A month solo travelling Sri Lanka (2)

Part 2: Arugam bay, Ella, Nuwara Eliya, Horton Plains, Galle.

Arugam bay

Disclaimer: Arugam bay will suck you in you will inevitably end up staying much longer than intended.

Our bus arrived on the outskirts of the bay leading onto the beginning of the single road that parallels the coast of Arugam bay. We were quick to settle at our hostel for the night to recharge for the next day. The following morning I decided to go to a yoga class to stretch my tight calves from all the climbing, walking and cycling done the previous few days. A small, intimate class was held at 'hipsters hideout'. This was the perfect chilled hostel we moved to for the rest of the week.

Although tiny in size, Arugam bay has everything it needs in order to be the most perfect, laid-back place for surfers and sun-seekers. From a variety of beginner to pro surf spots, some of the best food Sri Lanka has to offer (you NEED to go to the smoothie bowls at 'Karma gardens') and bars to meet the like minded whilst appreciating the live music on offer that evening.

The first live music we found was an insane beach party (not usually my scene...) from what I remember to be in the middle of nowhere. After a night of dancing, drinking, abandoning Josh (the only other westerner we had met on the bus to Arugam bay) on the beach, Lucas losing his phone, finding his phone and sitting in the street eating too many rotti in a desperate attempt to sober up, we all made it back safe and sound.

Somehow, we all managed to get up early enough the next day to have a go at surfing. We tried out Panama, Elephant Rock and Whiskey bay (nearly drowned here). My favorite memory would have to be surfing at a spot called Peanut Farm. Lucas gave me some lessons in order to build up my confidence and I gotta say I felt on fireeeeeee... like a pro. It wasn’t until I got out the water that Josh bluntly told me in his geordie accent that I looked like a constipated crab. It was here we also met Elle, also from Australia, who was a proper surfer chick! Watching her surf on the water was like watching someone dance on it.

(Elephant rock)

(Panama beach)

Most evenings, a bunch of us would head to ‘hideaway bar’ for 2for1cocktails. As the world cup was on, back at the hostel they had put up a screen which we would watch lying in the sand on the beach. After each day of attempted surfing, these were our usual evenings, playing cards and darts and having family dinners at different hostels.

What i loved about Arugam is that although there was always plenty to do, you could always find a quiet space. In the mornings, although it was alive with keen surfers who would be up to catch the waves just before sunrise, I would usually spend this time to go for a walk along the quieter beaches. You’d always bump into someone you knew. This particular morning it was Josh, who offered a lesson in Tuk Tuk driving in one he was renting. He never trusted me behind the wheel again. The Tuk Tuk was used to get to and from surf spots and even enabled us to create our own make-shift safaris as we spotted the occasional elephant.

Although we all absolutely loved this place, it was time to move on and see what else Sri Lanka had to offer.

Ella

By this point, we were travelling with a group we had become close with during our stay in Arugam bay. We all took a taxi to Ella, quickly threw our bags into our new homestay and checked out a nearby waterfall where we had a freshwater swim and were joined by the monkeys in the surrounding tree tops. Ella was packed full of activities to tick off the bucket list. We had an early morning trek to nine arch bridge (which we were shocking at navigating our way to), did a sunset hike up little Adams peak (which i fell head first down with a backpack full of everyone's beers) and i will forever be haunted by the sound of Poppy and Josh singing the sound of music on repeat all the way back down the mountain in the pitch black.

We had the weirdest experience of a 'cooking class' in someone's home where we were shadowed by the chefs drunk brothers (who made it very clear we were very unwelcome).

On our final day we climbed Ella Rock which rewarded us with some incredible views at the top. That night was also Josh’s birthday so we arranged a sneaky card and cake and all stayed up drinking and playing charades at ‘Chill bar’ until we couldn't remember how to play charades anymore.

The following morning, we were abruptly woken by a panicky Bill shaking us to wake up as we were going to miss our train. Next stop...

Nuwara Eliya - Horton Plains

After learning the best way to travel is with the locals, we managed to make a bunch of local friends on the way to Nuwara Eliya as we all played and sang along to cheesy top hits from all over the world for hours and hours. It made us forget about the severe hangover we were all enduring from time to time.

(Saying goodbye to Tilly and Luca the only way we know how, by eating their food)

Nuwara Eliya was somewhere completely different to anywhere else we had been in Sri Lanka. Here, at such a high altitude, the temperature was a lot cooler and the quaint colonial buildings were something that made me feel like I was back home in the UK, hence they call it little England. Even the tea plantations are named after English cities and counties. After throwing on every layer I could possibly find, we found a cheap, run down, damp room for us all to share. Not that any of us cared for luxury, we were too tired to care.

During our time here we visited one of the many tea plantations where we tried A LOT of tea and had a tour overlooking some incredible views. We did a spot of shopping, mainly for raincoats as it rained a lot here. These rain coats were necessary for our next big hike around Horton Plains. This 10-12 km walk is the largest plain situated in the central hills of Sri Lanka. Although we had a rocky start witnessing Bill slipping backwards in the mud and getting stuck like a turtle would trapped rolling back on his shell, it was well worth the muddy hike for the never ending views. We were advised to visit early morning as mist tends to cover up the view of ‘world’s end’ later on in the day.

Kandy

And back to Kandy we went. Here we had one last evening altogether before it was just myself, Tilly and Luca left. It was very emotional saying goodbye to Poppy and Josh as the 3 of us had literally been joined to the hip for the last few weeks. But once we said our final goodbyes in Colombo, straight to Galle we went.

Galle

Galle is a beautiful and interesting place if you love to dip into some history. Situated on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, Galle Fort was an old city founded by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. You can stay in accommodation in the fort itself, like we did. Inside the stone seawalls you'll find a maze of car-free streets with incredible architecture that reflects that of a combination of the Portuguese, Dutch and British rule.

Myself, Tilly and Luca spend a few nights here exploring in and around the local area before it was time to say goodbye to Sri Lanka and head back home. Due to the season, it was better to travel the East rather than the West. One day, I would like to return to make the most of the West and of course, climb Adam's Peak!

I couldn’t recommend visiting this place enough so tell me, will you be making a visit to Sri Lanka?