Another day of public transportation, train version. Why does it feel like all I have been doing here is traveling? I guess it’s what I get for trying to travel through a whole country in 7 days.

I set off on a bus from Kandy to Ella, which is a beautiful ride through the mountains. I had one goal, get a spot by the door.

Goal accomplished. Though I was sharing the space with a French guy who looked like Johnny Depp from Willy Wonka & Edward Scissor Hands combined & then dipped into Top Shop.

During the train ride, French & I started chatting about our plans & where we were both going. I told him I was going to Ella & then taking a bus to Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak). Turns out, that’s where he & a couple he was traveling with were going & asked if I wanted to join. The train actually made a stop at Hatton, which is closer to Sri Pada than Ella so I hopped off the train with them. We traveled by Tuk Tuk up the rest of the mountain to Sri Pada.

Adam’s Peak is known for the Sri Pada, “sacred footprint”, a 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be the footprint of the Buddha, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva and in Islamic and Christian tradition that of Adam, or that of St. Thomas. So basically there are a lot of religions & different opinions as to the importance of this rock. The name Adam’s Peak supports the Islamic & Christian view of the rock so Sri Lanka officially changed the name to Sri Pada, though everyone still calls it Adam’s Peak.

We woke up at 1 am to make the 3-hour hike up 2,243 meters (7,360 ft.) to watch the sunrise. The climb was brutal, but 7,000 steps later, we made it to the top, & it was cloudy. The moon & sun were both hidden by the clouds. As the sun rose, the white of the clouds just got brighter. Everyone was disappointed since we just worked our butts off to get to the top to watch one of “the most beautiful sunrises in the world” & it was too cloudy to see. Where you see white, is supposed to be mountains & beautiful scenery.

On the walk down, the clouds started to move away & I was able to see the breathtaking scenery around me. The photos will never do this land justice. There were hills & mountains as far as my eyes could see. It was breathtaking.

Even though the sunrise was disappointing, I had a great morning & am glad I did Sri Pada. A few people told me they skipped it because it’s a 50/50 chance of getting the right weather. Regardless, I still had fun, so that’s what matter.

xx