Bus Ride to Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, 2012

Our latest Sri Lanka travel blog covers the incredibly beautiful bus journey from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya is also called Little England because it used to be a small place that the colonials built in the likeness of home and, do to the temperate climate, was a popular destination for the colonial administrators to retreat to to stay warm. Nuwara Eliya is important for the tea industry in Sri Lanka and lies at an elevation of 1,800 meters, 1,300 meters higher than Kandy. As you can expect, we drove through some of the most beautiful hill country covered in super green tea plantations. It was one of the more stunning bus rides we have been on. The videos and pictures below, we are sure, show you the beauty.

Beautiful View (by Queenie)

Scenes from Kandy, Sri Lanka, 2012

After Colombo our first stop was Kandy, a small town in the middle of Sri Lanka with a long and storied history. We got to Kandy after a long (four hour) train ride from Colombo. We landed up staying in Kandy for three nights before moving on to Nuwara Eliya. Kandy itself has a number of tourist attractions including Kandy Lake, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandyan Dancing and the world famous botanical gardens. Day trips from Kandy to the elephant orphanage and places to ride elephants are also available as are trips to Srigiya and other places. We both felt that Kandy was beautiful but we were disappointed with the food and thought it has really become overrun with tourists. The guest house we stayed at in Kandy was the best one of the whole trip and our hosts were amazing. We had fun in Kandy but felt the best part of it was visiting the elephants and the lake.

Kandy Lake

Train Ride to Kandy from Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2012

Our latest Sri Lanka travel blog is the train ride we took from Colombo to Kandy in the middle of Sri Lanka. The train ride was awesome. I have always read about the trains in India and Sri Lanka and was really looking forward to the ride. We initially thought we would take the bus to Kandy since we weren't sure of the schedule but it turns out we had plenty of time. The train we took was a local train. We were spoiled with great views of the hill country and enjoyed trying the samosas on the train being sold by the on carriage vendors.

Along the Tracks

Sri Lanka 2012

In 2012 we had an amazing two weeks in Sri Lanka. It was a great trip and we had a tremendous time. We spent a day in Colombo and then traveled to Kandy, Nuwareliya, Ella, Yala and along the south coast all the way to Galle. We had a fantastic time wandering the streets in the cities, drinking tea in the highlands, hanging out near Kandy lake and of course, meeting all the awesome people. The posts below are some of the things we did and saw in that wonderful country.

Kandayan Dancing - Kandy, Sri Lanka - 2012

Kandayan Dancing is one of the three dance forms from Sri Lanka. We went to watch it at the Kandyan Art Association & Cultural Centre which is next to the Temple of the Tooth and on the shores of the Kandy Lake. The dancing could have been better but it is worth going to see. At the end of the performance there was a fie dance which is done as a devotion to a god.

Kandyan Dancers