Day 07 - Friday 25th January

You won't believe this one. After all the mistakes our guide, Neil, has made, this tops the lot.

The plan was to travel from Nuwara Eliya to Kandy by train. This is supposed to be a scenic tour as an alternative to travelling in the bus. The bus would take our luggage and meet us there.

Neil said the train was due to leave at 5:45am and so we had to have our bags packed by 4:30am. So I set my alarm for 3:45am - which is much earlier than I like to get up.

We had been warned that it would be cold in the morning and so we wore a jumper and our puffer jackets. Sure enough it was only 11C.

Before leaving the hotel, we collected our breakfast boxes from the reception. Neil had been opening each one to check they were OK to avoid the complaints he had got from yesterday's excursion.

The bus left on time just before 5am along the windy road to the railway station. We were there by 5:10am and we were the only passengers on the station.

Then a guard came over to Neil to check our tickets and discovered that our booking was for the 9:20am train - not the 5:45am train.

The reaction was interesting. You might have expected anger but we all just laughed in disbelief. How could anyone make such a blunder? We could have had another 4 hours sleep. Neil was very apologetic but it was just another apology. There was little point is apologising because we were past that stage - we'd heard it so many times before.

He organised to get the bus to come back to the station to take us back to the hotel. By that time it was 6am. We returned our breakfast boxes to reception and went back to our rooms.

I was struggling with the walk to and from the platform. I'd woken up with large bruises at various places on my arms and legs from my fall yesterday in the tea plantation. My leg was quite sore to walk on - especially with the uneven ground and stairways.

Suzy decided to send an email to our travel agent, Inspiring Vacations, back in Sydney to tell them about the problems we'd been having with Neil.

The plan was to leave our bags on the bus but I decided to get my laptop bag off the bus - mainly because it contained all my medication. I'd lost confidence in their ability to get things right and I couldn't afford to be separated from my medication.

Breakfast started at 6:30am and we had another excellent buffet breakfast. By the time we'd finished, Suzy had received a reply email from the travel agent thanking her for her feedback.

The bus departing again for the station at 8:30am. This time there were plenty of people on the platforms. One train was waiting on the other platform. It was economy class and the people were jammed in like sardines.

Our tickets were for first class and Neil told us to wait at the end of the platform because first class was on the last carriage.

Neil had warned us that trains in Sri Lanka are often a few minutes late. It turned out to be 30 minutes late.

First class wasn't luxurious. At least there was ample leg room. We each had a tray table and a footrest. There were toilets at the rear of the carriage.

The train took off with a jerk and the bumps and swaying continued throughout the journey.

The trip to the toilet was an adventure. For a start, it was hard to walk down the aisle because of the swaying of the train. One of the exit doors was closed but the one on the other side was open and so I had to hang on tight to ensure I wasn't flung out the open door.

The toilet on one side was a hole in the floor whereas the one on the other side had a western-style seat. It was then I noticed that the toilet emptied straight onto the track below the train - it was just an open vertical pipe. It was a real battle to maintain my balance as the carriage rocked violently from side to side.

From the window, the view was quite pleasant for much of the trip. We looked out on tea plantations on the sides of the hills below the railway line.

The trip to Kandy took just on three and a half hours. The train terminated here. Fortunately our bus was waiting for us outside the station and drove us to a restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was in the Hotel Thilanka.

Traffic was very heavy because it was peak hour. Government schools in Sri Lanka finish at 1:30pm. Apparently, they start classes at 7:30am. Neil said there is another peak hour in the early evening because many students go to evening classes too.

This time the restaurant was clean and modern - as were the toilets. It was yet another buffet and once again I had a Lion beer. Suzy went for a G&T. There was no problem with split bills and I was able to pay by credit card.

Next the bus took us to our hotel, Earl's Regency. This is a large hotel on the side of a hill. There was a wedding reception underway and the bridal party were having photos taken in the foyer.

Our room was in the southern wing overlooking the pool, tennis court and gardens. The decor is modern and elegant. Unfortunately, the WiFi speed is very slow.

We were pleased that there were no activities on the itinerary for the rest of the day because it gave us an opportunity to relax after a disrupted and hectic day. I was feeling quite tired. Towards the end of the afternoon we set out to explore the hotel.

At 7:30pm, we met the rest of the group in the bar area for a drink before going into the restaurant for dinner. It was once again a buffet. It was a large restaurant and this time there was even more choice than usual. It was probably the best meal of the tour so far.