Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka rises fast: palm-lined beaches in the south, tea hills and mist inland. Tuk-tuks, stray dogs and fruit stalls line every road.
We started in Tangalle on the south coast. Mornings began with rolling shutters and the first waves. Night came fast and loud with insects.
Most walking happens on the edge of the road, where cars, people and animals share the same strip of tarmac. Nothing here moves faster than it wants to.
From Tangalle we followed the coast to Mirissa and Hiriketiya: surf, fresh fish, evenings by the sea. Then inland by tuk-tuk, bus or taxi, whatever came first, to Ella. We hiked Little Adam's Peak and waited for the train at Nine Arches Bridge.
Next came Nuwara Eliya: cold, fog and tea plantations. Green everywhere, yet strangely dark, somewhere between colonial England and rural Jordan. We didn't stay long and spent our last night in Kandy.