The high mountains of Sri Lanka.
This past weekend we went into the beautiful mountains of Sri Lanka. We had not been up there in a long time, so this trip was long overdue. Sri Lanka is known as a beach-lover’s paradise, but not many people know that the highest mountains are over 2,400 meters high. It is hard to imagine a prettier countryside.
We left school on Thursday afternoon – Friday was the September Poya – and headed east on the busy A4 highway. By nightfall, after 2 ½ hours of driving, we had reached Kitulgala, and stayed there for the night in the Plantation Hotel, right on the banks of the pretty Kelani Ganga (River). Mads and Cal were absolutely perfect on this car trip, no problem at all. The Kitulgala area is famous as the location where the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed… classic thick tropical jungle, rivers, and steep vegetation-covered mountains. Splendid! The bridge used in the movie was built (and blown up) here too (all that remains is the foundation, I have been told, though I have not seen it up close, and to walk close to it you can pay Rs 50 to a local who claims to have ‘acted in the film’).
The Kelani Ganga in Kitulgala.
In the 'tree house'.
We were a bit surprised to discover that we were one of only two parties staying in the entire hotel that night – surprising because it was the first night of a Poya weekend. It brought back memories of our Peace Corps days, being the only people around in a big hotel. What does this say for the tourist industry in Sri Lanka? Probably not recovered from the events of the past 25 years…. anyway, Maddie and dad explored the jungle after dark and in the morning, and found lots of good things like big frogs and moths. This was the same place where dad went on a field trip a year ago with the grade 9s so he was familiar with the grounds and the area. Maddie especially liked the ‘tree houses’ on the wooden platforms above the forest floor. It rained almost the entire night and Friday dawned gray, dreary and cool. Just the kind of weather we like!
After a long and leisurely breakfast in the jungle, we got back in the car and headed higher still to the cool climes of Nuwara Eliya. When you look at a road map of Sri Lanka, you can’t possibly imagine how long it takes to get from point A to point B. When someone tells you that it takes 6 hours to get from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya, a distance of only 180 km, it’s totally unbelievable. Yet it’s true! Roads are often in appallingly poor condition and incredibly curvy, people drive erratically (you can be behind a crawling lorry for an hour with no chance to pass), and you must constantly avoid being obliterated by SLTB buses. However, it all makes for good fun, especially if you are throwing up. We are lucky to have two kids who love being in the car and don’t seem to mind all the excitement. Mom, on the other hand…. Is it better to drive or to ride? Always a toss-up.
Tea plantations near Nuwara Eliya.
We arrived in Nuwara Eliya (elevation 1900 m) in a driving tempest (conditions that would persist more or less constantly until our departure on Sunday). But cold and wintery! On Friday night we stayed in a place called the King Fern, a funky little dive on the northwest side of town, run by a Sri Lankan rasta wanna-be with very poor business sense. The next night we pampered ourselves at the exclusive St Andrews Hotel, a mainstay of the Nuwara Eliya region and a famous hotel dating back to 1875 (this hotel would remind many movie-goers of the movie The Shining). Because of a promotion, we stayed in a suite at a rock-bottom price. Maddie even had her own separate TV room.
Inspecting tea leaves at the plantation.
'The Calvinator'.
The weather was stormy all weekend (windy and rainy), never really giving us a chance to get outside and do the things we wanted to do. Nuwara Eliya is surrounded by beautiful mountains and forests and the hiking opportunities are many (the town sits on the southwest edge of Pidurutalagala, at 2524 meters the highest point in Sri Lanka, but curiously and sadly unattainable as the government has blocked off the summit and its communication towers for ‘security reasons’). We didn’t even make it to the wonderful park in the center of town due to the weather. But it was no problem to sit indoors next to a warm fire, drinking tea and watching the dark clouds outside. We all had a great time.
On Saturday we took a tour of the Pedro Tea Factory. This is one of the biggest and most famous plantations in Nuwara Eliya. The factory was not functioning on account of the Poya weekend, but we got a wonderful tour nevertheless (probably better that it was not functioning – would be been too loud for the kids).
Maddie absolutely loved the adventure of the whole weekend. She had a ball running around the hotels and exploring, getting to wear her cold-weather clothes, and simply being cold. For three nights she got to sleep with mom and dad and Calvin in big cozy beds, and had unrestricted access to her parents at all hours for three days. At the St Andrews dad and Mads got an impromptu tour of the organic vegetable gardens, the ‘stables’, and the old-fashioned boiler room on the terraces behind the hotel, from a grizzled one-toothed gardener who took a liking to her. She got to pick carrots and feed them to a rabbit, and pet a baby goat. She also slipped and fell down a muddy hill, covering her backsides in mud. What fun!
Anything goes on a lorry in Sri Lanka...
On Sunday we made the long drive back to Colombo. We had little choice but to do this in one day – it’s a lot of tiring driving. We stopped for a late lunch in Avisawella, a dumpy town between Kitulgala and Colombo, and arrived home just before dark. The kids (and parents) got a bit tired of being in the car at the end – lots of fussing and crying but all worth it for the cool, crisp bliss of the Sri Lankan highlands.
