After about 30 minutes, some people got off the train, and the standing was made a little easier. Sara got a chance to sit down, and fought a guy over the seat. The rest of us still stood. Jen and I, who stood in the doorway of the train with about 6 others, made friends with one of the businessmen. He bought us the snacks off the train that the traveling vendors sold and we got to try all sorts of random things. He also showed us how to safely sit in the doorway of the train, so we were able to sit and get a wonderful view. I took many many photos out of the train door. Here are some:
Jen using our door seat on the train
Tea Plantations
Some of the beautiful scenery:
A side view of the train:
At every doorway there were at least 3 teenagers hanging out of the doorway, enjoying the sites and the wonderful breeze. It was like something out of a movie, and I couldn’t get enough. I got another picture taken when we had stopped on the tracks to let another train pass. There were a bunch of boys standing on the tracks, stretching their legs, and one of them turned and snapped a photo of me. Later on in the journey the same boy picked a flower off of a hanging branch as the train passed, after several attempts, and threw it to me. I was a few trains behind him, and couldn’t possibly catch it, but it was a sweet gesture anyhow. There was the cutest little boy who kept hanging his head out the window and playing peek-a-boo with Alex and I. This is him:
After a very long ride, we got off the train, said goodbye to our friends we had made, and caught a taxi. The train doesn’t go to Nuwera Eliya, but to another town close by, so you must either catch a bus or a taxi. Being that we are not allowed to take buses, taxi was our option. We got dropped off at a very nice Hotel called the Hotel Glendower, and we each paid $10 a night. The hotel has a billiards room, tv, a bar, croquet, and one of the best Chinese restaurants in Sri Lanka. After settling into the hotel, we went out walking to explore the town. Within 5 minutes of hitting the road, Alex made a friend. His name is George and he is a jockey in Dubai. Apparently he is Sinhalese, but lives in Ireland, and races in Dubai. He seems like a pretty cool guy, and Alex and he really hit it off. We left them to chatting, and Jen, Sara, and I walked into town. Pete and Kate were arriving a bit later. We went to the market to get some food, and then we realized that, unlike America, there is no meal sold in the market that doesn’t have to be cooked and prepared. We left with cereal, cheese nips, coke, fruit juice, and some yogurt.
SIDENOTE! Very weird thing happened with the yogurt and we are still really confused by it. While we were in the market, Sara and I went to look for yogurt. We were trying to choose the best kind, and Sara asked one of the guys working at the market if the mango yogurt was any good. He said, Yes. You eat it after sex. WHAT????? My first reaction was to be a smarty and say, “Oh, so you’ve never tried it?” but I figured it wasn’t best to make enemies within the first few hours. But who in the world advertises a yogurt like that?? Seriously….
Later that night, when we had all finally arrived and had settled in, Alex, Jen, and Sara went to hang out with George and got to ride the race horses. I opted out of their little adventure, and instead sat in the hotel and chatted with a really cool person I met. Dad – you would love him! His name is James Fitzgerald, and he is an Irishman who lives in England and builds homes in Sri Lanka. He has got to be 60+, but doesn’t look it, and sure doesn’t act it. He is a friend of the owner of the hotel and is helping him build a bunch of English style homes up in the hills. In exchange, he gets to stay in the hotel for free for the year that he is here. We talked for hours about just about anything that came to mind, and I had a wonderful time. He was one of the best people I have met so far, and I was sad that we didn’t have more time to chat. I hope the building project goes well. Oh, and while we were talking, some couple behind us took a photo of us. I felt like turning around and informing them that there are many more of me (a sudu) and that if they would like, I am sure I could find many more to make a circus act of, but I didn’t. I just turned around, flashed smile, and had this conversation in my head instead.
The next day, the same three got up at 6:30am to go riding with George again. I opted out once again. It was not that I didn’t want to meet him or hang out with them, I just wanted to enjoy the fact that I was in cold weather with no agenda and could sleep, take a long hot shower, and explore at leisure. They ended up riding horses, climbing up the mountain, and being involved in a Hindi mountain worshipping ceremony. I was sad that I missed that, but I had some fun of my own. I explored the town on my own, walking around the streets and learning all the nooks and crannies. I tried to find shoes, but apparently I am Bigfoot in Nuwera Eliya, because not one of the 4 shops that I went into carried higher than a size 8 in women’s shoes. WOW! I bought a really cute jacket for $8, from NEXT clothing companies, and made friends with the shopkeeper.
People are really open here when it comes to weight and size. Here, fat is not a bad word, but simply a size. I have had several people tell me, flat out, that I am fat, but then hit on me not two minutes later. This confuses me greatly. I have also been told I am cute because I have the face of a baby. Somehow being compared to a fat baby does not boost my confidence, yet this was supposed to be a compliment. Seriously, these guys need work on their cat calling. At least in Morocco I was an angel with nice thighs! HA
On Saturday night, we hung out with George and some of his friends for a bit. Pete and Alex left on the train earlier in the day, so it was just us four girls. Kate and I snuck out for a while and went up to the ritzy hotel at the top of the hill to have a hamburger (OMG, I need to blog about the foods I miss so dearly in the US). MMMMmmmmmm….. I do love my amma’s cooking, but no Sri Lankan food can satisfy a beefy burger craving. Once we said goodnight to the boys, we had a girl’s night, climbed into the big king sized bed, and watched a movie. It was a wonderful end of a fun day.
Sunday we got up early and went into town to visit a little café for breakfast. I got an egg roti and veggie roti, with a cup of coffee for $1. The food was delicious, but the waiter didn’t understand us, even when we spoke to him in Sinhala, and we got steamed milk 3 times before getting coffee (koopi). For a while it was quiet in the café, and then a group of about 10 or more boys came in. Of course, they chose to sit in the table all around ours and proceeded to yell things in English to us. What a way to ruin a good cup of coffee. Sara and I are thinking of making signs that say things like, “Your puny attempts at cat calling are not a turn on” and “Does that EVER work? Really?” Luckily, the owner of the shop told them to leave, and were we finally left alone (well, for about two minutes). After breakfast, we went to the gardens. They are similar to the Royal Gardens in Kandy, but on a much smaller scale. I took a few photos:
At one point, we had stopped to ask a group of girls to take our photo together. The girls snapped a shot, walked away, and then shyly came back asking if they could have a photo with us. For once, someone ASKED for a photo! We took a few shot on different cameras and it made all of us happy. We also found a great tent tree and took some fun shots in their as well.
The Lankan girls:
Sara and I:
The Tent Tree:
Jen and I:
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Great American silly poses:
Then, we headed back home for Kandy, or as Jen’s rap goes, “My name is Jen. I live in Kandy. I’m going home, to see my family.” Oh, did I mention we are in a musical of our lives and we just aren’t singing. Thanks Sara!
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