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After what seemed like a whistlestop tour of Kandy, today we're on the move again. We'd asked for breakfast at 7 - they served it on our verandah. Have I mentioned our verandah - it's huge! Finally got to try something vaguely Sri Lankan to eat - Egg Hoppers and onion sambol. Preceded by a tropical fruit platter. Oh, and the fruit juice they served was pineapple and coriander - great combination. Roy had cornflakes, followed by pancakes with pineapple compote. The egg hoppers were good - I'd been looking forward to trying them, I like eggs a lot and these were tasty.
Seelan picked us up at 7.30am - today he's taking us to Perideniya Junction to pick up a train to Hatton. He had a fairly stressful drive across rush hour Kandy to get us there on time for the 8.20am train. He didn't seem to be stressing though - generally the trains don't run exactly to time and so he didn't ever seem to think we wouldn't make it. We pulled up to the station at about 17 minutes past 8. We sauntered on to the platform only to find that we needed to move to a
Peradeniya Junction, nr Kandy
Waiting for the train to Hattonnew platform they've built. After a quick look in the signal room (they're still using the original 1867 equipment installed by the British) we moved over a bridge and made our way to the right place. Pretty soon the train appeared. Seelan took us into our carriage - the Observation Saloon. I felt like a school kid being taken right to where they need to be! We had the best seats on the train - right at the front, or should I say back. The observation carriage travels backwards at the end of the train, and has a wrap around window for viewing. After we'd politely shifted the 3 Sri Lankan lads who'd pinched our seats (they didn't put up any resistance) we settled in for the 2 and a half hour journey.
It was a fantastic trip - stunning views all the way and we just constantly climbed uphill, out of Kandy and eventually in to the "up country" region of the tea plantations. It was fascinating to see how many people walk on the railway lines here. As soon as our train had passed, people (men, women, children) just seemed to materialise out of the bushes and
back on to the tracks!
Seelan beat us to Hatton and we met him there. I caused a furore by asking the ticket collector if I could keep my ticket. "What for?" He barked at me. "I just like to keep things like that" I answered. Much tutting and carrying on ensued, with him scribbling all over it so that I couldn't using it again. He then had to write down our ticket numbers on some paper. I felt a bit guilty by then.
We headed off toward Tea Trails, Castlereagh Bungalow. After a few wrong turns (virtually every property in this area is called Castlereagh something or other so Seelan kept driving into the wrong places) we finally arrived at midday. Wow - what a place. Mayhander is our butler here and is such a nice guy. We're welcomed with cold drinks and towels and then the resident chef comes out to chat to us about our preferences for lunch. We're in a suite with a private garden overlooking the (Castlereagh) Reservoir - it's lovely.
Tea Trails is a collection of four tea planter's bungalows which are now converted into top quality accomodation. At 1pm we
Leaving Kandy
People walking on the railway line went for lunch on the terrace. We had a very nice tuna nicoise salad and strawberry tart with ice cream. Washed down with a glass of chardonnay. Excellent!
We lazed by the pool but didn't get in as there seemed to be a storm brewing over head. At about 4.30 we went for a walk up through the tea fields to a tea factory. The setting here is incredible - multiple shades of green surround us and down below is the stunning blue of the reservoir. Everywhere you look, it is just so visually stunning. Distant hills come in and out of view depending on the rain clouds. I do love it here.
We arrived back at the bungalow in time for high tea. We were given a menu of tea and picked from that. We also had cheese and tomato sandwich, honey cake, scones with cream and jam and lemon tart. Oh and Battenberg cake. Erm - what time is dinner?? The strawberry jam here is exceptional - home made and very fresh. We chilled out and watched a variety of birds flitting around the gardens, then headed back to our room to get ready for dinner.
Dinner:
Canapes - veg spring rolls with soy dip. Drinks.
Smoked salmon quiche (very tiny), bread, salad
Leek and Potato soup
Tea infused roast chicken with tea sauce, veg, dauphinoise potato
Pannacotta, cranberry sauce, fruit salad, banana compote
White wine. Moroccan mint tea.
Arrack as a nightcap.
It was all faultless. Sounds like a lot but I promise you that the portions were tiny.
And so to bed......
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