Many people come here to watch a spectacular sunrise and we planned to do the same. Everyone starts the pilgrimage to the Little Adams Peak early in the morning. The alarm was ringing at 4:30 a.m. and we woke up in agony and got ready. We were walking through the night guided by the stars. It was nice and quiet until a thousand Tuk Tuks were racing through the night so some tourists had to walk a little bit less. The Tuk Tuks even drove past on a small dirt road, right to the entrance. We walked instead and a lot of other people were walking, too. We were a bit annoyed by all the tourists, but in the end we came to the realization, that we were part of the problem so we let the thought go and tried to enjoy the sunrise. We also found a quiet spot to enjoy the sunrise with only a few people.

After this sunrise we went back down slowly through the tea plantation until we spotted something weird. A Sri Lankan person was sitting on the road with a weird container. He started to play the flute and a cobra was dancing to it. We only noticed after we walked past, because we were still a bit tired. When the realization kicked in we jumped a few steps away from it. The Sri Lankan laughed and the cobra hissed and tried to attack the Sri Lankan. Without any words we walked past it. What a weird morning experience… Another famous tourist attraction is the Nine Arch bridge. This bridge was constructed in 1921 by the British to export more tea. Construction was stopped soon after, because the steel was needed in the European war during that time and was later finished. Today many people come to watch the architecture. You can also walk on the tracks as there are only a few trains coming. We were watching the turmoil from above as a local shop owner approached us. He told us, that the morning train was late and we were in luck, because the train would soon arrive. We agreed on some coffee and tea and sat down at his place. We were waiting for the train to arrive as we sipped on our refreshing morning drinks. The said train never came. We have a feeling that the local is telling this story often to gain a few customers. It worked this time. I’m not complaining, though, the view was stunning nonetheless and we were the only ones up here!

We went down to walk on the tracks ourselves. We took some more pictures and crossed the bridge. Here we saw a shelter for protection against bees. Apparently there are massive bee hives under the bridge. These seem to attack everyone once they get threatened, which happens quite often. A lot of tourists fly drones to get a nice shot of the bridge. When they come to close to the hives the bees feel threatened and attack everyone. Luckily we didn’t experience this. We also saw the timetable on the other side of the bridge and decided to wait a bit more, because the next train would arrive soon. Low and behold the train actually arrived and it was the most unspectacular thing ever. I don’t know what we expected, but it literally was just a train passing through…

We wanted to check out a temple in the mountains close to Ella. For this we chartered a Tuk tuk and bargained the price again. The Tuk Tuk driver raced through the mountains. We were cruising left and right and up and down until we only went up. The road turned into a dirt road with a lot of pot holes. We were surprised just how durable and how off road a Tuk Tuk can be. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the peak. Just in time for the sunset. The vast green mountains turned into shades of blue and then finally in different kinds of grey. Mist was creeping up the mountain, which was creating a mythical experience, while the sky turned orange. We heard chanting from the temple. A few monks hurried to the ceremony. It didn’t even stop the monks, that the temple was still under construction. Sally and I were used to the Buddhist temples of Thailand, which are one of the most beautiful of all times. In this temple you could see that it is going to be beautiful in the future, since this one was unfinished. For Marvin it must have been an amazing experience. We listened to the chanting for half an hour and the sun was completely gone. It was time to head back to Ella.

We left this unfinished, but still amazing place, with no doubt in our minds. This temple will shine in the future! On our way back we encountered a wild bore. Our heart stopped a bit as these creatures can be quite aggressive. The Tuk Tuk driver took our shock as curiosity and plainly stopped. Luckily the bore was not bothered to much and just went back into the bushes.

From Ella we took the train to Nuwara Eliya. This train is one of the most famous in Sri Lanka. It cruises through the highlands along of waterfalls and tea plantations. Basically the whole ride there is a lot to see. This time we made sure to enter the right wagon. The train was also on time! We bought a chai on board enjoyed the open doors.

When we arrived in Nuwara Elyia we were struck by the climate. This is the highest town of Sri Lanka and it was cold. At least compared to the rest, which would be best described as scorching hot. Nuwara Eliya seems to be the favorite amongst Sri Lankans as well, for the same reason. Everyone we asked said this was his favorite place.

Marvin didn’t feel good this day so Sally and I went out alone. We took a short walk to the nearest park to find some absolute insanity. Apparently the locals have a week off and they all came here to enjoy the place. We find Jet skis and boats on the small lake cruising around like maniacs. The park is full of people, getting snacks and everything. We spotted some colorful busses, as we walked passed the park. I wanted to take some nice pictures so we came closer. We started to hear music blasting and our curiosity was evoked.

I took a few pictures with the camera and we were spotted by the locals soon enough. When they saw our camera they all wanted pictures taken. We started another commotion. After a while they were also taking pictures with us and their own phone camera again. This reminded me a bit of Sumatra. At some point they just dragged us into the crowd. We danced with them happy as ever. We love these random situations. Especially if the locals are so interested in strangers. We danced a bit in the dust of the parking lot and then went back to the accommodation.

We also visited a tea factory, which to our surprise was completely held in German. The sweet lady tried her best with the pronunciation. We will never forget how she pronounced all those words. The tea process is quite simple. The black tea is dried for one day, the green tea for two weeks and the white tea for a whole month. They also only use the tips for the white tea, which makes it the most exquisite, but also the most expensive.

Thanks for reading and until next time!

Here you can do plenty of things. We explored a “sticky” waterfall. So we rent a scooter again and go there. Unfortunately it was an hour away. An hour of riding the busy, loud and dirty highway. We were burning to a crisp in the sun and had to stop for a cold drink in between. Just when we are ready to explore the area it starts to suddenly rain. You can only laugh this off. This is a mere joke of life. A small test of patience. So we hunker down After thirty minutes it luckily stopped and we can explore the waterfall. Going on the waterfall goes against every instinct we know. Your brain is conditioned to think it is slippery. Every step you shortly hesitate. You then have full grip! You can even run around! How strange is this?

On our way back we found this desolate temple in the forest. No one was there and we indulged on the inviting stairs into the forest. We didn’t know what we should expect at the top. At the last stair our jaws drop. There is a massive cave connected to the stairs. We take a few steps more and this massive golden Buddha is smiling down on us. We can’t believe what we are seeing. Wow this is an amazing place and no one is here. We couldn’t believe the stillness of this place.

Thailand’s biggest sport is Thai boxing. There are many matches you can watch. We decided to check one out as well. We didn’t know the rules but it was still fun to watch. These fighting machines hitting each other. There was even one German one competing. We were cheering him on. He was so fast the round didn’t even last and the opponent went to the ground in 50 seconds. For me it’s clear. This is not my sport. I rather hit those waves.

Driven by the many Buddhas we have seen, we are driven to learn more about Buddha. So we visited a monastery to learn about Buddhas teaching. Here a monk taught us about impermanence and enlightenment. He started with a meditation. After the meditation he taught us about small nuisances. Like traffic, or noise, or something that bothers you in a moment. He proceeds to explain about impermanence. The mind can always be annoyed, be angry, furious or in any other mental state of unhappiness. He proceeds to explain how this is an impermanent state of the mind. The mind also often creates desire. “Things make you happy for a while, but then you chase the next thing”If I get this one thing I will be happy”. When the thing comes around it creates impermanent happiness for a short time until the mind moves on. We live in an impermanent world, though. This would create an endless loop in chasing the next thing and the next after that. To free the mind from this desire, is to stop this viscous cycle and be contempt’s and happy how you are now.

The Path to Enlightenment is a purification of the mind by training the mind, reaching a point where the mind experiences only peacefulness, calmness, serenity, and contentedness with joy – the Enlightened mind

https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/

From here we go to Chiang Rai. In Chiang Rai, there is supposed to be more beautiful temples. Here we rent a scooter and check out the white temple. It is one of the most beautiful temples I have ever seen. The white color with the shining glass shards is supposed to resemble the purity of the Buddha and Buddha’s wisdom. For me it feels like being in an air temple of avatar.

After that we also visited the blue temple it is to represent the the lack of materialism of the Buddha. We cruise onward with our scooter. I took this beautiful shot. We didn’t stay long though and we didn’t find the blue temple as impressive as the white so we carried on.

From here we go further to the next temple. We cruise to the goddess of mercy. It is supposed to be a 9 story high statue. We cruise through the green landscape with it’s chaotic traffic. The statue is visible from far away because it is so huge! The massive statue is smiling down on us once we arrived. The white dragons invite us to climb the stairs. This place is so peaceful and quiet. It was not even

From here we went back to Chiang Mai to catch the night train to Bangkok. The night train was really comfy and an absolute showcase on how traveling can be. But once arrived in Bangkok, we were struck by the noisy, dirty and smelling city. We were staying in an old wooden Thai style house. Sounds beautiful, I know. The only problem was the missing air-conditioning, so we were sweating like crazy. We booked a flight out of Bangkok, but we had to kill a few more days. We didn’t want to see more temples so we just explored the city and watched the sunset on the river. While we were sitting and enjoying the sunset a literal queue of people standing there to take a picture was growing. We were just watching with amazement, how people would wait half an hour to take the same picture the other 50 people did before. Humans are crazy sometimes..

After the two days in the old Thai style house we had enough of Bangkok. It was not worth to go somewhere else, though so we rented a room with a gym. This was the best decision we made. We were tired of Bangkok and this was a good solution. We just trained with the Thai people. Some were Thai boxing, others just lifting weights and some were on the treadmills. Another evening we went out to a rooftop bar. Here you can see the city from a quiet perspective. We enjoyed the sunset and let the city turn from day to night with all the crazy lights.

When we went down again we noticed how quiet it was up there. Meanwhile the contrast of the city couldn’t be any heavier coming from a rooftop. With the expensive roof top and the ground completely different. All the restaurants and street stalls that are advertising with it’s smells together with the smog and the noise, that never seems to stop in Bangkok. What a crazy city. You have the locals, the tourists and the crazy mix of the markets. The rich and the poor, the homeless, the fisherman, the street foods stalls, the tuk tuk drivers. They make the life in daily Bangkok. Here are a few more Impressions

Until next time! Cheers.