Sri Lanka Day 72 (Haputale & Arugam Bay): Up to Lipton's Seat and Seafood at Arugam Bay
Started the day really early as usual and we were caught in the peak hours when many school kids were rushing to class.
We decided to squeeze Haputale into our already very tight schedule and it was the best decision ever. I would say that Haputale was one of my favourite towns in Sri Lanka. From Ella, take a bus to Bandaruwela and from there take a bus to Haputale. To get to Lipton's Seat, take another bus to Dambatenne Tea Factory.
Breakfast @ Bandaruwela: Egg Bun
We went for a guided tour at Dambatenne Tea Factory at LKR250 per person. Mackwoods at Nuwara Eliya offered it for free but good to give tips. Photos are also allowed in Mackwoods, while we had to nego with the guide here, so maybe touring around that factory instead would have been a better choice? Dambatenne was willing to help us look after our belongings and I am grateful for that.
We managed to meet a Korean on the bus to the tea factory and so we decided to share a tuktuk up. People will usually hike for 3h to get to Lipton's Seat but the tuktuk is really afforable. We paid only LKR600 in total for a round trip after some good bargaining by Kim. If you like to slowly walk in a tea plantation estate, hiking will be preferred but we were rushing for time and LKR600 is too good a deal to decline.
The scenery was really good and I felt I could just stay here for the whole day! Had a nice cup of tea here while appreciating the good scenery!
On the way down, we managed to catch some tealeaf pickers working diligently.
Said goodbye to Kim because she said she would be walking a distance before catching th bus so we might end up not being on the same bus. In the end, she still got onto the same bus as us. We even met the couple whom we shared tuktuk with at Marble Beach a week ago! So coincidentally and this is what we called fate I guess. This is exaclty what I love about backpacking as well! They shared about their Horton Plains experience. They went there from Haputale while we plan to go there 2 days later from Nuwara Eliya. Actually, going from Haputale is a better choice because Nuwara Eliya is really cold while the weather at Haputale was just right. Staying at Haputale for 1 night will be more comfortable. Moreover they stayed at a hostel in Haputale for only LKR1000 and it was decent and well-equipped.
Reached back to Haputale, said goodbye and we had our lunch.
Coincidentally again, we met both Kim and the couple boarding the same bus as us to Wellawaya where we changed bus to our different destinations. Kim was heading to Galle while the couple was heading to Tangalle while we are heading to Arugam Bay. During the bus journey, we went passed a waterfall!
From Wellawaya, take the bus to Monaragala and then to Pottuvil. From Pottuvil, you can either take a tuktuk to your accomodation or a bus. We were overwhelmed by the number of tuktuk drivers all waiting at the exits of the bus to get customers and so we decided to just take tuktuk. Be sure to settle the price first. The driver wanted to charge us LKR200 each instead of for the total price of LKR200.
Checked in to Lazy Bay and because we stayed along the beach, we dare to walk along the beach because we would not have to worry about the transport back to the hostel. We started the journey at Haputale at 1.30pm and only reached the hostel at around 8.30pm
We had seafood platter at Why Not Restaurant and it was my first seafood meal. I really love the atmosphere at Why Not as well. The flooring was all filled with sand even though it was located along the main road instead of by the beach.
