I was at a relative's house on Sinhala New Year's Day. There was some festival stuff going on yet I was bored to death and had to stand up the whole time because the Elders took all the seats. While trying to distract myself from my painful legs I went on Telegram to check how my friends were doing. They weren't doing any better. They were stuck at home as usual. So I began a conversation and somehow we decided to go somewhere I recommended some places. I didn't have an intention of going. I was just utterly bored. Anyway, one of my friends kept the conversation going and reminding me for days so I was also checking out places to visit. I repeatedly kept suggesting "Katsu konda". We were kind of set on that until some other friend suggested "Kondagala". So we were idling for the next few days. Conversation stirred up again and other friends were also asking about it. So we decided on a date and went radio silence again. The day before the trip we voice chatted for like 15 minutes to plan everything. That's what it took to plan this whole thing.
Uh our punctuality, we agreed to meet at 6.45 a.m. on Peradeniya every MF except two were late. So me and my other friend kept joking till they were here. So we were supposed to get on a bus to Delthota. Gladly there were seats for us. It took us like 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to Delthota. We were cracking silly jokes and enjoying the view of the chill and beautiful road, At least for some part till I had to pee and the road got bumpy I had to bear this pressure till we got to Delthota. The first thing I did after getting off was look for a washroom. I was surprised to see that there was a decent public restroom in Delthota town. From here onward we had to take a bus that goes to Hewahata. After waiting for a considerable amount of time the bus finally started moving but waiting wasn't that bad there were lots of beautiful Muslim girls on that bus and my friend used our time very wisely. The road ahead was also very bumpy, there was only space for one vehicle and there weren't any other vehicles for a long time on that road. The view on that road was very nice. It was kind of cold at that time of the day I had put my head outside the window to feel to feel the breeze.
So after like 30-45 minutes of endless bumping, we got off near a Hindu temple where the road to Loolecondera started. As always the first thing we did was start taking photos. So while everything was going on I and one other fellow went to get our tickets. The ticket counter was fancy-looking and had lots of information about the place. there was only one lady there the building had lots of glass windows. when were waiting for the lady to issue our ticket this one bugger started peeing right next to the counter without the care of this world. We all could see it from inside, we were laughing about it but the lady didn't figure out what we were laughing at.
Anyways after getting tickets, the hike began. They said it was a flat road of 5km. Flat my ass. Nevertheless, it was very iconic and beautiful. There were so many places to stop and enjoy but we didn't have time as we needed to return home before midnight. It was very joyful walking around with friends joking about random things. I was stuck at home most of the time and I think I needed this bonding with nature to feel at ease. We stopped at a few places to take photos although whenever I would see beautiful scenery I would scream at my friend to take a photo of it. Somehow we ended up taking more than 800 photos and videos. I used to do this silly thing where when someone asked how far we had come I would always say a very low number like 1km even though I know we traveled much more than that. They would always go mad and it gave me joy.
The tea plantation was very green like green green. I wanted to keep looking at it thoughtlessly and I did for a moment. The mountain we were about to climb was very eccentric. I felt like the cuts in the mountain were made by heavy rain. Even though I wanted to climb that part of the mountain no one has gone to that part and we only had access to another part of the mountain which is a shame. After endlessly walking through the splendid plantation we came to James Taylor's so-called house which only has part of its chimney left. Now is the time to climb the mountain. The path to the mountain was kinda hard as it only had a stone step road and the road got narrow and narrow as we climbed up. Nevertheless, we climbed to the top even though our bodies were screaming in pain and tiredness. It was very worth it but it was also mid-noon. Although there was a cool wind breeze flowing the heat absorbed it all. The first thing I did was scream bad words at the top of my lungs. Everyone joined with me later. It was a cure for depression you could say. We started taking photos again and there was another part of the mountain we could climb we went there. Everyone was taking photos going to the edges but I was fucking scared. It felt like the ground was calling me. I know I have been kinda delusional but at that moment I was scared of my delusions and the only thing I could think was about my mom. Anyway, I avoided edges as much as I could and sometimes tried to concure my fear but it didn't play out very well. I removed my shirt and lay down on that mountain rock. Kept looking at the sky for some time. All I could think about was about birds how free can they be? before the fucking sun started lasoring my eyes. After spending like 1 hour on top of the mountain doing weird shit we decided to head back. Now we know some shortcuts it is easier to go back. We stopped by some important places like James Taylor's summer hut, The first tea plant, and James Taylor's fucking seat where we could see the end of the fucking world. We took lunch in a hut that's kinda hidden in the plantation. It was finally to for us to go back.
When we were coming back down the only thing we could think to talk was about the couples who went to the mountain. Some we never saw again. So we assumed they were doing their naughty stuff somewhere and kept joking about it. The legs were in pure pain. We all could barely feel our legs like they were automated they just walked without the instructions of our brains. Before starting this hike I thought 10 km was nothing I even walked more than 15 km when I went to Horton's place 8 years ago. As someone who spent most of my time indoors the past few years, I thought I needed this pain to get through life. We finally came down and it was time to catch a bus to go back which we weren't quite sure would arrive. We asked around and everyone told us different times. So we were kind of worried and making backup plans but one old bus finally came. We got on like lost souls. When we finally came to Delthota town again the bus leaving for Kandy was going and it stopped to pick us up. After like a 1.30 hour ride that felt like 10 hours we were finally at Peradeniya and it was time to part ways. Every other one except me was going in the opposite direction where I was going. So I went home alone thinking about the day I spent.
I stayed away from my phone throughout the whole trip. I consider that as an achievement.
It took 2 days to get the photos and I was pretty lazy to write this although I wanted to write this quickly. I intentionally left out the photos containing me and my friend because you know how dangerous The Internet can be.