Afternoon Tea and Lunch in a Tamil Tea Plantation Village

While in Sri Lanka I went to the picturesque town of Elkadua in the central mountains which offered these incredible views.

I had traveled there with a friend I had made while in Kandy and we planned to go to the popular Knuckles Mountain Range to do some hiking. However, when we got to Elkadua we were told that right then it was just raining too much to make the long trip into the mountains and with the overcast clouds we wouldn’t really be able to see anything! Not to mention this was the height of the leach season and they would be all over the trails.

We were determined to do some hiking around the beautiful mountain jungles and decided to just walk around the town. There wasn’t much there! The nearest store was about 15 or so minutes away by car so we decided just to follow the roads and paths we found upwards. We found an abandoned house that has not be lived in for a really long time and carefully explored it. We could tell that it used to be a very cool place to live and had incredible views of the mountains around. But with its remote location we weren’t surprised that the house now sits empty.

The street wound up the mountain and passed by houses built on impossible slopes. As usual everybody we passed was friendly and shouted “Hello!” as we passed by, no matter how far away we were!

At the top of the mountain was a tea plantation. The whole area was covered in cool clouds and mist and it was really pleasant to walk among the tea plants and look at the scenery disappear into the mist.

When we eventually wandered to the village we instantly got a lot of attention! Like most tea plantations in Sri Lanka it was mostly staffed by Tamils. An older man who probably spoke the best English of them all immediately declared the he was “our guide”, whether we wanted a guide or not! He took us up the hills to show us the ruins of the house that the British person who founded the tea plantation built. Now, the plantation is owned by the Sri Lankan government. Like most tea plantations only the women pick the tea. Each plant is picked about once a week and the women are contracted to pick a minimum amount of tea every day. They get paid extra for picking more tea. After our tour we were invited into the older gentleman's house for tea. Their houses were very sparse and while we were enjoying our tea (it had ginger in it) we were introduced to what seemed like the entire village!

Next we were taken to another house. Here we were introduced to even more people. They were eating lunch in about an hour and wanted us to join them. Unfortunately we had to leave soon to catch a bush. No problem, they just brought us food right then and there! For each meal of the day one cook prepares a meal for the entire village. Lunch is probably the most important meal and is rice and curry. What sounds like a simple meal is actually delicious feast! The picture makes the portion look small, but even I had to work to finish it. It was probably one of the most tasty meals I had while in Sri Lanka, but maybe that was because I spent all morning hiking up a mountain!

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Sri Lanka’s Ancient City

 

Anuradhapura is a city in the north central region of Sri Lanka and at one time was the capital for ancient Sinhalese civilizations and where the kings and rulers of those civilizations lived. Anuradhapura was first settled nearly 3,000 years ago and during its heyday was the biggest and most extensive royal city on the island until the capital moved south to Kandy.

Today Anuradhapura is littered with ancient ruins and monuments and is a popular destination for visitors. Archaeologists are still working to undercover and catalogue hundreds of thousands of artifacts that can give us clues about how people lived so long ago.

Anuradhapura’s location in the flatlands and its vast and wide network of roads made it an ideal city to have a royal capital. Several kinds ruled from there and build impressive monuments in short amounts of time. However, Anuradhapura’s location and road system also made it an easy target for invaders from South India.

The ancient city is pretty spread out so the best way to explore is to use a bicycle for the day, and that’s exactly what I did!

Widespread flooding was the first thing that I noticed while exploring Anuradhapura. The surrounding landscape is very flat and there are lots of rice paddies. After several days of heavy rain the water had no where to go! I saw a lot of evidence of people being displaced from their homes and was told that if it rained hard for only two more days most of the people in the city would have to leave their homes.

The two pictures below show a government complex of archaeological offices that were badly flooded.

Sri Maha Bodi (commonly just known as the bodi tree) is located within the walls of the city and is one of the reasons Anuradhapura became, and still is, such an important spiritual place for Buddhists. The tree has grown from a cutting from the original tree in India under which Buddha first gained enlightenment. The cutting was brought to Sri Lanka by an Indian princess who introduced Buddhism to the island. This tree had been guarded for more than 2,000 years and is thus considered the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world! There are actually several bodhi trees at this site but it’s easy to tell which is the original once since it’s surrounded by walls, covered in prayer flags, supported by golden columns, and its branches area massive! As you walk to the tree you first past by rows of small booths selling flowers and incense for prayers and offerings. Cars aren’t allowed near the temple for fear of terrorists attacks and before you enter you have to pass through a metal detector and of course remove your hat and shoes!

Near the Bodhi tree is an ancient stupa known as the Southern Monastery. It was built around the 1st century B.C. and its said that the remains of several kings were cremated here.

Today Jetavanaramaya is the largest stupa in the world (by volume) and when it was built about 2000 years ago it was the third tallest structure in the world, right behind the pyramids of Egypt. It took nearly 100 million bricks to build and it stands about 400 feet high and may have been even higher in the past. Its estimated that at one time the entire surrounding compound served as a home for more than 10,000 Buddhist monks!

Ancient ruins like these are dotted all throughout the ancient city.

Ruwanwelisaya is still an important spiritual dagoba today.  Unfortunately the king who built it died before it was finished but while he was on his deathbed a frame of cloth and bamboo was constructed so he could see what the “finished” product would look like.

These two pools of water are known as the Twin Ponds and even though they don’t look very clean today they were used for bathing by the monks who used to live here.

This ancient stupo is undergoing restoration and you can see that it is covered by sprawling jungle growth.

Moonstones like the one below are found at the entrance to most Buddhist temples and monasteries in Sri Lanka. They are carved out of hard stones and represent the path from the secular to the spiritual world. Most of them have about seven carved rings of flowers, vines, animals, and birds. Each ring has a specific meaning about the path to enlightenment. The one in Anuradhapura is one of the largest in Sri Lanka and is considered to exhibit some of the countries finest moonstone carving.

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Kandyan Dancing

While I was in Kandy I went to a traditional Kandyan Dancing show. The show turned out to be a little too touristy for me but after a very long day it was nice to be able to sit down and get out of the rain!

Kandy was the capital of the last remaining independent kingdom on the island before the island was made into one country. Today Kandy is the second-largest city in Sri Lanka and is popular because of its beautiful location in the central hills and its importance as a religious center.

Legends say that Kandyan dancing originated from an exorcism ritual performed by Indian shamans who came to Sri Lanka at the request of a king who was suffering from a mysterious illness. After the shamans performed their ritual the illness vanished and the dance was adopted by natives.

There are several different types of Kandyan dancing and each one has its own style, instruments, elaborate costumes, and meaning.

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