Ella - The Beautiful Countryside

21st to 24th August - Ella & the train to Kandy

We awoke with the sun breaking through the hotels curtains and i jumped up and heading straight for our balcony, the views were amazing, situated in a valley with a clear view of the mountain range. That was me instantly happy. The staff were brilliant as well, calling us up for breakfast which was an array of fresh fruit, toast and eggs, much better than some places we've had with the added bonus of the scenery. Not long after the two guys Leonard and Friedl came up on the scooters and we decided to get our own bike and head to the waterfall just down the dodgy, dirt road that is riddled in pot holes. It's always fun with really thin tyres! The waterfall itself was huge and at times a difficult hike, we went straight up the rocks that ran side by side to the water. We struggled at points as it was more like rock climbing that a morning stroll but the views from the top were so worth it. Dan and Leonard went for a quick swim in a small patch of water near the top and then we sat down, carved up a pineapple and took in the location.
     The hike back down got rather interesting as we saw rain clouds rolling in and before long it began pouring it down, difficult on vertical rocks, trust me. With a small rummage through the forest on the side we got down ok apart from Ben that took a tumble on literally the last step, a small graze but none the less perfectly fine. we then took shelter from the monsoon rain in a small cafe near by, drank a copious amount of tea and played a new Israeli card game we had been taught, Yaniv. With the day nearing an end we grabbed some food and took an early night. As the morning came around we took our scooters and shot up to the local tea plantation for a tour, at only 300 rupees (£1.50) i couldn't complain especially with a complimentary tea tasting session at the end. I can happily say the process of tea is actually interesting, makes it taste ever so better weirdly. Unfortunately i didn't get the chance to photograph the tea plantation workers, apparently this isn't allowed. Looks like i'll be settling on rice paddies in South-East Asia instead. With time in the day still spare we decided to begin our hike up Ella rock, a well known hike which is known for a full view of the town below. We struggled instantly with finding the right path, they darted left and right every few hundred meters so we opted for a guide who we met at the bottom, he took us half way before the rain began to flood the area again so we chucked a few rupees and a thank you his way and decided to stay in a small hut for half an hour, waiting for it to pass. Not complain though as we continued the card games and threw some music on. Continuing the hike got interesting as we walked through the forest which i swear was almost completely vertical. I realised at this point i'm not as fit as i use to be! Few more of these hikes and i should be back up to standards. We reached the tip of Ella rock just before sunset and this golden glow along with rays of light illuminated the scenery, catching on the mountains that surrounded us. We sat, photographed and watched as the light disappeared and began our hike back down with torches in hand.
     Once more we awoke at some crazy time in the morning, around 3:00AM ready to begin our next hike up Little Adam's Peak for sunrise, with our tuk tuk driving and two mopeds we shot up the edge of the mountain to the beginning of the path and hiked up in the pitch black. Thankfully it was an easy hike at only 30 minutes and we settled down whilst eating coconut biscuits awaiting the sunrise. And we weren't disappointed, i was in my element running around with my camera and tripod whilst Leonard worked on training a dog that followed us up the mountain side, god knows how but he made it stand on its back paws and even sit. I'm sure Sri Lankan dogs don't speak English. We got back down, grabbed some breakfast and said our farewells to the two guys, we all got on so well and its a shame to see them leave, but we've now to plan a new road trip to Austria, where they're both living currently. Our last day in Ella arrived and we decided to sit in our favourite cafe and organise the rest of Sri Lanka, out of nowhere we saw Catherine, a lady we originally met in Arugam Bay, she's from Hong Kong but travels quite a lot. After a quick chit chat it was decided she would come along with us to Kandy where we had booked a four people apartment so that worked out perfectly, making it cheaper for everyone. We agreed to catch the train in the early morning together which everyone talks about, and they weren't wrong to. It was possibly one of the best train drives i've ever been on. They leave the doors open and you can just stand there and watch as we rocket through the mountain ranges. Most areas looked completely untouched by man, almost jurassic in some respects. Typically i'd just put my head back and get some sleep but instead i stood there and watched as we travelled for four hours. It completed our trip to Ella beautifully. It's definitely a place i would revisit, once again and likewise with Ella the Sri Lankan people are so welcoming and friendly.

 Beginning the waterfall hike

 Friedl clocking me taking a photograph

 Group shot - Me, Dan, Leonard, Friedl & Ben

 Professional Selfie

 The guys having a break

 One of the best pineapples i've ever had

 The hiked waterfall

 Waiting for the monsoon to finish after the waterfall hike

 Waiting for the second monsoon to finish whilst hiking Ella Rock

 Our awesome guide!

 Mountain cows...

 Just as sunset began up Ella Rock

 The beautiful light we got at Ella Rock. Worth the hike

 Leonard shooting

 Ben with the best seat in the house

 Another group shot up Ella Rock

 Quick shot from Little Adam's Peak before sunrise

One of my favourites from Little Adam's Peak 

Wildlife & Surfing

15th to 20th August - Arugam Bay

With the arrival of a few new people at the dorms we had a streak of motivation to move us away from the beach and finally head to Yala National Park, something we had been planning to do for over a week, but we had just been far too relaxed, like i said, bean bags and beaches, its hard to be torn away from. I’m horribly woken up by my alarm at 4:00AM to jump into this jeep and reach the park for sunrise, whilst falling asleep on the incredibly bumpy road to our destination or driver slams on the breaks and starts pointing and shouting “Elephant, elephant!”, there it was just stood roaming on its own and i’m kicking myself that its still dark and i’m lacking the iconic photograph of this creature. Onwards we drove seeing the odd bit of wild life until we reached the park and headed in, straight away we were met by loads of wildlife like deer that came straight up to the jeep and we began feeding them crackers, apparently they’re rather fond of them! This was followed by monkeys, wild boar, crocodiles, millions of birds and finally a few elephants, but once again miles away from me which gave me a total of zero photo opportunities. I’m sure within the next four months i’ll finally get my chance. The national park itself was beautiful, i’d love to of spent more time just photographing the landscapes there but in a group, you’ve got to keep moving. Overall i’m so glad we did it and especially for the price, it rounded off at around £15 for six hours and being picked up. 

     The next couple of days nothing of huge interest happened, we relaxed with some of the best company we’ve had so far, must of been a group of 12+ in total most nights, a few quick drinks and swapping stories of travel. We also finally got to try surfing thanks to Leonard and Friedl, the two german guys we had been with for over a week. They were great teachers and showed us through the basics including all the safety before heading out into the deep blue. I absolutely loved it, i managed to get use to the balance and stood up around 4 times, even if it was just for a split second, catching a wave is a whole new experience and then to just drop into the warm water was amazing. With my board hitting my face whilst underwater and my skin becoming red raw on my chest from scratching on the board i think it was reasonably successful. On our last day we decided to get the whole gang together and go to Whisky Point, a known surf spot just 20 minutes out of the bay, with four tuk tug’s and our boards on top we convoyed across and jumped in the water. Unfortunately this time the wind was so strong none of us had the strength to battle the current and surfing definitely failed that time, none the less though, we all had a great laugh and got some group photographs. The next morning was difficult to say the least. Saying goodbye to a huge amount of people that we almost saw like family, even Lukeyta who had been with us from Colombo was splitting off from us. Both Leonard and Friedl had planned to drive over to Ella and meet up so we knew at least we will catch up with these guys! Two members of staff at YMCA had also become good friends of ours, firstly Nehal, the DJ who was possibly the most relaxed guy in Sri Lanka, he was always friendly and couldn’t do enough to help. Secondly there was Sarai who we had originally met on our first day when he invited us in to sleep on the sofas, he is an incredibly interesting man with stories that draw you in as you wait patiently for each word. He came up to me one evening and said “I know things about you that you don’t know, i know you don’t have a bad bone in your body”, It’s most likely the best compliment i’ve ever had! On the sly he apparently told a woman at the bar about me, really making me sound great! Unfortunately i had already gone to bed haha. But he really seemed happy with all of us at the hostel, when leaving he said we made the place great and we will be sorely missed. Us three will genuinely miss him and story time as well!

     Our journey out of Arugam bay was not without its problems, firstly i lost my wallet which was a huge panic but after 20 minutes we discovered it down the side of Ben’s bed, i placed it there the night before but after half a bottle of gin, how am i to remember? Disaster everted we got our tuk tuk to the bus station only to find Ben’s had now disappeared, after over an hour of going back and fourth to the hostel it was found between two mattresses stacked against the wall, very odd if you ask me, i’m doubtful it was accidently put there but nothing missing and we heading to get our bus along with Steve who would be separating from us at the next big town. After the ‘traditional’ pestering whilst waiting for our bus we got on and set sail to the next destination Ella, we arrived for 7:30PM at our bus change however it turns out we had missed the final one. We should of known with our luck, but with a bit of bartering we got a tuk tuk for the rest of the journey, two hours in a tin can heading up mountain sides, nerve racking at times but actually really fun! We arrived late at night and threw our heads down for some well deserved sleep.

Deer tucking into some crackers! 

 Yala National Park

 Me, Dan & Steve... Bird watching

 Rover, our beloved dog from Arugam Bay, he will be missed!

 Lukeyta getting the week written up

 Steve buying the most expensive meal as always

 Me & Dan off to surf

 Ben, Dan, Lukeyta, Nikolaj, Nic, Steve, Mike & Me

 Leonard, Nikolaj, Lukeyta, Ben, Dan, Steve, Friedl & Me

 Our terrible attempt at the typical 'mid-jump photograph'

 Nihal at sunset

Sarai being Sarai

The Relaxing Continues

10th to 14th August - Arugam Bay

For several days now we've had a simple mixture of relaxing on bean bags, swimming in clear blue open sea, eating amazing food and socialising with the huge amount of people in our dorm. There's always a party every night here which keeps Ben and Dan happy, i've been attending the odd one but i'm normally happy to head out photographing or grab an early night. We rented mopeds again the other day and heading much further inland than we had done previously, four bikes with five people, it was actually incredibly fun! We got to see some views we'd never actually see, a beautiful backdrop of hills and mountains whilst every local we drive past waves and smiles, its a great feeling to speak and sit around with locals and nobody is after anything from you, people actually just want to chat. I felt like we rarely got that in India so i'm so happy to have decided that Sri Lanka would be a good destination to travel across. Once again, somehow, Dan got a puncture on the moped and we came to a stop in the middle of nowhere just before sunset, after a good 15 minutes we were in luck as a armed guard pulled over to check what was going on, one call and he had organised someone to come and collect the bike. With a quick warning that elephants kill people in the area we had broken down, he jumped back on his bike and left us to it.. Great to know, thanks. Not long after a jeep with several people arrived and picked the moped up and straight into the back, we followed to a small shack at the side of the road where a guy was attempting to fix the puncture, after a long wait and genuine effort put in by this guy he had bodge jobbed the inner tube enough that it worked! For over an hours work including pick up he charged a total of 200 Sri Lankan Rupees, exactly £1! Can't complain at competitive prices over here. Driving in the dark was interested, with me leading it was a further 30km back home and only my main beam lights worked, so every time i went past another car i was driving blind! I'm simply glad there was no elephants on the road this time.
     Swimming has been great here, we've been hit by some huge waves over the last few days so its been fun to tackle the sea. I'm slowly but surely getting over my fear of deep water, then again, its not necessarily the water i'm bothered about, more whats in the deep water.. Sharks etc. Our friend here Nik has shown us some burns on his forearm was jelly fish stings, thats another thing i'm eagerly trying to dodge! Last night was one of the best for getting out and photographing the stars, i took along Lenard who is keen to learn photography so sharing a single tripod we walked across the beach towards the end of town where there was very little light. When looking up it was absolutely amazing, no amount of photographs can show what we could see, the milky way arched across the sky from left to right and filled the sky, i'm sure it was one of the best views i've had. Set up and we start photographing anything and everything when some time in, one of the new arrivals Steve walked over, god knows how he found us, apparently he'd been walking for ages just taking in the stars. With it being the meteor shower the sky was lit up with them. He showed us that when walking on the wet sand it lit up blue! It was the phosphorus! I've honestly always wanted to see that with my own eyes, it looks as it we were surrounded by stars above and below us. With Lenard all taught up about astrophotography that was our line into learning surfing, hopefully we will finally get out there on a board in the next few days. Today, once more i've planned to do absolutely nothing but relax and swim but i'm going to get organising a trip to Yala national park to see both leopards and elephants naturally, in a few more days we will be heading into the mountain ranges of Sri Lanka, i'm really excited to get hiking and shooting some landscape photography!
     As an added note, i've come back to the laptop to get this posted and just a few hours ago when me, Steve and Dan were swimming we heard some guy from behind us start screaming help and splashing around in the water. Turns out this poor guy went under water and got caught by seaweed, when he finally got back up he panicked and started basically drowning! I swam over and grabbed this Sri Lankan guy, double the size of me and started dragging him back to shore, nobody seemed to help, i think most thought he was joking or something similar. As he's almost back to shore Steve comes and gives a hand as i'm struggling keeping this guy over the water line. The guy was glad to be back on land and really thankful but jesus christ, i don't even like open water as mentioned above, least i'm further over my fear now!

Going for a quick swim in the warmest water ever 

 This is how happy i'm actually in a photograph for once ^

 Ben looking smug on his moped

 The gang having a five minute breather, did a total of 220km that day!

 I never look impressed in photographs...

 One of the mountains on our travels

 On the road

 Little houses scattered across the country side

 My off road, speed machine

 Dans second flat tyre

 The cheapest mechanic i've ever known

 Drinking games at the YMCA hostel

 Milky way tail over the sand dunes

Silhouetted tree with the milky way

Arugam Bay - An Unexpected Paradise

5th to 9th August - Arugam Bay

With a bus booked from West coast to East we arrived at the station for 6:30PM and jumped on our 10hr, none air conditioned, horribly uncomfortable bus to Aragum Bay. I tried to sleep through most of the journey as our driver rocketed around mountainous corners in the middle of Sri Lanka, people fell off chairs it was that hectic. Dan and Ben happily sat in the row in front drinking and generally getting merry, i was in no fit state for that, my stomach was still killing and all i wanted to do was rest! We've had Lukeyta join us for our stay at the bay, we met her at the previous hostel and she was up for an adventure so why not. She seems fairly cool and knows her stuff about travelling so it's always nice to have a second opinion on things. After the hours flew by we were awoken by someone shouting Aragam Bay and we grabbed our things and stumbled off this bus, its was 3:30AM in the pitch black and no room booked, things were about to get interesting. We headed down the strip looking for some sort of 'open all hours' bar where we could secretly sleep but with no prevail. 10 minutes walking though and we heard some faint music above us at a place called YMCA, we decided to check it out and whilst walking in we bumped into this guy, long hair and very hippyish. He instantly goes "oh shit, if you're looking for the YMCA, you're looking for me" and then cracks this big smile, we explain our situation and he invites us in to meet a group of others staying at this hostel. Instantly we felt welcomed and we sat around with this drunk group for an hour until we were allowed to just put our heads down on some cushions and sleep until morning.
    As we left to our one night hostel back at the other side of the strip we all agreed that the YMCA was a damn good place and thats where we were going to spend the duration of our time here. Our new place was seriously not great, ants all over the walls and our room was literally just a bed and a shared toilet outside. The best thing that came out of this place was we met Kale, a 20 year old Australian guy who tagged along with us after we invited him for food somewhere, the great thing about moving around so much is dragging people with you, we keep saying we're travelling as three but in reality its rare its just us guys. After checking into the YMCA we realised its just so damn cheap and its got air conditioning, two things i've desperately been wanting! New people have arrived here and everyone is great, mostly Europeans and Canadians. So far we've mainly been relaxing and swimming in the sea, this place is an absolute paradise, palm trees and colourful blue water. One day we've hired mopeds and travelled over 120km across the coast finding little secluded beach spots and stopping in little villages, the locals everywhere are so friendly and just run over to say hello and can't help enough. On my way back with the moped after Dan's got a puncture so i had to leave him behind i stumbled across a large herd of wild elephants, possible 10 to 12 of these majestic animals walking nearby the town i'm staying in. I felt so privilege to see them in their natural environment but also it was such a shame it was so dark and that the others didn't get to see it!
     Over the last few days we've also got chatting a lot to Lenard, a damn cool German guy, we started with a huge chat about Sebastian Salgado who's one of my favourite photographers and then we decided on a great deal, he teaches us guys how to surf and i'll teach him some photography. Can't wait to conquer one of my fears of open water and get out there surfing, hopefully it'll go as smoothly as i'm imagining. With my stomach finally feeling up to it we starting bringing the draft beers in and headed to a beach party five minutes away from us, a full night on progressive house music and dancing in the sand, i don't think i've ever done anything quite like it, especially bare foot. Felt odd, but none the less great. The party was a good vibe with loads of people there and we finished with a tight rope that was hidden around the back, loads of people trying the balancing act with no prevail, i tried several times and it went the same way, straight back down to the sand. A final note - The stars here are beautiful, with there being very little light pollution the milky way is visible most nights whilst just looking out into the sea.

Aragum Bay main strip

 Water buffalo we saw whilst out on the mopeds

 Ben taking moody photographs of me...

 Fisherman nearing sunset

 Dan & Lukeyta at Whisky Point, a good surfing area

 One of many unspoilt beaches

Recovering after the beach party

Aragum Bay at night