On Tuesday we left Kandy and took the famous train to Ella. It did not disappoint! The views were magical, from cloud forests to waterfalls to tea plantations with the occasional mountain views and glimpses into country living in Sri Lanka. As we left the station in Kandy, all of the sudden everyone stood up and started swiveling the train seats so that they were all facing forward again. Such a simple solution! The train ride took about 6.5 hours total, and every so often someone came through selling food. The conductor also came through a couple of times to let us know that a waterfall was coming up soon. We read, took photos and videos, did some arts and crafts and relaxed. The train is famous for its views and for people hanging out the windows or open doors (those open doors are terrifying to stand next to, FYI) to take Insta-ready photos. We weren’t brave enough to go all out but enjoyed watching others! 

As soon as we arrived in Ella, we fell in love. It is definitely set up for tourists and after almost 2 months on the road, we appreciated that! Tons of adorable restaurants and shops lined the main street, it felt calm and clean and familiar in some way. Our Homestay was just a 2 minute walk from the train station and town center, meaning we could walk everywhere which was really nice. It feels so much more relaxing to walk rather than having to organize an Uber or tuk tuk and know exactly where you want to go. By walking, you can hop into a little store or take a photo of something beautiful en route. On Tuesday night we found some delicious pizza nearby and then went to bed happy. 

On Wednesday we did schoolwork in the morning and then had another delicious meal in town. That afternoon I wanted to hike up to Little Adam’s Peak and originally  had planned on having all the girls join me. But Steffen had to stay back to work anyways, so we figured whoever wanted some downtime could have it. So just Olivia and I headed out on the hike. And it was really wonderful! It is always nice to have some one-on-one time and the scenery was amazing. First we walked through town, then through some tea plantations until we reached the trailhead. There were all sorts of different activities there (zip lining, rock climbing, this huge swing) including a skywalk that we decided to try out. It was very cool to up in the trees! And the. The views at the top were phenomenal. We had a great view of Ella Rock, our hiking destination for the next day. 

On Thursday, Steffen did not need to work and I wanted to go on a longer hike, so we decided to do a field trip instead of schoolwork. We ate breakfast and headed out. I had found a blog that described the path pretty well and we were glad we had it because it was a bit confusing! We started in the train tracks (yes, on the tracks). We met a really lovely couple that we hiked with for a while before they took a break and we continued up into the hills. We met up with another group and fumbled our way through the tea plantations (the path really wasn’t very clear!) until we came into the steep, steep forested area. It was so beautiful! The last bit was a little hard, but everyone did great and we all reached the top for some incredible views. Well worth the trek! On the way home it rained off and on which actually felt so good. And we saw the smallest baby monkey yet! We ended that day back at the same restaurant where we ran into the couple we had hiked with AND another couple that we had seen on the safari in Wilpattu. Sri Lanka is a small country!

On Friday we did schoolwork in the morning again before heading out on our last hike. This one was to see the famous Nine Arches Bridge that the train passes over. We wanted to time our visit with te passing of the train, and we did! The hike was a little more up and down than I expected, but also beautiful and not very long. We joined the crowds to watch the train go by and then headed to this pool club we had read out (and then Olivia and I spotted on our hike). It was insanely overpriced but worth it! The views were incredible, the water was warm and we all enjoyed it. A great way to end our stay in Ella.

On Saturday we had breakfast and then started the journey back towards Colombo. The airport is actually in Negombo, about an hour north of Colombo, so I had found a house with a pool for the night. The drive took longer than expected since we never went above 40 kmph on narrow, windy roads with “traffic” of tuk tuks, mopeds, trucks, buses, bicycles, people walking, street dogs, etc. It ended up taking over 6.5 hours! We were all exhausted, starving and hot by the time we arrived. The house was beautiful and the owner pointed us in the right direction for a delicious dinner. Then the girls enjoyed the pool for an hour or two before we all headed to bed. 

Then on Sunday it was time to head to our next country: Singapore! It also happened to be the two month mark of our Bigger Trip! So many ups and downs but mostly good times. We’ve experienced so much, learned so much, laughed a lot and are so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you for following along!