Ayubowan to you my friend, sinhalese greeting for long life.
Mesmerizing is it not, picture perfect. So clean, so pristine words that come to my mind to describe Sri Lanka.
After a brief respite at Colombo Airport and a not so satisfactory in flight meal of chole sevai with onion thokku we are off to Fort Railway station.
Cocoja is the first of the many culinary delights- a sweet bread sprinkled with sugar that tantalizes your taste buds. Our first grub at the railway canteen accompanied by Ceylon black tea.Belly full with a sumptuous meal we are all set to Anuradhapura in a compartment called Observation Car.
As the name suggests, the end of the compartment is completely glass for your viewing pleasure.
We boarded the train with all the right intentions of staying awake and soak in the bucolic sights, but it was a matter of time before we had eyes shut and mouths wide open.
Annapurna is the ancient capital and a UNESCO world heritage site- replete with ruins and monasteries. After some hard bargain with Soosil-the taxi driver we reach the 1st site of visit -Isurumuniya. And then Soosil coaxes us to take on a guide- Milinda. With a smattering of English our guide (read con-artist) is able to confound us while replying to our questions, the retort usually ending with something something.
For an fauji kid that I am, the surroundings reminded me of an Army cantonment fully green, lined with trees, lawns ,fields,neat structures along the road with minimal traffic.
A dagoba is a sinhalese name for Stupa.After covering endless Dagobas we reach the final destination Mihintale. Walking barefoot to the meditation spot, climbing astronomical steps it was quite an excursion. The view from top makes it up for all the crawling we had to endure.
After getting some shut eye in the waiting room, we are all set for the journey back from Anuradhapura to Colombo. We are fantasizing about our place of abode for the night voyage. Along with the sleeper berth called SCS, will be provided with blankets, bed sheets? Would the comfort of air conditioning be too much to ask for.
As the train gently rolls into the station, we cant believe our luck - Coupe; wow a dream come true, we all jump with joy. So much so that Lisa leaps on to the Coupe compartment but is quickly gestured to get off by the gruff TT and swiftly directs us to the neighboring compartment.
No no no, this cant be true!!!! We beg and plead with the TT, however everything fails to melt his heart.
Finally completely flustered Madhu very politely inquires whether we could find a place to lie horizontally, but of no avail. We accept our fate, quickly share bed-sheets among couples and hit the semi-sleeper seats with a vengeance. One very peculiar moment of the train journeys was the bone jarring jolt whenever the starts moving from inertia.
Thanks to Airbnb and the USD 250 voucher Lisa had won, our stay was taken care of. Mount of Mangos would be the closest translation for this surreal snug bungalow. The British owner Mr Wiggins, an Architect by profession leaves no stone unturned to make this an ideal holiday habitat.
A picture is worth thousand words and as you can see Ambakanda is a sight for the sore eyes, a visual treat if i may say so. Our stay was would not have been as magical had it not been for Jodha the caretaker.
He made every wish come true right from the mosquito repellent to getting alcohol on a dry day and transport for 1 day(and pro bono for day 2) and lest we forget the herbs.
A Prakash or Jodha is enriches a travel experience;if you are lucky enough and wish for something truly it would happen, trust me I experienced in Unawatuna, spaseeba Madhu.
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| Kogala Beach |
After a brief respite at Colombo Airport and a not so satisfactory in flight meal of chole sevai with onion thokku we are off to Fort Railway station.
 |
| Anxious for in-flight meal |
Cocoja is the first of the many culinary delights- a sweet bread sprinkled with sugar that tantalizes your taste buds. Our first grub at the railway canteen accompanied by Ceylon black tea.Belly full with a sumptuous meal we are all set to Anuradhapura in a compartment called Observation Car.
As the name suggests, the end of the compartment is completely glass for your viewing pleasure.
We boarded the train with all the right intentions of staying awake and soak in the bucolic sights, but it was a matter of time before we had eyes shut and mouths wide open.
 |
| Observation Class View |
Annapurna is the ancient capital and a UNESCO world heritage site- replete with ruins and monasteries. After some hard bargain with Soosil-the taxi driver we reach the 1st site of visit -Isurumuniya. And then Soosil coaxes us to take on a guide- Milinda. With a smattering of English our guide (read con-artist) is able to confound us while replying to our questions, the retort usually ending with something something.
 |
| Isurumuniya |
Lucky me, I was able to toss the coin in a slot jutting out from the rock face while my fellow travelers missed.
There was a gap between 2 rock faces next to this temple which was nest for at least 1000 odd bats, reminded of the scene from Batman begins-kind of like a test character which none of us took.
 |
| Batman Test |
A dagoba is a sinhalese name for Stupa.After covering endless Dagobas we reach the final destination Mihintale. Walking barefoot to the meditation spot, climbing astronomical steps it was quite an excursion. The view from top makes it up for all the crawling we had to endure.
 |
| View from Mihintale |
As the train gently rolls into the station, we cant believe our luck - Coupe; wow a dream come true, we all jump with joy. So much so that Lisa leaps on to the Coupe compartment but is quickly gestured to get off by the gruff TT and swiftly directs us to the neighboring compartment.
No no no, this cant be true!!!! We beg and plead with the TT, however everything fails to melt his heart.
Finally completely flustered Madhu very politely inquires whether we could find a place to lie horizontally, but of no avail. We accept our fate, quickly share bed-sheets among couples and hit the semi-sleeper seats with a vengeance. One very peculiar moment of the train journeys was the bone jarring jolt whenever the starts moving from inertia.
 |
| Backpackers at Fort station |
Back in Fort station as each of us indulge in a pastime, my spanking new Jack Reacher novel goes missing but is found at the ticket counter, phew that was a close call.
Destination Ambakanda, Ganahena Temple Road, here we come. . Last 100 meters is a steep climb which our auto guy refused to take us, but we were fine, a short stroll and there it was.
Thanks to Airbnb and the USD 250 voucher Lisa had won, our stay was taken care of. Mount of Mangos would be the closest translation for this surreal snug bungalow. The British owner Mr Wiggins, an Architect by profession leaves no stone unturned to make this an ideal holiday habitat.
He made every wish come true right from the mosquito repellent to getting alcohol on a dry day and transport for 1 day(and pro bono for day 2) and lest we forget the herbs.
A Prakash or Jodha is enriches a travel experience;if you are lucky enough and wish for something truly it would happen, trust me I experienced in Unawatuna, spaseeba Madhu.
 |
| Jodha the caretaker |
Till our next adventure Gihilla ennam
