Double click on the photos for an enlarged view.
4/01
After the excitement of the park today dawned as possibly a quieter day. As we ate breakfast a troupe of languors( monkey's with long tails) arrived through the tree canopy. They are increadabley boisterous and swing from branch to branch using the swaying limbs as pole vaults to the next branch. They paused for a moment to strip the tree near us of its green mangos. Like little kids that don't like what they are eating they take a few bites and then drop it from the tree and then proceed to pick the next one. Will headed out from the verandah to see what type off fruit it was an aftre scooping one up he had to scurry bacdk to cover as mangos began raining down around him. Suddenly like a pack of schoolboys that have just been yelled at the troupe bolted. We also had to shoo a couple of cows out of the hybiscus bushes as they had wondered into the yard from the street. The guest house owners here have a daughter who isn't married so we got twenty questions about the age and availability of Jake and Will. Vic and I stripped down the rear brakes on my bike which were entirely dry and hadn't been working all trip and possibly a long time before that.
The bike repaired we head out for a local ride through the back blocks of Tisse. Eventually we found our way to a beach. Suprisingly it was not built out by a hotel probabley owing to the fact that it was increadibly steep and the shore break sucked out to sea and then dumped on the sand. Not a place to go swimming. Backing on to the beach was a number of houses along a maze of small alleyways. The roar of nine bikes brought many people from their houses as there is virtually no through traffic here and definitely no tourist. The kids in particular were quick to ask for money and cigerettes.
"How are you going ?" asks Jake to one of the kids.
"I am walking" he replys, no doubt wondering why anyone would ask such a stupid question.
Since landing I have been amazed at the apparent mayhem, of the traffic. If it is bad for us imagine what it is like trying to learn to drive here. If you are lucky and your dad is a tuk tuk driver (notice I am now spelling that correctly) You attach a large L plate on the back and head out into the traffic. When I say large think maybe a 2 foot by 2 foot white sign with the letter L in red. If you go to the driving school, you get to drive a white mini van with all the other students aboard each taking turns. No single passenger P plates here, imagine stalling or stuffing up with all your class in the car watching.
Back at the guest house it is another massive feed, rice and curry and curd and syrup and then bed
05/01
We woke this morning and it was wet. The mother at the guest house pressed business cards in our hands and insisted that we visit again SOON! Not a good day for riding but undeterred we unpacked our rain coats, loaded up and headed out. Our destination today is a small mountain tourist village called Ella. High in the hills it is tea country and a little sleepier than its sister tourist destination Nuwara Eliya. Ella reminds me of Sapa Vietnam Where as Nuwara Eliya reminded me of Queenstown New Zealand. That said they both have a Definite falling down Sri Lankan Feel. Stopping at a waterfall on route we are accosted by rock sellers and perveyers of other scams. We are definitely on the tourist trail.
The weather remained threatening but clear until we were 5 Mins away from our destination. After unpacking at the Rock view Guest house we head down the street to find some rotti for lunch. A fine drizzle was setting in, but we attempted a walk through the tea fields to Little Adams peak anyway. We were trailed by half a dozen Dogs and it wasn't until they started brawling with each other that we were able to give them the slip.
The view from Little Adams Peak was underwhelming to say the least. Howling wind and foggy cloud. At least the tea plantaions was nice. Back to town for some food and a wash. After dinner (rice and curry again) we held a meeting to discuss the next day. The weather was bad and looked to be settling in so it was decided to leave the mountains and head north to Kandy. In the rain and drizzle, the fields famous for the tea pickers in their colorful saris, were deserted so time to move on.
06/01
We awoke to more rain. Breakfast, pack and on the road. The rain continued as we headed throught the twisty mountain roads. According to Jake this area looks alot like Belgrave and I have to agree. Due to the rain, the road was strewn with land slips and only part of the road was bitumen. Work crews and signalmen dotted the route. Power poles and road way had slipped away in dozens of areas At times the road was pothole and slippery mud and it was a lot like dirtbike riding rather than touring. Due to the low cloudcover, the higher up we went, the worse the visibility became. I was loving it, although by the time we hit Nuwara Eliya we needed to be hosed off. A tap at the Servo did the job and although we were soaked the sun was breaking through and the roads drying out. The next piece of road was just awesome. Left and right corners, one after the other and dry grippy tarmac. By the time we pulled over at the fancy-smancy Mackwoods tea estate my cheeks were aching from grinning so much.
Mackwoods is one of the largest tea estates managing 2700 hectares and the view down into the valley was stunning. We had some great tea (for free ) and then went on a tour of the factory.
From there it was a twisty run to Kandy. The earlier joy soon evaporated as the weather once again closed in and we arrived a few hours later fully drenched. After changing into some dry clothes, we took a TukTuk into town. We ate at the Muslim Hotel and after the slow service so far on this trip the speed at which the food arrived was a revelation. The meal for 9 including soft drinks came to $20.00 aus. And we ate heaps. Sick!
05/01
We woke this morning and it was wet. The mother at the guest house pressed business cards in our hands and insisted that we visit again SOON! Not a good day for riding but undeterred we unpacked our rain coats, loaded up and headed out. Our destination today is a small mountain tourist village called Ella. High in the hills it is tea country and a little sleepier than its sister tourist destination Nuwara Eliya. Ella reminds me of Sapa Vietnam Where as Nuwara Eliya reminded me of Queenstown New Zealand. That said they both have a Definite falling down Sri Lankan Feel. Stopping at a waterfall on route we are accosted by rock sellers and perveyers of other scams. We are definitely on the tourist trail.
The weather remained threatening but clear until we were 5 Mins away from our destination. After unpacking at the Rock view Guest house we head down the street to find some rotti for lunch. A fine drizzle was setting in, but we attempted a walk through the tea fields to Little Adams peak anyway. We were trailed by half a dozen Dogs and it wasn't until they started brawling with each other that we were able to give them the slip.
The view from Little Adams Peak was underwhelming to say the least. Howling wind and foggy cloud. At least the tea plantaions was nice. Back to town for some food and a wash. After dinner (rice and curry again) we held a meeting to discuss the next day. The weather was bad and looked to be settling in so it was decided to leave the mountains and head north to Kandy. In the rain and drizzle, the fields famous for the tea pickers in their colorful saris, were deserted so time to move on.
06/01
We awoke to more rain. Breakfast, pack and on the road. The rain continued as we headed throught the twisty mountain roads. According to Jake this area looks alot like Belgrave and I have to agree. Due to the rain, the road was strewn with land slips and only part of the road was bitumen. Work crews and signalmen dotted the route. Power poles and road way had slipped away in dozens of areas At times the road was pothole and slippery mud and it was a lot like dirtbike riding rather than touring. Due to the low cloudcover, the higher up we went, the worse the visibility became. I was loving it, although by the time we hit Nuwara Eliya we needed to be hosed off. A tap at the Servo did the job and although we were soaked the sun was breaking through and the roads drying out. The next piece of road was just awesome. Left and right corners, one after the other and dry grippy tarmac. By the time we pulled over at the fancy-smancy Mackwoods tea estate my cheeks were aching from grinning so much.
Mackwoods is one of the largest tea estates managing 2700 hectares and the view down into the valley was stunning. We had some great tea (for free ) and then went on a tour of the factory.
From there it was a twisty run to Kandy. The earlier joy soon evaporated as the weather once again closed in and we arrived a few hours later fully drenched. After changing into some dry clothes, we took a TukTuk into town. We ate at the Muslim Hotel and after the slow service so far on this trip the speed at which the food arrived was a revelation. The meal for 9 including soft drinks came to $20.00 aus. And we ate heaps. Sick!
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