Eggs, Botannical Gardens and Tea
What is it about eggs? Why do hotels think we want an egg for breakfast? "How would you like your eggs, fried or boiled?"
"En cocotte, please!" Ok, I remember Tony Hancock and the ’Go to work on an egg!’ adverts, and the later egg adverts, I admit it. I am just(!) old enough. I never asked for them done that way, mainly because I’ve no idea what it means! Interesting how much colourant we must put into chickenfeed. Sri Lankan eggs have very pale yolks indeed. "It’s what the housewife wants!"
I suppose it is, now.
We tuk tuked to the Botanical Gardens. The lad driving was nice, and he amazed us with his low price. On the way there we dropped about 500 metres and wondered how we were going to get back up the hill again. They don’t have an awful lot of horsepower, these tuk tuks!
We had a great geography lesson. Relief Rain! We left Nuwara Eliya in clammy damp, and over the top of the pass we ended up in sunshine, with wonderful terraces of cabbages, leeks, root veg, the lot. No longer tea country, we were in temperate smallholding agriculture. This is not a nation where starvation should ever happen. I share Al’s views on beggars. he will not give money unless their plight is obviously genuine. He says that to do otherwise encourages a begging industry, with pimps and even parents maiming the kids in order to get a better story.
That aside, we rounded a bend an the most amazing view opened up. The picture’s a little higher in the botanical garden, and no snap can do it justice. This was a jaw dropping moment.
The gardens were pretty steep. We tramped to the top amidst huge butterflies, and sauntered down. There was a party of schoolgirls there, all of whom wanted to touch Al’s hair, and all of whom giggled at him. He reminds folk of Robin Hood from the movie!
We managed a few pics while jammed in the tuk tuk. This one shows just how close traffic gets! You’re up close and personal with buses. We overtook a truck that was labouring up the gradient. You get scalded from hot truck exhaust as you pass by. Then the truck overtakes you as the gradient eases. And then you get scalded again on the next steep gradient. We need these in London!
On the way back we were reminded of the cultural diversity here. We stopped at a Hindu temple - Hindu because there is a large population of Tamil tea workers, and Tamils tend not to be Buddhist. We like, very much, the cultural diversity, though Parker (remember Parker?) was very anti Muslim. I suppose this means that what we see is on the surface, and underneath old rivalries and differences still run deep.
Please do not worry about the "no photography" signs. We were given permission without asking.
If I have this right, this is the place where Shiva was imprisoned, only to be rescued by a rather amazing character whose elephant left its footprints in the living rock on the opposite bank of the stream behind the temple.
Well, they are naturally eroded holes, but the story’s pretty good! And I might have it all wrong. I must ask Al. He’s studied it.
Too many pictures to post, there always are. I wish I could share all 4,000 or so with you.
We made a lunch error. The book (how 'Douglas Adams'!) recommended The Grand Indian, part of the Grand Hotel. We, by contrast, do not.