Adam's Peak

We finally managed to leave Ella the next day, just about. Had an absolute mare in doing so. We knew we wouldn't have enough money on us to pay for the hostel but we didn't worry about it too much as there was an ATM across the road. So we go to check out and Lee leaves me with the bags whilst he nipped to the cash point. I thought he was taking a long time. He comes back and says it's broke. The next ATM is in the next town which is an hours train ride away. We really didn't have time for this because we already spent a few extra days in Ella and we needed to get to our next destination as our visas run out in a few days.

I asked the man can we pay by card and he said his machine was broken. I was just brainstorming and I asked if there was anything else he could think of that we could do and he shouted at me going, "I need my money, what am I supposed to do!!". So that was it then, Lee started shouting and swearing, as did I, as did the man. There was two ways to resolve it. 1. Get the train to Hatton to get money, then come all the way back again and then start our journey to Adam's Peak. 2. Knock him out and leave without paying.
As much pleasure as I would have taken from the latter, we chose the sensible option (which was go to Hatton for those that know me well).

The little gobshyte (not Lee, hostel owner) wouldn't let us leave without us leaving our backpacks there, yet he couldn't provide us with a locked room in which to keep them. We told him to fuck off and I gave him my expired passport, the dozy turd didn't even realise. So we left our packs with our pals at the bar Nescoffee and off we set to Hatton.

I was more than willing to leave without paying that man, he was horrible and there was absolutely no need, but we weren't sure whether I could be traced through me old passport and I didn't want to risk having a run in with the bizzies over here. Having said that they seem like lovely chaps and they have a very smart uniform. It did make me feel so much better that I stole his plug adaptor. I did this because the hostel had a 10pm curfew which I didn't agree with haha. As if knocking them up at silly bells to let us in each night wasn't enough.

Anyway, we got the train to Hatton. Five hours later we arrived back in Ella (bloody trains!!). We set off for Adam's Peak at 3pm. I was so angry. It's a good 8 hours away and I didn't want to be travelling the day of the climb. We did as much as we could that night and stopped over in Nuwara Eliya again for the night ready to continue our journey the next day.

Another shitty day. We were on the packed bus, getting a seat where we could, ending up one or two rows away from eachother. This man who was standing up near to me asks me where I'm from blah blah all the usual shit. I wasn't in the best of moods and frankly I could have done without it, but I answered back politely. A few minutes later he asked me the same series of questions. Again I answered. By the fourth time he asked me where I was from I had started to get wound up. I said, "look I've told you three times, leave me alone now". He continued to badger me, saying things I couldn't understand. Lee kept asking me if I was okay, but he knows that if the man did or said anything to offend me I'd get up and lamp him myself, so he left it. The man started to tell me I was beautiful and he was getting really creepy and I felt very uncomfortable. I hate these situations when it involves foreign men, because to me they're all creepy because their mannerisms are so different so I never know when to slap 'em or say thank you. He bend down really close to my face. Before I could really register him there Lee had gripped him up and slammed him down onto the bus floor haha. The bus conductor could see what was going on and he told the man sitting next to me to swap sides so the weird man couldn't get to me again. He left me alone for a bit, but would you believe that as soon as Lee was distracted with paying the bus conductor, he came up behind me and whispered, "hello, where are you from?", haha. Unbelievable.

Fiiiiinally we got to Delhousie which is a teeny ghost town at the base of Adam's Peak. Adam's Peak is a mountain approx. 7359ft above sea level. I must have been high when I said I wanted to climb it.

We left at 1am that night. It took us just over 3 gruelling hours to reach the top. It starts off kind of easy, gradually getting harder, and harder, then ridonkulously harder to the point I found myself shouting aloud, "help me, I'm going to die!!", yes folks, it was that bad.
You literally don't come across a single soul. All the trees are rattling and things are blowing past you like tumbleweeds in the wind. You hear dogs howling, twigs snapping. Oooh it was so scary. I was in control of the torch and Lee kept having a go at me because every 5 seconds I'd hear something and whip the torch around to see what it was, leaving us both to trip over in the pitch black. As soon as we got going properly though, all that went out the window, I didn't give a shit what was lurking I was just consumed with agony trying to get up the bloody mountain.

It was rocks and steps most of the way with the odd flat bit stretching for about 4 yards if you're lucky. God them flat bits were the best thing since sliced bread. It felt like heaven. Although my legs carried on the marching motion you adhere to when climbing stairs so my body didn't reap the benefit to the best of it's ability.

For the last maybe 45 minutes to an hour it's just a continuous flight of incredibly steep stairs, like the ones in my Grandma and Grandad's terrace that I used to panic over as a sprog. All I can say is that I am so glad we did the ascent by torchlight. If I had have been able to see how big and far the mountain was I'd have never have done it, and if I'd have had the ability to look down I'd have got stuck and not have been able to move. Ignorance is bliss as they say.

The worst part of the climb for me was when I turned a corner and could see a little bit of the temple at the top. Because I knew I'd made it I guess the adrenalin that I was running on diminished and my whole body went like jelly. I almost cried I was so relieved. I just about managed to get to the top, then when I did I was oddly fine. Started doing a cool down and a few stretches and all sorts haha. There was a building that resembled a bunker from a Bond film that you could sit in to be sheltered from the wind. It was super windy and super cold. Not surprising when you're sitting above the clouds at 4am. We sat there until sunrise which was 5.20am. It was so beautiful. When the sun was fully up we went round to the other side and it casts a shadow of the temple onto the clouds. Amazing.

The descent took us about 2 hours. I thought that would be the worst part but it was actually okay. That was until my groin seized up and i twisted my knee. I was okay doing the downward stepping motion, but when we came to a flat section, and when we got back into town where it was flat, I genuinely couldn't walk. I was walking like I'd been arsed raped, then shit myself, and then some. Argh the pain!!! A doggy followed us down the whole way, bless him. He'd walk with us, then every so often he'd go a little bit ahead and wait for us. So cute.

Lee was pretty much fine, especially taking into account that he carried my bag of provisions a fair bit of the way. At one point he had his own bag on his back, my bag on his front and he was carrying the torch. Didn't hear a peep out of him. At the same time there's me crawling up the steps announcing that I was infact dying.

It was so worth doing, but I tell you what - never again.