Blogs from Bandarawela, Uva Province, Sri Lanka, Asia
Withering Heights - Vanillas in the Mist [Part III of III]
Published: July 10th 2010Asia » Sri Lanka » Uva Province » Bandarawela
June 23rd 2010
just my cup of tea finally. I got served green tea. as this country seems to live on black. it was during the pause of one of my field visits for work. where, though conducted in sinhala and tamil, I understood enough of the meetings to be ueberimpressed at the real, live workings of Fairtrade. after the meetings, I tried my best through a translator to express to the tea estate employees my humbled self... . . . but how could I possibly being to explain my respect? . . . as I walk through my my air-con alnatura supermarkt, humming along with the radio and selecting my weekly earning's worth of fairtrade products...doing the best I can do.... . . . when these people were doing more than their best? not only do they pluck, ... read more
Withering Heights - Vanillas in the Mist [Part II of III]
Published: July 8th 2010Asia » Sri Lanka » Uva Province » Bandarawela
June 21st 2010
the drive to the tea estate manager's office I found manageable. my pineapple floated happily on its sea of stomach acids. so, with an internal sigh of relief, when we reached the office, i got out of the van, thinking we'd walk around all his acres and acres nestled into the hillside. rock squirrels would frolick at our feet. birds would chirp. the sun would magically break through the clouds. wrong. we greeted the manager, then hopped back into the van to continue our ascent. up. straight up. into more mist. more rain. for another 45 minutes. you know those hikes when you think you see the top of the mountain...but are still another 2 hours? or who knows how long...(Ruediger!) winding through villages, tea plucker houses (looking more refurbished then my berlin flat), pristine landscape ... read more
Withering Heights - Vanillas in the Mist [Part I of III]
Published: July 2nd 2010Asia » Sri Lanka » Uva Province » Bandarawela
June 20th 2010
I guess I'll have to start drinking tea. Out of absolute respect for the process, the pluckers, the packagers, the plunderers. For all the mixed emotions (and knowledge) I have about The Brits, the tea hills they left in a shadow of forest warrant a small round of applause. And the feats of organic, biodynamic and fairtrade agriculture I saw today, all managed by 'Lankan locals, well, that deserves a standing ovation and maybe a few million dollars from the World Bank as a gigantic thank you for doing good to this planet and its animals (humans included). I'm glad I read up a bit in my Rough Guide before coming (that is, 1 hour before landing), so I had a clue as to the tea process...since that pesky little chemical caffeine, and moffeine, keep me ... read more
My Buddha Belly [Part I of II]
Published: June 21st 2010Asia » Sri Lanka » Uva Province » Bandarawela
June 10th 2010
...and I ain't referring to some devout mediation regiment i've taken up here in the land of Buddha's footprint, Buddha's tooth and who knows what other bodily claims this island likes to make. ...and I ain't talking about dharma, his brother karma or his other brother karma. i'm talking 5 extra pounds in 5 short days. i'm talking . . . vegetarian paradise. and s-p-i-c-y!...a thousand andales andales from little Mr Gonzalez dancing in my eyelids... the colors. the peppers. the names. the peppers. the dishes to pass. the peppers. the very british desserts (one digestible aspect of colonialism, the brits have made the dessert table unavoidable) the peppers. even simple english results in waiters assuring me, yes madame no meat no fish yes madame i'm not a freak here. at least not culinarily speaking. and ... read more
March 9th 2009
Sri Lanka keep offering me only gifts directly sent by the Lord himself. In the past it had been described to me as a lot of hassle, persistence and intrusiveness. In hindsight I must confess that I can’t disagree more with such description. Sinhalese people seemed to me wonderfully generous men, not at all intrusive, less than less aggressive. Climbed down from the Adam’s Peak, I wanted to go to Kandy. I’d even bought the ticket, but while I was at Hatton station taking some pics of a train that was about to leave towards east, an old man with a prophetic white beard and a perfectly round shaped belly approached me and we start chatting. He was the engine driver. I told him about my passion for trains and that once in my childhood my ... read more
Bandarawela, Hill country, Sri Lanka
Published: September 9th 2008Asia » Sri Lanka » Uva Province » Bandarawela
December 4th 2005
Sunday 4th December 2005 Peter and I found ourselves a seat and deposited our bags at the front almost on top of an alcove housing a huge and ancient gear shaft. Apparently this is where the large luggage sits to save space for more seats. It wasn’t too packed to start with though and I had a double seat to myself. I am looking forward to the scenery I am going to see on this journey and also an opportunity to review my trip so far. We passed by little villages and groups of white and blue uniformed school children on their way to lessons. The bus began to rise steadily higher. Sinharaja is referred to as low country but we were now in mid country heading eventually to Bandarawela, which is in the lower part ... read more
