to the extortion of its natural resources... in this case, by further subjugation its people to indentured servitude to grow a cash crop cheaply, then sell to Western nations for a ridiculous mark up... fairly traded it was not.
The original cash crop was coffee, but due to a nasty bout of coffee bean disease, the crop was wiped out.
No one ever called the Brits quitters... they decided to switch it up and grow tea... and magic was born.
All of this agricultural intrigue started in the town of Nuwara Eylia.
It is a tea drinkers Mecca... a necessary stop to pay homage to those who came before us.
Despite sage advice from the modern philosopher Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes, we continue to chase waterfalls.
A short hike from the road side to Ramboda waterfalls
There was a group of locals taking an afternoon dip and they went NUTS when they saw Heather.
Still not quite sure what exactly drove them into a frenzy, but the working theory goes something like...
She is beautiful, he (Riad) is brown and she is his wife, I (random dude) am brown and have no wife,
ergo I COULD get a wife that look like her... yeah!!!
Nihal had the courage to ask for a few dozen selfies.
The town is a mashup of what Sri Lankan's THINK Victorian England should look like, including
the pink stone post office... right out of a small Midlands village.
For New Years Eve, the guest house threw a small party...
Started with a warm selection of exotic teas including cardamom and cinnamon.
Easy transition to Sri Lankan dinner of rice and locally caught lake fish, pumpkin, and jack fruit curries.
Followed immediately by post dinner techno dance party.
And of course, nothing says transition from one year to the next like blowing stuff up...
Evening ended with an offering to Buddha.
Definitely a NYE to remember... some of our new friends from Holland, Germany, Italy and our
Sri Lankan Rastafarian innkeeper.
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