Travelogue Sri Lanka 2010
In the tea mountains near Ella

Durian, Sri Lanka
Our day starts with a non-experience of a special kind. We bought a durian from a fruit dealer out of interest and at our hotel they peeled it for us and brought us a piece for breakfast. Well, it stunk so bad we couldn’t bring ourselves to try it. If you want to know more, search Youtube for “stinky fruit” or buy one in an Asian supermarket.
Tuctuc near Ella, Sri Lanka
A tuctuc takes us deeper into the tea mountains.
erratic boulder near Ella, Sri Lanka
women collecting wood in the tea mountains of Sri Lanka
As far as we can tell, almost only women work in the tea mountains.
a tuctuc as a school bus near Ella, Sri Lanka
Tuctuc drivers, on the other hand, are always men, as with this “school bus”. The kids really wanted to be photographed 🙂
tea bushes near Ella, Sri Lanka
The tea bushes are about one meter high. Small trees were planted here to give them shade.
tea leaves
Only the leaves at the tips are picked. The highest quality is designated FTGFOP. This stands for “Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe” and contains only the bud and the following two leaves.
women picking tea near Ella, Sri Lanka
Picking is done with both hands and the picked tea tips then go into a bag on the back.
women picking tea near Ella, Sri Lanka
This is the movement with which the leaves are put into the bag. And tourists are welcome by the pickers because such a photo session brings a little extra income.

We’re fascinated by mimosas. We can’t get enough of how these plants react to a light touch and fold up.

dinner at Rawana Holiday Resort, Ella, Sri Lanka
Our evening ends at the Rawana Holiday Resort. At this point a word about the food: Sri Lanka is a paradise for vegans and also normal eaters will not miss any meat with this selection of delicious dishes. There are almost always several different curries at once, but here there are especially many.

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