දොලොස්බාගේ ගිහින් කාපු කටු

Yes, another long-ass blog post…

So after quitting writing tech & phone reviews back in 2018, I find myself writing a massive Notepad rant 4 years later. Fair enough, right?

The Crazy Backstory Alright then, I didn’t go on this trip solo—I took a buddy along. We actually planned this two months in advance. We originally intended to revisit a spot we went to before, but since that previous ride wasn’t as legendary as we hoped, we pulled a last-minute audible 3 days before launching and picked somewhere completely different.

- The Eve of Departure - First, I called Hendrikka to check the weather. “It’s raining cats and dogs here, don’t even think about coming,” he warned. But driven by sheer stubborn curiosity, I called Dasa Akka and Tharindu Aiya next. Their advice? “If you’re down to suffer and eat dirt, come on over.” Since I’ve been eating dirt and enduring suffering since the day I was born, I figured why not? Time to gear up.

We were scheduled to hit the road on Monday. Except on Sunday evening, my buddy somehow managed to crash his scooter downhill and completely pulverized his leg. Brilliant.

- Attempt #1 (Departure Day 1) - Monday morning came. Mumbling a prayer to Siriyama-Sarah-HoeHoe-Thusara, I grabbed my bike and rolled down the hill in pouring rain (yes, my house sits on top of a mountain). Thinking the cold morning air was making the engine stubborn to start, I decided to coast down the incline and bump-start it. Zero luck.

Once at the bottom of the hill, I kicked it, pushed it, cursed at it—not even a sputter. Out of sheer desperation, we tied a tow rope to the wheel, yanked it along, and inspected it, only to discover the CDI ignition unit had completely blown out! So yeah, day one was dead in the water (though turns out it poured heavily at our destination anyway, so blessing in disguise). I dragged myself back home, spent hours scouring weather radar apps, confirmed tomorrow looked clear, and postponed the mission to Tuesday (shoutout to Samana for towing my dead bike).

- Attempt #2 (Departure Day 2 - We Actually Ride) - Woke up, geared up, and rolled out of the house right on schedule at 6:30 AM. Taking a proactive stance against universe-level bad luck, I popped two anti-diarrhea pills as a preventative strike before riding to Urapola to pick up my wounded copilot. Honestly, out of all the routes I’ve ridden over the years, the Thalduwa - Meevithagammana stretch is one of my absolute favorites. It’s not scenic in a postcard way, but it’s pure riding joy.

True to form, I waited at Urapola for half an hour until I saw a massive backpack dragging an elephant-sized swollen leg hobbling towards me. Since swearing out loud first thing in the morning is bad karma, I silently handed over his helmet and launched the trip. We didn’t exchange a single word until near Ruwanwella—probably because it was too damn early to process reality. Further up near Bulathkohupitiya, we stocked up on essential snacks and drinks… (If I were riding solo, I wouldn’t drag half a grocery store along, but whatever).

If you’ve ever ridden the Bulathkohupitiya road, you know how wild it gets. We were practically bouncing up the curves. We planned to visit Nalagana Falls on the way back, so we aimed straight for the Dolosbage Viewpoint first. The twisties along the way were insanely satisfying—pure sexy banana curves. Sure, my home road is an off-road trail every day, but tearing up these mountain passes is an elite vibe.

Midway up, we caught a light rain shower. Clad in rain jackets, we kept climbing and climbing endlessly until we ended up completely lost somewhere in the middle of nowhere and had to backtrack. But by 11:00 AM, we finally crested the summit and hit the Dolosbage Viewpoint.

I was soaked to the bone from the rain (meanwhile, my buddy’s swollen leg was completely shot, and he looked half-ready to break down in tears). But after hanging out for a bit, the heavy mist parted, revealing a mind-blowing panoramic view. You know me—wherever I go, I need music and good vibes. I blasted a track, chilled out, and snapped some photos. Right when we unpacked our food to feast, two random romantic couples materialized out of thin air and ruined the solitude. Classic.

At my copilot’s request, we packed up and headed down towards Nalagana Ella waterfall. Passing the official entrance signboard, I got that familiar mischievous itch—so I placed a goofy call to the Bulathkohupitiya Pradeshiya Sabha just for laughs before walking down to the falls. Thankfully, there was zero crowd—just the two of us.

We chilled by the rushing water, ate our food, and at 4:30 PM, packed up for the long haul home. I dropped him off at his place around 6:00 PM and pulled into my driveway at 8:00 PM. All in all, a solid, successful day.

(Ah, side note: turns out he had to be hospitalized the very next day because of his leg!)

- The End - I didn’t need to write a whole novel for this, but since it’s my first writeup in years, I went all out. Otherwise, I could’ve wrapped this in 10 words. But hey, you probably had nothing better to read anyway!