Mountain Heavens Ella

... is everywhere. There was one section in particular where there was a heap of ruins of houses and stumps of trees everywhere. All the places we visited had their own evidence and stories to tell about what happened to them. First we went to a turtle rescue park, right next to the beach. There I got shown turtles that ranged from eggs in the ground to around 4 years old. We got to hold them as well, but not the big ones cause they would have been just too heavy. These guys are ...

... I would highly recommend it.<br><br>Once we arrived in the Northern city of Arunandaphura we found a guesthouse and organised a guide to take us to the many stupas, dagobas and palaces within the ancient city. We also visited &#8220;the sacred bodhi tree&#8221; which is believed to have grown from a cutting from the sacred tree that Buddha lied under whilst becoming enlightened and reaching nirvana. In the evening we went to a little roadside stall for some tea ...

... We left Kandy by train, which was a beautiful journey through hills, tea plantations and the most green and lush countryside we have ever seen. Arrived at Hatton, an agricultural town which had decorated all their shops with greenery to celebrate a buddhist festival - think tropical Christmas. Got on a bus to Masekeliya and we turned out to be a great source of amusement to the ...

... I was happy I made it up the entire 5,200 steps without giving up. We arrived in the cute little town up in the mountain area that you spend the night at before the early morning trek the next morning. We took a beautiful bus ride through the tea countryside while it rained off and on during our half day trek. It's hard not to compare Sri Lanka to India after having spent a few months there and I have to say, Sri Lanka offers all the beauty of India but ...

Aayu bowan (Sinhala for hello), From the south coast I took the bus north into the hill country. It was a beautiful ride through lush forests and instead of seeing cows in the streets like in India, here in Sri Lanka you see monkeys playing! So much nicer, don't you think? Ella has a nice cool climate with incredible views through the valley. The first afternoon ...

... would buckle under you quite easily so you just had to really concentrate on making them work. Although I was obviously disappointed that it hadn't been a clear sunrise, I really enjoyed the climb. It was certainly the first time I have been able to buy a cup of tea ten minutes from a summit before which was very pleasant. The crazy guys that run the tea shops near the top must have legs of steel bringing their supplies up!

... for 6 hours.. Ella is something else though, up in the highest inn, run by an Aussie couple it has been a refreshing break from the usual faceless guesthouses that are on offer, they have turned the place into their home and warmly welcome guest, iggy pop's "a lust for life" was bellowing from the hifi as we entered, what a luxury, music - loud music, music from back home.. it's weird how the small things make the difference.. More to follow..

... interviews for the HIV/Aids conference that im helping to run next month, the language barrier is a real issue sometimes and one big difference i have to accept here is that the participants turn upto interviews not a few mins late as you may expect in the UK... but 3 DAYS late!!! On Monday i had a group of Sri Lankans turn up to an interview and they were this late. They didnt even explain why and jus thought it was normal... grr! Thats one thing i have found very ...

... to go do a jungle hike with the distinct possibility of breaking a sweat! So we made a decision to axe the hiking, enjoy the beach then come straight to the town of Kandy. Getting to Kandy from Unawatuna proved to be quite the ordeal. We decided to take the "scenic route" through the hill country. Indeed it was a totally stunning ride on a curvy single lane road through small villages, tea plantations, and untouched rain forest. But...it took us nine hours to drive ...

... ocean - now we're in an old land rover seeing wild elephants, peacocks, monkeys and crocs! The park also has leopards, bears and many other animals but our vehicle was (to put it mildly) sub par. After touring Yala National Park, for the next week we basically tea-town hopped, visiting various cities that revolve around the tea industry. The tea industry was brought to Sri ...