SRI LANKA – PART I – KANDY, THE HIGHLANDS AND TRAVELLING BY TRAIN
6:30 in the morning, the alarm goes off, dogs howl in the streets, it is still dark.
We hardly found any sleep in Kandy, the capital of the last Singhalese Kingdom of Sri Lanka. Our rustic accommodation is some way up the mountain, located more in the rainforest than in the city and seems surrounded by the entire nocturnal fauna of the highlands. Monkeys climb over the wooden roof at night, the dogs' howling makes our hair stand on end and crackling noises come from everywhere.
My tiredness vanishes as quickly as the darkness and the animals, and I remember why my alarm went off so early. We are leaving Kandy today by train, heading to Ella. Two days ago, after sauntering through Kandy’s colourful and chaotic markets, we decided to reserve two seats on the train. “Everything’s fully booked,” said the man behind the window. “Everything.” We were surprised. “Not a single seat in the 1st or 2nd class, everything’s full! Come to the counter at 8:00 and buy a ticket for the 3rd class.” Well, in typical German fashion, we thought we’d better be there at 7:30, not risking anything. So, we head down the mountain with our backpacks at the crack of dawn to find the nearest tuk-tuk.
“Where are you from?” – “Germany”
“How long in Sri Lanka?” – “16 Days”
“First time?” – “Yes”
“Do you like Sri Lanka?” – “Yes, we do!”
The tuk-tuk driver smiles pleasantly and the headwind and a hot Chai with milk and honey wake us up. We enter the train station and stand in front of a crowd of other backpackers with the exact same plan: to get tickets at the counter at half past seven for the 8:45 train to Badulla!
For a long time it is quiet among us and the other tourists, yet more and more people flood the platform shortly before the train arrives. The area soon becomes packed with families, vendors, and schoolchildren. The train arrives, and the people stepping out of the train and those from the platform melt together into a dense throng. We are directly in the thick of it, with the naïve hope of getting a seat… Soon this hope vanishes and is replaced with a new one: finding a place for our backpacks. Five people help us to fasten our luggage in a compartment over the heads of a family. The train begins to rattle slowly in the direction of the mountains as we stand drenched with sweat in the aisle.
Ahead of us are six hours of train travel, countless stations and tea plantations interrupted by waterfalls and gorges. Vendors run up and down the train with fried lentil balls and lychees. We must look a little too interested, as our neighbour offers a lentil ball for us to try. We gratefully accept and share our biscuits with him. It looks as if the French family next to us is also going to Ella, and when the father notices me reading standing up, he immediately offers his seat. All are friendly, seats are exchanged, and the stunning panorama is admired. Then, after four hours the electricity shuts down in our compartment. Without the fans it soon becomes stifling hot and the constant jolting and bumping of the train slowly gets to us. The last half hour we spend next to the door and take turns with the French teenagers in asking, are we there yet.
We are pleased to have solid ground under our feet and fresh air as we, and a mass of other tourists, pour onto the platform. A tuk-tuk drives us up the mountain to our accommodation, the Chamodya Homestay. As we exhaustedly walk onto the terrace, excitement restores our energy: The view of the mountains and the wide expanse of space behind is almost indescribable. In blissful delight we sit down and complete our enjoyment with a fresh homemade seafood curry with jasmine rice and home-baked roti.
Pineapple Curry with Seafood with roti and jasmine rice
(for 2 people)
Curry
500 ml coconut milk
1 chilli pepper
1 ½ tbsp curry paste
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemongrass
salt, pepper
250 g peeled prawns
400 g mussels
150 g pineapple
Roti
275 g wheat flour (type 405)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
150 ml water
Jasmine Rice
1 cup jasmine rice
2 cups water
1 tbsp butter
1 pinch of salt
Directions
For the Roti: Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Add oil and mix well. Then add water and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and cool for 45 min.
Heat a pot and reduce 250 ml of the coconut milk to half.
Meanwhile, deseed the chilli pepper and finely chop. Add the chilli, curry paste and fish sauce to the coconut milk.
Allow to boil for 10 min, then add the rest of the coconut milk. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and lemongrass to taste.
Set the mixture aside, and 5 min before serving add the prawns and mussels and carefully heat to cook.
In another pot, bring water, rice, salt and butter to a rapid boil. As soon as the water doesn't cover the rice anymore, cover the pot with a lid and allow to simmer at low heat for 20 min.
(Recipes by Christoph Steinhauser)
