Blogs from Nuwara Eliya, Central Province, Sri Lanka, Asia - page 4

Today we left Kandy and drove the twisty, turning roads up the mountains 70 kms to Nuwara Eliya. It took us over 3 hours to make the trip. You don't get any where too quickly in this country. On route, we stopped to walk in the tea fields and take a tour of a tea processing plant. It was all every interesting. The scenery is amazing! Rolling hillsides covered in tea plants. A tea plucker picks about 20 kg of tea leaves in 9 hours and gets paid Rs 550 (less $5). It's incredible how quickly the vegetation and temperature changes. Leaving Kandy, the temperature was 23c. Arriving in Nurwara Eliya the temperature is 10c (damp and overcast)....I am freezing. Had to bundle up and put on long pants. We are staying at the St. Andrew ... read more

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 ... read more

After breakfast we set off from Kandy to visit an elephant orphanage but our driver guide, Jaywa advised us to visit the Millennium Elephant Foundation (MEF) instead which he thought was better and less ‘touristy’. The MEF charity has eleven elephants rescued from situations such as ill treatment from mahout owners or retirement from working in local temples. The MEF charity was founded in August 1999 with the assistance of the World Society for the Protection of Animals and has been working continually to improve the care, protection and treatment of elephants in Sri Lanka by providing a place of sanctuary and medical services and facilities for the country’s fast dwindling elephant population. Since the MEF’s inception, care and sanctuary has been provided to more than 60 elephants. The day we visited the foundation had elephants ... read more

12.7. Bambeille ja lehmille pääsy sallittu Joo, ei se illallinen mikään mindblowing ollut, mutta kyllä se ehdottomasti hyvää oli. Tuli kyllä syötyä taas ihan liikaa kun jo kylläisenä huomattiin pihalla oleva grilli, josta sai isoja katkarapuja ja jotain kalaa. Ei siis vain voinut jättää väliin... Seuraavana aamuna meidät haettiin hotellista 6.30 ja vaihdettiin toiselle rannalle sukeltamaan. Oli aivan mielettömän kiva pieni hippityylinen majoituspaikka Trincon kaupungin lähellä lahden poukamassa. Lähdettin sukeltamaan ja onneksi oli toinen dive master tällä kertaa mukana. Ihan käsittämätön kohlaaja se tän alueen sukellusgurun poika, jota itseään ei homma selkeästi kiinnosta tippaakaan. Valitin rikkinäisestä vararegusta ennen sukellusta ja vastasi tyyliin "no worry". Onneksi toinenkin tyyppi oli mukana ja regu vaihdettiin. Tämä toimi kuin ihan oikea divemaster ja piti meistä hyvää... read more

Sri Lanka is famous for it's tea and today we are off to visit the plantations in the mountains near the town of Nuwera Eliya, but before that we stopped by a place in Kandy where we can experience the ayurvedic massage, this little place that Mr. T was recommended was difficult to find, we went up and down hilly streets and asking every passers by where the hell it is, we found it and for 1 hour costs 1,500 rupees, roughly $15, I was looking forward to a good massage I have been sore from walking a lot the last couple days but all I got was a disappointment, the woman rub oil on me and just rubbed it on my muscles until it creates friction and you feel warm sensation, it was really crappy, ... read more