AYUBOWAN SRILANKA.
DAY 1- 4th of July 2007 Colombo J’arrive..
The dawn of the 4th of July heralded my long awaited great escape.. Away from the technological hell.. to a land of the sun, seas, wild lush hills of cool grass… the thought was invigorating enough , to brighten up the cloudy morn in Bangalore as I took off…
The first sight of the shores of the land that has it all…. It was simply beautiful, the white frothy waves licking the sandy green topped shores.. Coconut plantations and red roofs… so quaint… well this is what love at first sight is called I guess…
It’s amazing, in an hour ,how you can be transported across shores to a land so different yet so similar to your own… Colombo, my first experience of the city was a hot and humid afternoon, an airport bustling with life and sun browned people on the beaches…
I awaited Neo (a.k.a Tsunami(li’l one)), was a little lost among the crowd but soon spotted her… rather she spotted me looking around for a familiar face. One hour drive to Wattala , her home gave me my first views of Colombo, Growing skyscrapers , malls and restaurants but you had the quintessential coconut palms and the red brick British buildings to give your eyes a glimpse of green and the old world, in a city that was coming of age in the 21st century.
Ravenous with hunger, we were welcomed by Neo’s mother to a typical home cooked Srilankan meal of stew, sambol, dal, rice and lime cordial. We set off almost immediately on a 6 hour long drive to the hill country my first destination.
We were headed to Nuwara Eliya ( City of Light, not Blinding though) . From what I had heard it was set in the heart of the tea country, complete with the English countryside which the British had created way back in the colonial times.. the drive uphill was fascinating enough with the Rambutan and Mangosteen stalls spotted along the Avisawella road.Moi was the typical tourist , stopping at wayside places to get a feel of the country, and this coupled with my love for photography was quite an experience captured not just in my mind’s eye , but for anyone who might read this travelogue..
We stopped halfway uphill at Hatton town for an evening snack. The cool air was refreshing, an absolute change from Colombo, just a 100 kms behind. One of the most amazing things to be experienced in SriLanka is the vivid changes in landscape and weather as you traverse the country. Distinct transformations that might leave you surprised if you had your 40 winks en route.
The night stop was at Talawakelle, home to many tea estates and our home for the night was the St. Coombs estate. A misty glen driveway led us to the Green gabled estate bungalow. Picturesque, is what came to my mind, a warm house carpeted, complete with a fireplace and rustic bamboo furniture was our haven. After a sumptuous meal we retired for the night, tired but refreshed by the misty mountain air. Neo as usual had to play upon my imagination with ghosts of the colonial past that haunt the estate, despite the fears of which I felt into a peaceful slumber in moments.
DAY 1- 4th of July 2007 Colombo J’arrive..
The dawn of the 4th of July heralded my long awaited great escape.. Away from the technological hell.. to a land of the sun, seas, wild lush hills of cool grass… the thought was invigorating enough , to brighten up the cloudy morn in Bangalore as I took off…
The first sight of the shores of the land that has it all…. It was simply beautiful, the white frothy waves licking the sandy green topped shores.. Coconut plantations and red roofs… so quaint… well this is what love at first sight is called I guess…
It’s amazing, in an hour ,how you can be transported across shores to a land so different yet so similar to your own… Colombo, my first experience of the city was a hot and humid afternoon, an airport bustling with life and sun browned people on the beaches…
I awaited Neo (a.k.a Tsunami(li’l one)), was a little lost among the crowd but soon spotted her… rather she spotted me looking around for a familiar face. One hour drive to Wattala , her home gave me my first views of Colombo, Growing skyscrapers , malls and restaurants but you had the quintessential coconut palms and the red brick British buildings to give your eyes a glimpse of green and the old world, in a city that was coming of age in the 21st century.
Ravenous with hunger, we were welcomed by Neo’s mother to a typical home cooked Srilankan meal of stew, sambol, dal, rice and lime cordial. We set off almost immediately on a 6 hour long drive to the hill country my first destination.
We were headed to Nuwara Eliya ( City of Light, not Blinding though) . From what I had heard it was set in the heart of the tea country, complete with the English countryside which the British had created way back in the colonial times.. the drive uphill was fascinating enough with the Rambutan and Mangosteen stalls spotted along the Avisawella road.Moi was the typical tourist , stopping at wayside places to get a feel of the country, and this coupled with my love for photography was quite an experience captured not just in my mind’s eye , but for anyone who might read this travelogue..
We stopped halfway uphill at Hatton town for an evening snack. The cool air was refreshing, an absolute change from Colombo, just a 100 kms behind. One of the most amazing things to be experienced in SriLanka is the vivid changes in landscape and weather as you traverse the country. Distinct transformations that might leave you surprised if you had your 40 winks en route.
The night stop was at Talawakelle, home to many tea estates and our home for the night was the St. Coombs estate. A misty glen driveway led us to the Green gabled estate bungalow. Picturesque, is what came to my mind, a warm house carpeted, complete with a fireplace and rustic bamboo furniture was our haven. After a sumptuous meal we retired for the night, tired but refreshed by the misty mountain air. Neo as usual had to play upon my imagination with ghosts of the colonial past that haunt the estate, despite the fears of which I felt into a peaceful slumber in moments.
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