This post is part of a series following my friends and I crossing Sri Lanka in a Tuktuk. You can find the intro post here and the previous one here.
We left Kandy in the early morning, knowing that although we only had 90km to drive to our next stop, we were about to get to the mountainous part of Sri Lanka, and would be driving very slowly.
We took a small detour to see Ambulawawa tower and overheated our Tuktuk for the first time. A Sri Lankan Tuktuk driver colleague told us to wait for a while and took us the see the tower in the meantime.
Once again I didn't do the climb because I don't do well with heights but my friends had a blast going up the spiraling stairs.
Back on the road, we started to go up in the mountains. After a stop, the Tuktuk refused to start again, but it was quickly solved when people passing by showed us how to jumpstart the beast.
We then continued on the way to Newura Eliya, known for its tea hills and nicknamed Little England.
We had a Ceylon tea and tea cake degustation along the way and went back on our merry way.
After overheating one more time we made it to Little England just before the onset of rain.
After that it was time for a walk along the lake, a nice dinner and some drinks!
Stay tuned!
All the rewards of this post will go to CoolEarth NGO.
wow... cool... Love Sri Lanka but haven't got the luck to visit yet. Drink red tea right there in SL also sounds so dreamy... 😍 I know that SL does not have a healthy economy in recent years, hope they get better sooner...
TTG, The Tainan Gentlemen is hilarious 😂! Btw, who did the design of the logo? It looks really good!
Hey Dean! Sri Lanka is amazing,and the tea is really good! Yeah their economy is in a pretty bad shape and lots of them told use to share the word about their country because they really need the tourism. And I'm happy to do so since it's really a country that I'd recommend.
TTG FTW!
My girlfriend designed the logo :)
Really liked the Ambulawawa tower that you showed above, it looks like a fairytale tower and the architecture is indeed amazing! I hope the overheated Tuktuk didn’t give you much trouble 😅 thanks for sharing these beautiful photos with us. ❤️
Overheating was just the begining, today was more epic, I'll post about it in the morning ^^
I am not surprised that a place famous for its tea is called Little England. Tuktuk breakdowns won't stop you, my friend. I think you're almost there. Good luck!
Rule number 1 : if it doesn't break down it's not a tuktu!
It won't stop us indeed!
I wouldn't climb on that thing either. Interesting adventure you have here. Have fun!
Right?!
Thanks, it's lots of fun so far!
Hehe, In Asian countries like Shrilanka , India , Bangladesh you can find a lot of rikshaow tuktuk) everywhere. It's very good for short distance ride.
You should try it for long distance!
Tuk-tuk ride has always been interesting, but never for long ride...in India we only enjoy for shorter trip....but seems you were making best use of it
Yeah that's what makes the long ride fun, knowing it's not made for this purpose
That Ambulawawa tower is quite beautiful but looks quite modern in design. I'm going to check out its history online.
A friend of mine visited Sri Lanka and said he had a blast. But he knows I can't handle my hot curries very well and said the cuisine there is very spicy. I was wondering if this was something you've found to be true generally.
Safe journeys and I'll keep my 🤞 fingers crossed for fewer Tuktuk breakdowns on the rest of your trip through the mountains 🙂
Yeah it's a mix of different styles!
Honestly the spices shouldn't stop you. Most of Sri Lankan are mindful to make food less spicy for foreigners so I don't think that should be a problem unless you can't handle it at all. We're on the opposite spectrum as we all love spicy food and often have to insist to get the local level of spice.
Thanks! We had more breakdowns today but all in good fun!
Ha ha, yep I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to chilli-type heat/spice. But I remember they do something similar in Thailand where they ask you if you want 'foreigner' style curry 😂
I can't remember the Thai word, it has been over 10 years since I travelled SE Asia, but I remember being laughed at (kindly) when I insisted on a red Thai curry Thai-style in Chiang mai... then turning beetroot red, sweating like I was about to have a heart attack... but I left with my head held high (there were about 5-6 small whole Thai chilis in that curry) and then running to the nearest pool hall to guzzle beer until the pain receded.
Which tells you all you need to know about my heat tolerance to spicy food 🤣
very good walk , enjoy 😀
The tower looks awesome. Looks like a fun adventure