After the smog and crazy busy traffic in Kandy, we decided to head for some reprieve in the hill country. With Sri Lankan New Year looming and the fireworks starting to become a regular sound effect in Kandy, we were also hoping to find somewhere a little quieter...
Unfortunately, it seems, all of Sri Lanka had the same idea...
Unfortunately, it seems, all of Sri Lanka had the same idea...
Once we finally escaped the maddening traffic and constant plumes of exhaust fumes in Kandy, we had a short reprieve from the pollution as we headed towards Nuwara Eliya. But being a Friday before an 8 day holiday, and with the hill country being the favourite summer destination for a large percentage of the population, instead of the nice, calm, green drive we were hoping for, we instead had a long, busy, exhaust-fume full drive that was far from relaxing..
There was just so much smog from the black smoke coming out of almost every cary/bus/truck, that we could barely see 100 m in front of us. And as we were overtaken/over took any other vehicle, we were quickly reminded of the benefits of having a vehicle with windows/ac...
By the time we got to Nuwara Eliya, only to discover that most of the accommodation was either already fully booked, or triple the normal price, we were all coughing, had runny noses and headaches.. We decided we really had no choice but to push on to Ella, in the hope that it would be a little less polluted.
Honestly, I think the drive from Nuwara Eliya was maybe a little bit better, but by that point we were all feeling so sick, that we weren't able to take much in. Oh, and the road to Ella is like 1000 hairpoint turns.. If we weren't already feeling dodgy...
When we finally arrived, we were just sooo relieved to get there. It was already late in the afternoon, and we just wanted to get a room, have a shower, and get some food.. Which we did. We even decided to let ourselves eat at a tourist restaurant for the first time in a really long time! We ate pizza, and tried to feel better. But the air in Ella wasn't that much better than in Nuwara Eliya, which is a real shame, because it looks like it would be an amazingly beautiful place if you could see it!!
When we finally arrived, we were just sooo relieved to get there. It was already late in the afternoon, and we just wanted to get a room, have a shower, and get some food.. Which we did. We even decided to let ourselves eat at a tourist restaurant for the first time in a really long time! We ate pizza, and tried to feel better. But the air in Ella wasn't that much better than in Nuwara Eliya, which is a real shame, because it looks like it would be an amazingly beautiful place if you could see it!!
We spent 2 days exploring the town and enjoying the cooler weather. It was nice to sleep in a sleeping bag and wear long-sleeved clothes!! We wanted to climb small Adam's peak but, we were still recovering from the air pollution.
With the combination of cooler weather, the pollution not really clearing, and the fire-crackers encroaching on the quiet of Ella, we decided to make a break for the coast and head back to Arugam Bay to recover by the beach... And so that hill-country experience... Short, migraine-inducing and expensive, but with a lot of potential for beauty given the right environmental conditions.
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