Tryst with the Lankan jungles

We woke up early on Day 5 of our trip- a large part of our entire Lankan trip was the way it was since we were making our way to the big cat jungles of South Sri Lanka. This meant we had to go over the mountains of the central province and descend into the lush green jungles. We began our journey out of Nuwara Eliya through some green winding roads. The curvy roads lead to one beautiful vista after another and we couldn't stop admiring the green beauty that surrounded us!

The green mountains were forever playing hide and seek amidst the dreamy clouds and the mist peeled off we saw unending rolling green mountains all the way into the horizon. Ella was a beauty of a small sleepy hollow amidst these hills and we almost sighed to the fact that we had chosen not to halt the night here. But even as Prana, Manoj & I were saying that, Mr AJ was electric with excitement and was focused on getting to the jungles at the earliest! His anticipation was palpable and we all gently laughed about how committed he was to his nature hunt and wildlife photography. Meanwhile we saw more waterfalls that seemed to descend from the heavens.

The Ravana Falls is one of the most beautiful falls you will see, it flows from high up in 3 different levels and some restaurants right on the edge of the falls make it an ideal stop over in the drive to Tissa from Nuwara Eliya. We decided to walk about a KM to the falls:

We got some amazing pics and moved on before the tourist crowds could gather.

Our driver clicked this pic of the 4 of us, I should get this on a frame at home soon. Somehow since we got back from this vacation life has been tough- dad was sick fr a while. then things at work are heating up and there has been no time to pause and reflect back on this trip. As I am blogging now, am feeling happy to again relive those days! :)

Many more misty clearances and we couldn't stop clicking pics through this journey!! :)

Once we came into the flat lands we decided to stop at the Mlesna tea center. Not only did we pick up plenty of tea here, but we also ate some amazing tea cake with some vanilla & cinnamon tea :))

The cake was simply too yummm...it didn't take us long to polish the plate!! :D

By the time we set off from this tea center I had jammed my finger at a door and after a bit of fussing around we set off. By then our driver was clucking at us saying how we had delayed our journey into the jungle. So at a slightly faster pace we headed to Tissa- we were staying at a lovely hotel Priyankara right outside the Yala jungles. The staff were very helpful and ensured we got a couple of good rooms.
Next day we had to leave very early in the morning so we could get a morning safari. We hadn't booked the safari itself until we reached the hotel- they helped us arrange all of it and though we had a rickety vehicle we were happy with the arrangements and signed up for the jungle 'package'. These safari's are not for the faint hearted- tourism is very entrenched here and hence they charge horrible amounts of money for the safari experience and camping in the jungle is also exorbitant. But the place is naturally endowed and you are bound to see plenty of wildlife.
Our first safari was hardly fruitful- we just saw plenty of peacocks and monitor lizards. the place seemed to be crawling with them!!

The monitor lizards are not something I am fond of. House lizards freak me out so these guys I was staying as far away from as possible!!

By now AJ was already getting a bit impatient. The driver was trying to keep up our spirits by promising another safari round later that day. For now we (not AJ) decided to have something to eat and get ourselves refreshed a bit. The jungles were hot and humid- even for someone who was coming from Chennai this was a tad tough to handle. The dust from the 300+ jeeps didn't help make us feel any more comfortable wither. But then I guess none of us were there for the pleasantry...we were on a mission and that was to sight a big cat.
The break was good, apparently our jeep had a suspension issue -so the driver got to fix it while we had our breakfast. One thing I forgot to mention is beware of the drivers. When they plan the package with you they promise a 'spotter'. Later at the gate our driver tried telling us the sanctuary was too crowded and no spotters available. Now a safari with just the driver trying to spot animals will be futile. So we haggled with him and got ourselves a spotter- when we went up to the authorities at the entrance spotter s were very much available unlike what he's said!
During the break we got to know our spotter better. He told us about the sloth bear and cubs he had sighted the day before! :)  Our food break was by the beach

And the heat was really getting to us, Manoj was trying to make Prana feel better about the safari- but then honestly whatever we had seen so far we could have sighted in Nagarhole too- which is like 100 KMS from where these guys live! :)

AJ was off chasing some white bellied sea eagles which were hovering over this place, however no shot was forthcoming so he gave up and came back all red from his running around. Meanwhile our vehicle was ready and we were off on our next safari. This time there was so much traffic in the park it was not funny! I almost felt like I was back to Sholinganallur Signal in Chennai!! :(

Even as we stood at one of the junctions there was a buzz about the place, soon everyone was chanting about a lone tusker that was headed our way. When we checked with the driver on how we woud ever make way for it in this traffic he also panicked and trying honking his way out!! It was chaos everywhere and the tusker was in the midst of the jeeps by now!!

 The Elephant seemed in a good mood, but he started probing the vehicles for any food that he could get his trunk on. He even playfully tugged at some of the folks in the jeep. By now it was mayhem wihtin most of the vehicles including ours. AJ and the driver were screaming out loud. Manoj n Prana also were psyched about this close encounter. The elephant made its way across the path

Once he had crossed over slowly the jeeps started pulling out and some semblance of order returned. The elephant gave us one look of contempt and amusement before walking off. I still think we got really lucky to have caught this guy in a good playful mood. For all the revving, shouting and honking that happened that day, this beast could have turned violent and it was a thought I didn't want to dwelve on for too long!! <Shudder>

Once he was off we were back on our track of looking for the leopards. Our next sighting was that of a golden jackal.

This guy was cool as a cucumber, he ran for some 5 mins along the track all the while sniffing the ground. Don't know if he was onto something or not but he made our time in the jungle more interesting. Soon he went into the bushes and we started on our safari yet again

As we got near the elephant rock this time our driver got a call. He suddenly picked up speed and wouldn't stop no matter what we said! Soon we also realized he must heard of a leopard sighting and help our breath! I was the first one to spot it lying peacefully on a tree..everyone else was busy looking on the track. We were one of the first ones to see it and very soon many other jeeps started pulling up.

Very soon this guy woke up from his slumber and despite everyone's best efforts he had 'spotted' us :)

 And yet he was sitting there half asleep wondering if it was worth the effort to lose his precious perch. Soon he sat up and started cleaning/preening himself. Before the other jeeps arrived he seemed blissfully unaware of his surroundings and that 'at ease' mode made him seem all the more majestic!

 Once aware of the increasing number of jeeps, he turned his back to us for a min or two before sliding down the tree and disappearing into the jungle again

When he was gone there was this silence amidst us, none of us could believe this time we had spent in the dusty, hot and humid trail of the big cat, that we had actually SEEN one!! :) Wow! It was too good to be true. In my case, with no camera in hand I was just admiring how good this creature actually looked- somehow I had expected the leopard to be smaller than the one we had sighted. And the grace of the animal as he sprang awake and slided down the tree left a lasting impression in my mind. The driver too seemed in a happy stupor and only after 15-20 mins did we all realize we were standing there with no animal in sight and hence started the jeep again. Now we saw some Kingfishers, Bee eaters, Hoopoes and many other birds.

Late evening we decided to call it a day and that's when we realize we were ravenously hungry!! By the time we got back to the hotel and grabbed something to eat my stomach really started to hurt! :( The pain just got worse as the night progressed and by midnight we were heading to a hospital in the vicinity- there really were very few. SO finally got admitted in a government hospital - they gave me some painkiller shots and the pain subsided. Finaly I dozed off even as Prana/Manoj & AJ kept turns to get me some stuff to eat and keep me company. So our 3rd day in the jungle was spent in and out of the hospital....thankfully the worst was behind me and we were cleared by the doctor to continue to the Galle beaches. I was ultra careful with my diet and activities after this harrowing experience! :(

A one day halt in Nuwara Eliya

The journey from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya was unforgettable in my opinion. Lush green vistas interspersed with many gushing waterfalls and lovely winding roads all made for an excellent 3 hour drive! :)

So many waterfalls- the last couple of days this area had seen some heavy rain too which must have added to the number of falls we saw! Every turn of the road we'd chance upon a new water fall!

Sometimes the mist that shrouded the falls high up made it seem like the falls were flowing from the clouds themselves! Ooooh...it was dreamy this stretch of land:

And we chanced upon a small strawberry restaurant among strawberry farms that served us the best desserts ever!! Needless to say we were quite thrilled with this find and polished up as much as we could at this stopover!

After this we drove straight to Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya. We reached by around 12PM and checked on Prana/Manoj- They'd be arriving shortly too. Hungry as we were we headed ot the Indian restaurant at the entrance of this hotel They served up some yummm food at very affordable rates.

At the Indian restaurant

We also managed to order some for Prana & Manoj. Finally they joined us too! It was awesome fun!

After a sumptuous lunch we spent some time talking to our driver Rizvi who was very thrilled to have come from Kandy Villa to this posh hotel where his stay was comfortable and his car would get an impeccable cleaning! :) It was nice to see the pride he took in his work. 

Finally we headed back to our rooms. We had a glorious time chatting up- it seemed forever since Prana & I had caught up in life!! Somehow I guess we women tend to get lost in daily rigmarole of work, family and routine after marriage. It surely is not intentional, bu the emotional nuances of relationships seem to swarm up our daily lives and identities. Of course there's a lot of happiness in it, but the carefree and casual life of before marriage is surely left behind.... Anyways spending this time with Prana was pure happiness and surely this evening made for some amazing walks down our 22 year memory lane! :)
The next day we set off to Yala National Park. I could almost sense AJ's eager anticipation of the 'hunt' for the big cat :D 

An Offbeat Look at Beautiful Kandy

Our driver gave us some pitying looks after our famous climb and as he drove us into Kandy he recommended we sign up for an oil massage. In the hope that our pains would vanish we did and lo behold! The pain was actually gone!! We checked into Villa 49 - a quaint bungalow B&B near the Kandy Lake and a 5 min walk from the popular Tooth Relic Temple. However after a refreshing sleep we were disheartened to note the legs again cramped up and we were back to walking like penguins!! Almost everyone on the Kandy streets had that smug knowing look on their face when they saw us walking...some even asked with a grin 'Sripada?' or 'Adams Peak?' Nodding our heads we went around this quaint city.

Our first stop was a couple of ancient temples in and around Kandy- Gadaladeniya first. This temple was centuries old but made for an excellent getaway from the mad din of Kandy. There was hardly anyone in the complex, we sat around for more than an hour amply entertained by a small pup and finally left when our driver promised us the next temple complex was even better! :)

So we headed to the next temple- Lankatilaka- just 2 kms away from the first one. The stupa in this temple complex was huge, immediately making one feel humble and pensive. A lady here was screaming about seeing a snake that got AJ all excited even as I tried to veer him away from the idea of now setting after the snake!!

The views around this temple was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!

Another look at this beautiful complex

All in all this was a morning to remember! Spent in as leisurely a manner as possible! As the afternoon set in we headed to the botanical garden in the hope of spending some more time peacefully relaxing in the shade of trees! The restaurant within was nice- offered decent lunch menu. We spent a lot of time by the small pond within as AJ discovered an entire animal kingdom in there! I find AJ's hobby very relaxing...more often than not he plonks himself on a nice perch and keeps looking for 'frames' to shoot. I just sit and watch him and his (sometimes hilarious) antics as he tries to get that perfect shot! :-)) Later when I 'chimp' on his camera, I see a whole new world through his eyes... a micro world that I didn't even know existed. So this time around I saw monitor lizards, Paradise fly catchers, Stork billed Kingfishers, turtles and much more through his lens at the botanical garden. It was disheartening to see a couple of foreigners chasing the monitor lizards around. AJ stepped up and asked them to stop. I wonder when we humans will ever stop believing the world around us is for us to mess with, we should be taught early on to respect our surroundings and let other animals live peacefully....sometimes wonder if that's how our folklore started creating 'animal-gods', so we can be taught to revere them...!

As the sunset, we got out of the garden and headed back to our B&B Inn. Our driver wasn't too happy with the place of stay since his car didn't get a good parking place, nor did he have a good room to stay in. However he was very good and never once let it affect us in any way. Next day we had an early morning agenda since our hostess tipped us off to visit the Tooth Relic Temple at 5:30 AM. It turned out to be a good tip as we had a very leisurely darshan. The temple itself is beautiful and very well maintained.

I find Sri Lanka a very tourist friendly nation, some of the folks in the temple saw us staring around unsure as to what to do. They not only guideed us, but one of the women gave me a lamp, oil and thiri to even light a lamp and offer my prayers. It was so very kind of her to do so and we really appreciated her gesture! :)

By the time we were done at this temple it was already 7:30, we headed out to the Kandy streets for a nice breakfast. Found an amazing veg south indian restaurant where we ate to our fill. Our next and only stop for the day was the elephant orphanage at Pinnawala- a small village 40 KMs from Kandy. I had been to Pinnawala on both my previous trips. It is a very touristy place... many folks who are not from India find elephants a very exotic sighting. And this orphanage houses 150 of them- some injured and others rescued. So it is but natural you visit this orphanage while at Lanka. Why I particularly like spending time here despite the crowds of people is, this place allows you to watch elephants in their natural behavior. The elephants are not chained and every activity that they partake in, the mahouts ensure they have their space and time. First up we took a tour of the orphanage itself. just as we got in one set of elephants were returning from their bath. As groups of elephants come in, you can't help but pause and appreciate how majestic these animals are- there is a strength and calm about them that evokes respect and inspires awe.

Once in, they were herded to a an area that is then cordoned off. The elephants busied themselves with a mud bath and some feeding. AJ got busy shooting their behavior while I sat in the shade (protecting myself from a bad tan) - yep am proud of myself! :P Many other things happening in the orphanage- feeding, baby orphan elephants that we can observe- 2 calves that were recently rescued when we visited. How cute were they really..!!

Then came my favorite part- watching the elephants bathe in the Maha Oya river. We walked across the road towards the river and found ourselves a nice spot in the restaurant overlooking the river. The idea was to spend a couple of hours watching the elephants bathe at leisure. The restaurant offered a buffet spread for about SLR 1000 pp. I had done this before and was eager to repeat the experience. AJ totally enjoyed it!! For nearly 2-3 hours we witnessed some amazing scenes as elephants and baby elephants frolicked in the river. At leisure we captured their arrival in the river:

Then we saw them split up into smaller groups and enter the deeper end of the river, families seemed to be together- typically a matriarch or two with a couple of kids. And boy did they enjoy being in the water. Sometimes I wonder if their ancestors were fish!!?? How can such unwieldy, bulky and awkward creatures be so at ease in water?? :D It's almost like watching a ballet or something, watching them in the river is that pleasing to the eye! :)

A couple of kids were literally stomping their mother in the water... strange though it may seem they were acting like monkeys :-)))

Ohh I can say this with reasonable confidence, if ever I go back to Lanka I would want to visit this place again! :)After this very peaceful visit we headed back in the evening and had a very relaxed dinner at a nearby restaurant.
All in all our stay at Kandy had proved to be very relaxing and fun. Tomorrow we were to move to Nuwara Eliya- and that's where we'd meet Pranava and Manoj! Yay! Couldn't wait to see them!!

The first leg of the Lankan trip (pun intended)

By the time the trip actually occured in Dec 2012, Hamsa had to prioritize a trip to US above this one and so it turned out he third couple had cancelled their journey with us. So, AJ & I landed in Lanka 3 days prior to Prana/Manoj. Being the trek friendly couple (or so I'd like to believe :P ) that we were we headed straight to Adams Peak, Delhousie. A beautiful 4 hour journey that we began at 4AM took us thru green winding roads to the 1st hotel we were staying at called 'Slightly Chilled'. Formerly this hotel was known as Yellow House and till date it is yellow in color, but what is to die for are the views from the rooms at this property! We could see the mountain we were out to conquer- Adams Peak, also called Sripadaya. It was to be 5000 steps up to the peak which housed a place of worship but more importantly allowed us to see a glorious sunrise!! By evening we had figured out that we had to begin our trek at 2AM and we had to carry our food since nothing much was available up there. (This apart from Mr AJ's camera equipment that he refuses to part with). Remembering the chilly winds from my last experience i shopped the local shops to pick a nice thick bomber jacket for myself. The hotel staff were very helpful and gave us a torch and lent AJ a wind cheater too!

It was raining the previous day and there was of course the constant threat of us not being able to climb the mountain. To top it all, AJ was also playing the lazy card to the extent possible trying to ensure that we sleep in a bit more and start late! But on my insistance, we set the alarm for 1 AM and woke up groggy eyed! The hotel staff were kind enough to provide us with some food and we finally set off. There was another couple from UK who started off along with us and provided good company until we hit the steeper bit of the climb...you can figure out what happened next! :D

On our way to the top, we saw a number of buddha statues, most magnificent of all was the one lying down at the entrance of the mountain. On we went, higher we went steeper the climb!! Then slowly we started seeing other climbers (well seasoned ones of course!) who started a bit late but were catching up with us! Huffing n puffing we finally managed to reach the top. There was a fair crowd all waiting the catch a glimpse of the much touted golden sunrise and we were not disappointed. As the sun rose, we saw a sea of clouds below and the rays of the sun lighting up the entire place like a fireball! it was indeed a sight to behold and worth every ounce of pain felt during the climb! We managed to get a decent number of pics and then the indecent descent began! :P

Once we were done with the sunrise we took our shoes off and visited the temple on top. The temple only opens at 6 AM, the poojas are nice to watch. The views around are FANTASTIC!

Man, was the climb up easier, the climb down began with an uneasy sense of aging as my knees started to hurt, soon they were making rickety noises and later I could feel it developing a will of it's own as it refused to help me climb down the stairs!!

About 2/3rds of the way down I really began to feel I had to give up...only AJ's constant words of encouragement took me thru.. to give you a perspective, the last 1/2 KM took me nearly an hour to hobble. Once in the hotel we realized the worst part of the whole thing, our room was below ground level 2 floors!!! Aaaarggghhh!! The descent wasn't over yet! Now I guess you get the pun indicated in the title of this chapter :P

Finally we managed to get a couple of hours sleep and then limped our way back out of the hotel. The drive to Kandy was again breathtakingly beautiful, only our heavy legs made it impossible for us to get out of the car for any pictures.

Sripada had ensured it lived up to it's name and gave us 'special feet' indeed- we were walking like a pair of penguins! :-))