RECOLLECTING MY ENERGY

DAY 4

KANDY

The last two days has really charged my batteries. Arriving in Kandy, we were alarmed by the noise, the traffic, the never ending "MISS! TAXI!?", the squawking birds. It was night time, the train arrived two hours late and we were solely exhaused.

First taxidriver approching us said 1000 LKR to go a couple of kilometers up on the hill. I strichtly said no and went on, as he approched us again asking for what we were willing to pay.
"500." I said ice cold as he just wrinkled his nose. After that a medival dance of taxidrivers starting coming towards us with the same offer. We quickly jumped in to the first guy who said 400 and we arrived at the hotel just a couple of minutes later.


We were welcomed by a small, charismatic young man who was incredibly nice and told us everything we needed to know about the place.
"If you want breakfast at 5, I fix! I sleep only from 12 to 5 otherwise always up!"  He laughed.
"That's sounds tiering" we said with compassion but he just kept smiling. In the few days we've been here we've seen two types of singaleses - the snappy ones, when you are just a stupid burden to them, or the incredibly kind and warm kind. Luckily, we've met more of the latter.

I've started to really like Sri Lanka. Allthough the traffic in the busy streets of Kandy can be tiersome, there's a calmness over the country which I can't help but take a big breath of. Writing this, it's our last night in Kandy and the bats are flying over my head, as a child and a couple of dogs howl in the far distance. Overshadowing this hill town are big mountains, like wallpapers to a clear blue background. The vegetation is luscious green and the palm trees are bursting with monkeys.

This, of course, I didn't know when we sat to eat that first night. Still filled with feelings of loneliness, Jennifer didn't have to ask me a lot a questions before I fell into tears. So we brought our food to the table on the patio outside our room and talked. I cried. A lot.
She held my hand.

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Waking up the next day, my lungs were filled with new air. Breathing was so easy, my mind floating instead of running.

We had decided to take at least half a day by the pool, tanning and making fun of the French guys who had kept us up all night smoking behind their backs in Swedish.
The guys jumped from the balcony three meters up and joked around, acting silly. As they left we had finally confessed to them that we knew French and that we had known what they were saying all along.
There was some quiet hour there before the little kid arrived to the pool. A lively, naked two year old with her parents running after her, both looking calm and happy even though their daughter was all over the place. We started to talk to them and it turned out they were acrobats and translators, with the possiblity to work all over the world.
I love hearing stories like these. It makes me hopeful that there will be a job out there for me that I can bring with me as I try to cover all of this planet.

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After conversating about languages and kids and traveling for some time we had to go up to our room and do some yoga. It was the perfect day for it - our bodies were rested, caffeine filled and our minds lightweight.

Our yoga studio

Later in the afternoon we went into the city to make reservations on seat-tickets to the Ella-train two days later.
"Sold out". My jaw dropped.
"How about third and second class?"
"Sold out."
"But... this is not tomorrow, it's in two days?!"
"Sold out."
"All departures? All day?"
"Yes ma'am. Next in line."

We were gobsmacked. This was a major part of our journey and now we either had to stand up for god knows how long or we had to go another day, or we had to skip it all together.
Jennifer took me aside, seing how stressad I was. Our alternatives now was either waiting even longer in Kandy, which seemed unwise because we already had so little time in the country and so much to see, or skip the scenic route that Sri Lanka is so famous for.
After a short paus, I said "Are you OK with skipping it and just go to the coastline."
Jennifer exhaled, "YES I was going to suggest that." Her main interest in Sri Lanka was to tan and snorkel, so going to a beach town called Hikkaduwa was what she had promoted the whole time.

THERE AND THEN WE 
DECIDED ON GOING TO 
HILLADUWA NEXT.

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Later that night we ate the best Paratha (fried layered bread from India) and dhall, fish curry and vegetable curry.

Hope you all are well. Kisses