Our next stop was for 3 nights in Ella, the small backpacker town known for its nature, tea plantations and nine arches bridge. We found a homestay on top of a mountain with spectacular views and a fantastic host.
Day 1 we set out to see the famous Nine Arches Bridge built in 1910 with no metals, only bricks. The government diverted all the metal to make military equipment during the war. We planned our visit so we could be there when a train passed over. The bridge is one of Sri Lankas 2 iconic places and well worth a peek. Here, once again the niceness of the Sri Lankan people was on display. When we arrived there was a sign that said ‘No Drones without government permission’ and a number to call to jump through hoops. I was so bummed. So I went up to a police officer and asked if I could fly. He said not without permission. I said we’ll I’m asking for your permission. He laughed, smiled and said “ok since you asked so nicely but just 10 minutes and don’t fly under the bridge and disturb the giant bee hives”. Such awesome people! The only other plan we had for the day was to do an afternoon hike up a small mountain. So first we headed into town and found a hookah lounge to grab a bite to eat. This stop was unplanned and totally random. Then something happened that totally blew our minds. We asked to sit upstairs so we could people watch. When we got upstairs there was only 1 other person there. Our old friend Paddy Doyle from Thailand. We had no idea he was even in Sri Lanka let alone this town or this bar in the middle of the day. It turned out he was there to do the same hike as us. So after lunch, off we went together. We had a great climb then dinner and drinks. We ended up spending the entire day catching up and making plans to meet up again in Bangkok next week.
Day 2 our host arranged for a scooter rental company to bring us a scooter for the day. First we drove out of town to the Lipton Tea Seat. In the late 1800’s Sir Lipton fell in love with Sri Lanka and he started his tea empire here. The tea plantation is still in use and so we drove up the mountain through the tea fields watching the workers harvest tea leaves. At the top there is a statue of Sir Lipton overlooking the valley of tea and a shop serving black tea and local snacks. After enjoying our treats we headed back to town to visit a few waterfalls while we still had our bike. At the second waterfall I got bit by a leach and bled for 2 hours. Some locals saw me sitting on the roadside bleeding and made me a salt water solution that helped clean and clot the bite. We capped the day off by doing laundry and grabbing a pizza. Between running into an old friend and getting bitten by a leach it was 2 days I’ll never forget. I mean what are the odds of running into someone you know from a foreign country in another foreign country in a random empty restaurant. It really is a small wonderful world.
Ella is definitely our kind of small town with an awesome vibe.
