Still hot! I woke up even earlier than yesterday because there was a gang of screeching monkeys fighting outside my window. They had stolen some rambutans, which are spiky red fruit about the size of a golf ball. Inside, they are soft and white like a lychee. The monkeys were throwing them at each other.
I had more of the delectable fruit, which is so cheap here, for breakfast and I also had a glass of the very strong sweet tea they make. Sri Lankan people seem to like condensed milk instead of normal milk in their tea. Delicious!
I took the train to Trincomalee, hoping that is was better than the bus trip. It wasn’t! The train was really overcrowded and very hot. I found it hard to breathe at the start and I was sweating as much as if I ran a marathon! There were families cooking and eating meals on the train. Imagine if they did this in Australia. The people were so friendly that they offered me food but I was feeling too hot to eat. Other people were selling mangoes and parcels of rice and curry called lamprey. If I was hungry, then I would have plenty to choose from.
As I travelled further towards Trincomalee, the scenery changed. There were less villages and a bit more space, but even this was used to grow rice, fruits, nut and spices. Every time the train past a spice farm, an amazing aroma of cinnamon and cloves entered in the windows. Finally, we got to Trincomalee and even from the train, I could already see hectares of tea plants growing on the hillsides. It was the greenest green I have ever seen!
There seemed to be dozens of men and women walking amongst the tea plants carrying huge, weighty, cylinder-shaped cane baskets on their backs. They were all picking tea leaves almost faster than I could see. My guide, Sunil walked with me along the rows of tea plants. I was amazed that they don’t smell like tea. Sunil explained that the leaves had to be dried before they smelled tea-like. He showed me how to pick the tips of the plants, only the top two or three leaves. It was not as easy as I thought and I kept braking too much of each plant until Sunil got worried and stopped me. Maybe if I did this for a few more years, I would be half as fast as the other pickers.
Sunil suggested that I stay at their hotel tonight rather than travelling back. I was so tired that I took him up on this offer. It’s been a brilliant time so far and I am now so tired that a quick dinner and bed is all I can think of.
I had more of the delectable fruit, which is so cheap here, for breakfast and I also had a glass of the very strong sweet tea they make. Sri Lankan people seem to like condensed milk instead of normal milk in their tea. Delicious!
I took the train to Trincomalee, hoping that is was better than the bus trip. It wasn’t! The train was really overcrowded and very hot. I found it hard to breathe at the start and I was sweating as much as if I ran a marathon! There were families cooking and eating meals on the train. Imagine if they did this in Australia. The people were so friendly that they offered me food but I was feeling too hot to eat. Other people were selling mangoes and parcels of rice and curry called lamprey. If I was hungry, then I would have plenty to choose from.
As I travelled further towards Trincomalee, the scenery changed. There were less villages and a bit more space, but even this was used to grow rice, fruits, nut and spices. Every time the train past a spice farm, an amazing aroma of cinnamon and cloves entered in the windows. Finally, we got to Trincomalee and even from the train, I could already see hectares of tea plants growing on the hillsides. It was the greenest green I have ever seen!
There seemed to be dozens of men and women walking amongst the tea plants carrying huge, weighty, cylinder-shaped cane baskets on their backs. They were all picking tea leaves almost faster than I could see. My guide, Sunil walked with me along the rows of tea plants. I was amazed that they don’t smell like tea. Sunil explained that the leaves had to be dried before they smelled tea-like. He showed me how to pick the tips of the plants, only the top two or three leaves. It was not as easy as I thought and I kept braking too much of each plant until Sunil got worried and stopped me. Maybe if I did this for a few more years, I would be half as fast as the other pickers.
Sunil suggested that I stay at their hotel tonight rather than travelling back. I was so tired that I took him up on this offer. It’s been a brilliant time so far and I am now so tired that a quick dinner and bed is all I can think of.
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