Kahagolla

09:12
Last night I remembered in something of a panic that I have a 6-7 hour train journey coming up. Once again, no promise of water, food or other sustenance on the train itself, so I head out first thing to grab some supplies for the train. On the walk back up to Third Eye, my calves are burning - I can feel the hill-based hiking I did yesterday.

I sit down for breakfast, and order much less food. MUCH less. Some eggs, hoppers and fruit - that’s it. Imagine my surprise when toast, pancakes and roti turn up. I try to explain that this is not what I was after, so Dilpesh brings more toast. Sigh. I resort to showing pictures of what I’d like with a thumbs up for YES! And a thumbs down for NO…. Amazingly, this strategy works.

12:10
It’s only a 5 minute walk down to the station, and I’m there in plenty of time. The train’s due to leave at 11:10, but is sometimes a little early, sometimes a little late, and often quite significantly late. I spend an enjoyable 1/2 hour people watching, and eavesdropping on the conversation of a couple of French women, probably in their late 60s or early 70s, who are talking about me in French. They’ve heard me speak English, and obviously can’t believe I would be able to speak or understand French. One of them says nice things about my tattoos, while the other disparages them. They try to guess my age - the low end of the range is 40, the high is 50 - I will accept the average. Around 11:00, a loud bell chimes, and the stationmaster says the train is approaching. I leap up, as much as you can leap up with 25kg of backpack attached to you, and in beautifully accented French wish the two women a good day and a safe onward journey, and smile as their faces drop. The ‘train approaching’ is something of an untruth. The train may well be within a few kilometres, but at the speed it moves, it’s still ten minutes out. It pulls into the station on time, and there’s a mad rush to board. I’m in the Observation Car at the very back of the train. There are plenty of free seats. Mine is in the very first row (or last row, depending on how you look at it), and my view out of the back window of the train is uninterrupted.

The views from the train are incredible. More of the same scenery I’ve come to love around Ella - high, sweeping hills, countless tea plantations, deep ravines and valleys, kids playing football on a sandy school pitch, lots of waving people as the train trundles past. I may have done the train a disservice yesterday. 120km is the flying crow distance. The track distance is a hefty 154km. My train is due into Peradeniya at 17:17, so that’s… <MATHS> an average speed of 25 kmh. I find myself wondering whether the train actually goes faster than this, and perhaps stops for extended periods of time at some of the stops. I use a speedometer app on my phone to check. Yup - the top speed we hit is 37 kmh, and that’s on one of the very few straight sections of the railway. An average of 25 kmh is highly believable.

13:59
We’ve been sat at Ambewela station for over half an hour. Most of the track is single gauge, except for some of the stations. There’s another train heading towards , and limited places where trains can pass each other - Ambewela being one of them. Unhappily, the train coming the other way is late, and we have to sit here waiting for it to pass before we can continue. When the other train finally pulls into the station, no one even apologises. It’s an outrage.

14:52
We are 40 minutes late going through Great Western - which feels highly appropriate.

16:34
All told, we’re close to an hour late now, and I doubt I”ll get to my hotel much (if at all) before 19:00. Hadn’t planned on seeing all that much of Kandy - which is just as well. I may have time for a quick wander tomorrow morning before I head on to Negombo.

At one point earlier, we were at 1,900m above sea level, and there was a lovely freshness in the air. We’ve come down significantly from there, and it’s getting demonstrably warmer. I deliberately chose a non air-conditioned carriage for this journey, so I could do the whole open window / photo thing. It does mean that carriage is starting to get rather warm though…

19:30
Finally got into Peradeniya, 10km from Kandy around 18:15, so pretty much bang on an hour late. So yeah - not the quickest train journey in the world, but definitely one of the most beautiful I’ve been on. A quick 20 minute cab ride later, and I’m dropped at The Hills - a new (ish) hotel on a hillside overlooking Kandy. I’m told the views from here are spectacular, but that’ll have to wait till morning. I’m hungry, having not eaten anything substantive since breakfast - but first things first, I’m in dire need of a G+T.

22:00
G+T denied! I get the distinct sense that this place is in the slow process of closing down for the off season. At a few places I’ve stayed, I’ve felt like I’ve been the only guest, or one of very few, and here is no different. I do see another couple grabbing some dinner, but there are only two out of eight tables laid. When I ask after a G+T, I’m told there is no tonic. When I ask after some wine, I’m told they’re out. Lion it is in then. To be fair, it’s ultra cold, and does the job.

Similar story when it comes to dinner. When I ask for a prawn curry, I’m told no prawns. When I ask for a vegetable curry, I’m told no curry. I think basically anything that would normally be cooked in a batch for multiple guests, they’re not offering as they won’t sell enough of it. Fair enough I guess, but it means half the menu is unavailable. I end up with some chicken fried rice, which is pretty average. I ask for a bottle of water three times. My request is ignored the first two times, and I’m then offered ‘filtered’ water. I decline, and ask for mineral water with a sealed lid. They don’t have any. I hear the sound of a motorbike starting up, and five minutes later it returns. Two minutes after that, a bottle of mineral water appears. Magic!

It’s a shame that this side of the hotel offering lets them down, as my room is spectacular. Huge space, with possibly the biggest walk-in shower I’ve ever seen. Maybe I’ll have more luck with breakfast…

By the time I’ve eaten, it’s gone 21:00, and I don’t have the energy to head out down the hill into downtown Kandy. I grab another beer to take back to my room, and settle down with my book.Read more