Rosi CornwellSaturday 25th Janaury 2025.
At this point I’ve been away a week … and it honestly feels like months! I think this happened before? Time felt it was moving slowly. Oh no that’s the opposite.. but it’s not feeling like time is escaping me. I guess that’s the beauty of not setting an alarm, and taking each day as it comes.
Anyways, after last night’s fear of booking to stay in some rogue organ harvesting fake hostel, I woke up to noises outside of construction and children. Not necessarily the ideal wake up, but I was awake (alive). I sat and ate my included breakfast, why do they all include so much toast? It was interesting to eat an egg hopper, and I was grateful for some fruit.
I decided that I’d check out of this hostel and go to where Lou was. She was being slow at replying to me about her place, but she’d already mentioned that it was nice. So I booked it. Damn. She replied to say she was moving somewhere else as she’d only booked 2 nights.
The owner understood my need to move somewhere more social and thankfully let me pay just the 1 night I’d stayed. Which was very kind because I had also booked the night previously when I thought my train was on Thursday.
I took a 10 minute walk to Eyeful Ella hostel, it was the hottest day so far and I was sweating. It was a very thorough check in process and I was shown to my bed. Perfect! A bottom bunk with curtains and the type of beds that are built into the walls, and not frames.
I then made my way to a social hostel to see if anyone was going on a walk. It was very quiet but they had a flyer with waterfalls on.
I decided to get on a bus to see the 2nd tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka – Diyaluma. It was a long windy bus, and I attempted to write my blog and started to feel rather sick. I pressed my thumbs into my wrist in replacement for travel sickness bands, and breathed in and out. I wasn’t sick which was the main thing.
I got off the bus and a man asked where I was going. I showed him the flyer and he said I’d missed the 2nd bus and the next one would be in 2 hours. I looked up a Tuk Tuk to the waterfall and it’s price was 2400 one way.
This guy said it’s hard to get to, and there’s ‘dangerous people’ there. He offered to take me for 5000. I checked I had it, and didn’t really take much time to check the bus facts and just agreed to it. He walked to a tuk tuk and I checked that the 5000 was for both the driver and tour guide man, who ever he was. He said yes.
He didn’t really do much of a job at making me feel comfortable in his presence. He asked a few questions, and I’d found out he was a masseuse in Colombo and this was his day off. It was a bit confusing. I don’t think I’ll ever know the truth.
We drove further into the depths of nowhere, thankfully still passing locals, shops and surprisingly a laptop repair place. Sri Lanka really is super strange with what it has going on, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
We passed a sign to the waterfall and on the map we were heading in the right direction, so I felt like this was reassuring. I’d also asked the guy (I don’t remember his name) to take a picture so that if he was a renowned criminal and declined, I would know something was up.
I have to say he does look mildly evil with this particular style of pose; the slight smile and squinty eyes, isn’t exactly big cheesey smiles; I won’t murder you vibes.
To also add to the weirdness he had an old nokia phone, so couldn’t even show me any pictures of him with other tourists at the waterfall.
We arrived and I got out to see the true height of the waterfall. They really should make glass top Tuk Tuks as it’s very limiting the amount you can see from them! The water was cascading down in the tons and it looked so mesmerizing.
The guy ushered me towards the waterfall, up some big rocks and I wondered how we would get down! Along the way he pointed to a corner and told me to leave my belongings there. I declined this offer, as I had imagined that some organised gang would then come and steal my purse and all my worldly possessions.
We ended up going up to go down and closer to the fall, there was a lush pool of water and this was clearly the place to swim.
You could even see a rainbow in the pool, it was pretty epic!
I was dubious about leaving my belongings with this guy. But it was still a fair rocky way back, and I’d made it this far and I needed to swim! I gave him my phone to take pictures and off I went.
I was embracing the coolness, and enjoying standing under the water plummeting down at a speed. It felt super revitalizing, however tainted with fear of being robbed.
I floated around for a while and then got out. I looked at the pictures and he’d done an okay job (my phone was getting wet and so was he from the spray). He said about going back in, so I decided to do this, and asked him to capture the true height of the fall. It’s the 2nd tallest in Sri Lanka and needed to be seen in all it’s glory.
I was finally starting to relax, and then suddenly I couldn’t see him anymore! Panic set in, I rushed out of the water, and scrambled up a huge rock to get out. My foot slipped, ouch it hurt !! Thank God it wasn’t my head, I shouted “hey hey”. Then he was there behind the rocks, sheltering from the spray of the water.
He then realized I’d cut myself and wiped my leg, and questioned why this had happened. I tried to make him understand that I didn’t know him, and he was looking after all my valuables.
He looked at my foot and said “tomorrow very big problem”. He said I could get some ayurvedic oil and have a massage. I said it was fine, and we left the waterfall in all it’s glory. So I didnt get robbed, but I did nearly break my toe.
We then drove to another waterfall on the way back, on the journey he was even more subdude that before. Maybe he was offended that I thought he would steal from me.
We got out and he said “you need to pay him now”. I was confused as thought they were sharing the money, but assumed the driver needed it for petrol or something. I gave the driver the money, and he drove off (never to be seen again).
We went into the depths of the jungle and we had to walk over a concrete pipe thing suspended about 10 metres high (that’s a total guess as I, if i haven’t already mentioned have suspected dsycaclia). I had a leg on each side, and shuffled across very slowly. I was quite impressed I’d done it to be honest. He on the other hand skipped across and didn’t seem as gleefull in my attempt whilst he waited on the other side.
We got to a very modest waterfall in comparison. I had a swim and was surprised how deep it was. I got out and he questioned why I only swam for a short time. Like bro don’t question me, I like to get in, get out, do my own thing.
So then I felt like I should swim again to show I trusted him?!?! It was cold though so I shortly got out. I sprayed myself with Avon skin so soft, which isn’t too bad at keeping mozzies at bay. He offered to use this to massage my foot. Seeing as he was a ‘masseuse’ after all.
He pulled my toes and there was definite pops. My middle toe hadn’t hurt and now it certainly did. This was such an odd experience.
He then suggested that I bought some ayurvedic massage oil and he could give me a 2 hour massage for 2000 rupees. I declined, saying I might get one in Ella, to which he said it’s very expensive there.
Then I was even wondering if his plan was to bring people here, so they get injured and then sell them herbal remedies!!! Honestly it’s so tough being a woman putting herself in stupid situations to not worry about people’s intentions.
We left the waterfall and it turned out the guy wasn’t coming back to meet us in the tuk tuk, so we waited and he hailed one down. I’d said that I wasn’t going to pay for anything more, as I was slightly bemused by what was going on in the fact that our driver had left.
It was then so bizarre because he said I’d missed the bus.. holy moly I was not falling for that one again. I walked away and he pointed to a bus, magically going to Ella… I got on, and we didn’t even say goodbye. What a truly weird experience.
I returned to the comfort of Ella town and celebrated still being alive by eating my first Kottu.
It was kind of like pasta as Lou had said. (I later realized when having this again when it’s cooked well, it isn’t like pasta).
Lou and I then met for cocktails. I’d really wanted a cocktail after only drinking beer in Sri Lanka so far. They were a bit expensive compared to the prices we were used too.. and happy hour comprised of buy 2 get a 3rd free.
We listened to a really good band and then headed to One Love. It was perfect laying down being comfy and having drinks. I’d love to open up a comfy laying down sort of beach bar. Hmm I’ll add that that to the pipedreams.
We then headed back and I was so happy to be in one of those bunks where the beds are set into the wall, and it’s like a little wooden coffin. I was so stupid to book another hostel for the next day, thinking I wanted a more social vibe. Without having even stayed in this hostel yet. I really must try and NOT be so IMPULSIVE!
I guess it had been a kind of stupid day all round. It’s hard isn’t it, trusting people because you honestly don’t know what someone’s intentions are. Do they just want to earn a living and show off their beautiful country, or do they want to kidnap and murder you. Thankfully it wasn’t the latter. And let’s be real, I got a seriously cool waterfall experience out of it.
