by Russell Smeaton

Created on: April 24, 2009

Sri Lanka is a beautiful island and what better way to soak it all up than by train? The trains won't take you everywhere in the country, but you can get to a lot of places in relative ease and take it all in. So jump in, buy a ticket, sit back and enjoy the ride! One of the best rides you can take is from the capital of Colombo up into the hill stations such as Kandy. There are plenty of other routes you can go south down old crumbling Galle or, fighting permitting, head north into unknown Jaffna. Most journeys are short compared to the epic Indian rail and you can take glorious day trips just sitting on trains.

First up you'll need to get your ticket. If you are staying in a decent enough hotel you can pay the desk to go and get the ticket for you. It may sound like cheating a little bit but ticket buying can sometimes seem like a rugby scrum. If on the other hand you like rugby get stuck in. The ticket desks usually operate on a system of you buying the ticket on the day you want to travel. There are three classes available on most but not all trains: first class (which is supposed to be air conditioned); second class (padded seats and generally busy without being crowded) and third class (a wooden bench packed to the rafters). It's up to you. Air conditioning doesn't always work and if you do go first class you may be stuck in a green house for the duration of your journey. Second class seems to be the best option. You get a seat, it's comfy enough and you can stick your head out of the window to see the ebb and flow of Sri Lankan life. Toilets are provided but be prepared it's a hole in the floor and that's it. Looking down the hole you'll see the train track whizzing past you.

There are plenty of blokes hanging around the ticket office who will offer you friendly advice, buy your ticket for you and then expect an extortionate tip. Avoid them. Sri Lanka is full of some of the friendliest people you could ever hope to meet but sadly you tend to meet a high proportion of the ones who's friendship comes at a cost.

Ticket in hand, you are ready to board your train. Make your way to the platform and wait for your train. Class is easy to spot. Each carriage has a huge number painted on it and it doesn't take a genius to work out that a huge one painted in white means first class. Third class is easy to spot as it's the one with people sticking to it like iron filings. Find a carriage that looks relatively empty and get on. This can be problematic if there are people

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