Sri Lanka 2. Heading into the Hill Country

 

late afternoon view across Kandy 

Kandy sits at about 1550 ft above sea level and we were headed south from here towards the highest parts of the country.  Travelling this way really is a different experience for us.  Instead of a taxi or tuk-tuk to the bus station and the puzzles to be solved when we get there, we just have to present ourselves at our hotel reception and there’s Niroshan with the car.  It is very convenient but we’re not meeting locals and experiencing our slight exposure to the way of life as we normally would.  That’s just an observation, we chose to travel like this for this trip and as recompense Niroshan is a rich source of information about Sri Lanka.

 

Rambola

On the way we stopped at a tea plantation and factory for a tour.  The place was full of old but still working machinery for drying, cutting, rolling and generally producing tea from the bud and first couple of leaves that are picked by hand.  The pickers, who are usually women pick about 20kg in an eight hour shift.  We had the distinctions between the four main types of tea, white, black, green and oolong tea explained which was actually interesting.  It was a free tour followed by a free cuppa (although they did charge for the cake) and naturally a visit to THE SHOP.  This was akin to a Whisky Distillery tour where the prices of the goods in the shop are in some cases eye watering.  I had my eye on some Silver Tea, made only from the tea bud, until I found out that 50 grams (less than 2 ounces) of it cost the equivalent of £30 ($40).  Even after finding out that 1 gram of tea is used for three or four brewings I didn’t buy any.  We did buy tea, just not at that price. 

Heather and Niroshan among hand-pruned tea plants

 

Oriental Magpie-robin

Our destination in the Hill Country is Nuwara Eliya where we’re staying in the St Andrews Hotel, quite grand and a little tired like a Grande Dame fading graciously.  Inside was a display of old guest registrations and a locked billiard room so it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see M. Poirot wandering around trying to herd guests into the Library.  To book in we had to fill in a four page document, one of which was Covid related and had spaces for our temperature taken at every meal we went to in their restaurant.  You can probably guess how many times that happened (clue - one is too many).  The four pages were filled in while sitting in leather sofas and sipping not at a cool drink but a glass of the most delicious warm soup.  It was warm because Sri Lankans don’t seem to serve food hot at all, spicy or very spicy yes but never at a high temperature. 

inside St Andrews Hotel

 

Les and The Green Man

Nuwara Eliya is has a reasonably temperate climate for the tropics because of the altitude (6,000 ft) and was a destination for colonials wanting a break.  There’s even still one hotel/private members club in the town that has a jacket and tie dress code.  Regrettably, Heather had forgotten her tie.

 

 

a little before dawn approaching Horton Plains

a typically useful sign

 It was from Nuwara Eliya that we had our first early   morning start, up at 4.15 to drive to Horton Plains,   aiming to arrive at sunup.  It was a great time to be   there with wisps of mist over open countryside   burning off as the sun rose.  The landscape was a   high plain, relatively flat with a mixture of woods and   areas of open grassland with a fair sprinkling of   shrubs.  A bit New Foresty really at a superficial   glance.  Bags were searched on the way in because   plastic bags, cigarettes and matches are banned.  We   were walking a 9 km circuit past the top of World’s   End, a 2,700 feet precipice with spectacular views and   which certainly would be an end if you fell off   it.  Distant views stretch across to a large plain, while   closer in across the valley we could see tree covered   steep hills even higher than we were.  The main   reason for arriving so early was that while the sun   burnt off early mist, by mid-morning it was hot enough to produce large amounts of fog which obscured any views and as we got back to our van it was rolling across the landscape towards us.   One Scottish officer in the Colonial Service bragged that he’d shot over 1400 elephants in this area.  Today there are no elephants at Horton Plains.

 

Macaque monkeys

a bit like The New Forest ?

World's End

I’d misplaced my hat here at St Andrews, searched everywhere with no luck and reported it missing.  The hotel checked, even going back to the cottage we’d looked at and dismissed.  Then, a knock on our door.  Another guest had found it in a wardrobe and handed it in.  My guess is that in the excitement of checking in and under the influence of warm soup, I’d left it by the leather sofa and it had been collected by the staff with another guest’s luggage after they’d checked in. 

 

Before we left Nuwara Eliya we did have a walk into town but from what we saw it was indistinguishable from most of the towns and villages we’d seen so far in Sri Lanka.  Incidentally, wearing of masks is compulsory here inside and outside.  Even in the countryside most locals have a mask on.  Just as we entered town a woman on a motor scooter went past with her helmet and mask on.  Standing in
front of her was a very young girl wearing a mask but with no head protection so it wasn’t what I’d call a good risk assessment.  The town did have a very old store called Cargills and it’s easy to imagine shop assistants with aprons standing behind polished wooden counters ready to find perhaps four candles or some plugs.  Now it’s a supermarket but no-one has bothered to do anything about the half dozen or so stairs leading up from the pavement. Customers just bump their trollies down the steps.

Cargill's Stores

no comment !

Now for our first real change of transport we’re catching the train to Ella, one of the scenic routes mentioned in all the guide books.  The 65km (40 mile) journey takes two to three hours so not exactly the Ella Express.   Our 2^nd class ticket was booked for 1,000 Rupees (£3.64 for both of us) and Niroshan insisted on helping the elderly couple to the platform and he’ll meet us at the other end.   The train was full of tourists and every window and door was open.  Passengers were sitting in the doorways dangling their feet over the edge just like you see in every travel documentary.  A variety of young women were hanging out of the doors trying to look alluring, one arm and leg held out into thin air with their boyfriends taking the Instagram shots.  The odd branch wizzed past and each time the instagrammers retreated into the train.  So I set a fast speed on the camera and waited for my own Instagram shot but it never came along. 

 

Nuwara Eliya station notice board

a rare piece of double track

the cab of the 'Ella Express'.   
the circular object on the control table
is the Token which is handed to the driver
of a train to signify he/she has priority on
a single track section

covers 17 Jan 22 - 19 Jan 22