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Yusuf (the Gangster) looked at me and tried to speak but I didn't understand a word so I asked somebody and we all waited around. Shortly, afterwards a person arrived who spoke to English.
Yusuf welcomed me to Sri Lanka and told me that I should take Sri Lankan train to Hatton and from there take the Bus to Adam's Peak. He then asked someone to take me and get me a Hotel and that was the end of it.
Sorry nothing excited happened and I can't really make stuff up :P
The gentleman took me to a nice place and spoke to them in Sinhalese and I got a superb place on the 4th floor very cheap. Once again there was no Airconditioning but on the top floor it was beautiful. I saw the sunset and then spotted my clsoest Masjid and came down for Maghrib.
Sri Lankans are mostly Tableeghees so after Maghrib there was a Bayan which I sat through. I don't know Sinhalese but due to the standards of Tableeghi Jamaat I was able to understand everything in detail.
Afterwards I walked around town and came back to the Masjid for Esha. Sri Lanka is the land of the longest Tal'eem in Tableeghi Jamaat (book of records) and Masha'Allah people enthusiastically sit through it all. Again I don't know Sinhalese but due to the standards of Tableeghi Jamaat I was able to understand everything in detail.
After Taleem I had some food again pointing to someone with Sunnah and ask for the same. When I returned home the owners of the Guest House spoke English so had a long conversation with the husband/wife about life, world, Islam, religion and whatever and then went to sleep.
Everything in Sri Lanka has a Colonial feel to it specially the train and bus stations and Kandy Train station is no different
Train times are displayed like this:
I went to the Window and asked for a ticket to Hatton. The most expensive fare was something £2.10 (British) so bought the ticket and waited for the tain to arrive, which looked like this:
I sat in a compartment and there was a Muslim family there and they gave me some food and I gave my choclates to their kids. Train goes on a uphill climb and you actually have to be there to believe how beautiful Sri Lanka is. All along the train are tea plantations and hills and before this I had never seen tea plantations before.
All along the hills people walking, children playing its a breathtakingly beautiful country. The train goes pretty slow so you can actually take in the view and admire the Creation of Allah (SWT).
You can see winding roads and everything!
Hatton is primarily known for its Ceylon tea trails but I didn't have time for this. I had to get to Adam's Peak. The surroundings in Hatton are simply amazing, I had seen some of it by train but didn't have time for the rest. I had to find a Masjid for Dhohar and ignore these sites:
Hatton is a small city and if you walk around you will eventually get to Hatton Jumma Masjid which is one of the biggest Mosques in town and clearly visible.
The Mughal Architeture is clearly visible in the Masjid. I arrived there a little before Dhohar and met a Tableeghi brother by the name of Yusuf. Yusuf drove a van to transport School children and spoke fluent English.
I asked him about the way to Adams Peak and he gave me the directions but also told me that I am a guest in his country and if I could wait he would drive me there because after Dhohar he had to pick up the School children. He also introduced me to a few other Muslims and also the (Maulana) and I was overwhelmed by their simplicity and love. After Dhohar it was time for (Sri Lankan) Ta’leem and once again Maulana conducted LONG Ta’leem (by my standards) and no one moved and listened patiently and attentively.
After Taleem I was leaving and Yusuf again apologised to me for not taking me, Maulana offered to take me home for food but I politely declined because I didn’t want to intrude on their schedule and parted company. Walking around in town I easily found another “Muslim hotel” with plenty of customers in Sunnah so I ate (stuffed myself) and then went out to look for a bus to Adams Peak.
The road is harrowing, narrow and windy all the way to the foothill of Sri Pada (Adam's Peak)
Finally you get to Adams Peak and you get dropped off at the foothills of this mountain top. The weather here is cold and by this time I was shivering in cold in my T-Shirt. It had also started to rain so I hit my passport and money in a plastic bag and put it inside my shirt to stop it from getting wet.
By this time I am cold shivering and drenched so I prayed my Asar and then walked around in town. This climb is supposed to be for people looking for spiritual enlightenment and frankly I didn't need stairs as Asar Salah did the same thing.
Supposidly when you climb up there is a massive footprint around which the Buddhists have built a DharamShala (Budhist holy place) and they climb up there to worhsip the foot print.
After spending some time exploring the area and walking around, I prayed Maghrib and then took the bus back to Hatton. I arrived in Hatton a little before Esha and quickly ate and proceeded to the same Masjid for Esha. This time I didn't find anyone whom I recognised. Again we had long Taleem and afterwards everyone went home. It was very cold and I had been wet and shivering for hours. I found the Train station and purchased tickets for the express train to Colombo and they told me that the train will arrive around midnight a few hours later.
I was cold hungry and miserable and everything was closed. I tried to continously walk around to keep myself warm but it wasn't working. While I was walking around I saw a Panshop which was open. Desperate for anything I went inside and told him to make Paan and put "everything" in it. He did put everything in it including very strong tobacco!
Within minutes I was warm, happy and intoxicated! I quickly realised that I was drunk but I tried to convince myself that I wasn't drunk. Sri Lanka had telephone booths and they have one for Domestic and other for International calls so I found two booths and decided to try to walk straight.
If I wasn't drunk I could start from one booth and put one foot in front of the other and arrive at the other directly in line.
No matter how hard I tried to walk straight, I could not walk straight! I must have been at it for hours because there was civil war going on so someone must have called the Police to have an idiot walking in rain between two telephone booths for hours arrested!
Sri Lankan Paramilitary forces arrived in a Jeep right outside the Train station and the Captain demanded to see my ID. I am intoxicated so I said, "NO! Let me see your ID Mr Captain".
The guy is totally puzzled so he asks me, "Sir! I am asking for your ID" and I said, "AND I am asking for your ID"
And then I heard the familiar rattle of a cocking of a gun I was right awake!
I showed them my passport and the Captain asked as to why I am walking around aimlessly so I showed him the Train Tickets that I am actually waiting for the train so he said "Sir, there is war in our country so you should wait inside the Train station. I staggered onto the Train station where someone told me that I need to go to the VIP section!
The train station looked like this so I shouted at him and asked him, "WHERE THE HELL IS THE VIP SECTION!!!"
The VIP Section had a bench like this so I tried to sleep on my VIP bench
Its cold, miserable and raining and train is an 1 hour late!
Then the train got to be 2 hours late!
Then the train got to be 3 hours late!
Finally the mid-night express to Colombo arrived and I went to look for my VIP seat!
There were people in the seats, people in the windows, people on the roof and there was no place for me to even stand! The only place I found is the middle METAL which connects the two compartments together so I sat on it because nobody was sitting on it, take a guess in your mind.
Within minutes my backside was on fire because the metal was so HOT! I couldn't sit but I couldn't stand either. I wanted to go to the Toilet but one look and I decidied against it so I made dua and just sat with my backside burning in Jahannum!
Within minutes someone grabbed my hand and took me to a seat and sat me down, I don't know who it was and what happened and I just fell asleep ONLY to wake up near Fajar time
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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