We once again hopped on the famous Kandy to Ella train, this time for the final four-hour stretch of the journey. This journey, we were in second class, which was way less crowded, so we finally had the chance to snap some classic Sri Lanka train photos!
Once we arrived in Ella, we walked from the train station through town to our hostel in the hills. The town is buzzing with energy, and the tourism influence is pretty clear—Western brunch spots, souvenir shops, and bars are everywhere. Its a fun town but it was a nice relief to be tucked away a bit in the hills, where it was quieter and the views were amazing.
After checking in, we went out for some local food, which, as always, was delicious. But once again, we couldn’t finish it all. They always ask us why and if something was wrong with the food, but that’s definitely not the case—we just can’t manage three portions of rice each! Although saying that, we did somehow manage to find space for some ice cream on the walk home!
In the afternoon, we signed up for a hostel excursion to Little Adam’s Peak, a smaller version of the famous mountain in Sri Lanka. The climb involved a lot of stairs and a steep ascent, but overall, it was a fun hike.
There were six of us in the group, all from different parts of Europe, which made for some great conversation along the way. It was nice having company while we watched the sunset from the top!
On the way back down, we made plans to grab some drinks later—after a much-needed shower! We met up with everyone at the hostel bar, had a few drinks, and played a couple of rounds of pool before heading out to the local “nightclub” (and I use that term very loosely). It was basically an open-air bar on top of a hill, blasting loud music, but it made for a fun night of dancing anyway.
Around 1 a.m., we called it a night and left the rest of the group to carry on, knowing we had planned an early morning hike.
The next morning we woke up early, in an attempt to beat the heat, and set out for another hike along the Pekoe trail. It was another beautiful walk, and this time, part of the route took us along the railway tracks and past the famous Nine Arches Bridge—a stunning colonial-era railway viaduct.
The locals here just don’t get the idea of walking for its own sake. Every time we head out, someone asks where we’re going and insists a tuk-tuk would get us there much faster. Today, they kept pointing out a shortcut along the main road so we wouldn’t have to wander through all the local villages. They looked at us like we were simple when we explained that exploring the village was the whole point.
On our third day, we hoped to hike to some waterfalls where you could actually swim, but the weather put a damper on our plans. A storm hit in the morning and it rained on and off all day, so we decided to book a cooking course instead—to keep busy and stay dry. The course was held in a traditional kitchen with bamboo and mud walls and floor, and a clay stove heated by firewood.
We got to choose which curries we wanted to make, and since the two other girls in the course were vegetarian, we went with lentils, potatoes, pumpkin, and a type of bean.
Each of us was given different tasks as we cooked the dishes one by one. It was really fun, and we got to learn the traditional way of doing everything—separating rice from dust, grinding ingredients, and grating coconut by hand. Most of these steps aren’t necessary anymore with modern tools, but it was really cool to see how it’s all done the old-fashioned way.
The host was a bit short with us at times—I think she found it hard to believe we were so clueless about things we’d never done before, like grating a coconut (which I nearly sliced my thumb doing, so I definitely wasn’t in a rush to speed up!).
She kept giving vague instructions like, “You watch that,” or “Remove when done,” and then got frustrated when we had no idea what “done” was supposed to look like for something we’d never made or even eaten before.
We also had some very cute but slightly inconvenient company—a six-month-old kitten who loved sitting right in the middle of the cooking area, or even directly on our feet. Luckily, he got distracted by scraps of coconut and was happy to munch on them, giving us a bit of space to cook!
Despite the distractions and all of us being pretty useless in the kitchen, we still managed to put together a seriously delicious meal—probably one of the best we’d had in Sri Lanka and definitely better than the restaurant we visited!
Although we couldn’t make the dishes as spicy as we would have liked, the German girls we did the course with lived up to the stereotype of German not being able to handle spice. During the taste test, they said the curries were at the upper limit of what they could tolerate—at which point our host pointed out that so far, they only contained pepper, with no chilies or chili powder added yet.
She also taught us how to eat the traditional Sri Lankan way—with our hands. The first and most important rule: always use your right hand! The left is for wiping your butt, and no one wants that kind of cross-contamination.
The process goes like this: scoop some rice onto a clear space on your plate, add some curry, and mix it together a bit—breaking down any big chunks and forming it into a sticky lump. Then, place it on the tips of your fingers and scoop it into your mouth without using your thumb.
At least this was one task we could manage without messing up, and before we knew it, dinner was finished.
We spent the evening playing pool again while it rained. I’d love to say we’re slowly improving and on our way to becoming pool pros, but honestly, I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon! We move on to the beaches in the south for our last week in Sri Lanka so hopefully the rain doesn’t follow us!
Tell you all about it soon, love Alice x