Sunday, July 18, 2010

Training it in Sri Lanka

We opted to take the train for the six-plus hour ride from Hikkaduwa to Kandy as I heard it was "unreliable" and was looking for the adventure of a scenic train ride and the good photos that would inevitably result. We were not disappointed.

1. Sri Lanka is truly beautiful. At times the tracks ran parallel to the palm tree-lined Indian Ocean -- so close that it felt like we could graze the waves with our fingertips. At times verdant and lush. At times embelished with dilapidated shacks and bony cows instead of the waves and palm trees.
 2. Train snacks. Our lovely Sri Lankan hosts treated us to a number of goodies from the peddlers passing through the aisles. Lentil fritters. Spongy, coconut oil bread. Corn on the cob.


3. The cars got so packed that men were literally dangling off the side of the trains for hours. As every banana leaf, sign post and tree branch whizzed by, I held my breath and sighed with relief upon confirmation that our side door friends' limbs were still all intact.

4. For the second half of the ride, two goofy Brits were forced to cram into seats directly across from us. They were impossibly chatty and I would say obnoxious if I didn't find them so endearing in the most tremendously entertaining way. It was like watching a three-hour spin-off of "The Office" that involved a pair of young med students lost in Sri Lanka instead of employees at Wernham Hogg. My dear friend Candice did not agree, but she also admitted that she hates British comedy.

5. Inspired by the dangling man, I too hung from the side of the moving train for a bit...just for fun. And it was!

1 comment:

  1. balls girl. BALLS. loved that you hung out of the train like that. do your parents read this blog?! i think that would freak out any parent!

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