Day 12 Tissa to 10 out of Tangalla 86km

30th dec 2010
On the road, 3 wheelers, trucks, cows, buses, dogs, people!! Bird Sanctuary, rice paddies, fishing villages, rolling hills, good road, beach accommodation - Golden Coconut Cabana - infinity pool, beach walks, clean the bikes and there's a washing machine - hooray!!!
Linda's rear wheel starting making weird noises and we discover that the rim is split - not at all good.
We set about investigating how to replace it.

Day 11 Ella to Tissa 112km

oh what a feeling!!!
Glorious Downhill - no time to stop and take photos.
Fresh mountain air, misty morning, rice paddies, sunshine, good roads, friendly people, monkeys, buffalo and the possibility of wild elephants!! Safari options. Travellers Guest House in Tissa.

Day 10 Ella

Oh our bikes were waiting for us yesterday afternoon when we arrived in Ella by train - we were pretty happy about that!!!!
Slept at the Beauty Mount Tourist Inn - down a little path, across a little wooden bridge and up some steep stairs - carrying the bikes. Spent the day exploring Ella and the tea plantations on foot. Discovered a great walk with stunning views 'Little Adam's Peak'. Tea Plantations aplenty.

Day 9 Kandy to Ella - Train

Yesterday we left our bikes at the train station and they will hae gone on the 3.30am train to Ella.
We leave Expeditor at 7.30am in a tuk tuk that drops us and our panniers at the train station. We have seats 21 and 22 and when we got them the guy told us "they are the best seats on the train". Like yeah!!! Well they were in fact the very best seats on the train in the observation car. The other travellers enviously asked us "Did you get those seats 10 days ago" We sheepishly replied "No, we got the tickets yesterday" ha ha. Loved the train ride, up hill.

Day 8 Exploring Kandy

26th Dec 2010
Around 9.30am we ventured out on foot to explore the morning markets, great looking fruits/veg/spices. Given that I almost never drink tea or coffee I have taken a liking to the Chai - love watching them mix and pour it. Over a hot chai we come up with a plan to put our bikes on the train to Ella (generally all up hill). The forecast is for more rain. Train guy says tomorrow bikes can go on the train at 3.30am and we can go on the passenger train at 8.20am. We don't like being separated from our bikes but the other choice is 4 days of riding up hill and Linda is not well.

Day 7 Dambulla to Kandy 80km

Merry Christmas.
We added a few decorations to the bikes, ate chocolate cake before 8am - a gift from the Little Dream - to celebrate xmas in a Buddhist country and waved farewell. On the road for 5 hours, a little harder to find accommodation in Kandy than we thought it would be. Eventually got a good room at Expeditor.

Day 6 24th December 2010 37km

We are 8km out of Dambulla. Venture out for a day trip in search of Sigiriya and the Royal Rock Temple in Dambulla.
A glorious day exploring and enjoying the culture.