Sri Lanka on a whim
 

I bought some stupidly cheap tickets on air asia from Bkk to Colombo, no choice about the dates or length of stay, I'm going for 8 days last week of May.

Want to jump on a train and just troddle about. I'm thinking the line from Colombo to Badulla looks pleasant enough. I don't think I'm going to plan anything above a hotel room on arrival at Colombo and the first leg to Kandy which I booked already on the expo rail (just to ease into it, I'll be in 3rd class in no time).... I don't want to trek to any "vistas", I don't want to see any relics or temples (At least not on purpose) and I'm not a beach person. I love trains; when I'm not on it, I want to stroll about, take some pictures, eat street food and chill out.

On the Colombo to Badulla line, any recos where to step of the train for overnight or two or three?

Will I be okay without reservations that time of year?

If I'm in it purely for the train trip, is there a better route? Looks like the southern route isn't totally put back together yet and the hill country looks more scenic than the coast, yes?

Definitely hill country, I thought that was the best part of SL. A lot more tourists than I expected, but I was there in high season.

The Hill country is beautiful. There are several segments of the rail line that are considered especially scenic though the hill country. We looked into taking one, but loved staying at the tea plantation so much we just relaxed. Sorry - I don't remember the names of the segments.

Have a wonderful trip and do tell us all about it!

The hill country is indeed beautiful. We did two train journey last year. The first was from Kandy to Hatton and the second from Hatton to Haputule. Both were enjoyable but the scenery from Hatton to Haputule was by far the most spectacular. Great to see the tea plantations give way to temperate vegetable farming as the altitude increased.

Really enjoyed the street food (aka short eats in SL) although, if like us you enjoy spicy food you may struggle for find it. Plenty of places great eating places around the centre of Kandy. Even if you aren't into temples etc. the Temple of the Tooth evening ceremony is worth a look.

We visited in Feb/march last year and pre booked about half of our accommodation. We did struggle to find places to stay when we just arrived in some towns. Not sure how busy it will be in May. it was absolutely impossible to find a room anywhere near Yala.

the southern coastal train route had just started up when we were there and we did try to get the train back to Columbo but the trains were so infrequent (i.e. one a day!) that we gave up. Things may have improved since. That said, the scenery won't compare with the hill country.

I found the name of the rail trip we considered. It's to Nuwara Eliya. It's a 6000 ft climb and supposed to be absolutely spectacular.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm just going to get on the train to Badulla and see what happens next. Will report back if anything interesting :) Nuwara Eliya is on that route. Temple of the Tooth Ceremony sounds like something that someone who is terrified in a crushing crowd would not enjoy.

"Temple of the Tooth Ceremony sounds like something that someone who is terrified in a crushing crowd would not enjoy." - Very true!!

As a fellow "free range" traveller I think you are on the right "track"!

After Kandy, hop off the train at NanuOya and take a bus to Nuwaraeliya. Then get get back to NanuOya and continue on the train. Ohiya is a geat treking stop, Bandarawela is a another interesting town, better food is however best found in Colombo.

better food is however best found in Colombo.>>

where would you recommend, Mohammed?

I'm storing up ideas for our trip in September.

offwego - I'm deep in planning our trip in September, and looking at doing a train ride either between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, or from Ella to Haputule.

how did you find your train rides, and do you have any suggestions about which trian ride we should do?