When St Helena filled up, Ceylon was chosen as a destination. A large camp was set up at the hill station at Diyatalawa. The hill station proved to be good for the health of the incarcerated.
In India the Boers were given more food that was contained in a soldier's rations. They enjoyed more meat, potatoes, green vegetables and rice. Jam, condensed milk and soap were also issued.
The conditions did not stop escape attempts. Five prisoners were boarded a Russian steamer in Colombo harbour. They made their way to the Crimea and from there to St Petersburg where the locals, sympathetic to the Boer cause, celebrated their escape. The men visited Kruger in Holland and made their way back to South Africa to rejoin their comrades.
