Tea Country - Nuwara Eliya & Ella

(black text is Stretch, blue Becky)

Two long bus rides from rainy Polonnaruwa and we arrived in Nuwara Eliya to broken clouds and a chance of sun......The town is an old English Hill Station surrounded by Tea Estates......Green, Green and more Green.

The simple homes of the local people spread over the valleys and hills.

Almost every home had a large garden, with many introduced
 European vegetables. Much of what they grow is for their
 consumption, but there were also many roadside 
stands brimming with bright fresh veggies.

Tea bushes cut like hedges with rubber
trees intermixed for a manicured countryside.

Traditional ways seem preferred. Ladies carry their baskets
 much as they must have when tea was first produced.

Every 2 hours the Tea-picker ladies (on the left) bring in their
leaves  to be weigh and sent to start the drying process.
Only 12 hour days.

more manicured countryside...

There is always someone who can't read the signs....(In Victoria
Botanical Gardens)

Ah - Poinsettias growing in the garden for Christmas.

Our Guest House neighbors (Gyladis & Denis) from Polonnaruwa
ended up at the same guest house here for an
exciting fireworks and sparklers Christmas evening.

An incredible Christmas Curry dinner with Chilean Wine (Sri Lankan Wine Shop), Foie Gras (brought from France by Gyladis & Denis) & Fruit Cake (brought by Becky from an English grocery) for dessert. An eclectic international meal for sure..
There was an English grocery store called Cargills and I was longing for some kind of traditional Christmas food. I found a pretty nice fruit cake - which I'm not that fond of at home really - but this helped me feel it was more like Christmas.
We ended up buying 2 fruitcakes, after we bought the first one, we saw a much better one. So while Becky went back to buy the nicer one, I waited on a park bench for her. A beggar came by and asked for money for food, I wish I had taken a picture of his face as he walked away with a fruitcake....Puzzled would be the best description.

The day after Christmas we climb aboard the incredibly" scenic
train to Ella. "A must do" for all Sri Lanka travelers. We're
all excited to see even more scenic country while leaving a
beautiful area.

Standing Room Only!!! on the train.     View?
Where are the windows?

A quick glimpse out the door. Of course the rain is back with
plenty of clouds.....

It did have it's moments of intense green and good ole
clickety -clack of the old rail-cars.. A well spent 6 hrs of standing 

Arrival in Ella to blue sky and Ella rock from out our deck and
world famous Mojitos a the Chill Out Bar....

One of the funky paintings on the wall of the Chill Out.

So the Chill Out had up a Christmas dinner menu from the previous
 night, and at the bottom was the dessert: Christmas Pudding.
 I asked if there was any chance they had any left, and much
to my pleasure they did. I enjoyed every bite.