Sweet Like Chocolate? #6

January 2019 - Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

The four-hour 2nd class journey from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya (Rp. 200 (£87p)) is famed for its glorious views and it did not disappoint as we rose to the hilltops in full view of the endless fields and tea plantations. It was, however, unreserved, as we were unable to buy in advance and needed to join the ever-growing 7.30am queue with hundreds of other travellers fighting for a seat. I spent most of the journey sitting on uneven packs of water bottles lodged into unpleasant places...the views were truly lovely though.

'I'm free!'

We were greeted at our Airbnb by the sweetest elderly walker-using Sri Lankan lady who had recently had a fall. She explained some of the basics in clear English and we were sent to our large and well-presented room. Five minutes into our stay...’Help! Help me! I’m stuck!’ I sprung up and dashed to the cries of help. ‘I can’t get out!’ The cries were becoming more annoying and I feared for the worst. Bex was stuck in the bathroom. After a brief chuckle to myself, I told her to stand back as I ran up to the door and - with the smallest of forces from my broad shoulder - I easily broke down the solid door with the lock - now vanquished - crashing to the ground. ‘My hero!’ She exclaimed, hugging me as I stood triumphantly. ‘All in a days work. Actually, I mean - it was nothing.’

Nuwara Eliya

Lover's Leap Waterfall

The romanticism did not stop there. We celebrated our year of putting up with each other by trekking up to the source of the towns water - Lover’s Leap Waterfall. The breathtaking views of Nuwara Eliya were incomparable to those seen so far and were well worth the hike. It was aptly named after a prince controversially fell in love with a princess () in the mountains and - in protest - both leapt to their - presumably - extremely painful deaths. Barely three weeks into our travels together and we joked - with caution - about having to need to take this alternative leap of faith.

Pedro Estate

Pedro’s Tea Factory nearby served us a satisfying cup of natural tea and took us on an educational and enjoyable tour of the premises for Rp. 250 (£1.20) each. I cleverly found a way back down the mountain via the tranquil Gregory’s Lake, therefore avoiding the main roads we had experienced on the way up. On route, we were stopped by a man who asked curiously ‘where are you going?’ I explained and he said ‘it’s a very difficult route with a lot of forests’ and he recommended against it. He obviously didn’t know how well travelled I was so I politely thanked his kind advice and ventured through the treacherous forest and crumbling paths with extraordinary ease.

Pedro's Tea Factory

The kind nature of our Airbnb hosts continued with the elderly lady’s sweet young granddaughter - dressed in Disney’s Frozen pyjamas - greeting us in the evening. She spoke her first language of English perfectly and made us a pot of tea. We conversed about her family and her recommendations for us before making sure we had everything we needed. During our stay, however, we noticed several things going missing - lip balms, a miniature Snickers chocolate bar (obviously mine), lipstick (not mine, this time) - and the clear rummaging of our toiletries had occurred. This once very sweet and helpful young girl left a bitter taste in my mouth when I would have preferred the taste of chocolate.