DAY 2- 5th July 2007 Nuwara Eliya “little England of Sri Lanka” 
We awoke to a chilly crisp morn, with just a hint of the sun gleaming across the tea estate that spread outside our windows. Must be dreaming... But it was real, the beautiful green and mists for miles across... A welcome contrast to my daily mornings that overlooked into my neighbour’s kitchen.
A morning walk in this idyllic little estate was simply charming. The roaring winds, the crystal clear streams , the floating mists. We are so wound up in our clockwork schedules;“We have no time to stand and stare” , and here I was in utmost peace , in surroundings where you could hear a bird chirp, as the dawn cast its glow over a limpid morning.
Ceylon tea is one of the best quality teas around the world and is harvested by hand to guarantee that the leaf is whole, undamaged, and that only the top two leaves and a bud are picked. On every quality tea estate there are hundreds or even thousands of tea harvesters, known as pluckers. In Africa, the tea pluckers are almost always male -- but in India, China and Sri Lanka they are always women.
Well, and we did get a few of them to pose for us, shy as they were , they obliged much to my delight. Wicker baskets and a few of them with umbrellas all set for a long day’s work.
We set out to Lake Gregory, which marks the beginning of the Nuwara Eliya town. A windy morning, a four wheel drive, oldies on the radio, and some lovely company made it a perfect drive down. “Little England truly lives up to its name”. A numerous tea factories dot the landscape of the town and we stopped at the Lakeboville Tea Centre. Here the tea is dried, processed and packaged.
Tree lined avenues and an old fashioned post office in the red and white greet you in the town area. Unlike the rolling mountains of velvety green, the downtown area has the regular shopping centers and hotels and souvenir shops. We stopped at a pastry shop for some short eats, quite unlike the Indian stores. An assortment of spicy cutlets, bittara rotti( egg filled yummy roti),and cold pastry. Simply satisfying!
We awoke to a chilly crisp morn, with just a hint of the sun gleaming across the tea estate that spread outside our windows. Must be dreaming... But it was real, the beautiful green and mists for miles across... A welcome contrast to my daily mornings that overlooked into my neighbour’s kitchen.
A morning walk in this idyllic little estate was simply charming. The roaring winds, the crystal clear streams , the floating mists. We are so wound up in our clockwork schedules;“We have no time to stand and stare” , and here I was in utmost peace , in surroundings where you could hear a bird chirp, as the dawn cast its glow over a limpid morning.
Ceylon tea is one of the best quality teas around the world and is harvested by hand to guarantee that the leaf is whole, undamaged, and that only the top two leaves and a bud are picked. On every quality tea estate there are hundreds or even thousands of tea harvesters, known as pluckers. In Africa, the tea pluckers are almost always male -- but in India, China and Sri Lanka they are always women.
Well, and we did get a few of them to pose for us, shy as they were , they obliged much to my delight. Wicker baskets and a few of them with umbrellas all set for a long day’s work.
We set out to Lake Gregory, which marks the beginning of the Nuwara Eliya town. A windy morning, a four wheel drive, oldies on the radio, and some lovely company made it a perfect drive down. “Little England truly lives up to its name”. A numerous tea factories dot the landscape of the town and we stopped at the Lakeboville Tea Centre. Here the tea is dried, processed and packaged.
Tree lined avenues and an old fashioned post office in the red and white greet you in the town area. Unlike the rolling mountains of velvety green, the downtown area has the regular shopping centers and hotels and souvenir shops. We stopped at a pastry shop for some short eats, quite unlike the Indian stores. An assortment of spicy cutlets, bittara rotti( egg filled yummy roti),and cold pastry. Simply satisfying!
1 comment:
Beautiful post!
Now stop praising ceylonese tea so much. Btw, did you bring some tea back? At these tea plantation depots and stores they sell some variety of flavours... pretty cool.
now are ya planning of turning this into a 800 episode series for a 3 day trip? :)) chillax omlette du fromage sandwich!
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