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We had a bit of a lie in this morning and a relatively quiet day, which actually was quite welcome... We hit the road
at 8:30 to head to Nuwara Eliya and stopped off at a couple of places on the way. Firstly, a suspension bridge on the way out of Kandy. There are some fantastic views from the bridge and it's a good photo opportunity. There are only 6 people allowed on the bridge at any one time and man, it's bouncy!
Next quick stop off was the Kandy War cemetery, it's only quite small, but very well kept and peaceful. After a wander round and a few photos we set back off on the road again. Part way on our journey, our guide told us to check our legs for leeches - I was a bit confused but checked anyway. Next thing, he stopped the minibus and jumped off. He then appeared at the window, leech in hand... Apparently it'd attached itself to his leg! Thank God it was him and not me ;-)We continued down the road after leechgate and took in the scenery, Nuwara Eliya is much higher into the hills than Kandy and we began to feel
the cooler weather as we climbed the hills. There are some lovely views and photo opportunities on the way, we stopped a couple of times to take a few snaps of waterfalls and views of the valleys. We had a quick stop at Rothschild Tea Estate where we were shown the tea plants and a brief explanation of which part of the bush makes which tea. Randomly a guy with THE freakiest eyes I've ever seen appeared and wanted to do a quick magic performance for us. I'm not sure any of us were keen if I'm honest, but, we let him carry on. He did the usual disappearing coin (which went down the back of his shirt), daft things with ping pong balls and finally finishing by swallowing a sword - I've seen it so many times on TV but up close it made me feel a bit ill! As we got back in the mini bus there were a couple of guys with a cobra and python, all a bit cruel in my opinion.Next stop was the Glen Lock tea factory, we were given a half hour or so guide around the factory where they explained the process
of making tea from the fresh leaves and had an opportunity to try a couple of the different teas they make. Both were very refreshing. I quite enjoyed this stop off, it was really quite interesting. A lot of the processing you would think will be done by machine is done manually and it looked like pretty physical work in parts.We continued on to Nuwara Eliya, this place is apparently known as Little England and you can really see why. A British explorer Samuel Baker (he discovered the source of the Nile) spent some time here in the 1840s and was determined to make it a regular settlement, he imported Hereford cows, planted strawberries, carrots and leeks which thrived in the climate here. There is plenty of evidence of old English style buildings in the area. We visited the Hill Club, a half stone, half timber building overlooking the town centre. Inside is decorated with traditional British bits and bobs, stag heads on the wall, old wooden desks, I even found a cabinet containing old encyclopaedia Britanica books. Attached to this club are some beautiful gardens, I had a wander round and as always took a few snaps...Our next hotel
was only nextdoor so we headed there to check in and for welcome drinks (more tea). The Grand Hotel is the former residence of Sir Edward Barnes, Governor of Sri Lanka from 1830-1850 it's a sizeable place and I totally understand its name. As you walk in the main entrance, and throughout the rest of the hotel, the walls are panelled with wood. There is a lounge, ballroom and even a log fire. The rooms are nicely decorated and spacious enough. There is a Victorian style fireplace in the room. Within 15 minutes of being at the hotel, I'd been invited back to Sri Lanka to stay in the Head Porters house, he gave me his address, phone number and email address on a pre-prepared bit of paper! We had the afternoon to ourselves so I walked into town from the hotel, it probably took around 15 minutes, I didn't stay there for long. There are a few rows of shops selling all manner of things, a market which I swerved for fear of being harassed... Seems to happen a lot as a female on my own. Having said that, I got away lightly whilst I was walking around aside
from being asked if I wanted a taxi several times I was left well alone. I wasn't too impressed to be honest, it was all a bit dirty and smelly, though, I found out when i got back if I'd have continued down the street a bit further I would have come to some of the older historic buildings, should've checked it out before I walked down I guess. I walked back to the hotel and sampled a bit more tea overlooking the gorgeous gardens.Tour people update: mental guy has mostly been on his best behaviour today after being a complete pain in the backside yesterday. He's still being rude... Maybe I'm just getting used to it. He was made up at the tea factory as there was a sign asking visitors not to tip individuals as they prefer to collect any tips and share it equally... He took it as not leaving a tip! He kicked off a bit last night and this morning as we weren't setting off until
8:30 and he felt he wasn't getting his monies worth. He's a bit happier coming here as it's cooler so he won't need aircon and in the previous hotels it's kept him awake, believe me when I say he must have moaned about this AT LEAST 10 times daily! I'm sure he will have found so etching else to moan about by the time we get to
dinner this evening...On to Yala National Park tomorrow, I'm really quite excited :-)
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Got it wrong...
I was so sure that mental guy would be a socks and sandals kind of guy! :)