Sunkissed in Sri Lanka (Part 6): I Went to Prison in Sri Lanka

- April 18, 2025, Friday.

- So I went to prison in Sri Lanka. One way or the other, this statement is true. One one hand, I didn't commit a crime and went to prison, but on the other hand, I really did visit a prison in Kandy. The Bogambara Prison was opened in the 1870s as part of the British thrust to organize the prisons in Sri Lanka. It finally closed in January 1, 2014 as the Sri Lankan government wished to improve prison conditions by retiring old prisons. The historic Bogambara Prison, albeit archaeologically and historically significant, was not spared. Many of its buildings were demolished and only a few remain, including the front castle-like gates.

Prison gates.

With my Sri Lankan batik shirt.

- While some of the outer buildings were repurposed, some of the remaining buildings are open to visitors for a minimal fee. What once was one of the most notorious prisons in Sri Lanka is now an eerily empty shell. At the same time, the prison is also being converted to a cultural park. Even today, outside the park there are some stalls selling clothes and food, which takes a bit of the eerie feeling of the prison. I was also really glad there were other tourists inside the prison because the place feels straight out of a horror movie, even during daytime.

Inside the Prison Park.

This place really gives me the creeps.

Empty halls.

Prison cells.

Now this is where things get really scary.

A Ganesh wall painting. Not sure but I guess this is one of those prayer rooms.

I was glad there were people here when I went. Otherwise I would've ran out immediately.

These are Buddhist teachings, reminding people of values they should have.

Jailed.

- After mustering the courage to go around the prison cells (which, I found out could be opened by the same key as the main gate), I dropped by the Central Market again, just beside the Prison Park, to buy more things before having lunch. After several attempts to visit, I was finally able to try Mandiya. It is a restaurant at the back of a mall along DS Senanayake Street. It is a no-fuss restaurant serving Sri Lankan curry. They will serve you all kinds of curry available for the day, and the menu changes daily. Although simple, it was one of the best (and the cheapest!) meals I had in Sri Lanka! 

The bus and the tuktuk. Two of Sri Lanka's most local forms of transport.

Last look of Kandy Lake.

Finally. It was a bit hard to find by the way, but it has a lot of publicity.

This is the actual restaurant. Very simple.

This is my meal. I love it so much huhu.

Kandy's Red Mosque. Smaller than the one in Colombo but is also eye-catching.

- Once I finished lunch I had to quickly make sure I had everything prepared before heading to the railway station. For the next few hours, I encountered a one-hour train delay, as well as a situation with my seats (the conductor placed me in the wrong first-class AC coach, but it got sorted out and it was still first-class AC anyway). Sooner than I realized, I was already back in Colombo!

Look at the train signs!

A newer-looking train and an older-looking train. Both of them have Buddhist flags because many devotees were arriving for the Buddha tooth relic's public viewing.

Sunburnt.

Back in Colombo!

Colonial-era steam train!

- I spent the rest of the afternoon going through Pettah Market to look for candies and play jewelry. I also realized that outside the Customs Headquarters along Main Street is a strip of souvenir stores. (I think it was so random that they were there since not a lot of people pass by there.) Later that evening, I decided to go to One Galle Face Mall to hide from the heat and have some dinner. 

At Main Street. Always nice to see the old British colonial buildings being preserved/repurposed. At the lower left, you can see some of the many souvenir stores lined up.

Possibly an eastern cattle egret.

Malls in Sri Lanka sometimes remind me of Manila so much. This one is inside Odel, their department store.

A nice place to look for souvenirs inside One Galle Face Mall.

Galle Face Center at night.

- Being back in Colombo felt surreal after spending a few days up in the mountains of central Sri Lanka. It's not only because of the change of surroundings, but also because it meant that the end of my trip to Sri Lanka was fast approaching. Still, I still had a couple of places to visit in Colombo before closing the trip!

** Check out my other Sri Lanka adventures here!

Part 1: Colombo Fort, Pettah Market, Lotus Tower, Galle Face Green - here

Part 2: Kandy, Ambulawawa Tower, Three Temple Loop - here 

Part 3: Kandy, Sacred Tooth Relic, Central Market, Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya, Kandy Lake Club - here 

Part 4: Sigiriya and Dambulla Cave Temple - here

Part 5: Nuwara Eliya, Nanu Oya, Ella - here

Part 7: Colombo, Gangaramaya Temple, Independence Memorial Hall, National Museum - here

Sunkissed in Sri Lanka (Part 5): Ella Ella, Eh Eh Eh!!

- April 17, 2025, Thursday.

- Still feeling in the clouds from my Sigiriya trip the day before, which was a dream come true, I now literally chase the clouds high up in the mountains of Sri Lanka! I was on my way to Nuwara Eliya, Nanu Oya, and most importantly, Ella.

- Like my Sigiriya tour, I booked a chauffeur via TripAdvisor and cost around 200USD; it was organized by Sigiritrip Tours. As expensive as it sounds, one must understand the difficulties of driving up and down mountains in Sri Lanka. So while Ella doesn't look too far from Kandy, the winding mountain roads make the journey feel like forever. Despite that, there were many stops along the way that showed a different side of Sri Lanka. By the way, my tour included a train ride on one of the most iconic rail routes.

- My chauffeur Glen fetched from my hotel around 8:30AM, and off we went to Pussellawa to visit Rothschild Tea Factory and Lounge. There, I learned how tea leaves was harvested, dried, and fermented to be used for making tea. The lounge also had a view of the tea plantations at the mountains, and I also got to try some of their tea.

Sorting tea leaves.

Drying and further sorting tea leaves.

My factory guide.

Tea plantation. This was one of the smaller parts of the plantation. I was told 

Silver tips tea (left) and Ceylon black tea (right).

A tea plant.

- After my short visit to the factory, I had a brief stop to see the Ramboda Waterfall, which is the eleventh tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka. Not far away is the viewpoint for the Puna Ella Falls, which is known for its distinct Y shape as the water from the falls comes from different streams that meet in the falls.

Ramboda Waterfalls.

Puna Ella Falls.

- The higher we went up the mountain, closer to the fog and the clouds, we reached Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya is a city also known as Little England. Not only did the climate uphill resemble what the British colonizers were accustomed to back home, it was also a place where they retreated to enjoy their leisure activities. I did not see much of Nuwara Eliya, save for the Nuwara Eliya Post Office from the 1890s. Nuwara Eliya was also quite crowded because of the holidays, but fortunately I was able to find a quiet restaurant by Lake Gregory. Talk about lunch with a view!! The lake was made in the 1800s by British Governor Sir William Gregory, who converted the wetland into the lake that it is today. Nuwara Eliya reminds me of Baguio City, and Lake Gregory reminds me of Burnham Park.

Nuwara Eliya Post Office.

Lake Gregory.

Yes, there are jet skis.

My quick lunch, some chicken fried rice.

I know I've never been to the UK, but somehow this photos does....make me feel like it's supposed to be in the UK.

- After lunch we had to rush to Nanu Oya train station to catch my 2PM train to Ella. I was given a second class reserved seating ticket, which meant no AC, but at least I get to see more of the view of the foggy mountains with tea and the little hill towns and some of the highest rail stations in Sri Lanka.

Passed by a lot of big tea plantations on the way to the train station.

More tea.

Not sure how old this train is because many of Sri Lanka's trains look a bit....old. (I mean this in a charming way.)

Goodbye Nanu Oya Railway Station.

Don't worry, my phone was still inside the train, it's just the angle and stuff.

This was one of a couple of waterfalls I saw along the day.

So much fog.

Hello Ella!

- My chauffeur Glen raced me to Ella Station (he didn't ride the train with me as he had to bring the car over to Ella), and arrived around the same time as I did. We then had a short drive to the Nine Arch Bridge entrance. From the entrance I had to walk through a bit of the mountain to reach the bridge. Built in 1919, it was an engineering marvel because of it's sharp nine-degree bend and it being made of bricks instead of steel. It was said that the British had to use the steel for weapons during the First World War. The bridge is still being used today, and trains pass by the bridge everyday, proving the bridge's strength. Glen also told me that a decade or so ago, Ella was a quiet and sleepy town. It was because of social media (and content creators) that gave much attention to Ella - especially this bridge - turning the city into a tourist hub almost overnight. Today the streets of Ella are lined up with so many hotels and stores, most of which are close to the Nine Arch Bridge.

Nine Arch Bridge.

I also never thought I'd see this bridge myself!

I took as many photos of the bridge as I could.

We were allowed to walk on the tracks as long as there were no trains passing by.

See that fog?

5 seconds later.

Made it out just in time. The other people were still enjoying the fog. I figured that they weren't in a rush to leave anyway, like me.

- I had to evacuate when I noticed the heavy fog quickly blanketing the surroundings. I figured it would be difficult to find my way since there were little to no lights going back up the entrance. Thankfully I made it just in time and I was able to do so without any accidents; some parts of the path were extremely steep. 

- I think I was just so tired that night that I really just wanted to get back to Kandy as early as possible. I didn't feel hungry but I reassured Glen that he could have dinner if he needed to. He had a longer journey than I did as he had to get back to Colombo after dropping me off at Kandy. It was a miracle that I did not even need to pass by the toilet, something that I often do. 

- I arried at the hotel around 11pm and found out that my hotel had a curfew so the steel gates were pulled down. Glen was kind enough to call my hotel so someone could open the gate for me. I was too tired to have dinner even after arriving and I really just wanted to sleep. Despite my drowsiness I was happy that I got to have a "cold" day as it was really chilly up in the hills. Days like this do not come by in blazing Sri Lanka. As my Ella trip came to a close, it also meant that I was about to leave Kandy to go back to Colombo the next day!

** Check out my other Sri Lanka adventures here!

Part 1: Colombo Fort, Pettah Market, Lotus Tower, Galle Face Green - here

Part 2: Kandy, Ambulawawa Tower, Three Temple Loop - here 

Part 3: Kandy, Sacred Tooth Relic, Central Market, Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya, Kandy Lake Club - here 

Part 4: Sigiriya and Dambulla Cave Temple - here

Part 6: Kandy, Bogambara Prison Park and Train to Colombo - here

Part 7: Colombo, Gangaramaya Temple, Independence Memorial Hall, National Museum - here