Chasing Ella - the Train, Actually

This was our view pretty much throughout the entire journey

Sorry about the week’s break; I’m afraid school puts everything out of whack (for those of you who don’t know, I’m a teacher).

That tuk-tuk driver was a gift from heaven. He broke about 50 traffic rules chasing the train and I had a sneaking suspicion that he enjoyed every minute of it. He made the tuk fit into teeny tiny spaces that even I wouldn’t have, and he overtook, undertook and left-took every vehicle on the road to get to Gampola station before the train did. I obsessively watched us get closer and closer to the Gampola town on Google Maps, and then just as we reached the outskirts… we hit traffic.

Really???

Needless to say, we missed the train. But the game wasn’t over. The driver revved the engine, and off we went again. This time we were determined to make it to Nawalapitiya before the train.

I counted the stations between Gampola and N’pitiya and there were 3 major ones. The train was climbing uphill, slowing down now and I knew it would stop in N’pitiya for 15 minutes to change engine drivers. This was our one chance to get on that train!

“What if we don’t make it?” my mother asked worriedly, staring at my pinched face.

“We have to” I muttered (no joke, I actually said this). Oh, me and my theatrics.

Just to give you an idea of how far we went in a tuk tuk - that's just under 1/3 the complete distance to Ella :P

I eyed Maps again. We were close to Ulapane station but I couldn’t hear the train. I called my boyfriend.

“No, we didn’t reach Ulapane yet” he yelled over the sound of train wheels clacking. “I think you guys passed us.”

And finally, we were ahead. We flew over the roads, past Ulapane, past all the other stations and began to get close to Nawalapitiya. That’s when the rail gates started. Three times we were forced to watch as that mad-cap train rumbled past us, inches from our noses, as we waited for the railway gates to open. Each time, my bf and his family watched us from the back window, waving occasionally, like some messed up version of a WWII movie.

We were neck to neck now. The road and the rail. We kept on the train’s tail until it passed a bend and disappeared from sight. But almost immediately, the most beautiful sign on earth came up on the road.

Nawalapitiya Station

We fairly fell out of the tuk and I would have happily given the driver 2000 bucks, but my ever-pragmatic mother already had LKR 1600 in loose change ready. We paid him, thanked him profusely and ran onto the platform just as the new set of engine drivers took their seats.

We did get tea...

And there they were, waving furiously through the smoke and the crowds. My bf had the biggest smile on his face and his family couldn’t stop talking about what an exciting and scary experience that was. I was sure the entire carriage knew what happened, but luckily they’d been too preoccupied.

I fell into my seat. I don’t even remember who put my bags onto the rack or when the train pulled out. I was so relieved, it took me a few minutes to realize that everyone was looking at me expectantly, waiting for an answer.

“Huh?” I looked at my bf for help.

“Lunch babe” he said impatiently. “You were supposed to bring lunch, remember?”

(To be contined)