Day 26 - The "Venture" in Adventure

I've always firmly believed that a journey should have unexpected surprises.  If the whole thing comes off exactly as planned, then there's not as much to remember when it's all over.  Thankfully, the Sri Lankan rail system has insured that we got off to a memorable start to this trip north.

We had a leisurely morning as we planned to take the 2:20 pm train from Gampaha.  It was scheduled to arrive in Vavuniya at 8:15 pm.  As it was a Sunday a lot of people were onboard.  In fact, in third class it was standing room only at our station.  Jay knows how to get aboard at the most advantageous place, and he scooted down the platform when I glanced down for a second.  I couldn't see him.  People were clamouring to get on and so I figured he most probably had as well.  I decided I should be too, so even though I didn't know if he was on the train, I got aboard.  At the next station, which was quite away as this was a semi-express, he found me.  We ended up standing all the way to Kurunegala

Wait, that is not the adventure part yet!

After being seated the trip was uneventful until after sunset.  Because Sri Lanka is in the tropics it gets dark at the same time all year.  That occurs at around 6:15.  So around an hour after that is was pretty dark.  We seemed to be waiting quite long at some little station.  After about 10 minutes we pulled back and went to a side rail and the power was cut.  We waited for a half hour and saw folks jumping across the tracks to get to the adjacent main highway with luggage in hand.  The Galgamuwa Station manager was trying to cope with angry and confused passengers.  He explained that our engine went ahead to pull a troubled train futher along the tracks. This area is single track only. Subsequently, our train broke trying to pull the load.  The manager said he didn't know when our coaches would be able to move.  As it was after 8:00 pm and we are still at least three hours from our destination, we decided to look for a place to stay here.



From the highway, a tuktuk driver brought us to two, side-by-side guesthouses on the main road.  They were pretty dirty and one owner suggested a government resthouse alongside a lake and only about a mile and a half away.  He called another tuk-tuk driver for us.  The resthouse was nicely refurbished but the price was 3000 rupees, so we looked hesitant.  I didn't want an a/c room as it is hard going in and out of the cold.  They suggested a private house with a few guest rooms within walking distance.  In fact, we just walked back from the resthouse as we had dinner there. That's how we got here.  It's clean and the beds are comfortable for about $9.00. 

This has been today's little adventure. We'll sleep well and decide what to do in the morning.