Sri Lanka – Hatton and Tangalle

After a night in Ella, it’s another lengthy drive to reach Hatton, which is ironic given that we passed through it on the train the previous day! Think this may be one of the rare logistical failures of our trip. Don’t think we anticipated how long it would take to travel point to point without the aid of the highways.

That said, before embarking on the near 5-hour trip to our next hotel, we visit the very aesthetic Nine Arch Bridge. Fun watching as the train passes with people hanging out the windows on the one hand, and people standing perilously close to the tracks on the other. People’s judgement appears to be decidedly dubious in the absence of nanny state health and safety!

Our next hotel is set in a working tea plantation. Very beautiful and overlooking a large lake. It would be very peaceful were it not for the music blaring from the two nearby temples in celebration of the Holi holiday! Lovely place to wander around.

Next morning we take a tour of the plantation. Interesting to learn a little more about the process of making tea and understand the subtlety in processes that determine whether the leaves make it into white tea, Darjeeling or black tea. The former is high in antioxidants and reportedly very good for you. Although, in my ignorance, it’s the first time I’ve heard of it!

Much as we enjoy the tour, it makes us feel a tad uncomfortable. The average tea picker is paid around $100 a month. It’s hard, and surprisingly skilled labour. It’s hot, humid, and incredibly manual work. Tea pickers pick the same row of plants for years, protecting the future generations of leaves, that if they harvested too soon, would otherwise wreck their picking weight (tea pickers are still paid by weight and quality). There is not much by way of corporate social responsibility in this part of the world, and I cannot help but think that someone is getting very wealthy on the back of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, with limited distribution of said wealth.

Jenn and I are lightly jeered, when walking through the plantation. Nothing threatening, just a mocking reference to ‘no money’ – presumably what they are told by westerners when asked for help. In fact later that day, two school children ask me for money as I wander around the lake. My retort, was exactly as prophesised – although in fairness I really did have no money with me!

As we leave the following day, facing another lengthy drive, to get to the coast, we pass through mile after mile of tea plantation. The entire region appears to be comprised of plantations. However, with the loss of the older generation of tea pickers, plantation owners face a material challenge. Younger generations do not want to do the work – and who can blame them? Automated processes wreck the tea plants, and result in significantly inferior outcomes. So, something has to give… In the past when coffee crops yielded to blight, they switched to tea. Less clear what the solution will be in this case

Our final stop is in Tangalle. Jenn has managed to catch a really nasty cold and is pretty much confined to barracks. Such is the severity of her cough, that she turns to Google for advice, and declares herself to have TB! Fortunately for all concerned, it quickly becomes apparent that Jenn’s self diagnosis is a tad extreme, and she is not suffering from the consumption. Really lovely stretch of coast – although judging by the red complexions of our fellow guests, it’s also a tad warm.

Given that Jenn is incapacitated, next day, I opt to go on a safari for the afternoon in Yala National Park. It’s a really stunning place, that is full of wildlife. It’s a nearly four hour return trip to reach the park, but worth the effort. Although I don’t see a leopard, I do see plenty of elephant and even a sloth bear (first bear I’ve ever seen in the wild).

As we venture further into the park, it feels like a microcosm of the challenges facing the country as a whole. They let far too many cars into the park, all of which jostle for position on the narrow, rutted roads, resulting in comical impasses. It is far from a serene experience, and one is left to imagine how much better it would be for the wildlife, locals, and guests, if there were a little more organisation (in fact any organisation). As it is, it is a rush to make as much money as possible and hang the consequences.

Up until now I had been amazed at my luck. Given the strength of Jenn’s TB (sorry, I mean cold) and the fact that we have shared a car and a bedroom, it feels highly fortuitous that I haven’t caught it.

By the time I get back from safari I realise that, I have been labouring under a misapprehension. Feel lousy and join Jenn in the communal sick bed!

A hacking cough puts paid to my planned whale-watching trip the following morning. A 5am wakeup might have finished me off. Rest is what is needed… So, obviously, I decide that rather than convalesce like a normal person, I’ll go on another safari, this time to Udawalwe Park. Who says I can’t sit still?

This park is far more civilised than Yala day before. Less wildlife overall, but plenty of elephants. Closest I can remember being to them. Watch one particular family unit for some time, baby, Mum and Dad. Seem to be having a grand old time spraying themselves in mud! Also get to see what may well be my favourite bird of prey to date, a hawk eagle.

Not sure that the safari did much to help me to fight off the cold. Nor do I think much of the efficacy of the locally prescribed herbal remedy called Samahan (a spicy mix of herbs that almost burns as you drink it).

We discover that our driver has also succumbed when he comes to pick us up next day. What a car full! Three sickly people coughing and spluttering! Nonetheless we dutifully stop briefly at Galle to see the famous Dutch port.

After that it’s straight to Colombo for an early night ahead of our flight the next morning. Can’t believe how quickly our time in Sri Lanka has gone. In fairness, I think we got the planning on this one a little bit wrong. It’s a very beautiful country, with a real mix of history, culture, wildlife, scenery, and beach – but to get around it involves quite long journeys. We barely scratched the surface, and seemed to spend a lot of time travelling. I would absolutely recommend it as a location – but I would think long and hard about which stops to make. Anything off the train line or highway is hard work.

I also think that this is a country with deep-rooted challenges. The country despite having significant natural resources is struggling owing to mismanagement. Corruption has driven inflation and unsustainable tax burdens. Most appear to be close to the poverty line and with heavy national debt, relatively modest education levels, and traditional industries under threat, it feels like things may well get worse before they better. Many of those with the means to do so are leaving the country to find work elsewhere. It’s a great shame as the people and country are both lovely. They deserve better leadership.   

With that we are off on a holiday within a holiday. Given that we are only an hour or so from the Maldives, it would be churlish not to visit for a few days.

Until then…