Hill Country; part 1

Hill Country; part 1

After nearly three months based in Negombo we decided it was time to move on. We needed to move around a bit more to get access to areas of the country useful for Britta’s research, and also we felt like there were other places we’d like to spend more time in. So, when my parents came out to Sri Lanka to see us we moved out of the house we’d rented and did some touristy stuff with them… We hired a van, and a driver called Sam. First we went to Galle (I’ll do a separate post about that) followed by a painfully slow eight hour drive up to the hills, and the town of Nuwara Eliya.

Nuwara Eliya is just over 1800 metres above sea level, and is overlooked by Sri Lanka’s tallest mountain. It’s at the heart of tea country and is surrounded, as far as the eye can see by tea estates. Because of it’s altitude it has a warm temperate climate, which makes it good for growing tea, and the whole region, it seems, is given over to it’s production. The climate is also good for growing European vegetables like lettuce, potatoes, carrots, and especially strawberries.  Many of the people in this region of Sri Lanka are employed in either the tea industry, or growing vegetables.

Also known as ‘little England’ Nuwara Eliya was the summer residence of the former governor of Ceylon, and is dotted with former colonial houses and bungalows all pleasantly situated around lake Gregory. There is a park called Victoria park which is packed with all kinds of tropical and European flowers, as well as fountains, and a small railway line for the kids. Walking around the town you can see lots of old colonial buildings which just look like they’ve been picked up from an English town and dumped in Sri Lanka, such as the post office, and Hatton National Bank. Some are looking a bit shabby (an old 1930’s cinema (‘the new Tivoli’) and Cargill’s ‘food city’ (supermarket). There are also a few shops, (such as Cargill’s) that seem to have retained most of the original fixtures and fittings from the colonial period (such as beautiful wood and glass cabinets and shelving (see my post on Cargill’s in Colombo) but which are now filled with more modern and Sri Lankan wares, samosa’s and rotti’s. Clogard (toothpaste) etc…

Not hard to see why this part of Sri Lanka is called 'Little England'. 

Victoria Park, full of European and tropical plants and flowers, such as the giant fern on the left

As we were with my parents at this point, we’d booked into the ‘Grand Hotel’. This was apparently where the Governor held various social functions and has a large garden and ballroom. Although definitely grand, and a bit more expensive than we’d normally pay it seemed like a bit of a treat. Naturally we had to have some tea on the lawn, but were a bit disappointed that they didn’t seem to know what a cream tea was, or have a croquet set! There were other places we could have stayed that would have been far nicer and a good deal more expensive, but all in all, I can’t complain. Apart from the lack of cream tea. Or croquet.

The Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya. 

The Grand Hotel, view from one of the gardens

We did seem to have timed this badly for my parents visit though as on our second day there (which was also my parents last day) the Buddhist and Hindu festival of Vesak began, which meant that things like tea factories were closed (which my parents wanted to look at) and also we weren’t allowed to buy any booze. Fortunately my dad had half a bottle of gin in his suitcase (that makes him sound like an old soak… he’s not, honestly) which we were allowed to drink in our rooms.

Time flew by with my folks and they seemed to enjoy being here, sharing this place with them was great. They had to return to Colombo for their flight home the day after Vesak began (which by the way goes on for about a week, and feels like a lot longer because the Buddhist monks keep chanting all night, and you can’t buy any alchohol) so we put them in the van with our driver Sam and sent them on their way, feeling sorry to see them go and hoping that it wouldn’t take them eight hours to get there! Sam, by the way is almost definitely the slowest driver in the world, and we were overtaken by buses and lorries, going up hill, on the way there!

On my previous trip to Nuwara Eliya in 2000, I visited a school for kids with disabilities and learning difficulties. So this time round I had arranged to go and do some work there for about a week. We had a few days to kill before that started so we decided to explore ‘hill country’ a bit. For one reason or another we went to a town called Hatton, and stayed in a hotel which was at the other end of the spectrum from The Grand, as far as Grandness goes, with two cockroaches and a rat (in our room at any rate).

Hatton isn’t really on the tourist route, but was great for two reasons; the Vesak festivities, and the train ride through the mountains back to Nuwara Eliya, which is probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a train. We opted to travel second class. We thought we may have made an error of judgement when we saw the packed train pulling into the station, and the other western tourists on the platform leisurely seating themselves in the ‘first class observation coach’. We clambered aboard the 2^nd class coach to find there was standing room only (not sure what 3^rd class is like) and the only place left to stand was by the toilets. Initially we both lost our sense of humour about this…a two hour train ride, standing up, next to the toilet, with all our bags, and Noah of course, wasn’t looking all that promising. But, after the first twenty minutes or so a few people got off and there was actually room to sit (on the floor, by the toilets). The great thing about trains in Sri Lanka is that they don’ t ever seem to shut their doors, and no one cares if you sit/stand in the open doorway looking out as the train is moving. So I spent the next hour and a half, all the way back to Nuwara Eliya hanging out of the doorway taking pictures…! Fantastic! Beats the Trans Pennine from Leeds to Manchester hands down I’m afraid! 

After leaving Nuwara Eliya for a couple of days, the Vesak festivities in Hatton were loud and colourful, with lots of  special 'vehicles' covered with ornate carvings, being pulled by rows of people up the main street to the Kovil (Hindu Temple). 

No idea what these instruments are called but they sound great...

Ace drumming too...

...and lots of crazy dancing.

Quite hard to dance with this kind of hat, but he was going for it anyway

Everyone was in party mood, despite the lack of alcohol in the shops...free fruit juice was flowing plentifully though.

The Kovil...centre of the festival. (Vesak is primarily Buddhist I think, but the Hindu's celebrate it too). 

One of the statues outside the Kovil...not sure who it is, the Hindu's have thousands of gods...

...though this one I know is called Ganesh. 

Train ride back to Nuwara Eliya from Hatton...through beautiful hilly tea country, leaning out the door. I love the fact that no one gives a toss about health and safety here! 

There's almost a party atmosphere on the train...and every time we went through a tunnel all the kids screamed at the tops of their voices, just for the fun of hearing it echoing down the tunnel...fairground style! 

Hatton to Nuwara Eliya is about 50 km's, and second class, for all three of us, was about a quid...Bargain!