2018_01_01 HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ELLA

Woke up just after 6 and started today’s blog.  Getting better, it only took 5 tries to get it right.  Must be a new year or something!

We are on our own this morning until 9:00 when we will meet for breakfast and a 10:00 departure.

I hope to walk a bit but since it is New Moon Day - our scheduled walk thru the tea fields to see how the pickers work is cancelled.  They have the day off, fine with me.  

Infinity pool and one of the bungalows.

Jackfruit pod bursting open showing fruits inside.

Hindu Temple was playing music loudly.

Walking down steep trail to the 9 Arches Bridge.

This was as close as we got.

Luckily for us a tuk tuk was parked outside a small rooming house.  He agreed to take us back up the hill and to the hotel.

At one point both Connie and I had to get out - too steep for all of us in the tuk tuk!  You can see Connie leaning into the steep incline.

This guy invited into his house for some sticky rice and chill paste. No time but I tried a bit.  Tasty!

Bobi wanted to buy some incense she smelled as we walked by.  The young girl on the terrace came down to help.  Her English was impeccable.

After the buy we had a picture with 4 Grandmas and the interpreter who was 12.

Connie and I along with Roberta Steingart went on a 90 minute walk this morning.  Got closer to the 9 Arches Bridge and talked with a few locals and got some great people images.

Change to itinerary......  We are now leaving at noon to allow some to walk up Little Adam’s Peak.  Connie and I as well as the Steingart’s stayed back to enjoy this hotel.

Another 2 hour ride will get us to our next hotel were we will check in and get ready for a 3:00 safari. Elephants once again are the highlight.

Herd of water buffaloes.

Closeup of peacock.

Walking and eating.....

Pair of crocodiles.

Arrived around 3:00 and went on a safari at Uda Walawe National Park.  This safari was different than our last one.  Much larger park which allowed jeeps to spread out.  It seemed we saw animals in a more natural setting.  Lots of elephants were walking thru the forest eating and steadily moving forward.

Saw lots of birds, some monkeys and a small herd of deer.  At the end we spotted a few crocodiles as well.

Drove to our hotel for the night - ready for bed after a buffet dinner.  Up early for another safari - this time at a bird sanctuary.

The rest of the day will be spent at the beach!

2017_12_31 NEW YEARS EVE IN ELLA

I am posting images to the blog after I got home. 

This morning we slept a bit more - 6:00 for me.  We are to meet for breakfast at 8:30 so Connie and I are repacking our bags.  We all had laundry done at the hotel yesterday and that will all be back in the bags in a sort of orderly fashion.  

Richie Steingart and I went for a short walk in the tea fields across the street from our hotel before breakfast.  Really scenic.

Gale presented books and pens to theses kids at a banana stop on the way to Ella.

Typical street scene along the way.

Welcome tea and coffee on the terrace.

In the hallway looking into our room.

Main bedroom.

The smaller accommodation.

Another two hour bus ride got us to Ella in the late morning.  We arrived at The Secret Ella hotel and checked into our lodgings.  Connie and I are sharing one of the 2 original rooms with Paul And Larainne.  Our room is a “family room” with 2 bedrooms and a shared bathroom.  The Redikers and Steingarts each have a new bungalow that has a great view.  We plan to watch the Patriots game tonight on Rich Rediker’s Slingbox.  Amazing what you can do with technology.

After a greeting cup of tea or coffee at a table with a fantastic view of the valley below we were taken into town on the bus to The Ceylon Tea Company Restaurant for lunch.  

Coffee press with a 3 minute sand timer!

Karu with Larainne.

Connie and Maddu.

After lunch some went shopping for tea and I finally found a Sri Lankan cricket tee that fits.  Oh and I decided to stop at a salon and have my head shaved to start the new year.  I was 5th in line and had to wait a bit but he did it with water and a straight razor.  Done with that we went back to the hotel.

We had a dinner that was at the restaurant (convienent) but not really a great meal.  The staff really tried to accomodate us and then had a fireworks show for us at the turn of the New Year.

I made it thru 1/2 of the Patriots game and headed back to sleep a bit.




HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ELLA, SRI LANKA!

2017_12_30 MORE TEA COUNTRY

A late morning today.  We were to meet for breakfast at 8:00 - some extra rest for most.  I even slept until around 6:00.

We were told that we could not uses our bus today and that we would be transported in 2 smaller vans.  Our new drivers “Lucky” and “the other guy” were waiting for us.  There was a bit of mixup about bagged lunches for us - not ready when we finished and would be ready in “ two minutes”.  Several two minutes later we were on the road.  

Horton's Plains Towers front entrance.

Nice small lake along the way

This is the highest altitude train station in Sri Lanka

Stopped for this view back where we had come from.

We went on a pretty scenic route up up and up more until we reached Horton Plains National Park.  Along the way be passed many villagers and the train station that is at the highest altitude in Sri Lanka.


When we got there a hour and a half later we saw why we could not use the bus.  I have never seen a more chaotic parking area.  We got 
parked and were ready to walk.

The Park has a circular loop path that normally should take 3 to 3.5 hours.  A lot of up and down and quite a few rocky parts along the way.  We saw a couple of Sambar deer before we parked the vans.  They are much larger that I thought. We saw a few Bear monkeys and white faced monkeys as well along the way. 

Fog rolling in created an eerie look in the trees.

We were told that by 9:00 fog would roll in an block your view at World’s End which has a 880 meter cliff.  That’s over 2400 feet.  Well, they were right and we saw nothing which was fine with Richie (fear of heights).

Taking a bit of a break

Continuing on the loop we reached Baker’s Falls which were quite 
impressive. Paul Shore-Suslowitz image.

After another 3.5 k were were back at the carpark.  We ate our packed lunches and headed home.

Sambar deer and a raven on the way out.

Back in Nuwara Eliya we found the Golf Club, founded in 1889.

 View from the clubhouse.

Richie and Bobi are in there trying to buy some dress shirts for Dr. Blood. That didn't work out sadly.

They were able to buy some stuff at the pharmacy.

Rich and Gayle went to the Grand Hotel for high tea and we went into the town for a while.  We stopped at the golf club which was founded in 1889 and Richie tried to buy a shirt.  That didn’t work out but they got some stuff at a local pharmacy.

We went to dinner at 8:30 at the Grand Thai Restaurant in the Grand Hotel.  Very nice buffet and now for some sleep.  Breakfast at 8:30 tommow so again more sleep.

2017_12_29 TEA COUNTRY

Panoramic view from the third floor terrace

Another view of the nearby river

Market right below Dazzling Villas.  

Breakfast on the 2nd floor terrace.

We got to sleep in a bit this morning after a nice night’s rest at Dazzling Villas in Kandy.  Breakfast at 9:00 and a 10:00 departure for the tea country.  Not too much walking today - scenic views from our bus.  First stop will be at a old tea factory that is now the Ceylon Tea Museum.

After a tour at the Ceylon Tea Factory we went to a functioning Tea factory and basically got the same information all over again.  Here we saw the same machines we learned about actually running.  We also learned quite bit about tea and what it takes to fill the Lipton tea bag.

After a LONG bus ride with stops to view a waterfall and buy bananas and little oranges we finally arrived at the town of  Nuwara Eliya (New England) a town built by the English.  Although we only had to travel about 50 miles it took forever as we went way up in elevation to about 6,000 feet on winding s curves.

Waterfall along the way.  We stopped for snacks and the view.  Bobi Steingart image.

Banana and orange stop along the way.  Our bus driver Karu is on the right in the white shirt.

Market in Nuwara Eliya

We bought great street food from this vendor.

The Pink Post Office with horse tending to the grasses.

Very British looking mailbox at the Pink Post Office.

We did a real short tour of another market looked around a bit and checked in at The Horton Towers where we will have a two night stay!  Gives us time to have some laundry cleaned.

After we checked in we walked thru local tea fields to a Indian reataurant where we had a nice meal.

Here we all are enjoying Indian food.  Our driver Karu and guide Maddu are at the front of this image.