Little Adam's Peak

 

Feb. 22

            We got up and lingered over another excellent breakfast on our porch before meandering downtown to find Little Adam’s Peak.  Adam’s Peak is a different attraction, where you would get up in the middle of the night to drive to a site where crowds of pilgrims would be lined up to climb hundreds of stone steps with the goal of summiting the peak at sunrise.  That attraction was in another part of the country and the description of the climb wasn’t enough of an incentive to go that far out of our way.

            Little Adam’s Peak, on the other hand, has got to be one of the most accessible viewpoint hikes in the country.  After walking on the main road out of town, you turn off to a well-marked side path lined with small cafes and trinket sellers.  The path is busy with people and would be a nice pedestrian walkway except for the frequent tuktuks whizzing past and expecting the pedestrians to jump out of their way. 

            Eventually the tuktuks had to park and the last 10 minutes or so were on steep steps with foot traffic only.  At the base of these steps was a fancy hotel with a pool and terraced bar that we considered grabbing a drink at on our return trip.  There were also adventure opportunities with a climbing wall, zip line and a big swing that you could dress up in fancy clothes and have a ride on while someone took pictures and video for you to purchase afterwards.  The capitalists were doing well here.

            We watched people swinging for awhile as well as the swimmers in the fancy hotel beside us as they took pictures of each other with their butts visible above the water.  We made the final, busy ascent and then checked the place out.   The views were impressive with several spots offering a 360 degree panorama of the town behind us and the mountains and valleys around.  There were some Buddhist artifacts around a tree that appeared to be a shrine and lots of people taking turns posing at the best spots.  Probably one of the most photogenic points was further along the ridge but I started walking towards it and decided the trip wasn’t worth it.  The path had steep up and down parts that were so well worn that it would have been lots of dirty slipping and sliding rather than trekking.  The day was hot and I convinced myself that it was the wisdom of age behind my decision to enjoy the views that we had rather than seeking something more just because it was there.

            Me met our Belgian housemate and helped each other with our pictures before heading down.  The trip back was uneventful and hot but we held off getting the drinks at the posh hotel as we figured our money would be better spent at a local vendor.  We ended up back at the UFO where the drinks were yummy but the food wasn’t as good as the previous day.

            After some simple shopping we headed back to our place for some afternoon downtime.  For dinner, we decided to check out a local place recommended by our hotel-mates who had enjoyed eating there the previous night.  We located it, an open concrete area with a few tables and lights and no other customers.  The walls were covered with patron testimonials and praise for the cooking classes that apparently happened there.  Once we arrived several family members came over and the open kitchen was soon busy with five people chopping and cooking.  While we waited, people began showing up until, by the time our Belgian housemate showed up for a repeat visit, the last table was filled.  We chatted with a couple at our table, one of whom was a British Air pilot and then it was announced that the meal was ready.

            The food was laid out in a buffet style which made us wonder if that was always the plan. Would have had it the whole buffet to ourselves if we were the only customers or did our hosts increase portion sizes as more people showed up.  The food was excellent and most people had seconds.  It was nice that we only had a short downhill walk back to our place after eating as it was now dark.

            On the way back we spotted some fireflies and watched them for awhile.  Some local kids were walking by and wondered what we were looking at but kept shining their flashlight in our direction, negating the experience.  Once they left, we spotted more here and there all the way back to our place.