Sri Lanka | Day 1 | Colombo-Ella

Tickets are booked, money exchanged, Lanka is on. After a night of packing the gang leaves for the land of the Yakshas and the Nagas. We start the journey with the Toyota Prius, the world’s first mass-produced petrol-electric hybrid passenger vehicle, launched by Toyota in 1997. The trusty old hunk of metal is our guide. Our ride. Our pride. Starting from the Colombo International Airport, we cross lush sceneries, Dutch houses and make our way to Galle after a brief stop at a highway gas station stop. Equipping ourselves with milo, sweet coconut rolls (called Pani Pol), water, chips and redbull. Galle Fort was wonderful. The perfect start. Enough to get lost only in its beauty and not within the streets itself. Small shops, trinkets and jewelry, ice-creams, snacks and a lighthouse facing the Indian Ocean. After the sun sets, sometime around midnight, we reach Ella. A quick trip down the road to gather water and snacks for the night leads us to a loud, buzzing city centre—quite the contrast to the quiet hills of Ella. It’s Argentina vs. England. The night is ours to conquer.