Kandy – our best food experience in Sri Lanka

We finally arrived in Sri Lanka. We got our visa extension and were already excited about exploring this beautiful country. So, after spending only one night in Colombo, we went straight to the train station early in the following morning. A local bus took us from our accommodation to the Fort (the city center in Colombo) where we planned to board the train to Kandy.

If you want to book a train seat in Sri Lanka you need to be fast and plan it way in advance. As we usually travel spontaneously, we could only buy tickets for the second or third class. The third class is usually very crowded and we knew that we might not get a seat in the second class either, but we were optimistic until we saw the train….

Train Ride from Colombo to Kandy

I have never seen a train that was so full, not even in India. It was incredible how many people were inside: students, workers, businessmen, backpackers, families and, of course, a lot of luggage. As we left very early at 06.00am, we arrived in Kandy around 10.00am and could go directly to explore the city.

We really wanted to do the famous train ride from Kandy to Ella two days later, so we decided to ask directly at the train station if there were seats available. We did not want to have the same experience again, mostly for the reason that the train ride this time would take around 7.00 hours. Unfortunately, we were not lucky and our mood was a bit down when thinking about the upcoming train ride that we expected to be a highlight of our stay in Sri Lanka.

Kandy City

Like in most cities in Sri Lanka, life happens around the clock tower: buses, dogs, food sellers, Tuk-Tuks. Everything and everybody is rushing.

We got caught by the vibe of Sri Lanka and enjoyed the new experience to the maximum, located in central Sri Lanka and is surrounded by mountains and tea plantations. We started our sightseeing in the same morning, after our arrival, and explored the local market and walked around the Kandy Lake, passing the famous Buddhist temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa). At the lake, we could admire different kinds of birds.

Our best place to eat was Hela Bojun Hala, a little food market that has several branches in Sri Lanka and where they serve a variety of Sri Lankan dishes and sweets for very low prices. We found it to be the best opportunity to try local foods.

Lucky moment

On our way back to the Hostel we decided to go back to the train station as we have read about a Luxury Train going to Ella (or Elle how they say in Sri Lanka). We did not consider this option earlier because we thought we could not afford it anyway and we wanted to have an authentic experience by traveling with the regular train.

We came at the right moment. The counter was about to close when we asked about the availability. There were still 4 available places, only that the train would leave the following morning at 6.00am. The price was the same as for the normal 1st class, which was much higher compared to 2nd or 3rd classes but we would have had a guaranteed seat. The only problem was that we suddenly had to change our plan and stay one day less in Kandy.

We decided to book the tickets and did not regret it. We found out that this train runs only during the weekend and is an additional train, as also many locals take the ride to Ella, especially on weekends.

So we said goodbye to Kandy, but only for a short time, as we would return there soon. Here you will reach the article for our second stay in Kandy.