They say that for every 100m you climb vertically, the temperature drops 1 degree C. N Eliya is at 2100m above sea level, wheras Kandy is 600m, so on face value you would expect it to be actually rather chilly up there, as 30 degrees in Kandy turns to 15 degrees midday temperature. Despite all of this hint, I valiently decided that as its Sri Lanka, it can never be cold, and thus I packed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts in my spare clothes before we set off for the Station.
The long grueling climb from Peradiniya station to Nu-oya (the closest station to N Eliya) takes 4 hours on a good day (and that day was evidently not a good day), but we didn't mind this as train journeys are, as I have explained an experience in their own right! As we progressed along the slow ascent, the scenery progressed from the tropical palms and broad-leaved plants of lower areas, passing through coniferous woodland with occasional plains to scrubby moorland above the timberline. Tea plantations were dispersed throughout the experience, covering swathes of countryside, with small tea processing factory's with their workers accommodation scattered amongst them.
When we arrived finally in Nuwara Eliya, surreal doesnt really cover it. British architecture, golf courses, fields of carrots and even a race course greeted our entry to the town, and along with the temperate grasses, stinging nettles and drizzle I felt almost at home! Sure the centre of the racecourse was a landfill, the pavements were collapsing in on themselves and the buildings all had tin rooves, but that was just the gentle reminder that I was in fact still in Sri Lanka, and not in a quiet town in the Dales.
We wandered around the lake to find our accomodation at the regional Veterinary office, and on the word of the Guide, set off for Pedros Tea Factory, which was perportedly open until 6pm, and offered free tours. We arrived, to be greeted by a tourist fee for a tour of a factory that wasnt working that day as there were no leaves, and closed in 10 minutes (we arrived at 10 to 5!). They promptly tried to sell us tea at a price that is twice what we know we can pay for it in Kandy... all in all Pedro wasn't quite as happy-making as we may have hoped.
To quench this dissapointment we felt a trip to a pub was in order, so we went to the "locals" pub, which we beleived would be the cheaper option than the obviously touristy place up the road. We had some fantastic 9% beer, and 40p double shots of Arrack (coconut whisky), and just after I saw the dead rat floating in urine in the loos, decided to check out the more touristy pub. That pub was signinficantly cheaper than the rat-urine pub, which made us sad, along with the fact that we were already significantly drunk at 8pm. All memory's point to us making it back to the accomodation, with only minor blood wounds suffered by Ben in the 5km journey at about 10:30pm at which point we collapsed for a nights sleep.
Here is where the "chilly" in Nuwara Eliya had its pinch... lieing there, shivering wrapped in a blanket fully clothed I was not impressed... and was forced to eat my words that it would secretly actually still be warm up there. We woke up to a rolling mist, chilly winds, and a very datrtmooresque temperature, and to top it off, we both had caught gastroenteritis from some dodgy rice and curry the night before. Hugely disenfranchised by the whole experience, we decided to bin the rest of the plans for Nuwara Eliya, dose up on Imodium, and take the 2 hour bus back to Kandy, where I actually feel like I'm near the equator!
So here I am, back in Kandy, nicely warm, and with my Gastrointestinal fail recovering, having just watched a few films. However, people here seem to have caught onto where we are living, as today, despite the fact that we live a long way up a dead end hill, several beggars came directly to our bedroom window and started knocking on the windows asking for money... I was not impressed - If a mans home is his castle, I need a moat! Anyway, am now about to go and do alot of sleeping, followed hopefully by a trip to the elephant orphanage later this week with the Tranquilizer team... what could possibly go wrong :) xx
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