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Published: January 9th 2006
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Monkeys
They are everywhere, and considered a pest! They steal your stuff and instead of scarecrows, they actually have scaremonkeys here. I can't express what an honor and a privilege it has been to participate in this program. Not only are we here in one of the most beautiful and naturally diverse areas on the planet, but our hosts and lecturers have been the top well known experts of each field we study.
On Friday, we had an excellent lecture on Theravada Buddhism. It was disappointing that the lecture was so short. Afterward, we had a lecture on Botany by the Director of the Botanical Garden and then he personally took us on a tour of the Garden. It was beautiful and comforting to know that efforts are being made to conserve the endemic plants here. There was an orchid house at the garden, and he gave me some tips on caring for orchids. I got some nice pictures of these huge fruit bats that were flying around. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery at the garden and I left the charger at the Bungalow in the University.
Friday night, we took a bus ride to Nuwara Eliya (pronounced Nureliya). What is normally a 3 hour drive, was about 4-5 hours because of all the road construction and traffic,
along a very windy one lane road up the mountain. Along the way, we passed by many tea plantations and farms. It is unbelievable that these women who work the tea plantations climb these steep hills (practically 90 degree) to pick tea and get paid pennies a day. I have a totally new respect for tea now. We will stop by a plantation on the way back and I will pick up some tea for people. Sri Lanka is known for their tea and it supposed to be the best you can get. Their famous tea is called BOP (Black Orange Pekoe). Orange refers to the color of the tea, not the flavor. Also, the skyline and the landscape was just gorgeous. I can't even describe it in words. We spent the night in Nuwara Eliya and head to Horton Plains in the morning.
On the way to Horton Plains, we stopped by Sitha's Kovul. It is the legendary place in Hindu legend of the Ramayana where Sitha was kidnapped and a great battle took place there.
I have to try to write about Horton Plains from memory because all of my notes are soaking wet. (As we
Cool tree
When I saw this tree, I wanted to climb it and use it as my playground were hiking through it started to rain and we were basically soaked within 5 minutes). Horton Plains is a unique ecosystem with different climatic zones (rainforest, montane forest, grasslands, etc) within the Plains itself, and is host to many endemic plants and animals. It is also the location of what they call World's End. I didn't really get the actual reason why they call it that, but when we reached it I saw why. It was aproximately 2 hour hike to reach World's End. Because of the location and the fact that it is about 3000 feet up, World's End is the highest suicide location in this Country. There was a story about two lovers who were not allowed to see eachother, and they went there to leap so that they can be together in the next lifetime. It gave me a mystical feeling while I was up there. It is so high up in elevation and the fog is so thick there that you can not see down. It just reminded me of that scene at the end of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, where she leapt into the clouds. That's what it looked like. We continued to hike back
Bats
There were hundreds of bats all around us! Can you see them? and we stopped by Baker's Falls. Beautiful water falling on black color rock. On the way back, we encountered these mud pits. It was difficult to determine the depth of the mud around here, and one by one we each stepped in an area deeper than we thought and our legs were drenched in mud up past our ankles. Up to this point, we did so good about not getting dirty! Then it just starting pouring rain out of nowhere and within 5 minutes all of us looked like we just jumped in a pool of water with our clothes on and muddy legs. We got back to the entrance and had some very good samosas and cheap (80 cents for 2 samosas and a soda). Horton Plains was lovely and I was very disappointed to be without a camera. I was also looking out for leopards, but I didn't see any =( One thing I would also recommend is boots, but we didn't encounter any leeches here (too high up in elevation).
Today we are going to the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. Again, the director the the Orphanage is giving us a personal tour. I feel so spoiled!
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Dana
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How absolutely fabulous! Thanks so much for the mental picture of these exotic locations (wish I were there). Will keep in mind for future travels. I shall savor BOP with a new found respect and appreciation (and now I know why it never tasted like orange). Love the mystical quality of Horton Plains. Gotta google. And, now I'm definitely signing up for an travel-class.