Hello all,
when last we talked, Sara and I had faced down the great Adam’s Peak and were heading off to the central highlands to a town called Nuwara Eliya. Known for its lush tea fields and accompanying plantations, Nuwara Eliya would make a great place for us to rest and take in some great views. Also, it was a bit cooler, being up higher in elevation, to give us some relief from the sweltering heat!
The first afternoon, we checked into our very lovely villa, and were eager to get some rest after being up at 2am. Our room was possibly the nicest I’d stayed in to date, but unfortunately we ran into some trouble. Some locals were staying there also, and had brought about 8 children with them. Now, I’m ok with kids, however what I’m not ok with is paying $80 bucks a night to listen to screaming, noise and sounds I’d never thought I’d here in my life! I politely asked the owner to do something about it, but to no avail. We decided to just get up, and go explore a bit, taking in some delicious Indian food. Later that night, after the noise was still rampant, Sara laid down the law, and told them, the noise stops, or we leave. The noise stopped.
The next day, after regaining some patience from some sleep we headed out with our driver to explore. First stop was a tea plantation! A lovely girl gave us the tour of the place, and we saw how tea goes from a fresh plant all the way to tea bags. Much of the factory was still using machinery from 100 years ago which was quite impressive, although if a part breaks, I’m not sure who they call. Next up we drove to a famous waterfall and grabbed some great photos. However, it is dry season, and the falls are much less spectacular than in the wet season.
After our site seeing, we found our way back to the Grand Hotel where the good Indian food was and chilled in a cafe to catch up on some interneting. It proved to be entertaining. At one point a crew with a camera tripod were setting up outside our window. Sara asked “wtf are they doing?”, and I joked, “clearly taking photos of us”. Before we knew it, the manager of this resort was coming in, and asking Sara to sit up so her hair would stop blocking her face. They were doing photos to put in the resort pamphlets! Not, hey, do you mind modelling for us? Just more your hair, it’s in the way! Funny stuff. So next years, Nuwara Eliya, Grand Hotel promos may feature your’s truly.
That evening we wandered down to the night market to have a look at the bustle and commotion. Sara had been itching to see an authentic market, and managed to buy herself some quintessential Asia elephant pants. Once we had seen enough, we found a restaurant mostly for locals, where we had some pizza ( not so local ) and a bottle of wine. It was great to unwind.
We were set to finish our guided part of the tour the next day. Having a driver and site seeing is great, but sometimes you just want to wander on your own. The next stop is the fabulous Mirissa Beach, marking my full circle on the island.
See you in the waves!