The best kept secret in Asia I am writing from The Slightly Chilled Guest House at Adam's Peak, slightlychilled.tv . Me and my friends have actually invested in this and come here a lot. This is the first time I have been in Aug as most travel books only suggest hiking up Adams Peak in the high season due to weather. I really wanted to see for myself before commenting about the weather. I have been here for about 2 weks and I have also been to Kandy for the Prehere festival . Anyone coming to Sri Lanka should plan their trip for this festival. I can't wait to bring my friends the next time as it really is something special. About 5 days ago I did a different hike than climbing Adam's peak as I have already done this 2 times. It was quite a cloudy day so my really good friend, Gayantha of Slightly Chilled took me on a hike around 1300 meters high. The views were good and at one point I could see the top of Adam's peak. We ended up at this river and it was too good to waste so I jumped in. The water was quite a shock to the system but I still enjoyed it as I can't remember the
last time I swam in a clean river or any river. We then headed back a different way and I must say the scenery of tea plantations, tropical rainforest and a massive waterfall dropping into the lake was something special. My legs were quite sore the next day or so. I hiked up Adam's Peak yesterday. I didn't get up early as I didn't want to be disappointed if it was cloudy for the sunrise. I have seen it twice before and really didn't feel like getting up at 3 am to climb. I used the computer around 9am as there wasn't a cloud in sight and thought the whole day would be nice. I really should have left earlier but there wasn't a cloud insight. I left The Slightly Chilled Guest House around 10.30 am. I was about half way up when I could see the clouds starting to gather around the top. If I had left at 8.30 I would have had some amazing views. It wasn't all lost as I still had good views from the top but if I had got my act together and left early it would have been more rewarding. They are putting in new steps and are asking for a donation before entering. It's very hard work of taking the cement up on their heads so please give generously.
This letter is continued from the other day. I have now climbed a very thrill seeking hike. It was quite scary at times. I also hiked up Adam's Peak again with a bunch of great spirited people from Israel yesterday. As soon as they arrived they started dancing in the guesthouse. They were in their 50s and asked me how long it would take them. I said about 3 to 3 and half hours. They invited me to go with them so I couldn't refuse .We left at 9am as they didn't want to be disappointed not seeing the sunrise. It was very cloudy this morning up till 9am. Unlucky for them we asked some people coming down and they showed us pictures of the sunrise. On our way up the clouds were thick. I knew we wouldn't see much and actually felt like turning around but would have been big lose of face for me. One woman was in front of me all the way until the last part when I caught her up. Me and the woman(too many names to remember apart from Nissim who gave me his email) got up in 2 hours which is probably my record as I couldn't see this woman get up before me. They were amazing hikers and one guy made me eat my words for what I said the night before. It then started raining quite hard at the top. The first time I have had rain in all my hikes up. It stopped for a bit and we made our way down. I am much better at coming down especially as it was raining again. Made it down in 55 minutes which could be my personal best and left them all standing. Got back to Slightly Chilled Guest House showered and by this time superwoman was back. I had spicy chicken noodle soup for lunch which was great after the hike and then they all got back. Although the weather was bad it was nice to hike with some great people that I hope to visit one day in Israel. Funny how the weather is here. The sun is shining now. It is partly cloudy at the top but this morning was clear and the clouds were high up in the background. Another thing which bothered me today is there is a dog that is really sick. You will see many here in Sri Lanka. I hope we can start a charity box at The Slightly Chilled Guest House to fed the dogs. We are also trying to educate them about pollution. I have written a letter that will be translated and hopefully by the time the high season will come you will see something at the entrance. Please say something to the monk about the trash. I donated a $100USD and told him he must control this. It needs us to push this also. When our business gets better we will donate more to this area. Cleaning all the pollution and hopefully helping the dogs. We have just updated our website and gives you lots more information about other hikes. We will also have free bike rental for anyone staying 2 or more days longer. The weather isn't that bad in Aug. I am also riding a bicycle a lot to the lake and reading a book. However I am not doing much reading as it's hard not to look out and see a lake, tea plantations and mountains in the background and dream about being in paradise. I should be going back to China in a week as my Chinese girlfriend is waiting for me but it's really hard to leave this peaceful place. This is still the best kept secret in Asia but not for long. New guesthouses are opening so if you are the type of person that prefers to be sitting by the side of the lake alone and at peace with the world you should start planning now. I have seen how Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are going and this will eventually be the same one day. Please check out our new website in October 2008 or even before. There is much more information than what the guide books write. Slightlychilled.tv Happy Travels! Spunkywads
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Breathtaking scenery, wonderful sense of achievement, fun time with friends Disadvantages: Can be a strain if you don't like stairs, and the leeches are unpleasant. Accommodation at the top is unwelcoming
DDRS 20.10.2001 (02.12.2001)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Adamīs Peak (Sri Lanka)
Advantages: Breathtaking scenery, wonderful sense of achievement, fun time with friends Disadvantages: Can be a strain if you don't like stairs, and the leeches are unpleasant. Accommodation at the top is unwelcoming
DDRS 20.10.2001 (02.12.2001)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Adamīs Peak (Sri Lanka)
very helpful by (100%):
