I loved the time that we spent in Nuwara Eliya lil England area. Being up in the mountains where it was slightly cooler, surrounded by beautiful mountains and tea plantations made the long windy drives very entertaining. There were vegetable markets every few miles and Dutch inspired architecture among all the buildings. Hot water was available at our hotel and even soup, tea and cheese sandwiches seemed appropriate. We also treated ourselves to our favorite drink, Tia Maria and creme (which is a lovely memory of ours from Dominican Republic). The second day that we had in this area was spent relaxing around town. We walked through Victoria Park, which as you can see from our pictures, was extraordinary pretty. There were numerous colorful flowers, benches that you could go off and sit at, archways filled with plants and flowers and ponds all over the park. It was fun walking around with Keith and taking some pictures. We then walked around the downtown area, where we saw the popular Victorian post office and then grabbed some snacks to eat later in the night. We bought red bananas (which we were advised to try), almond chocolate, mangosteen (yes!), crackers (because we saw the brand name on every advertisement around Sri Lanka) and a few other bakery goods. We also ate a delicious Indian restaurant. I ordered a samosa, palak paneer (a curry dish with a type of tofu cheese) and stuffed sweet potato nan. Yum! Keith also ordered a curry dish, a samosa and a beer. On our way back to our hotel, we stopped by a field where there were many horses and also people playing cricket. Horse-back rides seemed to be popular around town. It was like a completely different culture up in the lil England area! No mosquitos, lizards, or other wild animals and not as many coconuts and fruit. It was as if we left the country and now were on our next trip.
The next day, our driver had us stop for tea and coffee at a beautiful little overlook of the tea plantation area. I can’t describe in words how pretty and pleasant it was here- just look for yourself! We did notice later in the day when we were driving though that there was a fire in the mountain. Unfortunately it went for miles and I don’t think this fire was on purpose. I wonder how often that happens and if there is any way they can stop it or do they let it burn out on its own?
Well, anyways a few other things we saw and did in the area were visiting the tea plantations and seeing a waterfall and a temple (where there were lots of monkeys walking around).
The next spot: Yalla National Park to look for leopards! Beware!
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