All our troubles are ‘transport’ troubles…………………..everything else goes smoothly

We’d had battery problems with the troop carrier before heading off for the weekend on Friday and we parked it at a friends of C’s adjacent to the bus station at Hettipolla.   We got on a bus and had a window seat each and the bus stayed put until it was full and then we headed off – bumping along for about 3 kms before getting a flat tyre.   As is the way here, everyone just gets stuck in and helps out and so several men jumped off the bus and helped the driver change tyres.  It took an age and a great deal of hammering to get the old tyre off  - the nuts must have been welded on by the sound of all the exertions going on.   C had told me it would involve 3 bus changes before we got to his home town of Kegalle.  He’d booked me in a local B&B that he’d used for other volunteers and it was just a short distance from the famous Elephant Orphanage and Sanctuary at Pinnawala that draws big numbers of tourists.

Hawkers constantly jump on and off the bus selling all manner of things – food, drinks, anything…….and bus travel costs around 25 cents for 25 kms.

We disembarked our first bus at Dambulla which is a major town and bus interchange and positioned ourselves on the road along with a multitude of others waiting for a bus to our next destination.  The trick is to all just run and squeeze onto the bus as best you can when it comes and hope you get a seat.  I was less successful that Chintaka at this as I’m still wearing my ‘L’ plates but C had saved me a seat and off we set to our next destination.  When the conductor came to collect our fare he told C that contrary to the sign on the front of the bus it wasn’t going there and so we would have to get off at the next stop and try for another bus!  We got off and waited and the next one that passed was ‘chockers’ and so we decided to wait for another.  The problem with getting a bus in a small township as it passes through is that it’s already very full and you can only hope for standing room if you can get on.   

We finally got on a small air con mini bus that could squeeze us in and we were able to get sit down on pull out chairs that were located in the aisle and so every time someone wanted to get off behind us we had to get up and fold up the chair and let them climb by to the front of the bus and then we’d have to move one row back onto a new pull out seat filling the void that had been left and creating a new space at the front, like musical chairs – so that became very wearing, very fast.

We made it to the next destination and then had a bit of a walk to get to our next and final bus stop (this was bus number 4 on our odyssey).  Again the bus was horrendously full and there was only standing room on that one and we just had to hang on for dear life as the bus bumped along – stopping and starting at all the stops.  Chinthaka does this every weekend so he can see his family!

So bus travel is tedious and just seems interminable and uncomfortable – you have to give over an entire day of your life just to cover around 100 kms.  By the end of the trip you have very nearly given up the will to live!

Returning after the weekend was a similar scenario except we got back around 8pm at night to discover the car battery wouldn’t turn over and so we were delayed – but a bunch of neighbours all appeared from nowhere and pushed and pulled the troopie until it was positioned on a slope and we could jump start it.  Nobody gets the least bit frazzled here by events – if something goes wrong they just get on an fix it as best as they can, with a minimum of fuss.   One final delay has us stop to fuel up again – the petrol shop was closed but no matter, the owner was happy for C for knock him up at around 9pm and he provided us with some more litres of petrol and finally we pulled in – not at jungle camp as planned as the troopie is deemed too unreliable at present, until we get a new battery.  Here we are back at base camp for the moment. It’s best not to get attached to any ‘plan’ here as it can change according to the changing circumstances but it’s all good fun and nothing seems to upset Chinthaka – he takes it all in his stride and is a wonderful asset for the project here and has time for everyone too.

On a final note, the weekend away was good.  Lots of cotton blouses to add to my ever growing pile of them and I enjoyed visiting the elephant orphanage and particularly bath time for the elephants when they are all herded through the towns street to the river and they just get in and have a bath and you can tell just how much they are loving that…………………… was a joy to see them and all the youngsters being playful and charging through the water and making the adult elephants trumpet a sound rebuke at them for their boisterousness.