Sri Lanka: days 7-12

Day 7: Norwood Tea Plantation

Today we visited one of the major tea processing plants in Sri Lanka. The machinery used is of very traditional British design, some as old as 100 years. The process is a very artisanal one, unchanged for a century.

Sri Lanka is the world’s fourth largest producer of tea. In 1995, it was the world’s leading exporter of tea, (rather than producer) with 23% of the total world export, but it has since been surpassed by Kenya.

Day 8: day off

Well I’ve got to be allowed one day to chill out now and again!

Day 9: Hatton to Hikkaduwa

The roads around the tea country are so bad that a journey of 220 kms (136 miles) took us 7 hours – an average of 19 mph!

On the road – mainly around Matara…

Breakfast at the Tientsin bungalow

Last view of the tea country

School’s out!

Local fishing boat in Matara

Fish market

Tabropane Island hotel off the coast of Matara – 5 rooms at $1,500 a night each

Coconuts for sale by the roadside

Fish drying

If the fishermen can’t sell all their day’s catch….

Traditional stick fishermen

Nets made from coconut hemp

Day 10 – Galle

The Peace Pagoda, built by Japanese Buddhists

View of the fort from the Peace Pagoda

Memorial to the 30,000 who died in the 2004 tsunami – built by the Japanese

The harbour

Tombstone inside the Dutch Catholic church

A muslim building inside the fort

One of the original 14 bastions (gun emplacements) around the fortress

The Peace Pagoda

Ramparts of the Dutch fort

Lighthouse built by the British

Test cricket ground

Monitor lizard

Days 11 & 12 – Lazing around the hotel