sleeping bag and a rain cover for the backpack. Our next stop was the Himalaya Java café which does a mean frozen mint lemonade. We chilled here for a couple of hours and I finished off with a expresso affogato. It was time to walk off our lunch so we hit the backstreets of Kathmandu for a couple of kilometres. We finished up on the Kitchen Curry rooftop and enjoyed a bit of people watching.
Our evening meal tonight was at an old restored Newari building called the Thamel House restaurant. I convinced James that we should try the buffet which has about ten traditional dishes. Some of the fare included bean curd soup, deep fried potato, lamb mince mo mos, wild boar, fish, grilled chicken, vegetable curry and back lentils. James couldn’t finish his meal but he did manage to squeeze in the yogurt and fruit salad desert. During dinner we were treated to some traditional Nepali dancing. I finished off with some rice wine which warmed up the old cockles. The meal and drinks set us back about $18 each which was expensive by Kathmandu standards but well worth it. It was a good end to a relaxing day.
Friday 14th October – A Change of Plans
Due to an increase in the number of guest’s breakfast this morning was more of a buffet. The food was similar to yesterday however the Bain Marie only kept it lukewarm. The tomato omelet however was freshly cooked and delicious. James adjourned to the room and while I was immersed in the Kathmandu Post the mystery man arrived. Shekhar’s friend was here to get copies of our passports and a photo which he was going to forward to Pokhora so we could get our TIMS and ACAP permits. He was a nice man and seemed to know what he was doing.
After sorting out our bags we headed off for a walk around the shops. Just before lunch we dropped into the rafting agency and to our disappointment they did not have the necessary numbers for the trip tomorrow. We ended up cancelling the trip and will now travel to Pokhora tomorrow. To achieve this goal we headed up to the Greenline Bus company and purchased two tickets. They were $US25 each but that includes travel insurance, water and lunch at a decent restaurant. The only downside is that we have to be at the bus depot at 7:00 in the morning.
With our business dealings over it was off to our favourite lunch place, the Pumpernickel Café. We ordered a fresh roll with goat cheese and a slice of ham which was really corn meat. It was delicious and the garden setting at the back of the café gives you a break from the hustle and noise of Thamel. With some time to kill we took a stroll down to Durbar Square to see what damage had been done in the 2015 earthquake. We did get sidetracked when on a side alley we spotted an interesting stupa. It was called Kathesimbhu Stupa and it radiated with colourful prayer flags and stone statues. Further on we passed a number of dentist shops which advertised their prowess with signs showing a grinning mouthful of teeth. At nearby Bangemudha Square there is a wooden shrine to the toothache god. It was easy to navigate our way as all we had to do was follow the yellow brick road or more truthfully the road was paved with stones. There were also plenty of locals on the move as they continued to celebrate the Dashain festival. We both reneged on paying the 1000 rupee cover charge as the sign outside proclaimed that at least 50 percent of the temples were damaged and many others were partially damaged. This was evidenced by the number of timber props we could see holding up sagging walls. Nevertheless it was a good walk and gave us a good workout.
Prior to dinner we thought we would visit a bar near our hotel that was called the Hole in the Wall. As we approached I could hear the strains of Johnny Cash being belted out of a speaker. I thought this is for me and ventured up the narrow staircase to a very small room. It definitely was a hole in the wall as it made my back deck look as big as Boondall Entertainment Centre. The owner is a young Nepali around 25 years old with a taste in music that brings a tear to this old fella’s eyes. His signage promised a cold beer and he delivered in spades. Slowly sipping my Nepal Tiger beer I couldn’t help but admire the old gramophone and posters that adorned the walls. There are a couple of other floors all of the same shoebox size. We left to the sounds of the Doors blasting out Changeling from their L.A. Woman album. Ah! Sweet memories and we’ll be back for more. Dinner tonight was at the Mountain Steakhouse which has taken over from my old favourite the Everest Steakhouse. The menu is the same with great cuts of beef that they import from Calcutta but sadly it has lost a lot of its charm as the old décor has all but disappeared. The manager who worked for the Everest Steakhouse told me that the old owner had gotten sick and sold up the business. On a side note the steaks are still delicious.
It is an early night for us as we have to be up at 6:00 so we can catch our bus to Pokhara.
Saturday 15th October – The Never Ending Journey (206km)
Well we did wake up just before the alarm went off and even had time for a cup of coffee. The Tibet Peace Inn has been a good spot to stay and as a bonus they even prepared a takeaway breakfast for us. James and I shouldered our backpacks and set off up the street en-route to the Greenline Bus depot. We hadn’t walked more than 20 metres when the first taxi driver stopped and asked if we wanted to avail ourselves of his services. Along with the rickshaw riders this scene was repeated many times as we trudged the 15 minutes to the depot. After loading our bags onto the bus we still had another 25 minutes to kill prior to our 7:30 departure. Our packed breakfast came in handy and I had soon eaten a couple of bananas and a boiled egg.
Finally, we were on our way and making good time through the suburbs of Kathmandu. In general the road wasn’t too bad but there are still plenty of sections that are quite potholed. The main thoroughfare to Pokhara is the Prithvi Highway and as soon as we started our descent into the valley of the Mahesh Khola we came to a standstill. Most of the trouble is caused by buses and trucks that cannot pass each other on the tight hairpin turns. It was stop, start for about 45 minutes before we were able to break free from the jam. The vehicles going up the hill were going to take a lot longer to clear. With all the delays, stopping, starting and potholes could feel a code yellow coming on. To relieve the pressure on my bladder I stood in the aisle for about twenty minutes. In the end I succumbed and knocked on the door of the driver’s cabin. I mumbled toilet please and within five minutes we had pulled over at a rest stop for a break and morning tea. I was the first out of the bus but there were a few others who were obviously in the same boat.
After a fifteen minute break we were on our way again and as there was a spare seat at the front I abandoned James for a window view. The road continued to follow the twisting, contorting Trisuli River passing the minor towns of Bhaireni where many white-water rafting companies set off from and Malekhu which is famous for its smoked river fish. We stopped for lunch at 11:30 at the River Side Springs Resort. It seemed to be popular with the Chinese as many of them were staying in the resort and enjoying the tranquility of the river as well as the swimming pools. The set menu of chicken and dal baht wasn’t too bad either.
With lunch over we hit the highway and four kilometres down the road we stopped. The problem was that a huge number of locals were wanting to visit the Manakamana Temple. Parking was at a premium which caused a massive traffic jam especially in the other direction. There is an Austrian engineered cable car that soars up an impossibly steep hillside to the temple that attracts all of the Hindu devotees. Once through the traffic jam it did not take long to reach Mugling which is the turnoff for Chitwan and Pokhara which is another 96km away. The next major town is Dumre which is the turn-off for Besi Sahar the starting point of the Annapurna Circuit. We will be back this way again on Monday. I could feel another code yellow coming on but luckily the driver pulled over for a rest break. The last hour of the journey went slowly and James felt a bit off when we finally reached Pokhara. The journey time was 8.5 hours and we made a resolution to take the 30 minute flight back to Kathmandu at the end of the trek.
Shekhar whom I immediately recognized was waiting at the bus terminal for us. He soon had us in a taxi which soon had us at his hotel the Global Inn. We chatted for a while about our families and I found out that his daughter is now married and living at Mowbray Park in Brisbane. There were no deluxe rooms available so we had to settle for the standard 2000 rupee room. It is comfortable and will serve its purpose for the next two nights. In the early evening we went for a stroll and were amazed at the number of people who were out and about. We eventually took a table at the Godfather Restaurant who were offering ice cold San Miguel beers for 250 rupees. There are no prizes for guessing their specialty however we opted for a pasta dish which we added some extras too. I thought that I would watch a little television but before I knew it I was chasing out the zzz’s.
Not Nepal Agan
Monday 10th October – Nothing To Declare
The good news for me is that today I’m off on another adventure to Kathmandu for a trek around the Annupurna Circuit. Accompanying me on this epic journey is my young partner in crime James of TransLink fame. With typical transport precision we timed our arrival at Brisbane International Airport within minutes of each other. After a big hug from Alice, James and I entered the sacred transit hall where we lined up in a short queue at the Thai Air check-in counter. The tip here is make sure you check-in online and thus save lining up in the conga line. To quote Thai everything including immigration was as smooth as silk.
The only issue was that Thai announced that the plane was delayed by 90 minutes so our take-off was now timed for 15:30. No problem as my Priority Pass would for a small fee give us access to the new business class lounge. Entry did not include alcohol but that was of no concern given the time of day. The surroundings, wi-fi, food and coffee were all excellent which made our stay very relaxing. By 14:30 our aircraft had yet to arrive at the departure gate so we assumed we would be delayed further. We happened to glance up at the departure screen and saw our epitaph “FLIGHT CANCELLED”. Without any prompting we both sprang into dynamic action and headed down to gate 79 where our flight was supposed to depart from. We had walked into a maelstrom, absolute chaos as overwhelmed Thai staff tried to explain what was to follow. Essentially we had to fill in an arrival card, then walk down the ramp as if we were boarding our aircraft and then hang a left so we could exit onto the arrival floor. The process after that was similar to when you arrive. It was a quick walk through duty free where I was tempted to see if we could buy anything which was followed by immigration. As we headed towards the baggage carousel I quipped to Border Control “Nothing to Declare”. After picking up our luggage we exited back into the outside world and thus ending my quickest trip out of Australia.
Our ordeal wasn’t over as we had to join a very long queue where Thai staff was issuing accommodation and transport vouchers. In the end James and I wrote our details on the boarding passes and handed them to a Thai representative. As we were from Brisbane we did not have to wait but we would have to return to the international terminal the next day at 10:00am at which time we would know our fate. The staff was absolutely winging it (nice analogy) and seemed to have no idea on how the process should work when a flight was cancelled. There was also no explanation as to why the flight was cancelled. The only saving grace was that Alice had not departed for the wilds of Currimundi and was able to pick us up. We dropped James at home just before four with plans to pick him up the next day at nine.
Later in the evening I started the process of rebooking our accommodation in Bangkok and Kathmandu. Given the late notice we will most likely have to pay for the cancelled nights. The travel insurance will not cover it as the excess is $200 and as usual I have booked rooms that are under $40 a night. We may be able to claim something back at a later date from Thai Airways. There were no messages from Thai so on spec I thought I would check my booking. Low and behold there was a fatal error message but there were details of a flight to Bangkok via Melbourne the next day. It was getting late so I contacted the Thai 24 hour number in Bangkok who forwarded me a copy of our new flight details. I gave James a call and he checked his details and came up with the same result. By 10:30pm we had worked out that we would meet at the domestic terminal around 8:30am where we would catch the 10:00am QANTAS flight to Melbourne.
Tuesday 11th October – Milk Run to Bangkok
Alice and Bob drove me to the airport and once again James and I coordinated our arrival to near perfection. It was so perfect that we just beat a busload of other stranded passengers to the QANTAS check-in counter. They were expecting us but the system wasn’t. The QANTAS staff were great and we soon had our boarding passes for Melbourne and our bags checked through to Bangkok. By 9:00 James was tucking into a couple of Vietnamese vegetable rolls while I checked my messages. He also tried to contact the Brisbane Thai office but that was an exercise in futility as they were not answering their phones. The irony of it all was that we would have missed this flight if we had relied on Thai Airways contacting us. James’ sister did receive a call from them at 8:40am but that would have been too late for him to make this flight.
The flight down went smoothly and as soon as we landed we high tailed it to the international terminal. It was about a 10 minute walk and as a result of our speed we were second in line for the disenfranchised Brisbane. The Thai check-in lady was exceptional as she booked us through to Kathmandu and without too much cajoling from James gave us the exit row seats. The staff were told not to upgrade any of the Brisbane passengers or provide them with meal vouchers. It was a pretty poor effort from Thai management given the inconvenience that the cancellation caused. Nevertheless all of the passengers were in good spirits and looking forward to their shortened holiday.
James did finally get on to the Brisbane office but couldn’t get any satisfaction from them. There was an apology but no recognition of the poor effort they made in contacting customers. I don’t know where we would have been had we not looked at our booking on-line. From that conversation we have deduced that our flight was diverted into Bali due to mechanical issues and they have a couple of hundred Brisbane bound passengers stranded there. I suppose I could think of worse places to be stranded.
After an easy passage through immigration and security we killed a couple of hours over an expensive airport steak sandwich. Take off was scheduled for 16:15 and we were hurtling down the runway soon after that. Our aircraft looks like it has seen better days as it rattled and squealed as it headed up into the stratosphere. Our seats are excellent as we can stretch right out and relax without anyone in front of us reclining their seats into your knees. The hosties were excellent and kept me well lubricated with water, wine and a couple of meals. After two movies I grabbed a little shuteye and perhaps it was the small snifter of cognac that according to James caused me to drool. Anyway we had a tailwind which got us into Bangkok 30 minutes early and the opportunity to reach our hotel before 22:30.
James and I put on our speed boots and did a half marathon to the immigration counter where much to my surprise there were no queues. We sped through immigration and after clearing customs were soon at the carousel. Our speed was so good that we beat our baggage by about ten minutes. We are staying tonight at the Silver Gold Garden hotel which offers a transfer to and from the airport. It is a budget hotel and at $31 for a double, transfers and breakfast it is a bargain. We found the transfer section and about 10 minutes later we were on our way to the hotel. After checking in we made a bee-line to the local Tesco store and purchased some water and snack food. It has been a long day and the bed looks inviting. Oh! By the way we do have twin beds.
Wednesday 12th October –Back to Kathmandu
Despite me getting up and down a few times throughout the night James did manage to get some sleep and gave a good impression of a faulty chainsaw. Seriously though I did get a good night’s sleep and awoke just before the alarm went off at 6:00. This will give us enough time to clean up and have breakfast before catching the 7:30 shuttle to the airport. The buffet breakfast down by the canal was a simple fare but the fried rice was a standout. By the time we finished the shuttle was ready to leave so we joined the rest of the guests and were at the airport just before 8:00.
We were lucky having our boarding passes as this allowed us to just drop our bags off. Within minutes we were through security and immigration and heading off to find a coffee shop. There was a Burger King but we sidestepped them and took a seat at Starbucks to while away the time. I could feel the death adder in my wallet as I parted with a 165 baht ($6.20) for a large cappuccino. The coffee was okay but it did give us a chance to logon and ring home with an update on our progress. The flight departed on time and just over 3 hours later we touched down in Kathmandu.
Immigration in Kathmandu is usually a nightmare as everyone is vying to be first in line in order to facilitate a smooth transition into this mountain kingdom. James and I were among the first off the plane and as we hit the tarmac, it is old school here as you have to descend down steps, and did our fast walk into the immigration hall. I thought I knew what I was doing and ignored James’ advice and headed straight to the immigration counter. It turned out that we needed to purchase our visa ($US40 for 30days) at another counter. Bugger our advantage was lost but fortunately the visa payment line wasn’t too long and within ten minutes we were back where we started. I left James at immigration and headed down to the baggage collection area. Nothing in Nepal is ever simple as you have to put your carry-on luggage through security to access the baggage area. It was a sea of chaos as everyone was jockeying for a position in a very cramped area. I eventually saw our bags on the carousel and elbowed my way through the masses to retrieve them. James arrived just as his jumbo pack appeared.
Outside it was a sea of tranquility as all the touts for the various hotels and taxis were kept at bay by a stout iron fence. James spotted a wizened old man holding a placard with my name on it and the hotel where we are staying. He guided us to a minivan where our bags were stowed. For his troubles I gave him the $US1 note that Alice had found in her stash of foreign currency a few days before. The trip to our hotel the Tibet Peace Inn was surreal as there was hardly any traffic on the roads. It is normally teeming with traffic with blaring horns and suicide motorcycle riders. We did find out that it was a holiday as the Nepali’s a celebrating their Daisan Festival.
At the hotel they were very welcoming however we were a little shocked at having to pay $US10 for the taxi. I must be getting tighter or maybe it is the principle of being ripped off that I don’t like but it was only $4 more than it should have been. Our room although small for two big men is clean and functional and good value. There is cable television and wi-fi in the room. There is also backup electricity for when the power shedding is on. After settling in we went for a walk and have made a booking for a two day rafting trip on the Bote Koshe River. We are opening our wallets on this trip as it is $US130 per person. For the trip to come off they need three more passengers so we will see what happens. Back at the hotel we had some good news as the manager will not charge us for the night we missed on Tuesday.
We finished our day off at the Roadhouse Café in Thamel where they specialize in wood fired pizzas. The place was packed which is a good sign so we had to take a seat at the bar. Our pizza arrived fairly promptly and was delicious. After the trials of the last three days we were ready for an early night.
The good news for me is that today I’m off on another adventure to Kathmandu for a trek around the Annupurna Circuit. Accompanying me on this epic journey is my young partner in crime James of TransLink fame. With typical transport precision we timed our arrival at Brisbane International Airport within minutes of each other. After a big hug from Alice, James and I entered the sacred transit hall where we lined up in a short queue at the Thai Air check-in counter. The tip here is make sure you check-in online and thus save lining up in the conga line. To quote Thai everything including immigration was as smooth as silk.
The only issue was that Thai announced that the plane was delayed by 90 minutes so our take-off was now timed for 15:30. No problem as my Priority Pass would for a small fee give us access to the new business class lounge. Entry did not include alcohol but that was of no concern given the time of day. The surroundings, wi-fi, food and coffee were all excellent which made our stay very relaxing. By 14:30 our aircraft had yet to arrive at the departure gate so we assumed we would be delayed further. We happened to glance up at the departure screen and saw our epitaph “FLIGHT CANCELLED”. Without any prompting we both sprang into dynamic action and headed down to gate 79 where our flight was supposed to depart from. We had walked into a maelstrom, absolute chaos as overwhelmed Thai staff tried to explain what was to follow. Essentially we had to fill in an arrival card, then walk down the ramp as if we were boarding our aircraft and then hang a left so we could exit onto the arrival floor. The process after that was similar to when you arrive. It was a quick walk through duty free where I was tempted to see if we could buy anything which was followed by immigration. As we headed towards the baggage carousel I quipped to Border Control “Nothing to Declare”. After picking up our luggage we exited back into the outside world and thus ending my quickest trip out of Australia.
Our ordeal wasn’t over as we had to join a very long queue where Thai staff was issuing accommodation and transport vouchers. In the end James and I wrote our details on the boarding passes and handed them to a Thai representative. As we were from Brisbane we did not have to wait but we would have to return to the international terminal the next day at 10:00am at which time we would know our fate. The staff was absolutely winging it (nice analogy) and seemed to have no idea on how the process should work when a flight was cancelled. There was also no explanation as to why the flight was cancelled. The only saving grace was that Alice had not departed for the wilds of Currimundi and was able to pick us up. We dropped James at home just before four with plans to pick him up the next day at nine.
Later in the evening I started the process of rebooking our accommodation in Bangkok and Kathmandu. Given the late notice we will most likely have to pay for the cancelled nights. The travel insurance will not cover it as the excess is $200 and as usual I have booked rooms that are under $40 a night. We may be able to claim something back at a later date from Thai Airways. There were no messages from Thai so on spec I thought I would check my booking. Low and behold there was a fatal error message but there were details of a flight to Bangkok via Melbourne the next day. It was getting late so I contacted the Thai 24 hour number in Bangkok who forwarded me a copy of our new flight details. I gave James a call and he checked his details and came up with the same result. By 10:30pm we had worked out that we would meet at the domestic terminal around 8:30am where we would catch the 10:00am QANTAS flight to Melbourne.
Tuesday 11th October – Milk Run to Bangkok
Alice and Bob drove me to the airport and once again James and I coordinated our arrival to near perfection. It was so perfect that we just beat a busload of other stranded passengers to the QANTAS check-in counter. They were expecting us but the system wasn’t. The QANTAS staff were great and we soon had our boarding passes for Melbourne and our bags checked through to Bangkok. By 9:00 James was tucking into a couple of Vietnamese vegetable rolls while I checked my messages. He also tried to contact the Brisbane Thai office but that was an exercise in futility as they were not answering their phones. The irony of it all was that we would have missed this flight if we had relied on Thai Airways contacting us. James’ sister did receive a call from them at 8:40am but that would have been too late for him to make this flight.
The flight down went smoothly and as soon as we landed we high tailed it to the international terminal. It was about a 10 minute walk and as a result of our speed we were second in line for the disenfranchised Brisbane. The Thai check-in lady was exceptional as she booked us through to Kathmandu and without too much cajoling from James gave us the exit row seats. The staff were told not to upgrade any of the Brisbane passengers or provide them with meal vouchers. It was a pretty poor effort from Thai management given the inconvenience that the cancellation caused. Nevertheless all of the passengers were in good spirits and looking forward to their shortened holiday.
James did finally get on to the Brisbane office but couldn’t get any satisfaction from them. There was an apology but no recognition of the poor effort they made in contacting customers. I don’t know where we would have been had we not looked at our booking on-line. From that conversation we have deduced that our flight was diverted into Bali due to mechanical issues and they have a couple of hundred Brisbane bound passengers stranded there. I suppose I could think of worse places to be stranded.
After an easy passage through immigration and security we killed a couple of hours over an expensive airport steak sandwich. Take off was scheduled for 16:15 and we were hurtling down the runway soon after that. Our aircraft looks like it has seen better days as it rattled and squealed as it headed up into the stratosphere. Our seats are excellent as we can stretch right out and relax without anyone in front of us reclining their seats into your knees. The hosties were excellent and kept me well lubricated with water, wine and a couple of meals. After two movies I grabbed a little shuteye and perhaps it was the small snifter of cognac that according to James caused me to drool. Anyway we had a tailwind which got us into Bangkok 30 minutes early and the opportunity to reach our hotel before 22:30.
James and I put on our speed boots and did a half marathon to the immigration counter where much to my surprise there were no queues. We sped through immigration and after clearing customs were soon at the carousel. Our speed was so good that we beat our baggage by about ten minutes. We are staying tonight at the Silver Gold Garden hotel which offers a transfer to and from the airport. It is a budget hotel and at $31 for a double, transfers and breakfast it is a bargain. We found the transfer section and about 10 minutes later we were on our way to the hotel. After checking in we made a bee-line to the local Tesco store and purchased some water and snack food. It has been a long day and the bed looks inviting. Oh! By the way we do have twin beds.
Wednesday 12th October –Back to Kathmandu
Despite me getting up and down a few times throughout the night James did manage to get some sleep and gave a good impression of a faulty chainsaw. Seriously though I did get a good night’s sleep and awoke just before the alarm went off at 6:00. This will give us enough time to clean up and have breakfast before catching the 7:30 shuttle to the airport. The buffet breakfast down by the canal was a simple fare but the fried rice was a standout. By the time we finished the shuttle was ready to leave so we joined the rest of the guests and were at the airport just before 8:00.
We were lucky having our boarding passes as this allowed us to just drop our bags off. Within minutes we were through security and immigration and heading off to find a coffee shop. There was a Burger King but we sidestepped them and took a seat at Starbucks to while away the time. I could feel the death adder in my wallet as I parted with a 165 baht ($6.20) for a large cappuccino. The coffee was okay but it did give us a chance to logon and ring home with an update on our progress. The flight departed on time and just over 3 hours later we touched down in Kathmandu.
Immigration in Kathmandu is usually a nightmare as everyone is vying to be first in line in order to facilitate a smooth transition into this mountain kingdom. James and I were among the first off the plane and as we hit the tarmac, it is old school here as you have to descend down steps, and did our fast walk into the immigration hall. I thought I knew what I was doing and ignored James’ advice and headed straight to the immigration counter. It turned out that we needed to purchase our visa ($US40 for 30days) at another counter. Bugger our advantage was lost but fortunately the visa payment line wasn’t too long and within ten minutes we were back where we started. I left James at immigration and headed down to the baggage collection area. Nothing in Nepal is ever simple as you have to put your carry-on luggage through security to access the baggage area. It was a sea of chaos as everyone was jockeying for a position in a very cramped area. I eventually saw our bags on the carousel and elbowed my way through the masses to retrieve them. James arrived just as his jumbo pack appeared.
Outside it was a sea of tranquility as all the touts for the various hotels and taxis were kept at bay by a stout iron fence. James spotted a wizened old man holding a placard with my name on it and the hotel where we are staying. He guided us to a minivan where our bags were stowed. For his troubles I gave him the $US1 note that Alice had found in her stash of foreign currency a few days before. The trip to our hotel the Tibet Peace Inn was surreal as there was hardly any traffic on the roads. It is normally teeming with traffic with blaring horns and suicide motorcycle riders. We did find out that it was a holiday as the Nepali’s a celebrating their Daisan Festival.
At the hotel they were very welcoming however we were a little shocked at having to pay $US10 for the taxi. I must be getting tighter or maybe it is the principle of being ripped off that I don’t like but it was only $4 more than it should have been. Our room although small for two big men is clean and functional and good value. There is cable television and wi-fi in the room. There is also backup electricity for when the power shedding is on. After settling in we went for a walk and have made a booking for a two day rafting trip on the Bote Koshe River. We are opening our wallets on this trip as it is $US130 per person. For the trip to come off they need three more passengers so we will see what happens. Back at the hotel we had some good news as the manager will not charge us for the night we missed on Tuesday.
We finished our day off at the Roadhouse Café in Thamel where they specialize in wood fired pizzas. The place was packed which is a good sign so we had to take a seat at the bar. Our pizza arrived fairly promptly and was delicious. After the trials of the last three days we were ready for an early night.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Sri Lanka Vacation - Test Cricket and a train trip
Wednesday 27th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 2 First Cricket Test
Well the weather is okay today so it is off to the cricket for day 2 of the test match. My driver was running a little late because he grabbed a last minute fare down into town. Nevertheless I wasn’t too late in picking up Shane and Rhoda from Perth who have been gracious enough to share the day and the tuk tuk with me. We arrived at the stadium at 9:55 and to our chagrin the game had started at 9:45 and Steve Smith was dismissed just before we took our seats. It was a good morning for Sri Lanka as they took a couple of early wickets before Marsh and Voges consolidated the innings with a 50 plus partnership.
After lunch the fall of wickets continued and we were all out for 202. Nathan Lyon added a few timely runs to nudge us over this psychological barrier. There was 30 minutes before the tea break which meant our fast bowlers could really have a go at them. Hazlewood claimed the first wicket to have Sri Lanka at 1 for 6. That was all she wrote as the rain started to fall immediately after the wicket fell. Shane and I ordered a couple of beers in an effort to wait out the rain. It was to no avail as the days play was abandoned at around 3:45. I had preempted the state of play and our driver showed up at 4:05 and took us back to Kandy. It looks like I will get to use my day 3 ticket after all. Shane and Rhoda are moving on tomorrow but we may catch up on day 1 in Galle.
Tonight I have invited my driver out for dinner and the location of course is the Garden Café. It was another decent meal which set me back the astronomical sum of Rs 660 ($6).
Thursday 28th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 3 First Cricket Test
Well I still can’t believe the irony that the cost of the entrance fee to the cricket is eight times cheaper than my tuk tuk ride which got me to the game on time to watch the first over of today’s play. Australia soon had an early wicket and Sri Lanka was reeling at 2 for 6. We were looking the goods when Mathews departed with the score now 4 for 86. The sun was shining and the pitch was drying out which made it a little easier for the batsmen. Mendis was riding his luck and playing a gem of an innings.
Lunch game and I spent Rs 150 on a chicken burger and Rs 100 on a chocolate cornetto. At this rate I will be able to stay in Sri Lanka for another six months, only joking Alice. Play started again and it was all Sri Lanka with Mendis scoring his maiden test century. Our bowlers were looking fatigued but finally Marsh achieved a breakthrough just before tea to have the opposition at 5 for 203.
After tea Mendis carried on and passed 150 in what was arguably his finest innings. At only 21 years of age he maybe the next star for a team that had seen so many star players recently retire. I thought we would see a full day’s play today but just before 4:00pm the oval was shrouded in darkness due to thick grey rain clouds. We did manage another wicket in this session before play was halted at 4:00pm. It was Sri Lanka’s day with the score at 6 for 282 and Mendis not out on 169. There was nothing left for me to do other than to call my driver and return to the hotel.
Friday 29th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 4 First Cricket Test
At this stage I am not sure if I will go to the game today. It has been raining this morning but at the moment although overcast it is not raining. The weather report is predicting thunderstorms after lunch so even if they do start on time which is fifteen minutes away it may not be worth the effort to attend. I will keep an eye on the Cricinfo live summary as well as the weather to determine what happens today.
The rain did come down again but play eventually got underway around 11:00 only to be interrupted by another shower. They took an early lunch and managed to get a session of play in. Australia eventually removed the Sri Lanka tail enders and ended up with a score of 353 with an overall lead of 267. Australia started shakily losing Warner cheaply and at stumps when bad light stopped play at 2:59 we were not in a good position at 3 for 83. If Australia is to win this match then one of the team has to score a big hundred.
My decision not to go to the game today seems to have been justified as there were less than 40 overs bowled for the day. Instead I decided to get some exercise by walking to and from the centre of town. It was a pleasant walk as I found a path that led to a road that led to the lake. There is a decent walking path beside the lake and from that point it was only a ten minute walk. After checking out a few places I stopped for some lunch and a juice. With lunch over I wandered around for a bit and found the vegetable market which seemed to be located on the roof of a parking lot. The veggies looked good but the rubbish and filth that was laying about left a lot to be desired. Nearby I found a shopping mall with brand name stores and cool air conditioning. I didn’t buy anything but both tourists and local were trying a few things out. The fifth floor is a work in progress but I don’t think it will be long before the food court is open
It was getting dark and it appeared that a storm was imminent. I fast tracked it back to the lake and the steep climb back to the hotel. On the last section of the path I saw something on the edge slither amongst the long grass and rubbish. I tentatively walked over and on closer inspection saw it was a 1.5m Cobra (I think). There was never any doubt that I would give this customer a wide berth. A few minutes later I was safe on my patio and enjoying a cold beer.
Saturday 30th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 5 First Cricket Test
It was raining when I woke up early this morning but after breakfast it started to clear up. There appears to be enough sunshine out there to ensure we get a result. My faithful tuk tuk driver delivered me to the ground just before 10:00am. I didn’t have to hurry to my seat as the covers were still on. At 10:45 play started and we were soon in trouble when Voges knocked one back to the bowler. Smith and Marsh were playing okay and while they were at the crease we looked like we could chase the total down before tea. My thoughts of victory were short lived as Marsh, Smith and Starc were all back in the pavilion just before lunch. Smith was the only Australian player to score more than 50 and ironically this was the second top score of the match.
After lunch Lyon quickly departed and then O’Keefe struggled to the wicket nursing his torn hamstring. It was only 1:15pm and although it is dark, rain does not look imminent. Can anything save the Aussies. Ironically the partnership between Neville and O’Keefe where they only scored 4 runs in 29.4 overs, itself a record of a different sort nearly saved the match. They made it to 3:00pm but unlike the other days the rain stayed away. With their dismissals Sri Lanka went 1 up in the series and thoroughly deserved their victory. The Aussies will have to improve their technique against spin bowling if they are to be any chance of winning.
Back in Kandy it was a change of venue for dinner as I could not do another curry tonight. It is a bit sad but I had a burger, chips and a beer. Now that is what I call a healthy dinner.
Sunday 31st July – Slow Train to Ella
I was up nice and early this morning as I have to be at the Kandy Railway Station at 8:00am to try and purchase a ticket to Ella. My first priority was to have a decent breakfast as I have no idea on how appetizing the food on board will be. It was another good breakfast at the Sandamadala Inn with a truck load of fruit. I squirreled away the bananas so I could snack on them later. I enjoyed my stay here and would recommend this place for a Kandy stay. My bill came in at Rs 35,413 ($315) for six nights, a beer and a load of washing.
My favourite tuk tuk driver had me down at the station just before 8:00. There was already a good sized queue so I knew there was no chance of a second class ticket. The line was moving reasonably quick and when my turn came I understood why. The only tickets available were third class standing and cost Rs 240 ($2.15). I said goodbye to my driver and found a pot to pass the time while I waited for the train which was due to depart at 8:47. As the time got closer I could see that standing would mean standing for the majority of ticket holders like myself. The train pulled into the station bout ten minutes late and as the passengers were alighting I seized the moment and jumped on board. Using my big backpack as a mini battering ram I was able to secure a seat next to three Sri Lankans. There was room on the overhead racks for both my bags. Sometimes it pays to be like the Chinese and elbow your way into a seat.
The train departed about 15 minutes late but that is not a big issue as the trip is scheduled to take around 6.20 hours. We were not long into the journey when the first of the hawkers came through the carriage with his basket of cold fried savoury goods. It did not take me long to purchase a deep fried concoction that was a little dry for my taste buds. A couple of hours into the journey and we had lost a few of our Sri Lankan brothers which meant that most of the standees now had a seat. That lasted for about thirty minutes as we had an influx of passengers at a stop in the middle of nowhere. My space has been invaded by a Hindu family of five.
At least I can see the magnificent scenery through the window which is why you undertake this 130 km journey. The trip takes you through the hill country of Sri Lanka and it is dotted with small villages and tea plantations. There are also plenty of small waterfalls, pine and second growth forests. After all the recent rain and there has been more today the landscape is very green. As we approached the high point of the journey the clouds ended up below us nd blotted out the landscape.
When we reached the highest elevation of the trip I was surprised by the number of Chinese who boarded the train for a short tourist trip. They looked disappointed when they realized that they would be standing for the remainder of the trip. The train was now full and the Chinese who had jumped on full of smiles now looked tired and irritable. The reason was that for the past hour the train has been stationary at the station. It is only a one track line and we had to wait for a train coming up to pull into a siding so we could pass on the way down. There was a big cheer when we finally got underway again. We pulled into Ella around 4:30pm which meant that we were about 1 hour 10 minutes late. I was amazed at the number of tourists who disembarked as I remember there were only a small number when Alice and I did this journey in 2012. Exiting the station was a bit of a nightmare as there was a diligent station master and assistant collecting tickets. The only problem was that they were funneling this mass of people into a small choke point. It was made worse by the fact that they had closed half the gate so you had to leave singly. My verdict of the journey is that it is a great trip but don’t go on a weekend and only go if you have reserve seating in any class.
I had a rough idea where my hotel was and knew that I could not walk there carrying my large backpack. I also knew the tuk tuk fare was Rs 200 but surprised when the driver quoted 400. With a laugh that implied I know that you are fleecing me I accepted the price and jumped into the speedy three wheeler and headed off to my accommodation. My budget hotel has the quaint name of Lucky Star Ella and sits on a ridge overlooking Ella Rock and The Gap. The king size bed looks very comfortable and with the curtains open I can gaze out over the valley. There is also a small patio where I can stretch out and just relax. I decided to stay at the hotel for dinner and enjoyed roasted chicken (I ate it) with vegetable noodles and a small desert. That was washed down with a cold “Tiger Black” beer that they had put into their refrigerator for me. After such a long day on the slow train I was ready for bed nice and early.
Well the weather is okay today so it is off to the cricket for day 2 of the test match. My driver was running a little late because he grabbed a last minute fare down into town. Nevertheless I wasn’t too late in picking up Shane and Rhoda from Perth who have been gracious enough to share the day and the tuk tuk with me. We arrived at the stadium at 9:55 and to our chagrin the game had started at 9:45 and Steve Smith was dismissed just before we took our seats. It was a good morning for Sri Lanka as they took a couple of early wickets before Marsh and Voges consolidated the innings with a 50 plus partnership.
After lunch the fall of wickets continued and we were all out for 202. Nathan Lyon added a few timely runs to nudge us over this psychological barrier. There was 30 minutes before the tea break which meant our fast bowlers could really have a go at them. Hazlewood claimed the first wicket to have Sri Lanka at 1 for 6. That was all she wrote as the rain started to fall immediately after the wicket fell. Shane and I ordered a couple of beers in an effort to wait out the rain. It was to no avail as the days play was abandoned at around 3:45. I had preempted the state of play and our driver showed up at 4:05 and took us back to Kandy. It looks like I will get to use my day 3 ticket after all. Shane and Rhoda are moving on tomorrow but we may catch up on day 1 in Galle.
Tonight I have invited my driver out for dinner and the location of course is the Garden Café. It was another decent meal which set me back the astronomical sum of Rs 660 ($6).
Thursday 28th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 3 First Cricket Test
Well I still can’t believe the irony that the cost of the entrance fee to the cricket is eight times cheaper than my tuk tuk ride which got me to the game on time to watch the first over of today’s play. Australia soon had an early wicket and Sri Lanka was reeling at 2 for 6. We were looking the goods when Mathews departed with the score now 4 for 86. The sun was shining and the pitch was drying out which made it a little easier for the batsmen. Mendis was riding his luck and playing a gem of an innings.
Lunch game and I spent Rs 150 on a chicken burger and Rs 100 on a chocolate cornetto. At this rate I will be able to stay in Sri Lanka for another six months, only joking Alice. Play started again and it was all Sri Lanka with Mendis scoring his maiden test century. Our bowlers were looking fatigued but finally Marsh achieved a breakthrough just before tea to have the opposition at 5 for 203.
After tea Mendis carried on and passed 150 in what was arguably his finest innings. At only 21 years of age he maybe the next star for a team that had seen so many star players recently retire. I thought we would see a full day’s play today but just before 4:00pm the oval was shrouded in darkness due to thick grey rain clouds. We did manage another wicket in this session before play was halted at 4:00pm. It was Sri Lanka’s day with the score at 6 for 282 and Mendis not out on 169. There was nothing left for me to do other than to call my driver and return to the hotel.
Friday 29th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 4 First Cricket Test
At this stage I am not sure if I will go to the game today. It has been raining this morning but at the moment although overcast it is not raining. The weather report is predicting thunderstorms after lunch so even if they do start on time which is fifteen minutes away it may not be worth the effort to attend. I will keep an eye on the Cricinfo live summary as well as the weather to determine what happens today.
The rain did come down again but play eventually got underway around 11:00 only to be interrupted by another shower. They took an early lunch and managed to get a session of play in. Australia eventually removed the Sri Lanka tail enders and ended up with a score of 353 with an overall lead of 267. Australia started shakily losing Warner cheaply and at stumps when bad light stopped play at 2:59 we were not in a good position at 3 for 83. If Australia is to win this match then one of the team has to score a big hundred.
My decision not to go to the game today seems to have been justified as there were less than 40 overs bowled for the day. Instead I decided to get some exercise by walking to and from the centre of town. It was a pleasant walk as I found a path that led to a road that led to the lake. There is a decent walking path beside the lake and from that point it was only a ten minute walk. After checking out a few places I stopped for some lunch and a juice. With lunch over I wandered around for a bit and found the vegetable market which seemed to be located on the roof of a parking lot. The veggies looked good but the rubbish and filth that was laying about left a lot to be desired. Nearby I found a shopping mall with brand name stores and cool air conditioning. I didn’t buy anything but both tourists and local were trying a few things out. The fifth floor is a work in progress but I don’t think it will be long before the food court is open
It was getting dark and it appeared that a storm was imminent. I fast tracked it back to the lake and the steep climb back to the hotel. On the last section of the path I saw something on the edge slither amongst the long grass and rubbish. I tentatively walked over and on closer inspection saw it was a 1.5m Cobra (I think). There was never any doubt that I would give this customer a wide berth. A few minutes later I was safe on my patio and enjoying a cold beer.
Saturday 30th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 5 First Cricket Test
It was raining when I woke up early this morning but after breakfast it started to clear up. There appears to be enough sunshine out there to ensure we get a result. My faithful tuk tuk driver delivered me to the ground just before 10:00am. I didn’t have to hurry to my seat as the covers were still on. At 10:45 play started and we were soon in trouble when Voges knocked one back to the bowler. Smith and Marsh were playing okay and while they were at the crease we looked like we could chase the total down before tea. My thoughts of victory were short lived as Marsh, Smith and Starc were all back in the pavilion just before lunch. Smith was the only Australian player to score more than 50 and ironically this was the second top score of the match.
After lunch Lyon quickly departed and then O’Keefe struggled to the wicket nursing his torn hamstring. It was only 1:15pm and although it is dark, rain does not look imminent. Can anything save the Aussies. Ironically the partnership between Neville and O’Keefe where they only scored 4 runs in 29.4 overs, itself a record of a different sort nearly saved the match. They made it to 3:00pm but unlike the other days the rain stayed away. With their dismissals Sri Lanka went 1 up in the series and thoroughly deserved their victory. The Aussies will have to improve their technique against spin bowling if they are to be any chance of winning.
Back in Kandy it was a change of venue for dinner as I could not do another curry tonight. It is a bit sad but I had a burger, chips and a beer. Now that is what I call a healthy dinner.
Sunday 31st July – Slow Train to Ella
I was up nice and early this morning as I have to be at the Kandy Railway Station at 8:00am to try and purchase a ticket to Ella. My first priority was to have a decent breakfast as I have no idea on how appetizing the food on board will be. It was another good breakfast at the Sandamadala Inn with a truck load of fruit. I squirreled away the bananas so I could snack on them later. I enjoyed my stay here and would recommend this place for a Kandy stay. My bill came in at Rs 35,413 ($315) for six nights, a beer and a load of washing.
My favourite tuk tuk driver had me down at the station just before 8:00. There was already a good sized queue so I knew there was no chance of a second class ticket. The line was moving reasonably quick and when my turn came I understood why. The only tickets available were third class standing and cost Rs 240 ($2.15). I said goodbye to my driver and found a pot to pass the time while I waited for the train which was due to depart at 8:47. As the time got closer I could see that standing would mean standing for the majority of ticket holders like myself. The train pulled into the station bout ten minutes late and as the passengers were alighting I seized the moment and jumped on board. Using my big backpack as a mini battering ram I was able to secure a seat next to three Sri Lankans. There was room on the overhead racks for both my bags. Sometimes it pays to be like the Chinese and elbow your way into a seat.
The train departed about 15 minutes late but that is not a big issue as the trip is scheduled to take around 6.20 hours. We were not long into the journey when the first of the hawkers came through the carriage with his basket of cold fried savoury goods. It did not take me long to purchase a deep fried concoction that was a little dry for my taste buds. A couple of hours into the journey and we had lost a few of our Sri Lankan brothers which meant that most of the standees now had a seat. That lasted for about thirty minutes as we had an influx of passengers at a stop in the middle of nowhere. My space has been invaded by a Hindu family of five.
At least I can see the magnificent scenery through the window which is why you undertake this 130 km journey. The trip takes you through the hill country of Sri Lanka and it is dotted with small villages and tea plantations. There are also plenty of small waterfalls, pine and second growth forests. After all the recent rain and there has been more today the landscape is very green. As we approached the high point of the journey the clouds ended up below us nd blotted out the landscape.
When we reached the highest elevation of the trip I was surprised by the number of Chinese who boarded the train for a short tourist trip. They looked disappointed when they realized that they would be standing for the remainder of the trip. The train was now full and the Chinese who had jumped on full of smiles now looked tired and irritable. The reason was that for the past hour the train has been stationary at the station. It is only a one track line and we had to wait for a train coming up to pull into a siding so we could pass on the way down. There was a big cheer when we finally got underway again. We pulled into Ella around 4:30pm which meant that we were about 1 hour 10 minutes late. I was amazed at the number of tourists who disembarked as I remember there were only a small number when Alice and I did this journey in 2012. Exiting the station was a bit of a nightmare as there was a diligent station master and assistant collecting tickets. The only problem was that they were funneling this mass of people into a small choke point. It was made worse by the fact that they had closed half the gate so you had to leave singly. My verdict of the journey is that it is a great trip but don’t go on a weekend and only go if you have reserve seating in any class.
I had a rough idea where my hotel was and knew that I could not walk there carrying my large backpack. I also knew the tuk tuk fare was Rs 200 but surprised when the driver quoted 400. With a laugh that implied I know that you are fleecing me I accepted the price and jumped into the speedy three wheeler and headed off to my accommodation. My budget hotel has the quaint name of Lucky Star Ella and sits on a ridge overlooking Ella Rock and The Gap. The king size bed looks very comfortable and with the curtains open I can gaze out over the valley. There is also a small patio where I can stretch out and just relax. I decided to stay at the hotel for dinner and enjoyed roasted chicken (I ate it) with vegetable noodles and a small desert. That was washed down with a cold “Tiger Black” beer that they had put into their refrigerator for me. After such a long day on the slow train I was ready for bed nice and early.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Sri Lankan Vacation - Diving, Culture and Cricket
Saturday 16th July – Dubai to Colombo
One good thing about the upgrade is that the stopover in Dubai is more pleasant as I can make use of the business lounge for a couple of hours. The shuttle train whisked me over to terminal B where I entered the biggest lounge area that I have ever seen. I didn’t know that many people flew business class. After a light breakfast and a couple of coffees I needed to take care of another kind of business. It was unbelievable there was a queue of men lined up to use the toilet. For the time it was taking I thought that some of them must be giving birth. The shower however was a different matter and I was soon luxuriating under a steady stream of hot water. I felt a lot better and more equipped to handle the next 4.5 hour leg to Colombo.
Nothing really to report except that it was a relaxing flight that landed on time. I had pre-booked my visa on line and made a bee-line for the immigration counter. My only problem was that I had not filled in the arrival form. After grabbing one I rejoined the queue at the end of the line. Fortunately it wasn’t long and I was at the baggage carousel soon after. My bag was one of the first off and in no time I was in a taxi heading for my accommodation in Negombo.
My room at the Alexandra Family Villa is very reasonable considering the price. After settling in I adjourned to the courtyard and struck up a conversation with an Australian couple who are around my age. I did find out that they would be attending the cricket in Galle and I have been invited to join their group if we spot each other. The weather is very muggy and you don’t have to be out for long to work up a layer of sweat. Before dinner I went for a walk and hired a tuk tuk driver to get me to an ATM and the bottle shop. There are not many around of either and the bottle shop has more security than the ATM. I was a little tired from lack of sleep on the flights so I had an early dinner at one of the many restaurants on Beach Road. The two beers and grilled calamari were both good and reasonably priced at $11. A nice shower to remove the beads of sweat and grime from my person was the perfect end to a big couple of days.
Sunday 17th July – The Overnight Rattler
I’m in no hurry again this morning as I have nothing planned. The Sri Lankan breakfast provided by the manager’s mother was great. It consisted of string hoppers, roti, dahl and a pot of black tea. My room has been booked so I am unable to use it after midday. As a courtesy I vacated around 10:00 and stored my gear in the living room. Jude the manager will arrange the use of a shower for me later this evening.
To kill some time I decided to treat myself to a 75 minute massage. The premises were very up market and made you feel like that you were in a day spa. The male masseuse was excellent and nearly put me to sleep. Alice would be proud as my skin drank up lots of essential oils. I had more oil in and on me than my old FB Holden “The Rocket”. The cost for the massage was 2100RP ($20). After a refreshing cup of peppery herbal tea it was off to the beach. I did not stay long as the beach was not very appealing. It is monsoon season for the west coast which means that conditions are very ordinary. At Negombo this meant that the first 20metres of water was full of silt. You would have to be keen to swim in this. Also the beach was littered with plastic most likely washed up with the big tides.
After a couple of hours at the hotel catching up on the diary I returned to yesterday’s restaurant for a dozen barbeque prawns. As I was finishing up a mature woman asked if she could join me. Turned out she was from Mullumbimby and was just finishing her vacation. I excused myself as Jude will be driving me (4000rp) to Colombo Fort railway station at 7:45pm. After the promised shower we were off and travelling down the new tollway into Colombo. Prior to arrival I had booked a ticket through a British agency to travel overnight from Colombo to Trincomalee on the east coast. I was a little concerned about this arrangement as I had to show my passport and quote a booking reference at the ticket office. There were no problems and at 9:00pm the train pulled into platform 3 ready to depart at 9:30pm. I had no trouble locating my sleeperet seat and there was plenty of room for my luggage. I had visions of my seat reclining to a position where I could stretch out. Nope, the total recline was about 150mm which basically meant that I was sitting up. To make matters worse there was absolutely no wiggle room. I could have killed for a Spanish train. The only good news was that there were plenty of vacant seats which meant no one was seated next to me. Once we were underway none of this mattered as we lurched, squealed and rattled along the track towards Trincomalee. There is definitely a reason why they are called ‘rattlers”. After trying countless possible sleeping positions of which none worked I resorted to using my backpack as a pillow, laid down with my back on two seats and my legs hanging over the edge on the floor. Contortionist I am not but I did manage a couple of hours sleep.
Monday 18th July – What About a Dive
The train pulled into Trincomalee station a little after 6:00am. It was an hour late, thank goodness as I did not want to get to my hotel too early. In no time a tuk tuk driver had attached himself to me and 400rp we sped off to the Angel Inn Beach Hotel. It was only 6:30am so I banged on the reception door and woke up one of the staff who was asleep on a floor mattress. My check-in time is not until 11:00 so it looks like I will have to wait until one becomes available. I have put my spare time to good use by having breakfast, booking a scuba dive and checking out the beach. My room was ready about 10:00 so I showered and rested before heading off for my dive.
The crew was waiting for me and they soon had me set up with a full kit of gear. Some of the gear especially my fins are looking a little tired but they are functional. We headed out to Butterfly Reef which is virtually straight out from the beach. It is a shallow dive of about 12m and had plenty of tropical reef fish and soft coral. Also saw nudibranch, stonefish and a small moray eel. The visibility was not great at around 12m so only a two star rating for this 5000rp dive.
In the late afternoon I went for a long walk towards Trincomalee. It was typical Sri Lanka with all sorts of shops straddling each side of the main road. Horns were blaring with tuk tuks, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, cows and pedestrians all vying for space anywhere along the road. I found a supermarket and bought some water and snacks. On the way back I purchased some Rambutans (50rp) from a roadside vendor which were fresh and juicy. My candlelit dinner tonight was down on the beach in front of the hotel. A plate of grilled calamari with some rice and salad which was washed down with a bottle of water. It was more expensive than what I have become used to and set me back 1320rp. I have noticed that there is a 10% service charge on all food and drinks so there is no tipping required from this old fella.
Tuesday 19th July – Double Dive and a Triple Dose of Bad Luck
I arranged breakfast for 7::00 this morning as I am booked for a double dive just after 7:30. When 8:00 rolled by the dive master informed me that he had changed the time to 8:30 to accommodate some more bookings. He sincerely apologized and arranged a cup of tea for me. This is the first dose of bad luck because 9:00 came and went just as quickly. Lucky for me that it is a good view overlooking the beach. I was then informed that they were waiting for a Chinese group who were going snorkeling with us. We were eventually on our way at 9:45 and I was suitably unimpressed. More than two hours wasted just sitting around doing nothing.
Luckily for me I managed to stay calm so that I could enjoy my dive. When I hit the water at Swarmi Reef I could feel all the tension in me dissolve. This dive site gets its name as Hindu temple , Koneswaram sits on a cliff above the dive site. To the Hindus it is a sacred site and the ocean floor is littered with statues that have been cast down from the temple. There were plenty of fish and a decent swim through which made the dive more interesting. I also saw Lion Fish, two very large spotted moray eels, spotted Stingray and a very fine Pipe Eel. The dive time was around 45minutes with visibility around 15metres. My rating for this dive is three stars.
Our next dive was literally around the corner and is known as Geek Reef. This was a relaxing dive at about 12m and with around 12m of visibility. The dive took around 40 minutes with plenty of reef fish, a swim through and a large spotted Moray Eel. This dive gets another three stars. When we were finished we had to go back to the first dive site as our Sri Lankan diver had dropped his new underwater Go Pro and had not realized it until later. Boy, do I know that feeling. Fortunately one of the crew did a search and managed to retrieve it for him from the not so murky depths.
We arrived back at the dive shop just after 2:00 and you would not believe it bad luck 2 had occurred. Some slimy so and so had decided that my expensive pair of Soul thongs would suit The guy who was in charge of the shop while we were diving offered me his own thongs. Of course I took them, not as I did not have the heart to deprive him of his footwear. Lucky for me that we had an afternoon shower which meant the soles of my feet would not be burnt on the normally hot sand.
After a brief rest it is back to the main road in search of water and a new pair of thongs. I managed to find a pair that set me back 180rp ($1.60). They look good enough to last the remainder of the trip. I decided that I would like some king coconut juice and would you believe it bad luck number 3 occurred. As soon as he knocked the top off the coconut I was covered in juice. It went into my hair, face and shirt but all I could do was laugh. Maybe I should not go out for dinner tonight.
I did go out for dinner and chose the cheaper main road option. My meal was a nice piece of grilled tuna and a litre of water. It was sweet dreams tonight.
Wednesday 20th July – We Are Sailing
Prior to leaving home I had come across a trip on a large catamaran that operated out of Trimcomalee. Yesterday afternoon I managed to secure a spot on their giant loop excursion which departs at 6:30am. It is a seven hour trip and costs 7,500rp (approx$70). I awoke at 5:30 and just after six headed down to the main road to hire a tuk tuk to take me down to Koneswaram Bay. The first guy I hailed gave me a price of 100rp which is very cheap. I suspect that he did not really understand me. In fact he did not as he was taking me away from the beach. In the end we worked out and we arrived with time to spare. The crew sent in the zodiac which ferried myself and eight from the Netherlands nation to the “Pearl” which would be our home for the next seven hours. One word can describe this excursion and it is fantastic.
We were no sooner on our way when breakfast was served. It was a decent cup of coffee and a vegetable frittata. As we headed out into the murky depths I could see all the dolphin and whale watching boats cruising around. They are basically runabouts with a big motor which race all around trying to find these elusive denizens of the deep. It looked very uncomfortable as they bulldozed their way over the ocean. Meanwhile our crew knew what they were doing and we were soon treated to a spectacular show from the bottlenose dolphins who were porpoising at the bow of the catamaran. We also were lucky enough to see big pods of spinner dolphins and a lone Bryde’s Whale which was missing a dorsal fin. We had some spare time so we headed out into deeper water in search of more whales. Unfortunately that came to an end when the boat inadvertently became entangled in a fishing net. I thought that the fishermen would be angry however they were quite amicable. The skipper donned his snorkeling gear and had to cut away the net that was tangled around the propeller. After that incident we headed back to the shelter of the bay below the temple where we anchored up for the next 2.5 hours.
This gave the chance for the Inala boy to emerge and I was soon diving off the top deck into the crystal clear water. Some of the guests went snorkeling but I was more interested in the stand up paddle board. I had some good fun for 30 minutes and only managed to fall off once. It doesn’t really matter when the water is 28 degrees. There is also a kayak for those who have plenty of energy to burn. For me it was time to relax over a cold beer while I waited for lunch to be served. It was a grilled whole fish that had been purchased from the market this morning and it was delicious even accounting for those pesky bones. Desert followed and so did our return to Koneswaram Bay. It was a great day out and a fantastic way to see the dolphins and solitary whale.
www.sail-lanka-charter.com
Back on land I headed over to Fort Frederick which is currently a base for the Sri Lankan army. In olden days it was one of the biggest walled forts in Asia. It was built by the Portuguese in 1623. The famous Koneswaram temple is located inside this fort. This Hindu temple was earlier known as the temple of thousand Pillars. According to historical information the Portuguese had demolished the old Koneswaram temple and they built the fort with this. It is a decent uphill walk to the temple but there are plenty of vendors who will try and tempt you. The temple itself is very colourful with plenty of Hindu gods overlooking everything. The views from here are to say the least panoramic.
My day finished with the hiring of a tuk tuk driver and a search for an ATM that would dispense some rupees for me. Dinner tonight was back on the main road where I took a safe option of wood fired pizza.
Thursday 21st July – Moving On
My room was neat and tidy with wi-fi, cold water but funky shower, air conditioning which is a must here and a nice patio area. On the downside they could use some storage space for bags and there was an issue with small house ants. I could not complain about the price as it was 14,000rp for three nights. It is a beachfront property and about 800m from the main group of beach bungalows at Uppuveli. My taxi to Anuradhapura showed up early but for a change I was ready to go. It is about 115km journey and the fare is 8100rp which is about $73.
The drive was quite pleasant and the highway was in good condition. The landscape is so different from Spain with all the coconut trees, forest and roadside stalls. We stopped at one and my driver, Champ bought me a freshly cooked cob of sweet baby corn which they cool down in a basin of salty water. There were no holdups on our journey and it wasn’t difficult to find Secret Sanctuary, The Resort where I will spend the next two nights. The hotel is in a quiet location and my room is very pleasant. The manager also arranged for a driver to come around so I can organize my plans for the next four days. Thirty minutes later there was a knock on my door and in no time we had mapped out a rough itinerary which would start this afternoon. Basically I will have a driver and a new car to explore all the key sites in the region, two nights accommodation and a drop off at my hotel in Kandy. I have to pay for my meals and entrance fees. I did not haggle on the cost as Rs 35,000 ($315) seemed reasonable to me.
Abbi my portly Sri Lankan driver picked me up at 4:30pm and we went off to explore Mihintale (Rs 500). It involves a steep climb, so my driver recommended me to visit it at this time of the afternoon to avoid the midday heat. The Stairway is a series of flights, 1843 ancient granite slab steps lead majestically up the hillside. On the second landing I took on the services of a guide (Rs 1000), it is also where the monks’ refectory is located with huge stone troughs that the lay followers kept filled with rice for the monks. Nearby, at a place identified as the monastery’s relic house, are two inscribed stone slabs erected during the reign of King Mahinda IV. The final steep stairway, lined with frangipani trees, leads to the place where Mahinda and the king met. The Ambasthale Dagoba is built over the spot where Mahinda stood. The bodhi tree to the left of the base of the steps is said to be one of the oldest surviving ones. From here there is a fantastic view over the lakes and trees to Anuradhapura, a horizon studded with the domes and spikes of all the massive dagobas. The guide did prove valuable as he had to race back up the steps to retrieve my camera that I had left on a bench whilst putting my sandals back on. There were also plenty of resident Macquae Monkeys, Langur Monkeys and a lone giant squirrel.
There is not much nightlife close to the hotel so I decided to take a chance on their restaurant and ordered a vegetable curry for dinner. Abbi the manager even went out and purchased two beers for me. I enjoyed one of them sitting out on the hotel patio in the pleasant coolness of the early evening. When I received the call for dinner I could not believe it. There were six different bowls of curry and a mountain of red rice. I managed to eat about half of the food and I would have to say that it was the best meal I have had in Sri Lanka
Friday 22nd July – Go Buddha, Anuradhapura
I have a new driver today whose name is Sumith and he is Abbi’s brother in law. It was 8:00am and we were on our way to avoid the crowds as well as the heat. Our first stop was at the sacred temple of Maha Viharaya (admission Rs 200) which also has a Bohdi tree and a small rock temple. There is also a small museum with some great carvings especially one known simply as “The Lovers”.
There is so much to see here in Anuradhapura that it would drive me bonkers trying to describe all of it so I will try to keep it brief. The next site is supposed to be the most important temple to the Sri Lankan Buddhists and is called Sri Maha Bodhi. It is home of the sacred Bodhi tree which is central to Anuradhapura in both a spiritual and physical sense. It was grown from a cutting brought from Bodhgaya in India and is said to be the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world. Mahavihara is the heart of ancient Anuradhapura and is often the scene of religious ceremonies, which draw masses of people dressed in their finest. Tomorrow is supposed to be a big day. Relics here date from the 3rd century BC to the 11th century AD.
For the sheer delight of exploring an ancient city, much of it still enveloped in tropical forest, the 2000-year-old Abhayagiri Monastery area can’t be beat. A ruined 9th-century school for monks northwest of the Abhayagiri Dagoba is notable for having the finest carved moonstone in Sri Lanka and it is also where I took a break and had a thirst quenching king coconut. A couple of more stupas, a palace and a museum and we were done for the day. It was only 12:30 so we had a quick lunch before returning to the hotel. I spent the rest of the day catching up on washing and other mundane tasks. Another superb dinner at the hotel, a chat to a Dutch couple who were cycling part of the way around Sri Lanka and I was off to bed.
Saturday 23rd July – Stone Buddha, Rock Caves and the Gathering
My account at the Secret Sanctuary came to Rs 10,037 ($90) which included breakfast, dinner and lodging for two nights as well as four large ones. The manager was great and I would definitely recommend this hotel. Sumith picked me up at 8:00 wearing a big toothy grin and soon had us on our way towards Aukana. He was right about the big festival today because as we were heading away from Anuradhapura there was bus after bus going there. Apparently the people are coming from all over the island. After a 90 minute drive we reached our destination.
According to legend, the magnificent 12m-high standing Aukana Buddha (admission Rs 750) was sculpted during the reign of Dhatusena in the 5th century, though some sources date it to the 12th or 13th century. Aukana means ‘sun-eating’, and dawn. The statue is still narrowly joined at the back to the rock face it is cut from, the lotus plinth on which it stands is a separate piece. The Buddha’s pose, ashiva mudra, signifies blessings, while the burst of fire above his head represents the power of total enlightenment. You don’t need much time for the visit but the sheer scale of the statue is worth the time and effort to get there.
Our next destination is the beautiful Royal Rock Temple complex sits about 160m above the road in the southern part of Dambulla. Sumith pointed me in the right direction but he decided to have a rest in the car rather than tackle the heights of this impressive complex. Five separate caves contain about 150 absolutely stunning Buddha statues and paintings, some of Sri Lanka’s most important and evocative religious art. Buddha images were first created here over 2000 years ago, and over the centuries subsequent kings added to and embellished the cave art. From the caves there are superb views over the surrounding countryside. Cave number two was my pick. It measures 52m from east to west and 23m from the entrance to the back wall; the highest point of the ceiling is 7m. This cave is named after the two statues of kings it contains Maharaja and Viharaya.
A spot of lunch and we were off to our rendezvous with our jeep driver so we could tour Minneriya National Park. The cost for the jeep whether it is one or four people is Rs 5000 but the real sting is in the park fees especially for foreigners. Sri Lankans pay Rs 60 whilst we outsiders have to pay Rs 2133.75 per person, plus some local taxes. Total cost of park fees was Rs 4042.34. One of Asia’s great wildlife spectacles occurs at Minneriya National Park between July and September. Known as ‘the Gathering’, 200 or more elephants gather for several weeks in one concentrated spot. On our trip we headed down to the large lake which loses a significant amount of water at this time of year. There were water buffalo, a small crocodile that looked stuffed, eagles, kingfishers, wading birds, monkeys and spotted deer. The main attraction of course is the elephants. We saw three groups which would have totaled around 150. The big surprise for me was the large number of baby elephants not more than a few weeks old. The trip was a little over two hours but was worth the cost to see so many of these magnificent pachyderms in the wild.
After the safari it was full steam ahead towards Polonnaruva and the Ariya Rest House (Rs 4000). My room was basic with a just functioning air conditioner. The downside was that the promised hot shower was only a trickle. There are also a heap of mosquitoes in the room. Dinner was thankfully excellent and once again I did not come close to finishing it.
Sunday 24th July – Happy Birthday Brother Ed
We do not have far to drive this morning so we did not hit the road until 8:30. Our first stop was the excellent museum which comprises of several rooms, each dedicated to a particular theme: the citadel, the outer city, the monastery area and Hindu monuments. The latter room contains a wonderful selection of bronzes, including some outstanding Shiva statues. It is also where you purchase your admission ticket for a very cheap Rs 3550.
With the museum visit over and my ticket in hand it was off to visit the ancient ruins of Polonnaruva. The ruins, which can be conveniently divided into five groups: the Royal Palace group; the Quadrangle; the Northern Group (spread over a wide area) and a latter two which I did not visit. It is an amazing site and I spent about four hours exploring the ruins. The highlights were:
· The Gal Pota (Stone Book) is a colossal stone representation of an ola book. It is nearly 9m long by 1.5m wide, and 40cm to 66cm thick
· Lankatilaka temple, built by Parakramabahu and later restored by Vijayabahu IV. This huge gedige has 17m-high walls, although the roof has collapsed. The cathedral-like aisle leads to a huge standing (headless) Buddha
· Gal Vihara is a group of beautiful Buddha images that probably marks the high point of Sinhalese rock carving. They are part of Parakramabahu’s northern monastery. The Gal Vihara consists of four separate images, all cut from one long slab of granite
With my visit over it was off for yet another three course buffet lunch prior to heading off to the next hotel at Sigiriya. My room (Rs 4000) at the Grand Regent Holiday Resort and Spa is twice as good as the previous night. It has a half decent hot shower, cable television and a large comfortable bedroom with coffee table and chairs. II had a good couple of hours rest before we headed off.
I think that Sigiriya is the jewel in the crown of the ancient cities and the Rs 4260 admission price reflects this. Sumith and I arrived just before 4:30pm so that we could avoid the heat. There was plenty of cloud cover which helped with the heat but it also means no visible sunset at the summit. The museum closes at 5:30 so we paid a visit prior to heading over to the gardens. There were a couple of good exhibits which make it worthwhile to take a short visit. The lowest section inside the Sigiriya complex is a beautifully landscaped area dotted with water gardens, then as you approach the rock its foothills contain boulder gardens (home to numerous Buddhist shrines) and terraced gardens. The base of Sigiriya has been landscaped to produce the terraced gardens.
Halfway up the rock there’s an open-air spiral stairway leading up from the main route to a long, sheltered gallery in the sheer rock face. There is a ticket checkpoint here and this is where I lost Sumith. Apparently he could not accompany me, a foreigner, up the rock as he is not a licensed guide. I suspect that he was secretly relieved because I did notice that his hip was playing up. In this gallery there is a series of paintings of buxom, wasp-waisted women, popularly believed to represent either apsaras (celestial nymphs) or King Kassapa’s concubines. To reach the summit you walk through the Lion’s Paws and ascend a series of steep steps. The spectacular terraced summit of the rock covers 1.6 hectares and the view over the plains is spectacular. I spent a good half hour clambering over the terraces of the old palace which was built by King Kassapa (AD 477–495).
The walk down was much quicker and towards the end I took the path which led to the foreigner’s car park. This route also takes you past the Cobra Hood Cave. When I arrived at the car park there was no sign of Sumith so I assumed he must be waiting at the original car park which is over a kilometre away. It was 6:30pm and the place was starting to empty out. Fortunately the car was there but Sumith was not. I decided to take a quick stroll to see if he was in the immediate vicinity. Just as I was about to give up I saw his beaming smile coming towards me. He had spotted me on the way down but with his bad hip he could not catch me.
Back at the hotel I freshened up before dinner. To my amazement Graham and Jill whom I had met in Negombo are also staying here. We caught up on our misadventures and they introduced me to a young Australian couple who were also going to the cricket in Kandy.
Monday 25th July – Sigiriya to Kandy
We only have a couple of small sites to visit on the way to Kandy so we did not depart until 9:00. There is not much to see on the way to Kandy apart from a couple of Hindu temples and one of the many spice gardens that are dotted along the road. I gave the gardens a miss but did stop at Nalanda Gedige which is a small South Indian Hindu temple and enjoys a wonderfully peaceful location next to a tank (artificial lake) with prolific local birdlife. The next temple was in the town of Matale and has the wonderful name of Sri Muthumariamman Thevasthanam (admission Rs 250). It is an interesting Hindu temple with colorful gods that fill every niche of this cavernous building.
As we approached Kandy the traffic was thicker and it eventually came to a standstill as two lanes merged into one. There are no rules here for this maneuver and it is every driver for themselves. We arrived at Sandamadala Inn which I have booked for six nights just after midday. I am very happy with my room as it looks fresh and modern with a large bathroom. There is a small balcony with a table and chairs that has views of the lake and mountains.
After settling in I went down to the railway station to book a ticket from Kandy to Ella next Sunday. I was surprised when I was informed that all the advance tickets had been sold. Tickets would be available for sale from 8:00am on Sunday which does not give me much time as the train departs at 8:47. I’ll just have to cross that track when I get to it. I spent the rest of the afternoon buying supplies and trolling the market.
Prior to dinner at the Garden Café I enjoyed a couple of beers on the balcony. I was going to walk down the hill to the café but a light shower of rain changed my mind. A Rs100 tuk tuk ride soon had me at the café where Alice and I dined out on our previous visit in 2012. It seems the word is out as there were plenty of tourists inside enjoying a cheap but decent meal.
Tuesday 26th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 1 First Cricket Test
The tuk tuk driver was downstairs waiting for me and we took off for the ground at 9:15. The stadium is at Pallekele about 18km out of Kandy and took about 35 minutes to get there. My driver will return at 5:00 to take me back to the hotel. There was a bit of a slow moving queue at the ticket office which meant that I would miss the first couple of overs. I could not believe that they had the audacity to charge Rs 200 ($1.80) for a seat in the grandstand so I bought my tickets for the first three days. At home that may get you a glass of water if you are lucky. I ended up taking my seat part way through the third over.
The ground looks a real treat with a beautiful green outfield which should be to Australia’s liking. I must have had perfect timing as Sri Lanka lost their first wicket in the fourth over. From then on it was a procession of wickets with them being five down at lunch. After lunch Lyon took three wickets in his first to overs to have the opposition reeling. From memory I think they were all out shortly after for a paltry 117.
Australia started badly with Sri Lanka dismissing both openers with only seven runs on the board. Khawaja and Smith consolidated the innings and Australia was 2 for 66 at tea. I was looking forward to a good last session but it never got under way as we received an afternoon shower. It wasn’t torrential rain but it was enough to end proceedings for the day. I gave the tuk tuk driver a call and he said that he would be there at 4:00. He eventually arrived in a different vehicle sporting greasy hands and apolgised for being late. I had met a young couple from Perth whilst in Sigiriya and saw them at the match. They are staying in the same area as me so we shared the tuk tuk back to Kandy. They are going again tomorrow so I will pick them up on the way.
Dinner tonight was once again at the ever reliable Garden Cafe.
One good thing about the upgrade is that the stopover in Dubai is more pleasant as I can make use of the business lounge for a couple of hours. The shuttle train whisked me over to terminal B where I entered the biggest lounge area that I have ever seen. I didn’t know that many people flew business class. After a light breakfast and a couple of coffees I needed to take care of another kind of business. It was unbelievable there was a queue of men lined up to use the toilet. For the time it was taking I thought that some of them must be giving birth. The shower however was a different matter and I was soon luxuriating under a steady stream of hot water. I felt a lot better and more equipped to handle the next 4.5 hour leg to Colombo.
Nothing really to report except that it was a relaxing flight that landed on time. I had pre-booked my visa on line and made a bee-line for the immigration counter. My only problem was that I had not filled in the arrival form. After grabbing one I rejoined the queue at the end of the line. Fortunately it wasn’t long and I was at the baggage carousel soon after. My bag was one of the first off and in no time I was in a taxi heading for my accommodation in Negombo.
My room at the Alexandra Family Villa is very reasonable considering the price. After settling in I adjourned to the courtyard and struck up a conversation with an Australian couple who are around my age. I did find out that they would be attending the cricket in Galle and I have been invited to join their group if we spot each other. The weather is very muggy and you don’t have to be out for long to work up a layer of sweat. Before dinner I went for a walk and hired a tuk tuk driver to get me to an ATM and the bottle shop. There are not many around of either and the bottle shop has more security than the ATM. I was a little tired from lack of sleep on the flights so I had an early dinner at one of the many restaurants on Beach Road. The two beers and grilled calamari were both good and reasonably priced at $11. A nice shower to remove the beads of sweat and grime from my person was the perfect end to a big couple of days.
Sunday 17th July – The Overnight Rattler
I’m in no hurry again this morning as I have nothing planned. The Sri Lankan breakfast provided by the manager’s mother was great. It consisted of string hoppers, roti, dahl and a pot of black tea. My room has been booked so I am unable to use it after midday. As a courtesy I vacated around 10:00 and stored my gear in the living room. Jude the manager will arrange the use of a shower for me later this evening.
To kill some time I decided to treat myself to a 75 minute massage. The premises were very up market and made you feel like that you were in a day spa. The male masseuse was excellent and nearly put me to sleep. Alice would be proud as my skin drank up lots of essential oils. I had more oil in and on me than my old FB Holden “The Rocket”. The cost for the massage was 2100RP ($20). After a refreshing cup of peppery herbal tea it was off to the beach. I did not stay long as the beach was not very appealing. It is monsoon season for the west coast which means that conditions are very ordinary. At Negombo this meant that the first 20metres of water was full of silt. You would have to be keen to swim in this. Also the beach was littered with plastic most likely washed up with the big tides.
After a couple of hours at the hotel catching up on the diary I returned to yesterday’s restaurant for a dozen barbeque prawns. As I was finishing up a mature woman asked if she could join me. Turned out she was from Mullumbimby and was just finishing her vacation. I excused myself as Jude will be driving me (4000rp) to Colombo Fort railway station at 7:45pm. After the promised shower we were off and travelling down the new tollway into Colombo. Prior to arrival I had booked a ticket through a British agency to travel overnight from Colombo to Trincomalee on the east coast. I was a little concerned about this arrangement as I had to show my passport and quote a booking reference at the ticket office. There were no problems and at 9:00pm the train pulled into platform 3 ready to depart at 9:30pm. I had no trouble locating my sleeperet seat and there was plenty of room for my luggage. I had visions of my seat reclining to a position where I could stretch out. Nope, the total recline was about 150mm which basically meant that I was sitting up. To make matters worse there was absolutely no wiggle room. I could have killed for a Spanish train. The only good news was that there were plenty of vacant seats which meant no one was seated next to me. Once we were underway none of this mattered as we lurched, squealed and rattled along the track towards Trincomalee. There is definitely a reason why they are called ‘rattlers”. After trying countless possible sleeping positions of which none worked I resorted to using my backpack as a pillow, laid down with my back on two seats and my legs hanging over the edge on the floor. Contortionist I am not but I did manage a couple of hours sleep.
Monday 18th July – What About a Dive
The train pulled into Trincomalee station a little after 6:00am. It was an hour late, thank goodness as I did not want to get to my hotel too early. In no time a tuk tuk driver had attached himself to me and 400rp we sped off to the Angel Inn Beach Hotel. It was only 6:30am so I banged on the reception door and woke up one of the staff who was asleep on a floor mattress. My check-in time is not until 11:00 so it looks like I will have to wait until one becomes available. I have put my spare time to good use by having breakfast, booking a scuba dive and checking out the beach. My room was ready about 10:00 so I showered and rested before heading off for my dive.
The crew was waiting for me and they soon had me set up with a full kit of gear. Some of the gear especially my fins are looking a little tired but they are functional. We headed out to Butterfly Reef which is virtually straight out from the beach. It is a shallow dive of about 12m and had plenty of tropical reef fish and soft coral. Also saw nudibranch, stonefish and a small moray eel. The visibility was not great at around 12m so only a two star rating for this 5000rp dive.
In the late afternoon I went for a long walk towards Trincomalee. It was typical Sri Lanka with all sorts of shops straddling each side of the main road. Horns were blaring with tuk tuks, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, cows and pedestrians all vying for space anywhere along the road. I found a supermarket and bought some water and snacks. On the way back I purchased some Rambutans (50rp) from a roadside vendor which were fresh and juicy. My candlelit dinner tonight was down on the beach in front of the hotel. A plate of grilled calamari with some rice and salad which was washed down with a bottle of water. It was more expensive than what I have become used to and set me back 1320rp. I have noticed that there is a 10% service charge on all food and drinks so there is no tipping required from this old fella.
Tuesday 19th July – Double Dive and a Triple Dose of Bad Luck
I arranged breakfast for 7::00 this morning as I am booked for a double dive just after 7:30. When 8:00 rolled by the dive master informed me that he had changed the time to 8:30 to accommodate some more bookings. He sincerely apologized and arranged a cup of tea for me. This is the first dose of bad luck because 9:00 came and went just as quickly. Lucky for me that it is a good view overlooking the beach. I was then informed that they were waiting for a Chinese group who were going snorkeling with us. We were eventually on our way at 9:45 and I was suitably unimpressed. More than two hours wasted just sitting around doing nothing.
Luckily for me I managed to stay calm so that I could enjoy my dive. When I hit the water at Swarmi Reef I could feel all the tension in me dissolve. This dive site gets its name as Hindu temple , Koneswaram sits on a cliff above the dive site. To the Hindus it is a sacred site and the ocean floor is littered with statues that have been cast down from the temple. There were plenty of fish and a decent swim through which made the dive more interesting. I also saw Lion Fish, two very large spotted moray eels, spotted Stingray and a very fine Pipe Eel. The dive time was around 45minutes with visibility around 15metres. My rating for this dive is three stars.
Our next dive was literally around the corner and is known as Geek Reef. This was a relaxing dive at about 12m and with around 12m of visibility. The dive took around 40 minutes with plenty of reef fish, a swim through and a large spotted Moray Eel. This dive gets another three stars. When we were finished we had to go back to the first dive site as our Sri Lankan diver had dropped his new underwater Go Pro and had not realized it until later. Boy, do I know that feeling. Fortunately one of the crew did a search and managed to retrieve it for him from the not so murky depths.
We arrived back at the dive shop just after 2:00 and you would not believe it bad luck 2 had occurred. Some slimy so and so had decided that my expensive pair of Soul thongs would suit The guy who was in charge of the shop while we were diving offered me his own thongs. Of course I took them, not as I did not have the heart to deprive him of his footwear. Lucky for me that we had an afternoon shower which meant the soles of my feet would not be burnt on the normally hot sand.
After a brief rest it is back to the main road in search of water and a new pair of thongs. I managed to find a pair that set me back 180rp ($1.60). They look good enough to last the remainder of the trip. I decided that I would like some king coconut juice and would you believe it bad luck number 3 occurred. As soon as he knocked the top off the coconut I was covered in juice. It went into my hair, face and shirt but all I could do was laugh. Maybe I should not go out for dinner tonight.
I did go out for dinner and chose the cheaper main road option. My meal was a nice piece of grilled tuna and a litre of water. It was sweet dreams tonight.
Wednesday 20th July – We Are Sailing
Prior to leaving home I had come across a trip on a large catamaran that operated out of Trimcomalee. Yesterday afternoon I managed to secure a spot on their giant loop excursion which departs at 6:30am. It is a seven hour trip and costs 7,500rp (approx$70). I awoke at 5:30 and just after six headed down to the main road to hire a tuk tuk to take me down to Koneswaram Bay. The first guy I hailed gave me a price of 100rp which is very cheap. I suspect that he did not really understand me. In fact he did not as he was taking me away from the beach. In the end we worked out and we arrived with time to spare. The crew sent in the zodiac which ferried myself and eight from the Netherlands nation to the “Pearl” which would be our home for the next seven hours. One word can describe this excursion and it is fantastic.
We were no sooner on our way when breakfast was served. It was a decent cup of coffee and a vegetable frittata. As we headed out into the murky depths I could see all the dolphin and whale watching boats cruising around. They are basically runabouts with a big motor which race all around trying to find these elusive denizens of the deep. It looked very uncomfortable as they bulldozed their way over the ocean. Meanwhile our crew knew what they were doing and we were soon treated to a spectacular show from the bottlenose dolphins who were porpoising at the bow of the catamaran. We also were lucky enough to see big pods of spinner dolphins and a lone Bryde’s Whale which was missing a dorsal fin. We had some spare time so we headed out into deeper water in search of more whales. Unfortunately that came to an end when the boat inadvertently became entangled in a fishing net. I thought that the fishermen would be angry however they were quite amicable. The skipper donned his snorkeling gear and had to cut away the net that was tangled around the propeller. After that incident we headed back to the shelter of the bay below the temple where we anchored up for the next 2.5 hours.
This gave the chance for the Inala boy to emerge and I was soon diving off the top deck into the crystal clear water. Some of the guests went snorkeling but I was more interested in the stand up paddle board. I had some good fun for 30 minutes and only managed to fall off once. It doesn’t really matter when the water is 28 degrees. There is also a kayak for those who have plenty of energy to burn. For me it was time to relax over a cold beer while I waited for lunch to be served. It was a grilled whole fish that had been purchased from the market this morning and it was delicious even accounting for those pesky bones. Desert followed and so did our return to Koneswaram Bay. It was a great day out and a fantastic way to see the dolphins and solitary whale.
www.sail-lanka-charter.com
Back on land I headed over to Fort Frederick which is currently a base for the Sri Lankan army. In olden days it was one of the biggest walled forts in Asia. It was built by the Portuguese in 1623. The famous Koneswaram temple is located inside this fort. This Hindu temple was earlier known as the temple of thousand Pillars. According to historical information the Portuguese had demolished the old Koneswaram temple and they built the fort with this. It is a decent uphill walk to the temple but there are plenty of vendors who will try and tempt you. The temple itself is very colourful with plenty of Hindu gods overlooking everything. The views from here are to say the least panoramic.
My day finished with the hiring of a tuk tuk driver and a search for an ATM that would dispense some rupees for me. Dinner tonight was back on the main road where I took a safe option of wood fired pizza.
Thursday 21st July – Moving On
My room was neat and tidy with wi-fi, cold water but funky shower, air conditioning which is a must here and a nice patio area. On the downside they could use some storage space for bags and there was an issue with small house ants. I could not complain about the price as it was 14,000rp for three nights. It is a beachfront property and about 800m from the main group of beach bungalows at Uppuveli. My taxi to Anuradhapura showed up early but for a change I was ready to go. It is about 115km journey and the fare is 8100rp which is about $73.
The drive was quite pleasant and the highway was in good condition. The landscape is so different from Spain with all the coconut trees, forest and roadside stalls. We stopped at one and my driver, Champ bought me a freshly cooked cob of sweet baby corn which they cool down in a basin of salty water. There were no holdups on our journey and it wasn’t difficult to find Secret Sanctuary, The Resort where I will spend the next two nights. The hotel is in a quiet location and my room is very pleasant. The manager also arranged for a driver to come around so I can organize my plans for the next four days. Thirty minutes later there was a knock on my door and in no time we had mapped out a rough itinerary which would start this afternoon. Basically I will have a driver and a new car to explore all the key sites in the region, two nights accommodation and a drop off at my hotel in Kandy. I have to pay for my meals and entrance fees. I did not haggle on the cost as Rs 35,000 ($315) seemed reasonable to me.
Abbi my portly Sri Lankan driver picked me up at 4:30pm and we went off to explore Mihintale (Rs 500). It involves a steep climb, so my driver recommended me to visit it at this time of the afternoon to avoid the midday heat. The Stairway is a series of flights, 1843 ancient granite slab steps lead majestically up the hillside. On the second landing I took on the services of a guide (Rs 1000), it is also where the monks’ refectory is located with huge stone troughs that the lay followers kept filled with rice for the monks. Nearby, at a place identified as the monastery’s relic house, are two inscribed stone slabs erected during the reign of King Mahinda IV. The final steep stairway, lined with frangipani trees, leads to the place where Mahinda and the king met. The Ambasthale Dagoba is built over the spot where Mahinda stood. The bodhi tree to the left of the base of the steps is said to be one of the oldest surviving ones. From here there is a fantastic view over the lakes and trees to Anuradhapura, a horizon studded with the domes and spikes of all the massive dagobas. The guide did prove valuable as he had to race back up the steps to retrieve my camera that I had left on a bench whilst putting my sandals back on. There were also plenty of resident Macquae Monkeys, Langur Monkeys and a lone giant squirrel.
There is not much nightlife close to the hotel so I decided to take a chance on their restaurant and ordered a vegetable curry for dinner. Abbi the manager even went out and purchased two beers for me. I enjoyed one of them sitting out on the hotel patio in the pleasant coolness of the early evening. When I received the call for dinner I could not believe it. There were six different bowls of curry and a mountain of red rice. I managed to eat about half of the food and I would have to say that it was the best meal I have had in Sri Lanka
Friday 22nd July – Go Buddha, Anuradhapura
I have a new driver today whose name is Sumith and he is Abbi’s brother in law. It was 8:00am and we were on our way to avoid the crowds as well as the heat. Our first stop was at the sacred temple of Maha Viharaya (admission Rs 200) which also has a Bohdi tree and a small rock temple. There is also a small museum with some great carvings especially one known simply as “The Lovers”.
There is so much to see here in Anuradhapura that it would drive me bonkers trying to describe all of it so I will try to keep it brief. The next site is supposed to be the most important temple to the Sri Lankan Buddhists and is called Sri Maha Bodhi. It is home of the sacred Bodhi tree which is central to Anuradhapura in both a spiritual and physical sense. It was grown from a cutting brought from Bodhgaya in India and is said to be the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world. Mahavihara is the heart of ancient Anuradhapura and is often the scene of religious ceremonies, which draw masses of people dressed in their finest. Tomorrow is supposed to be a big day. Relics here date from the 3rd century BC to the 11th century AD.
For the sheer delight of exploring an ancient city, much of it still enveloped in tropical forest, the 2000-year-old Abhayagiri Monastery area can’t be beat. A ruined 9th-century school for monks northwest of the Abhayagiri Dagoba is notable for having the finest carved moonstone in Sri Lanka and it is also where I took a break and had a thirst quenching king coconut. A couple of more stupas, a palace and a museum and we were done for the day. It was only 12:30 so we had a quick lunch before returning to the hotel. I spent the rest of the day catching up on washing and other mundane tasks. Another superb dinner at the hotel, a chat to a Dutch couple who were cycling part of the way around Sri Lanka and I was off to bed.
Saturday 23rd July – Stone Buddha, Rock Caves and the Gathering
My account at the Secret Sanctuary came to Rs 10,037 ($90) which included breakfast, dinner and lodging for two nights as well as four large ones. The manager was great and I would definitely recommend this hotel. Sumith picked me up at 8:00 wearing a big toothy grin and soon had us on our way towards Aukana. He was right about the big festival today because as we were heading away from Anuradhapura there was bus after bus going there. Apparently the people are coming from all over the island. After a 90 minute drive we reached our destination.
According to legend, the magnificent 12m-high standing Aukana Buddha (admission Rs 750) was sculpted during the reign of Dhatusena in the 5th century, though some sources date it to the 12th or 13th century. Aukana means ‘sun-eating’, and dawn. The statue is still narrowly joined at the back to the rock face it is cut from, the lotus plinth on which it stands is a separate piece. The Buddha’s pose, ashiva mudra, signifies blessings, while the burst of fire above his head represents the power of total enlightenment. You don’t need much time for the visit but the sheer scale of the statue is worth the time and effort to get there.
Our next destination is the beautiful Royal Rock Temple complex sits about 160m above the road in the southern part of Dambulla. Sumith pointed me in the right direction but he decided to have a rest in the car rather than tackle the heights of this impressive complex. Five separate caves contain about 150 absolutely stunning Buddha statues and paintings, some of Sri Lanka’s most important and evocative religious art. Buddha images were first created here over 2000 years ago, and over the centuries subsequent kings added to and embellished the cave art. From the caves there are superb views over the surrounding countryside. Cave number two was my pick. It measures 52m from east to west and 23m from the entrance to the back wall; the highest point of the ceiling is 7m. This cave is named after the two statues of kings it contains Maharaja and Viharaya.
A spot of lunch and we were off to our rendezvous with our jeep driver so we could tour Minneriya National Park. The cost for the jeep whether it is one or four people is Rs 5000 but the real sting is in the park fees especially for foreigners. Sri Lankans pay Rs 60 whilst we outsiders have to pay Rs 2133.75 per person, plus some local taxes. Total cost of park fees was Rs 4042.34. One of Asia’s great wildlife spectacles occurs at Minneriya National Park between July and September. Known as ‘the Gathering’, 200 or more elephants gather for several weeks in one concentrated spot. On our trip we headed down to the large lake which loses a significant amount of water at this time of year. There were water buffalo, a small crocodile that looked stuffed, eagles, kingfishers, wading birds, monkeys and spotted deer. The main attraction of course is the elephants. We saw three groups which would have totaled around 150. The big surprise for me was the large number of baby elephants not more than a few weeks old. The trip was a little over two hours but was worth the cost to see so many of these magnificent pachyderms in the wild.
After the safari it was full steam ahead towards Polonnaruva and the Ariya Rest House (Rs 4000). My room was basic with a just functioning air conditioner. The downside was that the promised hot shower was only a trickle. There are also a heap of mosquitoes in the room. Dinner was thankfully excellent and once again I did not come close to finishing it.
Sunday 24th July – Happy Birthday Brother Ed
We do not have far to drive this morning so we did not hit the road until 8:30. Our first stop was the excellent museum which comprises of several rooms, each dedicated to a particular theme: the citadel, the outer city, the monastery area and Hindu monuments. The latter room contains a wonderful selection of bronzes, including some outstanding Shiva statues. It is also where you purchase your admission ticket for a very cheap Rs 3550.
With the museum visit over and my ticket in hand it was off to visit the ancient ruins of Polonnaruva. The ruins, which can be conveniently divided into five groups: the Royal Palace group; the Quadrangle; the Northern Group (spread over a wide area) and a latter two which I did not visit. It is an amazing site and I spent about four hours exploring the ruins. The highlights were:
· The Gal Pota (Stone Book) is a colossal stone representation of an ola book. It is nearly 9m long by 1.5m wide, and 40cm to 66cm thick
· Lankatilaka temple, built by Parakramabahu and later restored by Vijayabahu IV. This huge gedige has 17m-high walls, although the roof has collapsed. The cathedral-like aisle leads to a huge standing (headless) Buddha
· Gal Vihara is a group of beautiful Buddha images that probably marks the high point of Sinhalese rock carving. They are part of Parakramabahu’s northern monastery. The Gal Vihara consists of four separate images, all cut from one long slab of granite
With my visit over it was off for yet another three course buffet lunch prior to heading off to the next hotel at Sigiriya. My room (Rs 4000) at the Grand Regent Holiday Resort and Spa is twice as good as the previous night. It has a half decent hot shower, cable television and a large comfortable bedroom with coffee table and chairs. II had a good couple of hours rest before we headed off.
I think that Sigiriya is the jewel in the crown of the ancient cities and the Rs 4260 admission price reflects this. Sumith and I arrived just before 4:30pm so that we could avoid the heat. There was plenty of cloud cover which helped with the heat but it also means no visible sunset at the summit. The museum closes at 5:30 so we paid a visit prior to heading over to the gardens. There were a couple of good exhibits which make it worthwhile to take a short visit. The lowest section inside the Sigiriya complex is a beautifully landscaped area dotted with water gardens, then as you approach the rock its foothills contain boulder gardens (home to numerous Buddhist shrines) and terraced gardens. The base of Sigiriya has been landscaped to produce the terraced gardens.
Halfway up the rock there’s an open-air spiral stairway leading up from the main route to a long, sheltered gallery in the sheer rock face. There is a ticket checkpoint here and this is where I lost Sumith. Apparently he could not accompany me, a foreigner, up the rock as he is not a licensed guide. I suspect that he was secretly relieved because I did notice that his hip was playing up. In this gallery there is a series of paintings of buxom, wasp-waisted women, popularly believed to represent either apsaras (celestial nymphs) or King Kassapa’s concubines. To reach the summit you walk through the Lion’s Paws and ascend a series of steep steps. The spectacular terraced summit of the rock covers 1.6 hectares and the view over the plains is spectacular. I spent a good half hour clambering over the terraces of the old palace which was built by King Kassapa (AD 477–495).
The walk down was much quicker and towards the end I took the path which led to the foreigner’s car park. This route also takes you past the Cobra Hood Cave. When I arrived at the car park there was no sign of Sumith so I assumed he must be waiting at the original car park which is over a kilometre away. It was 6:30pm and the place was starting to empty out. Fortunately the car was there but Sumith was not. I decided to take a quick stroll to see if he was in the immediate vicinity. Just as I was about to give up I saw his beaming smile coming towards me. He had spotted me on the way down but with his bad hip he could not catch me.
Back at the hotel I freshened up before dinner. To my amazement Graham and Jill whom I had met in Negombo are also staying here. We caught up on our misadventures and they introduced me to a young Australian couple who were also going to the cricket in Kandy.
Monday 25th July – Sigiriya to Kandy
We only have a couple of small sites to visit on the way to Kandy so we did not depart until 9:00. There is not much to see on the way to Kandy apart from a couple of Hindu temples and one of the many spice gardens that are dotted along the road. I gave the gardens a miss but did stop at Nalanda Gedige which is a small South Indian Hindu temple and enjoys a wonderfully peaceful location next to a tank (artificial lake) with prolific local birdlife. The next temple was in the town of Matale and has the wonderful name of Sri Muthumariamman Thevasthanam (admission Rs 250). It is an interesting Hindu temple with colorful gods that fill every niche of this cavernous building.
As we approached Kandy the traffic was thicker and it eventually came to a standstill as two lanes merged into one. There are no rules here for this maneuver and it is every driver for themselves. We arrived at Sandamadala Inn which I have booked for six nights just after midday. I am very happy with my room as it looks fresh and modern with a large bathroom. There is a small balcony with a table and chairs that has views of the lake and mountains.
After settling in I went down to the railway station to book a ticket from Kandy to Ella next Sunday. I was surprised when I was informed that all the advance tickets had been sold. Tickets would be available for sale from 8:00am on Sunday which does not give me much time as the train departs at 8:47. I’ll just have to cross that track when I get to it. I spent the rest of the afternoon buying supplies and trolling the market.
Prior to dinner at the Garden Café I enjoyed a couple of beers on the balcony. I was going to walk down the hill to the café but a light shower of rain changed my mind. A Rs100 tuk tuk ride soon had me at the café where Alice and I dined out on our previous visit in 2012. It seems the word is out as there were plenty of tourists inside enjoying a cheap but decent meal.
Tuesday 26th July – Australia v Sri Lanka Day 1 First Cricket Test
The tuk tuk driver was downstairs waiting for me and we took off for the ground at 9:15. The stadium is at Pallekele about 18km out of Kandy and took about 35 minutes to get there. My driver will return at 5:00 to take me back to the hotel. There was a bit of a slow moving queue at the ticket office which meant that I would miss the first couple of overs. I could not believe that they had the audacity to charge Rs 200 ($1.80) for a seat in the grandstand so I bought my tickets for the first three days. At home that may get you a glass of water if you are lucky. I ended up taking my seat part way through the third over.
The ground looks a real treat with a beautiful green outfield which should be to Australia’s liking. I must have had perfect timing as Sri Lanka lost their first wicket in the fourth over. From then on it was a procession of wickets with them being five down at lunch. After lunch Lyon took three wickets in his first to overs to have the opposition reeling. From memory I think they were all out shortly after for a paltry 117.
Australia started badly with Sri Lanka dismissing both openers with only seven runs on the board. Khawaja and Smith consolidated the innings and Australia was 2 for 66 at tea. I was looking forward to a good last session but it never got under way as we received an afternoon shower. It wasn’t torrential rain but it was enough to end proceedings for the day. I gave the tuk tuk driver a call and he said that he would be there at 4:00. He eventually arrived in a different vehicle sporting greasy hands and apolgised for being late. I had met a young couple from Perth whilst in Sigiriya and saw them at the match. They are staying in the same area as me so we shared the tuk tuk back to Kandy. They are going again tomorrow so I will pick them up on the way.
Dinner tonight was once again at the ever reliable Garden Cafe.
Friday, July 22, 2016
The end of the European Vacation but it is not over yet
Monday 11th July – Train to Madrid
Up early this morning t 6:00am as I have to catch the 7:35am train to Madrid. After a quick wash I was on my way at 6:30am. From my research I estimated that it was only a 20 minute walk. I did have an incident as I was passing the bus station. A seedy looking young guy approached me and asked for money. After my refusal he kept following and badgering me and would not leave me alone. He was attempting to intimidate me without actually threatening me. It was quite invasive. I noticed a police car and waved them down. My friend could see no further use from me and calmly asked the police for directions back to the bus station. I thanked the police who understood the situation and then proceeded to walk the last three minutes to the train station. The station itself is a modern complex and I had no trouble determining which platform my train was departing from. There was even time for a freshly squeezed OJ, coffee and pastry. The trip time from here to Madrid is scheduled for 3hrs 15mins and is a little over 300km. I had booked the ticket in advance on the RENFE website and it was a very reasonable 17.65euro which is cheaper than most of the tolls I paid in France and Italy. The route is mostly through the Spanish countryside with panoramic views of farmland, rivers and mountains. Like the saying goes, the only stops we make are the stations.
I have chosen my hotel in Madrid, Sleep ’n’ Atocha as it is supposed to be close to the main station aptly named Atocha. At 40euro a night in a capital city I do not have high expectations for my three night stay. The train pulled in ten minutes late at 11:00 and it was then that I realized that I did not know the directions to the hotel. I knew the address but did not have a map or internet direction to find my way. I started walking in the general direction of where I thought the hotel was when I spotted a map on a bus shelter. After a quick consultation and a few minutes later I was at the door of the hotel.
I checked-in and stored my bag as the room would not be ready until 3:00pm. No problem, the Reina Sofia museum is only 50 metres away so I went and purchased a three museum ticket (28.80euro). The ticket includes the Prado Museum which is the first stop on my museum tour and only 600m away. It was a good decision to pre-purchase the ticket as the queue was very long and there was no respite from the sun. The Prado houses a huge collection of Medieval and Renaissance paintings. On the main floor there are paintings by El Greco, Ribera, Murillo, Velazquez and other Spanish masters from their Golden Age. The Goya collection of over 100 paintings is spread over all floors. My favourites were from his black period especially Saturn devouring his child, quite disturbing. http://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/goya/9/
Other renown artist such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Botticelli, Rembrandt and Raphel are well represented. The Cardinal by Raphel was one of my favourites. After three hours I was exhausted and headed back to the hotel. Along the way I stopped at the Museum of Jamon and had a 90c cleansing ale which came with a small plate of chorizo.
"Black Paintings" in the Quinta del Sordo (1820-1823) www.wga.hu The 14 'Black Paintings' paintings (now in the Museo del Prado), so called because of the dark tones and predominance of black, originally decorated the Quinta del ...
It was already 4:30pm, my room was definitely available and I was ready for a shower. The room which is not huge is excellent. Good air-con, comfortable double bed, flat screen TV and a reasonably large bathroom with a rain head shower. This hotel is like an up market version of the Fragrance Hotels in Singapore. After relaxing for a couple of hours it was time to extend myself at visit the Reina Sofia museum which is open until 9:00pm. I wandered over at 6:15pm and headed for the first floor which had an exhibition of Cuban born artist Wilfred Lam. I liked his work but like Surrealism I did not get it.
The four floors are broken up into themes and supported by old film footage.
1. From Revolt to Post Modernity (1962-1982)
2. The Eruption of the 20th Century: Utopias and Conflicts (1900-1945)
- Picasso’s Guernica
- Salvador Dali and Oscar Dominguez, Surrealism and Revolution
3. Temporary Exhibitions
4. Is the War Over? Art in a Divided World (1945-1968)
I had just finished admiring a Jean Miro painting when the room attendants started herding everyone off the floor. It was nearly 9:00pm so it was time for Lord Kawaku to leave the building. Food beckoned, so I headed around the corner for a cheap feed at the Museum of Jamon. The meal itself was a little greasy and just edible. At least the 90cent beers diluted the effects of the grease.
Tuesday 12th July – Not Another Museum
A little after 10:00 I headed up the road for 10 minutes to visit the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. This museum completes the trifecta and compliments its more serious neighbours. It is a little smaller but the three floors still took 2.5 hours to visit. If you are not into art museums but want a broad taste then this is the one to visit. It contains one of the world’s most distinguished private art collections and covers seven centuries. Starting on level 2 it has good examples of Renaissance and Baroque Art. Level 1 displays work from the Dutch School, North American Art, Impressionism, Post Impressionism and German Impressionism. Level 0 is reserved for the 20th century and contains Cubism, Abstract Art, Surrealism and Pop Art. The artists include Miro, Picasso, Dali, Kadinsky, Raphael, Monet, Gaugin, Van Gogh and many others. It is definitely worth a visit.
After I caught my breath I walked up Paseo del Prado to take a picture of the Cybele fountain which is located in the middle of a large roundabout at Plaza de Cibeles. As an extra bonus I discovered that for 2E I could visit the viewing platform of the Palace adjacent to the plaza. The 360 degree views over Madrid were fantastic and it is certainly worth a visit. One block further to the right at Puetra De Alcala is Madrid’s Victory Gate, the Alcalá Gate of Madrid.
It was just on 2:00pm so I decided to take a break and treated myself to a fine lunch at the Mallorca restaurant situated on Calle de Serrano. Soup, smoked salmon and two glasses of a fine red should be enough to keep me going. After a long break it was back into the sun and another block to another monument, the plinth of Christopher Columbus. It is situated at another roundabout at Plaza de Colon. The plaza has an impressive huge modern concrete sculpture which is dedicated to the discovery of America. On one side it is bounded by the equally impressive facades of the Archeological Museum and the National Library. The heat was too much so I headed back to Atocha .
At 6:15 I donned my walking boots. My goal was to walk to Puerta Sol which is about 20 minutes away and then follow Rick Steves walking tour to the Royal Palace. There is plenty to see on this route including The Bear and Madrono Tree statue, Plaza Myor, Cathedral of Almudena and the Royal Palace. From here it is worth continuing on to Plaza Espana where there is a great statue of Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Continue up the hill and you arrive at the Temple De Debod. It was donated by the Egyptian government as a thank you for Spain’s help relocating temples when the Aswan dam was built. I wanted to watch the sunset and take in the great views along with hundreds of others. It did not look like setting until 9:45pm and I had yet to eat. It was a bit of a walk back to Puerta Sol so I took a gamble on the metro. Eventually I worked out how to purchase a ticket (1.5euro) and soon back to Sol.
Dinner tonight was Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes in a spicy red sauce) washed down with some red wine. Casa Toni has a helpful English menu and several classic dishes but after the patas there was no room left. Toni even threw in a couple of extras which rounded off an enjoyable evening. With my belly full I waddled my way back to the hotel and a blissful sleep.
Wednesday 13th July – Hop On, Hop Off
I’m in no rush this morning as I have ticked off everything that I wanted to see locally. A tour to Sergovia would have been okay but I was too lazy to arrange anything. Instead I went for a walk to the railway station to familiarize myself for tomorrow’s journey to Barcelona. With a few hours to kill I opted for a trip on the Madrid City Tour. I ended up being able to purchase a seniors ticket for 10euro and two days would have been 13euro. Route 1 which I caught has a stop just around the corner from my hotel. The route covers most of the city sights that I had walked to yesterday. It was good however to relax and listen to the commentary on the 90 minute round trip. I did manage to glean a few facts from the commentary.
At Puerta del Sol I alighted and took a break for lunch at another of the Museum of Jamon stores. Over a beer and a ham and cheese croissant I had a good sports chat with two Indian guys from London. They loved their cricket and rugby and were off to Seville in the morning. With lunch over it was back on the red bus for a trip on route 2 which takes approximately 60 minutes.
This route is less popular than the other and I had a seat to myself under the shade canopy. The bus travels some of the more affluent areas of Madrid. It passes some high end stores, palaces and embassies. The highlight for football fans is a stop at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid. I think even Alice knows that they are recognized as one of the world’s premier sporting teams. With the tour over I returned to my hotel. I have kept my ticket as I will probably use it when I go out for a late dinner.
No such luck as there was a decided reduction in service after 7:00pm. In the end I gave up waiting and walked up to St Anna Plaza where I had a couple of Natural beers. Naturally, they were quite expensive compared to the 90 cent special from the Museum of Ham. I think the cheap beer even tasted better. The entertainment was the barman playing up with four older women who were slightly sloshed. When I looked around the room 70 percent of the patrons were glued to their mobiles. Whatever happened to the art of conversation and a good topic to fire up the consonants and the vowels. At 8:15 I moved digs to Casa del Abuelo which is supposed to a good job on Gamba (prawns). I selected barbeque prawns which were very tasty but in hindsight I should have chosen the garlic or chili prawns which looked delicious. It was slightly expensive, 11.75E for eight medium sized prawns. From here I went to Casa Toni for my last dish of the night, mushrooms grilled on the hotplate. It was a huge dish which tasted great but could have done with a little less oil. Business was humming but Toni still found time to give me a small complimentary plate of lightly fried anchovies. A couple of wines later and it was back to the hotel.
Thursday 14th July – Barcelona
Have thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Sleep ‘n ‘ Atocha and would recommend this budget hotel.
· Short walk from Madrid Atocha train station. Airport buses stop here and trains link most of the Spanish cities
· Easy walk to three major museums
· Hop on Hop off bus stop less than 100 metres
· Atocha metro station 100 metres (line currently under repair)
· Twenty minute walk to Plaza Mayor
I have booked the very fast train which departs Madrid at 10:30am. The 621km journey is due to arrive in Barcelona at 1:15 pm. This is a far better option than flying as it is quicker when you take into consideration the time spent travelling to and from the airport, security and check-in. There are travel options that cost between 30E and 40E but the travel time is around six hours.
I arrived at the station around 10:05 and went straight to the departure platforms on level 1. The security line moved quickly and I was soon seated in my comfortable seat which has a lot more leg room than economy class on any airline. We departed on time and were soon in the countryside humming along at over 200kmph. I kept an eye on the train’s velocity gauge which eventually hit a high of 301kmph. Even at that speed the ride was smooth and I was able to enjoy a small bottle of red and a ham and cheese croissant that I had brought along for the ride. It was great to look out the window and watch the very parched landscaped rolling by. Time to play an old song by Peter Starsted, “Frozen Orange juice. As the train approached Barcelona I spotted Alice’s favourite cava winery, Freixnet. The train arrived 5 minutes early and within ten minutes I was on the metro heading for Hostal Abrevadero.
Check-in was smooth and I was soon in a comfortable room with reasonable space for two. The room is a little tired but I cannot complain about the rate. I then went and retrieved my luggage that I had stored two weeks earlier. Everything was in order and I now have the luxury of more clothes and the old just functioning netbook. I basically hung around the hotel for the day catching up on administrative tasks. In the evening I treated myself to prawns and chewy octopus.
Friday 15th July – Barcelona Flight Time
Breakfast at the Abrevadero which cost 3.50euro was a substantial affair. It was a small buffet but had plenty to fill you. The customers are mostly African and Muslim and I suspect at 36euro a night it is a good bargain for them as well as me. This is definitely a good hotel if you are on a budget. It is in the Montjuic area with two metro lines, funicular and about a ten minute walk to the Ramblas.
Check out time is at midday and I was at a loss at what I could see or do prior to being picked up for the airport at 6:30pm. I stored my luggage in the hotel lockers (2euro) and decide to walk to the Ramblas. I passed a bicycle store that offered tours in English at 11:00am but alas it was already 11:20am. I then saw a store offering Segway tours so I went in to see what was on offer. For 55euro I could take a two hour tour at 1:00pm. With no money down they booked me on the tour. I still had over an hour to kill so I continued onto the Ramblas and sauntered up the magic mile. The stomach was rumbling so I ducked into the famous La Boqueria Market. After a bit of thought I ended up purchasing 300g of fresh large cooked prawns and some cold gazpacho soup to wash it down. There is an open concrete park area at the rear of the complex which was the perfect place to sit and savor the succulent crustaceans.
Back at the Segway store our group of eight was given some operating instructions and after some practice we were on our way. It didn’t take long to master the intricacies of these mobile machines and the whole group was pretty confident going forward. Our route took us over towards the Ramblas and then headed along the waterfront to the nearby beach. We took a couple of breaks and our guides explained some of the history of the area. The tour ended up being close to 2.5 hours and I know Alice would have enjoyed it as much as I did.
It was only 3:30pm so I decided to take the 12euro tour of Parc Guell which was designed by Antoni Gaudi early in his career. The audio guide which is included in the price gave an excellent explanation of what Gaudi and the master craftsmen tried to accomplish with this site. Another glad I did it experience.
Back at the hotel and I have another hour before I am picked up. What to do? I can’t believe that I did not notice this place last night. Right next door to my hotel is the A Birra Derro which has around 40 craft beers on tap. I started with a Double IPA, Black IPA and finished with an Imperial Stout. They all tasted great but the verdict went to a very bitter creamy Imperial Stout. My Emirates chauffer limousine arrived dead on time to transport me in style to terminal 1 at the International Airport. I was surprised by the number of passengers checking in as it was still 3.75 hours until departure. Even the business class line had a queue which was me. I did ask if an upgrade was possible between Dubai and Colombo and with a little help from the Emirates team leader I may have succeeded. I won’t know for sure until I get to the gate around 10:00pm. Meanwhile it didn’t take long to clear security and immigration and then find the Sala Miro lounge where I enjoyed a few wines. It was okay but nowhere near the opulence of the Emirates lounges.
When I arrived at the gate my upgrade was waiting for me.The flight was typical Emirates, plenty of good quality everything to enhance your flight experience. I think that I even managed two hours sleep and a movie before we touched down in Dubai.
Up early this morning t 6:00am as I have to catch the 7:35am train to Madrid. After a quick wash I was on my way at 6:30am. From my research I estimated that it was only a 20 minute walk. I did have an incident as I was passing the bus station. A seedy looking young guy approached me and asked for money. After my refusal he kept following and badgering me and would not leave me alone. He was attempting to intimidate me without actually threatening me. It was quite invasive. I noticed a police car and waved them down. My friend could see no further use from me and calmly asked the police for directions back to the bus station. I thanked the police who understood the situation and then proceeded to walk the last three minutes to the train station. The station itself is a modern complex and I had no trouble determining which platform my train was departing from. There was even time for a freshly squeezed OJ, coffee and pastry. The trip time from here to Madrid is scheduled for 3hrs 15mins and is a little over 300km. I had booked the ticket in advance on the RENFE website and it was a very reasonable 17.65euro which is cheaper than most of the tolls I paid in France and Italy. The route is mostly through the Spanish countryside with panoramic views of farmland, rivers and mountains. Like the saying goes, the only stops we make are the stations.
I have chosen my hotel in Madrid, Sleep ’n’ Atocha as it is supposed to be close to the main station aptly named Atocha. At 40euro a night in a capital city I do not have high expectations for my three night stay. The train pulled in ten minutes late at 11:00 and it was then that I realized that I did not know the directions to the hotel. I knew the address but did not have a map or internet direction to find my way. I started walking in the general direction of where I thought the hotel was when I spotted a map on a bus shelter. After a quick consultation and a few minutes later I was at the door of the hotel.
I checked-in and stored my bag as the room would not be ready until 3:00pm. No problem, the Reina Sofia museum is only 50 metres away so I went and purchased a three museum ticket (28.80euro). The ticket includes the Prado Museum which is the first stop on my museum tour and only 600m away. It was a good decision to pre-purchase the ticket as the queue was very long and there was no respite from the sun. The Prado houses a huge collection of Medieval and Renaissance paintings. On the main floor there are paintings by El Greco, Ribera, Murillo, Velazquez and other Spanish masters from their Golden Age. The Goya collection of over 100 paintings is spread over all floors. My favourites were from his black period especially Saturn devouring his child, quite disturbing. http://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/goya/9/
Other renown artist such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Botticelli, Rembrandt and Raphel are well represented. The Cardinal by Raphel was one of my favourites. After three hours I was exhausted and headed back to the hotel. Along the way I stopped at the Museum of Jamon and had a 90c cleansing ale which came with a small plate of chorizo.
"Black Paintings" in the Quinta del Sordo (1820-1823) www.wga.hu The 14 'Black Paintings' paintings (now in the Museo del Prado), so called because of the dark tones and predominance of black, originally decorated the Quinta del ...
It was already 4:30pm, my room was definitely available and I was ready for a shower. The room which is not huge is excellent. Good air-con, comfortable double bed, flat screen TV and a reasonably large bathroom with a rain head shower. This hotel is like an up market version of the Fragrance Hotels in Singapore. After relaxing for a couple of hours it was time to extend myself at visit the Reina Sofia museum which is open until 9:00pm. I wandered over at 6:15pm and headed for the first floor which had an exhibition of Cuban born artist Wilfred Lam. I liked his work but like Surrealism I did not get it.
The four floors are broken up into themes and supported by old film footage.
1. From Revolt to Post Modernity (1962-1982)
2. The Eruption of the 20th Century: Utopias and Conflicts (1900-1945)
- Picasso’s Guernica
- Salvador Dali and Oscar Dominguez, Surrealism and Revolution
3. Temporary Exhibitions
4. Is the War Over? Art in a Divided World (1945-1968)
I had just finished admiring a Jean Miro painting when the room attendants started herding everyone off the floor. It was nearly 9:00pm so it was time for Lord Kawaku to leave the building. Food beckoned, so I headed around the corner for a cheap feed at the Museum of Jamon. The meal itself was a little greasy and just edible. At least the 90cent beers diluted the effects of the grease.
Tuesday 12th July – Not Another Museum
A little after 10:00 I headed up the road for 10 minutes to visit the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. This museum completes the trifecta and compliments its more serious neighbours. It is a little smaller but the three floors still took 2.5 hours to visit. If you are not into art museums but want a broad taste then this is the one to visit. It contains one of the world’s most distinguished private art collections and covers seven centuries. Starting on level 2 it has good examples of Renaissance and Baroque Art. Level 1 displays work from the Dutch School, North American Art, Impressionism, Post Impressionism and German Impressionism. Level 0 is reserved for the 20th century and contains Cubism, Abstract Art, Surrealism and Pop Art. The artists include Miro, Picasso, Dali, Kadinsky, Raphael, Monet, Gaugin, Van Gogh and many others. It is definitely worth a visit.
After I caught my breath I walked up Paseo del Prado to take a picture of the Cybele fountain which is located in the middle of a large roundabout at Plaza de Cibeles. As an extra bonus I discovered that for 2E I could visit the viewing platform of the Palace adjacent to the plaza. The 360 degree views over Madrid were fantastic and it is certainly worth a visit. One block further to the right at Puetra De Alcala is Madrid’s Victory Gate, the Alcalá Gate of Madrid.
It was just on 2:00pm so I decided to take a break and treated myself to a fine lunch at the Mallorca restaurant situated on Calle de Serrano. Soup, smoked salmon and two glasses of a fine red should be enough to keep me going. After a long break it was back into the sun and another block to another monument, the plinth of Christopher Columbus. It is situated at another roundabout at Plaza de Colon. The plaza has an impressive huge modern concrete sculpture which is dedicated to the discovery of America. On one side it is bounded by the equally impressive facades of the Archeological Museum and the National Library. The heat was too much so I headed back to Atocha .
At 6:15 I donned my walking boots. My goal was to walk to Puerta Sol which is about 20 minutes away and then follow Rick Steves walking tour to the Royal Palace. There is plenty to see on this route including The Bear and Madrono Tree statue, Plaza Myor, Cathedral of Almudena and the Royal Palace. From here it is worth continuing on to Plaza Espana where there is a great statue of Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Continue up the hill and you arrive at the Temple De Debod. It was donated by the Egyptian government as a thank you for Spain’s help relocating temples when the Aswan dam was built. I wanted to watch the sunset and take in the great views along with hundreds of others. It did not look like setting until 9:45pm and I had yet to eat. It was a bit of a walk back to Puerta Sol so I took a gamble on the metro. Eventually I worked out how to purchase a ticket (1.5euro) and soon back to Sol.
Dinner tonight was Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes in a spicy red sauce) washed down with some red wine. Casa Toni has a helpful English menu and several classic dishes but after the patas there was no room left. Toni even threw in a couple of extras which rounded off an enjoyable evening. With my belly full I waddled my way back to the hotel and a blissful sleep.
Wednesday 13th July – Hop On, Hop Off
I’m in no rush this morning as I have ticked off everything that I wanted to see locally. A tour to Sergovia would have been okay but I was too lazy to arrange anything. Instead I went for a walk to the railway station to familiarize myself for tomorrow’s journey to Barcelona. With a few hours to kill I opted for a trip on the Madrid City Tour. I ended up being able to purchase a seniors ticket for 10euro and two days would have been 13euro. Route 1 which I caught has a stop just around the corner from my hotel. The route covers most of the city sights that I had walked to yesterday. It was good however to relax and listen to the commentary on the 90 minute round trip. I did manage to glean a few facts from the commentary.
At Puerta del Sol I alighted and took a break for lunch at another of the Museum of Jamon stores. Over a beer and a ham and cheese croissant I had a good sports chat with two Indian guys from London. They loved their cricket and rugby and were off to Seville in the morning. With lunch over it was back on the red bus for a trip on route 2 which takes approximately 60 minutes.
This route is less popular than the other and I had a seat to myself under the shade canopy. The bus travels some of the more affluent areas of Madrid. It passes some high end stores, palaces and embassies. The highlight for football fans is a stop at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid. I think even Alice knows that they are recognized as one of the world’s premier sporting teams. With the tour over I returned to my hotel. I have kept my ticket as I will probably use it when I go out for a late dinner.
No such luck as there was a decided reduction in service after 7:00pm. In the end I gave up waiting and walked up to St Anna Plaza where I had a couple of Natural beers. Naturally, they were quite expensive compared to the 90 cent special from the Museum of Ham. I think the cheap beer even tasted better. The entertainment was the barman playing up with four older women who were slightly sloshed. When I looked around the room 70 percent of the patrons were glued to their mobiles. Whatever happened to the art of conversation and a good topic to fire up the consonants and the vowels. At 8:15 I moved digs to Casa del Abuelo which is supposed to a good job on Gamba (prawns). I selected barbeque prawns which were very tasty but in hindsight I should have chosen the garlic or chili prawns which looked delicious. It was slightly expensive, 11.75E for eight medium sized prawns. From here I went to Casa Toni for my last dish of the night, mushrooms grilled on the hotplate. It was a huge dish which tasted great but could have done with a little less oil. Business was humming but Toni still found time to give me a small complimentary plate of lightly fried anchovies. A couple of wines later and it was back to the hotel.
Thursday 14th July – Barcelona
Have thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Sleep ‘n ‘ Atocha and would recommend this budget hotel.
· Short walk from Madrid Atocha train station. Airport buses stop here and trains link most of the Spanish cities
· Easy walk to three major museums
· Hop on Hop off bus stop less than 100 metres
· Atocha metro station 100 metres (line currently under repair)
· Twenty minute walk to Plaza Mayor
I have booked the very fast train which departs Madrid at 10:30am. The 621km journey is due to arrive in Barcelona at 1:15 pm. This is a far better option than flying as it is quicker when you take into consideration the time spent travelling to and from the airport, security and check-in. There are travel options that cost between 30E and 40E but the travel time is around six hours.
I arrived at the station around 10:05 and went straight to the departure platforms on level 1. The security line moved quickly and I was soon seated in my comfortable seat which has a lot more leg room than economy class on any airline. We departed on time and were soon in the countryside humming along at over 200kmph. I kept an eye on the train’s velocity gauge which eventually hit a high of 301kmph. Even at that speed the ride was smooth and I was able to enjoy a small bottle of red and a ham and cheese croissant that I had brought along for the ride. It was great to look out the window and watch the very parched landscaped rolling by. Time to play an old song by Peter Starsted, “Frozen Orange juice. As the train approached Barcelona I spotted Alice’s favourite cava winery, Freixnet. The train arrived 5 minutes early and within ten minutes I was on the metro heading for Hostal Abrevadero.
Check-in was smooth and I was soon in a comfortable room with reasonable space for two. The room is a little tired but I cannot complain about the rate. I then went and retrieved my luggage that I had stored two weeks earlier. Everything was in order and I now have the luxury of more clothes and the old just functioning netbook. I basically hung around the hotel for the day catching up on administrative tasks. In the evening I treated myself to prawns and chewy octopus.
Friday 15th July – Barcelona Flight Time
Breakfast at the Abrevadero which cost 3.50euro was a substantial affair. It was a small buffet but had plenty to fill you. The customers are mostly African and Muslim and I suspect at 36euro a night it is a good bargain for them as well as me. This is definitely a good hotel if you are on a budget. It is in the Montjuic area with two metro lines, funicular and about a ten minute walk to the Ramblas.
Check out time is at midday and I was at a loss at what I could see or do prior to being picked up for the airport at 6:30pm. I stored my luggage in the hotel lockers (2euro) and decide to walk to the Ramblas. I passed a bicycle store that offered tours in English at 11:00am but alas it was already 11:20am. I then saw a store offering Segway tours so I went in to see what was on offer. For 55euro I could take a two hour tour at 1:00pm. With no money down they booked me on the tour. I still had over an hour to kill so I continued onto the Ramblas and sauntered up the magic mile. The stomach was rumbling so I ducked into the famous La Boqueria Market. After a bit of thought I ended up purchasing 300g of fresh large cooked prawns and some cold gazpacho soup to wash it down. There is an open concrete park area at the rear of the complex which was the perfect place to sit and savor the succulent crustaceans.
Back at the Segway store our group of eight was given some operating instructions and after some practice we were on our way. It didn’t take long to master the intricacies of these mobile machines and the whole group was pretty confident going forward. Our route took us over towards the Ramblas and then headed along the waterfront to the nearby beach. We took a couple of breaks and our guides explained some of the history of the area. The tour ended up being close to 2.5 hours and I know Alice would have enjoyed it as much as I did.
It was only 3:30pm so I decided to take the 12euro tour of Parc Guell which was designed by Antoni Gaudi early in his career. The audio guide which is included in the price gave an excellent explanation of what Gaudi and the master craftsmen tried to accomplish with this site. Another glad I did it experience.
Back at the hotel and I have another hour before I am picked up. What to do? I can’t believe that I did not notice this place last night. Right next door to my hotel is the A Birra Derro which has around 40 craft beers on tap. I started with a Double IPA, Black IPA and finished with an Imperial Stout. They all tasted great but the verdict went to a very bitter creamy Imperial Stout. My Emirates chauffer limousine arrived dead on time to transport me in style to terminal 1 at the International Airport. I was surprised by the number of passengers checking in as it was still 3.75 hours until departure. Even the business class line had a queue which was me. I did ask if an upgrade was possible between Dubai and Colombo and with a little help from the Emirates team leader I may have succeeded. I won’t know for sure until I get to the gate around 10:00pm. Meanwhile it didn’t take long to clear security and immigration and then find the Sala Miro lounge where I enjoyed a few wines. It was okay but nowhere near the opulence of the Emirates lounges.
When I arrived at the gate my upgrade was waiting for me.The flight was typical Emirates, plenty of good quality everything to enhance your flight experience. I think that I even managed two hours sleep and a movie before we touched down in Dubai.
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