From misty monsters to offroad races - Part I

It's time for an epic! This is all about the trip to Wasgamuwa I had with my former colleagues.. and all the wonderful moments we shared, hopefully I remember half of it least, and the enchanting places we visited en route and of course the many surprising encounters we had.

We passed some tea estates on our way to Riverstone

I'll fast forward the months of dreaming and weeks of planning and days of finalizing and come to the 14th of June 2011.. the day of the excursion.

Me and one colleague, waited at the bus halt in the Matale junction. I arrived half an hour before her, and we both waited for another 1 + hour for the bus to pick us up! The time was before 8 am so there were lots of school kids and office workers commuting to and fro passing us. Time to time whenever a bus or a school van stopped, people stared at us in a funny way. You see.. early in the morning seeing 2 strange folks dressed up for a safari and standing in the middle of a town.. is indeed is amusing.  ^__^

Exquisitely designed plush carpet exclusively made of pure Ceylon Tea!

So the hours long chat ended when our bus finally arrived to pick us. Many rounds of songs and a fun quiz round added music, laughter and fun to our trip. And so were the beautiful lush sceneries all around. Felt so blessed to be living in a country full of greenery. We had a quick breakfast while the bus was still speeding through misty winding roads. And then we came to the Riverstone Gap, where we first stopped.

 The welcome board at Riverstone Gap in Knuckles Conservation Forest

Now.. brace yourself.. for what you're about to see.. is the birth of a new phenomenon - the existence of 'The Misty Monster and The Vanishing Point'.

Ever believed in broad daylight UFO abductions? or the phenomenon behind Bermuda Triangle? Well.. this beats the rest as it happened right in front of our eyes.. and within few seconds of time to boot.

 9.53 am

 9.53 am

Yeah, as you see.. they simply vanished.. and I have no idea why the path before us seemed a bit warped too! O__O (Un)Luckily they were more mischievous than our Misty Monster so they had pulverized the poor fellow and had escaped from the vanishing point.

This shrub covered rocky wall ran alongside our path

After climbing 2-3km uphill we heard there would be another 10 km or so to reach the target = Illukkumbura Transmission Tower! The nature's pristine beauty, 100% oxygen dose, cool fresh breeze, rolling blue hills, mystical misty monsters or calorie burning workout no longer seemed worth dying for! So instantly we turned about and raced to the bus.

Contd. in Part II... await more encounters and delectable tidbits.

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I'll add the links once I finish uploading all the photos. ^__^