Walk, Walk, Walk – WWW 2024🥾

It has officially been my last Week Without Walls (WWW). Before I get into it, I’d just like to give an appreciation to all the WWW experiences I’ve had, from grade 6 up to now. I still remember my 1st WWW in 6th grade, where we went to Kandy. I remember meeting the Vedda people and the best milk tea I’ve ever tasted at the breakfast. It’s funny because my brother went to the same place when he was in 6th grade last year, and apparently there is a small poster of me weaving palm tree leaves on the notice board! Memories. 7th grade WWW was amazing as well. We basically planned the activities ourselves, and I remember going surfing, and most importantly, doing the scavenger hunt around Galle Fort (my team *obviously* won).

Unfortunately I missed the 8th grade WWW, as that was during lockdown and Coivd19. But let me tell you, WWW in 9th grade when we went to Borderlands, has got to be one of my favorites. We went to Kithulgala and stayed at the Borderlands camp and did some extremely fun activities, and I bonded a lot with my grade that year. After grade 9 it was grade 10, where the trips are interlocked with the grade above. I went on the “Middle Way Trip”, which was cycling around the Sigiriya area. Again, that trip was a blast, and it was enough cardio for a lifetime. Now, this year was my final WWW, and I spent it hiking in the Sri Lankan Highlands. 

Before getting into the trip itself, I’d just like to give a short disclaimer to anyone who is reading this. If you ever get the chance to go to Sri Lanka, do not miss out on an opportunity to see the highlands. It is truly beautiful. It again shows the immense diversity of this small island, and it is worth every step and every hike. Now let’s finally get into it, WWW 2024:

Day #1 – Hypothermia Waterfall & other Adventures 

I’m not going to lie, I was a bit grumpy in the morning of the first day. Firstly, because I had to get up at 3 am to finish an L&L assignment, and then get myself out of bed at 5 am, to be at school at 6 am to leave. It was not my morning. Anyway, once we got into the vans, I placed my head on the window and I slept and was gone. We got out at one point to have a snack, as well as do our first hike. We hiked through pine trees, which on a side note, were so pretty, towards Ella Falls, where we had the opportunity of taking a dip in the water. It was a push and pull decision for me as I did not know if I was willing to purposely die of hypothermia (the water was freezing), but I also thought to myself that this is a once in a lifetime experience. Also, it is worth mentioning that the final push were the words of my friend Amy (shoutout), as she had explicitly told me before I left, “on the first day there is a waterfall. No matter how cold it is, go in, it is so worth it”. I am so glad she told me that. Even though I did almost die of hypothermia (I’m just kidding) and I’ve never shivered so much in my entire life, at the end of the day I was so happy that I jumped in the water. It was a true IB risk taker and IB open-minded moment.

After the waterfall we changed back into dry clothes and hiked to the camp we were staying at. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve stayed in a lot of rough places. But this place was rough because the girls’ bathrooms had no lights, and being accompanied by insects, snakes and who knows what else in the darkness whilst showering, did not sound appealing to anyone. So we ended up using the boys bathrooms (with permission) which was a whole hike itself to get to as our tent was so far away, but at least we had light. The water was ice cold and our tent was infested with spiders and mosquitoes; never have I missed my home more. But I survived the night, and I was so ready to get out of that camp in the morning. Nevertheless, it was again a good experience for me and looking back at it, I am still very grateful I had it. 

Day #2 – The Hardest Hike

Okay I will be honest, this was one of the worst days of my life. I promise it was not because of the day itself – but keep reading to find out why. The day started off great. We took tuk tuks up to Lipton Seat, which was so much fun. The tuk rides through the tea plantations were scary, but I loved every second of it. The snacks we had at Lipton Seat were also delicious, and the view was really nice. Then we got ready to hike stage 13 of the Pekoe trail. Get more information on the Pekoe trails on their website here.

So, this was a bad day for me, because firstly, I left my rain jacket in the van as I was clearing my bag to make it lighter. But then it decided to start raining. Hooray. So I wear my thick cotton jacket to not get cold. But then, I felt my period starting. I was feeling hot, but also cold, and I was wet as the rain had penetrated my jacket and worst of all, I was having really (REALLY) bad cramps; as well as feeling a bit dizzy on top of all this. I know, it sounds like a dream! This all happend around mid way through the hike, and I had asked my teacher if I could go back in the van (and I usually don’t just give up), because I was genuinely feeling like I was about to faint. However, we are in the middle of a tea plantation, surrounded by narrow paths, no van can get up here. So my only choice was to just keep going, for 9 more kilometers (it was 18 km in total).

The first half of the hike I was having great conversations with a girl from the grade below. That was a lot of fun as our grades don’t mix much, and having this opportunity to make a new friend was something I was really grateful for. Anyways, after a long long cramp filled hike, we arrived at the vans which took us to Adisham monastery. Unfortunately the girls’ rooms were not ready yet so we had to wait in the dining room as our clothes were dripping on the floor. But after having done that hike with my period cramps, I felt like nothing could annoy me anymore. Besides, the showers at the monastery had hot water, an actual dream. As silly as it sounds, my highlight of the day must’ve been taking a hot shower, changing into clean clothes and sleeping.

Day #3 – Train Tracks & Leeches

Day 3 was so much better than day 2. We again hiked a Pekoe trail, but this time stage 12. This hike was 15 km, but our teachers had warned us saying it would be the hardest. They were not kidding. Sadly we had to hike in the rain again, but this was not even the hardest part. It was hard because the terrain was very rough, slippery, muddy and parts of the hike were extremely dense. I am not exaggerating when I say we literally had to push leaves, twigs and co away from us using our hands. The environment we were in was so dense sunlight didn’t even have a chance to penetrate. In other words, it was pretty difficult.

The worst part of the whole hike however were the leeches. I got absolutely attacked, they were everywhere and I at least had 10 on each foot. I even had one on my belly button, I don’t even know how it got there! Parts of the hike were also extremely foggy, so we had to walk very carefully as it was slippery also. The fog was a bit stressful as well because it did not allow us to see what was before us. Now onto the good parts of this day, a large part of the hike was hiking on train tracks; that was so cool. I don’t know how to explain, but the sensation of hiking on train tracks was just cool. That’s the word, cool. Before the hike even started we also took a train to the starting spot. That was also a great experience as I had never been on a train in Sri Lanka before, so I was so happy to have gotten that opportunity. The landscapes as one looks out of the train windows were also gorgeous. From post lunch to the end of the day we played the infamous Werewolf, my personal favorite game to play on school trips. I even won one round as werewolf – if you don’t know the rules and don’t know what that means, just know it’s pretty impressive and cool. We played Werewolf for a long period of time and did not get bored, that is what I love about the game – you don’t get bored. We as a group also started growing closer to one another, and I am very happy that I am able to confidently say that I made new friends on this trip. As we were only 4 girls, the 4 of us became especially close. We stayed another night at the monastery where I had another hot shower, I am forever grateful to that as well. Also, if you’ve been to Sri Lanka, you know it is so hot and humid. But up here in the highlands, I kid you not at the monastery I was constantly running around in my jacket and long sweatpants. It is a nice temperature, but some of the day I genuinely missed the hot and humid-ness. 

Day #4 – World’s End & a lot of Food 

This was my favorite day. We started the day off with what I could now consider an easy hike after the first few days; we hiked the Horton Plains World’s End Hike. The hike itself was around 8 km, but it was not going up slopes or anything (like the day before), and it hadn’t rained the whole hike. The environment at Horton Plains was also very different from the other environments we had been exposed to this whole trip. I could even say it looked a bit like South Africa, or New Zealand as I felt like I was at the same scene as Frodo Baggins and Gandalf (Lord of the Rings shoutout). There are three stopping points at this hike, mini world end, world’s end and the waterfall. The view at the mini world’s end was really nice. Sadly, we could not really see the view at the world’s end as it was quite foggy, but I got a pretty good idea of what it looked like from the fog-less areas. I had also done this hike with my family before, so I knew what to expect a bit. The waterfall was just beautiful, impressive and also kind of refreshing.

We then made our way to Jagro. Jagro is a strawberry farm in Sri Lanka, and we had the pleasure of being able to order something from their cafe. Now let me set the scene. It’s been an intense past few days. You’ve just had a longish hike behind you. You’re also having a great conversation with some others. It is also quite chilly. Then, you get a hot chocolate. It warms you and tastes delicious. Then it gets even better, as you get a waffle with whipped cream and strawberries. I know, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was great and made every struggle I had whilst hiking totally worth it. I was filled up after that, but little did I know that my tastebuds journey was far from over. We made our way to the Grand Hotel; and it was more than grand. Whoever had the idea of staying here, thank you. You are my new favorite person in the world. Firstly, we still had to eat lunch after Jagro; and you will never ever see my saying “I’m full, no thank you” to thai food. The eating journey started again, and I felt like every calorie I had burned in the past few days were right back where I found them. I did not care though, the food was great. After all our meals, we got to explore the Grand Hotel. The girls and I walked around the hotel and it was a surreal experience because it was like being stuck in time. It did not even feel like we were in Sri Lanka, the hotel as well as Nuwara Eliya (the city we were in) resembled colonial England a lot. I also learned that THE Carrie Fisher stayed at the Grand Hotel before, Princess Leia herself, RIP. We also got to use the swimming pool, which was HEATED. Now life doesn’t get better than this.

Then we had to go on a night hike, which was interesting because we hadn’t actually hiked at night in the darkness before. I really liked our guide, his passion for frogs and the Nuwara Eliya ecosystem was beautiful to see. Ms. Kamila, our trip supervisor, also found a frog that the guide himself had never seen before; meaning she might’ve found a new species. That is really cool. I wish she got the name of the new species, but the guide and his team have to do some more checks and tests before they can confirm a new species. I also learned that there are over 120 frog species in Sri Lanka, which is also really cool. After this night hike we showered (with hot water, a blessing) and went back to the food journey we started earlier at the Grand Hotel dinner buffet. We of course played some more Werewolf as a whole group after dinner. It was a lot of fun, and I won again, it was a big moment for me. I read a bit before going to sleep, and it was great as shortly after I was knocked out. It was a great, warm and soundless sleep.  

Day #5 – The Final Day 

As good as the trip had been, I was ready to go home; see my parents and I can’t believe I’m admitting it, but my brother as well. On the 5th day we did another Pekoe trail hike, this time stage 6. It was 14 km, and the sun was boiling us all alive. Suddenly I missed the rain. Actually no I was kidding, I did not miss the rain and the leeches that came with that. I chatted the whole hike, through up and downward slopes, through tea plantations and through rural villages. It was a nice way to end our trip, with one last pretty hike. I don’t remember much other than the views from this hike, but I remember the great conversations I had. Again, a great way to complete the trip and my last WWW. 

Last Words

If you would’ve told me a week before WWW that I would’ve had a great time, I would’ve laughed at you. I genuinely didn’t think I was going to have a good time, mainly because none of my “usual” friends were in my group. But that also allowed me to expand my social circle, beyond my grade level and into the grade below. That is something I am super grateful for, so Mr. Lockwood, even after complaining to you before, now I am here to say thank you. Thank you for a great last WWW, from gorgeous landscapes to new friends to good food to memories and a great time; thank you. Next year, when everyone else will be gone for WWW and I will be doing my mock exams, I will think of this trip and all the trips that came before that. They’ve been an opportunity I will be forever thankful for. They allowed me to explore the island I live in, and connect with my peers and beyond. I know this blog entry is pretty long, so if you’ve read and made it this far, a thank you to you too, I appreciate it.