Ella, Sri Lanka - Train Ride

From Hot Soup to Cooler Climes
We came to Sri Lanka to hike and see the countryside.  We were on our way to the village of Ella, which is 3,000 feet above sea level.  There are a few ways to get there - by taxi or train.  For the local experience, we chose the latter.  We booked a second class ticket on a hulking China-made locomotive.  The selling point of second class, though there is no air conditioning, are the big windows that can be opened to take photos.

As the crow flies, it's a bit less than a hundred miles.  However, it's a circuitous route through the mountains with dozens of stops in small towns along the way.  Altogether, it takes about nine hours.

Someone was taking photos right away. 

Fifteen minutes outside the Colombo sprawl we passed through miles of rice paddies.

After an hour we started to climb, thankfully, into blissfully cooler temperatures.  The urban landscape was quickly forgotten.  We passed rocky peaks and slow moving rivers the color or chocolate.

I lost count of the number of stops we made.  Dozens that looked like this.  A small colorfully painted building, some with food vendors and travelers, others forlorn.

Every now and then we'd stop next to another train so people could transfer.  They have an interesting way of doing so.

Food vendors roamed the train aisles.  We drank milk tea and bought vadiya, which are deep-fried snacks made from chick pea flower.  Much better were the samosas, which I bought by the fistful.

The deep fried prawn fritters were tasty as well. 

After five hours of slow climbing, the temperatures dropped to the upper sixties and we crawled along mountain peaks surrounded by tea plantations on all sides. 

For as far as the eye can see, nothing but tea.

The train was filled with locals and foreigners, the latter trying their hand at the classic "hanging out the winding train" shot.  Dodo watched them for a while, then handed me her camera and nudged me.  "Take photo, can?"