The train to Ella was a much awaited journey.
At Nanu Oya Station, the timetable hung on a simple wooden board, its faded letters adding to the charm of the place.
Children, out of school, waited for the train laughter echoing along the platform.
The station master stood ready with the baton he would soon hand to the approaching train driver.
Moments later, a loud shrill cut through the air—the train announcing her arrival.
Fashionably late by two hours, but welcomed all the same.
Once aboard, the world outside transformed into a moving postcard.
Verdant tea gardens rolled past in endless waves. Quaint little towns appeared and vanished. Fog drifted across the tracks, softening everything into mystery, while milky white waterfalls poured down the hillsides.
By late evening, we finally arrived in Ella, tired but enthralled.
The next morning, tuk-tuks carried us through winding roads to the famous Nine Arches Bridge, where the valley opened wide and the railway arched gracefully between forest and sky.
What began with a delayed train and misty tracks ended with the sweep of the Nine Arches Bridge and the feeling that sometimes the best parts of travel are not the destinations but the quiet, unexpected moments in between.
The Smiling Travellerr 