Fever-Ridden Idalgashinna Part 2

Idalgashinna Station around 5.30AM

Any guesses what Universe sign #4 was?

I whipped around to see a curtain of rain come pelting towards us.

"RUN!!!" my boyfriend yelled, and started pulling me towards the tiny ATM cubicle. We made it in the nick of time - my bag caught a bit of the spatter but I was mostly dry.

Oh and we didn't bring umbrellas or raincoats with us. Smart huh?

The train was due to leave in 10 minutes and we were stuck there unable to move, no money on our hands and with the entire universe telling us not to go. What do we smart-alecs do?

We run. In fact, we ran through the rain into the station and didn't stop till we got to the train. Remember, this is Sri Lanka and the Fort Railway station has a leaky roof, so we weren't completely safe till we were inside the train.

The train rumbled and clanked its way out of the station at 8.00PM precisely (surprise, coz SL time is a legit thing) and frankly, I don't remember much of the night except dinner - I am never having that particular flavour of instant noodles again.

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Taken within 15 minutes of each other @ Idalgashinna

Idalgashinna Hill

Dawn was breaking. It was still too dark to see around when we got off Idalgashinna station around 5.30 AM. It was also like Jack Frost and Elsa were on a date. The guard took pity on us and opened up a small side room with a wooden bench reminiscent of prison so that we could get some shut eye. Idk how those blood-sucking little things survive up there in the cold but we didn't get a wink of sleep; mosquitoes saw to that.

My boyfriend and I alternated taking pictures of the sunrise and the surroundings until the first nearby shop opened. Blessed, blessed tea! Oh how thy steam rises to greet the crisp morning... and I could go on. Ode to Tea aside, we also made a new friend ----> 

The tea cost us LKR50 total. Gotta love the තේ කඩේ.

She got half of our breakfast (of course) and then decided to follow us towards the Idalgashinna trail behind the station. Once we started climbing, she took the lead. She was upfront most of the time and often found us paths that could be climbed (by humans) without breaking a leg. 

Summit through the tea bushes

The view. Was. Gorgeous. Perhaps it was the fact that we weren't rushing to summit, or the fact that we weren't in a hurry, or simply that it wasn't too tall and intimidating, but that hike was the most enjoyable for me so far. We started off on a small, badly tarred road that ran through small, brightly coloured houses where estate workers were heading off for their morning shift. Then the road ended and we moved through the actual tea plantation, sometimes creating new paths with the aid of our canine guide. 

Via theamazingamazonia.wordpress.com

We finally topped the bit with the tea bushes and gazed at the summit of Idalgashinna hill. At some distant point in history, someone had planted pine trees on it and there was no other growth anywhere near it. Pine trees were rashly planted as part of a poorly-planned reforestation scheme all over upcountry hills. They look pretty, but the pine needles (leaves) don't degrade for years and therefore covers the ground like a blanket; no sun or rain gets to the ground and this prevents undergrowth and interferes with the canopic-structure of the ideal tropical rain forest. Plus, pine trees are highly flammable and most forest fires start around pine tree groves when the weather has been too dry.

I'd been having trouble breathing (again) but I took things easy and had managed to climb up so far by taking frequent breaks. The trail led to a long-dry water way strewn with rocks which was easier to grip and we started climbing again. Everything was fine until I hit the pine patch.

The ground turned as slippery and as deadly as quicksand. We were miles above solid ground and one false step meant a broken arm or leg - at best. But even my brand new hiking shoes were slipping and I suddenly started feeling dizzy, short of breath and broke out in a cold sweat.

Welcome to my panic attack.

My teeth were chattering and I started having vivid death scenarios. It took all my willpower to suppress it and tell my boyfriend that I couldn't climb further. I could see the summit a few feet ahead of my head, but I couldn't get my feet to move.

View from the top; there was a cloud forest!

#bosslady

Again, I cannot emphasize the importance of hiking with someone you trust. My panic attack virtually crippled me. I managed to keep it in check till we climbed down from the pine grove and back onto firm rock, but then I started shivering, my face started burning and sweating (despite the cold) and I constantly felt nauseated. My boyfriend helped me down inch by inch and the only thing that kept me going then was the thought of sleeping in the train on the way to lunch in Ella.

I didn't know it at the time, but I was burning up with fever. If you followed my Instagram then you know what happened next: as soon as we came to the station, I collapsed on a bench, so we scrapped the plans to go to Ella and hopped on the next train home. It was a loooong ride. 

We also had to forget the ticket we'd already booked on the sleeper compartment and get a new one back on the next available train. It cost us approx. LKR 300 to come to Kandy, where I went home to mummy.

Took me a week to recover from that bug and it put me off hikes for a while. But I'm up and raring to go now! So look out for more posts. Follow me on Insta, Twitter or Facebook to find out when and where #budgetingto next and feel free to come along for the ride :)

(Approx.) Time Taken: 1 and a half days
(Approx.) Total Cost  : LKR 2000 per person
Satisfaction                 : 4/5

*All pictures are subject to copyright © Asuka Randeniye 2017