After our day in Colombo, we knew we needed to read the rough guide from cover to cover to get any hints and tips and it was very useful. It has timetables and entry fees,history, some key words etc. The train from Colombo to kandy was going to take 4hours and it was a beautiful trip but seats were not a given. Charlie was adamant to have a seat. He was already alert 10 min before the train arrived. We rushed on and grabbed two seats. We tried to limit how much water we would drink as we could predict the state of the toilets. The views were sensational and gave a real insight in how Colombo changes from rough city to slum to stunning countryside with dotted villages.

Predictably, I fell asleep within an hour but it can't be helped sometimes. The air conditioning was two upsidedown fans attached to the roof of the train. We couldn't get lunch on the train. When we arrived in kandy I was running low on fuel. We carried our heavy bags through kandy and up the hillside to our next accommodation - natural walk. I was out of breath and exhausted by the time I arrived. When we set up our room, charlie kindly ran back down the hill for water and snacks.

Once recovered we went to the rooftop restaurant and had a very peaceful meal. I had grilled chicken and charlie had a curry... Finally, a good meal! I even had a dessert of banana fritters.