Oh yes. Another travelling day today. Couldn’t get any kind of sense out of Google, which seems somehow to be oblivious to the fact that the massive storms of a couple of months ago have taken out the main train line, and kept insisting the train was the way to go. No biggy: we just took the bus to Badullah, got off at the bus station, picked up some lunch supplies and got on another to Kandy.
It was a fun ride – five hours or so being hurled round the hairpins pretty much all the way, with a payload that varied between full (mostly) and absolutely crammed, with people’s bums pressing hard against your shoulder, as we hit school’s out. As ever, the bus itself was a wonder, with brightly coloured artwork lining the entire interior, and music blaring out whenever the driver got the urge.
All went well till we got to Kandy in the pouring rain, at which point Virle took a tumble on the broken road – no joke when wearing a rucksack – getting a nasty graze on her knee, along with a rip in her pants. Things didn’t improve when we arrived at our hotel. We’d splashed out a bit for a room with a balcony, in a hotel that had glowing reviews, but they won’t be getting one from me.
When we arrived we were confronted by blank walls and unmarked doorways, with no indication of where to go. There was a staircase, which V climbed, to be eventually confronted by a scowling woman, who seemed outright suspicious, and had to be assuaged by evidence of our booking on V’s phone before she, grudgingly it felt, had another woman take us up to our room. Which proved to be swanky, immaculately clean, but with ironwork over the balcony door and windows which seemed utterly superfluous (“Where are we, the bloody Bronx?”) and gave the room a decidedly unwelcoming feel. Hardly aided by the total lack of so much as a single hook on the wall, or anywhere else to hang clothes, along with a big sign on the back of the door:
NO
EATING
DRINKING
SMOKING
Already feeling a bit jangled, I started muttering about “If I want to bring a beer back to my room I’ll bring a xxxxing beer back to my room,” until Virle told me to calm down and…breathe.
We’re heading out soon for a walk round the lake and a munch, so hopefully that will improve my mood, but I must admit that right now I’m feeling distinctly disenchanted by our new ‘home’. Compare our Ella balcony with this one:
Feels like an immaculate goddamn prison cell, and I shall be sure to mention it in my Google review. I’m not generally mean – if I haven’t got nice things to say, I tend to keep schtum. But the way that woman looked at Virle, I’m minded to make an exception.
Back after a stroll by the lakeside and a really excellent meal, at a place which initially looked pretty uninspiring, which always makes a treat that much more enjoyable, I’m feeling significantly chilled. So maybe I won’t be quite so scathing after all. But any more scowling and all bets are off.