May 3,

We started with a HUGE meal! Our breakfast is included, but my! I was still not so hungry from eating so late last night. We had red rice cakes, coconut sambal, dahl, fried eggs (one for each of us), roti X4, toast X4, and a crepe-like pancake each rolled up with the sweet filling! We were eating the dessert when the owner/manager came over to say hi. I asked him what was I was eating. He explained that it is a pancake and the filling was shredded coconut with palm honey. Then he passionately described palm honey: it is the flower of a palm tree that blooms every two to three years; the flower is somehow bagged and the dipping is caught. This is the honey. (This is as I recall. He went into more detail!!) We did ask him for a kettle for our room and he said it will be delivered when we go back to our room.

Anyway, we ate maybe half of our food and now “rolled” back to our room. As we were unlocking the door the kettle was delivered by our waiter guy. Zenith view is a hotel, and our room is well – a room. We have a Queen-sized canopied bed and two single beds in tandem, wedged along the same wall. There is also a small desk with a chair; a cabinet closet; and small, but tall mirrored stand. We have a wet bathroom – that is long enough it doesn't all get wet, yeah! Then we have our balcony! This is supper nice and allows us to see the glorious views of the valley area we are in. (Ella is spread out and wraps around a few hills.) Our place has AC. It works for us!

We got around and went out, walking, in search of one of many rental scooter places. It is warm out here and, unfortunately, uphill to get to the main part of Ella. The first place we saw, had the scooter we would need! It has a big enough engine that we can make it up hills without me having to get off (poor, Wuk-Wuk was just lacking!)  Jeff was happy with it after checking it out and we got helmets (after a switch out due to the closure not staying closed on the helmet I was going to use.) So, Jeff left his passport, he paid, and we loaded up and headed out. We went to get gas, as it was only half full. 

Now we set out for our first destination: Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery. It is uphill, as in the temple/monastery is at a peak of another hill/mountain is this area. Our scooter was accepting and doing the uphill climb without any problems. Yeah!!! (I haven't figured out a name for it yet.) On the way, we had to turn around once (took a wrong way). We did stop on the way at Sky Lounge Bar. The place made fresh juices and we were parched. I had a cucumber juice and Jeff had a lime juice.

Arriving at the top, the temple opened up. There is quite a bit of construction going: painting, cement work, and detail work in sculptured railings. Many 'artisans' are doing their thing! Most of these workers have even taken off their shoes, but hats are still on – because the UV of the sun up here is brutal. I could not image working up here. The inside the actual temple is closed, but we were able to walk around it. The views out over the valley to the other peaks, again are stunning!! We took pictures and completed a lap of the large stupa area. There is even someone up on the stupa working the pointed top. Jeff thought the worker looked uncomfortable moving around up there. My thought – I would not even be up there!! We left and went to load up to move on… 

Well, the scooter lost traction down the steep, dirt way on the way out and we went down. Some people saw us go down and came right over to help us! Thankfully, we are just scraped up. I hit my head, but praise be the helmet stayed on! Jeff had a three to four inch scrap on his right knee and a big tear in his pants there. One of the people at the complex helped us to the first aid area. I tended Jeff knee after I washed my right forearm. His scrap is superficial but a large enough area that needs cleaning. Thankfully a monk brought out some saline, cotton, and 3X2's to wash it. We had some large Band-Aids in our first aid kit. So we got him bandaged. Then we immensely thanked everyone who helped us. Now went to see the damage to the scooter: scrape marks on the right front; scraping of the muffler guard; and the right mirror arm is way looser (Jeff was able to tighten it down) with some scraping on it. (As I write this I think I will call the scooter, “Scrapper.”) 

So mended, we got back on the scooter. Now we descended, correctly, down the steep, dirt parking area – upright – to the road. It was about here, I could feel my right hip/upper thigh area was bruised. I then realized my phone is in my pocket there… I mentioned this to Jeff. So at a safe place he pulled over, and I pulled out my phone. The scene has been damaged, enough so that I can't not use my pin number to get in. It picked up my face, but a whole fourth of the scene had a vertical stripe on it. So I will need a new phone, but thankfully not a new head (humans aren't advanced enough for this anyway) or hip; or Jeff a new knee. 

We just went back to our place, by way of a local shop for  a coke, and some drinking water. Now, we just wanted to check out our “wounds”; and well, just recoup a bit… I, as a therapy, attempted to mend Jeff's pants and he tried to find a way to open my phone/figure out if I just need a new phone. We also ate a crackers and peanut butter for a light snack.

After rested, we went back out for dinner. (Scrapper did fine and so did we.) We stopped at Ella Hostel Railway Station. It is the old station. But when the train stops here now, you only exit on the other side. (We missed this when we came in.) One look at the menu – they have onion rings!!  Wow! It has been so long. So we ordered that and a Chicken Cheese “Koththu” – Kothu is mostly how we have seen it spelled. It's the same dish. Our meal was most excellent! 

Finished, Jeff and I loaded back on Scrapper. Back to our hotel, the waiter (luggage porter and all around keeper of the hotel – don't know his title) greeted us as he seems to do each time. Jeff said this was the example of hospitality he heard India was known for, but we did not experience. 

Anyway, what a day!!!!!