What Goes Up Must Come Down
Trip Start
Mar 22, 2012
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3
5
Trip End
Mar 26, 2012
Where I stayed
Beach Inns Holiday Resort, Matara
What I did
Matara, Sri Lanka
Saturday, March 24, 2012
5.35 am: Mareike and I decided to queue up to the place where people actually worship the Adam's footprint. I'm amazed that they actually allow non-Buddhists to come and have a look. I was comparing to Muslim's Mecca and how strict it is, with no allowance to non-Muslims. The queue-look-exit didn't take too long, probably like 15 minutes max. But as we got back down, the first break of dawn started to show and people have already crowded the viewing area. :( We were a few seconds too late. The entire place for a good view was crowded. Everyone was in silence, patiently waiting for a glimpse of Saturday sun. I decided to be own my own, and eventually found a strategic spot on the steps, away from the crowd behind me. (Oh! Oh! There was this very handsome and tall foreign-speaking white guy whom I noticed previously while we were shivering and bored. Couldn't help it. Even in that pontianak-state-of-face, I had the cheek to ask him to take a photo of the dawn for me. He didn't say much. I think he's gay. He didn't smile at all. Hmph!)
6.10 am: A small, fiery red ball is visible in the distance, and the crowd gasped in awe, in a practiced, harmonious choir. It was too beautiful... I was on the verge of weeping. The sun was completely visible in less than 4 minutes, and then the crowd were starting to leave the place as soon as possible. We lingered, just to soak in the magical atmosphere. My eyes were beyond tolerable, but I held on. I took some time to immerse myself in the situation - 4.5 hours of hike, 5 hours of shivering in the cold, and I was up there at Adam's Peak. How many of us can actually say that with pride? It was the second best moment after The Great Wall. :)
6.47 am: We started our climb down, and again, the surrounding just took my breath away.
9.11 am: We are finally down to where we started. Mr. Kalan was already there waiting with a bright, sunny smile. Once we're in the car, that's a start to a looooooooooooooooooong journey down south. Oh my. You don't want to be in our shoes.
We had lunch in a small town Avissawella, quite adventurous I'd say as it was truly a Sri Lankan feel. I was too hungry to take photos. Nyahaha!
Next, we spent 6 hours in the car driving down south to Matara. I slept most of the time. We couldn't find an accommodation in Hikkaduwa as planned, even if there was, it was all more than US$100. Crazy. Here in Madiha, Matara, our twin room right by the beach cost US$20. All thanks to Mareike. :)
So we had a little problem with the driver. Our agreement stated we will only engage their service for 800km for US$255. By the time we reach Beach Inns it was already 795km (it didn't help that he got lost halfway because we didn't tell him earlier in the email that we were going to Matara instead of Hikka). On our second day on the way to Sigiriya we asked him whether we could just stop at 800km and then we will go on our own. Mr. Kalan said YES. We did ask a few times and again, he agreed, so we did not bring up the topic again. But now in the car fighting to get as much money and knowing he will have to go to Negombo empty, with no extra fuel charge, Mr. Kalan got a little nervous. I thank God for Mareike, because if it was up to me to handle the situation, I would have kindly given Mr. Kalan the necessary amount for his fare back home (Rs. 5,000). We were caught up in misunderstandings and bargaining and trying to resolve the problem, and we missed our first beach sunset. Sadface. Close to an hour in the car :(
In the end, the only way out was to just get our stuff and go. Caboooot! Mr. Kalan was honest enough to open up the bonnet. As soon as I got our stuff, Mareike quickly gave the necessary amount (US$255/Rs. 32,640) plus a little extra (Rs. 2,700 for 190km journey) for his way home. I'm ok with any amount, to be honest. But when I think about it, deep down, I feel pity for him. I don't know how much fuel cost there. I don't know whether it was "humane" to give him less and that he would have to fork out his own cash for the 4-hr ride home. But I tried to convince myself that it was enough. It should be. A 7-hr drive from Terengganu to KL can only cost RM70 max for a Honda FIT. From Matara to Colombo in Nissan Sunny should cost much less.
The look on Mr. Kalan's face made me sad. He was kind; always smiling, with that sincere demeanor. Gosh. I cannot see "muke kesian" people. =/
Anyways, the highlight of that evening was that, we laid by the beach (just the two of us) for a good half hour, under the stars (damn i couldn't really see clearly!! stupid expired contact lens!!), and... accompanied by a couple FIREFLIES! It was my first time witnessing flickering fireflies, believe it or not! I LOVED IT! I did walk by the water, but I was too scared to roll and splash around because I was afraid I might get stung by jellyfish, or other unknown sea creatures. -_-" I only brought medication for itchiness, not poison.
That night I slept soundly after finishing a little bit of assignment. :)
