ELLA ELLA ELLA
29th - 31st May 2015
It was an amazing train ride from Ohiya to Ella, we spent the whole journey sat in the doorway with our legs dangling out the train. The scenery was breathtaking - we had been tipped off the night before to sit on the right and it was the best side to see the views. Every so often, food sellers would walk down the train, selling delicious falafel made from lentils, which we ate as we flew past groups of tea pickers working under the midday sun. A few hours later, the train rolled in to Ella station and we checked in to one of Rock View Guest House's, lovely rock view rooms. It wasn't quite Koder House but it would do. There were also some fantastic posters on the walls!
We met a Canadian girl called Isabella and had a great chat with her. Turned out her and her friends (Kat, Grant & Sydney) were off to Arugam Bay the next day, so we swapped contact details so we could meet up with them there. We also arranged to meet them early the next morning to go on a tea factory tour before they left. Dinner was at a very western cafe, with very western prices, but it was worth it for the burger and mojito combo!
In the morning we were up bright and early to go on the tea factory tour. The factory was called Halpewatte and we'd read glowing reviews on trip advisor for a certain guide named Siva. Sure enough, he was excellent - knowing everything there is to know about tea production, but able to explain it in a way for us tea dummies to understand. We learnt about the right time to pick the tea, that only the top 2 leaves and the tip is picked every ten days, how it is dried in a large bed, then ground in a machine for the right length of time, then sifted allowing the best bits to fall through first time around. This happens 4 times and anything that's not good enough goes into reject tea - which he said was super cheap and is for the local markets. It is left in a humid atmosphere for around one hour, then quickly dried to lock in the flavour. The ground, dried leaves are finally sieved, resulting in 9 sizes/types, eg tippy, leafy, English breakfast. This whole process takes 24 hours from the leaves being picked.
The tea is then packed up in huge sacks that go to auction, the entire batch has to go to one bidder who samples the tea before naming their price. The buyer then packages the tea and it is ready to go onto the supermarket shelf! After the tour we had a sample session and finally a nice big cuppa on the balcony outside, overlooking the tea plantation. Will was particularly taken with the old tea posters dotted about the place. Tea picking is exceedingly labour intensive, and the women that are picking the tea are not in their early years let's say. We have heard that tea factories are facing a problem in not being able to attract new workers as younger people now have access to better education and are hoping for more qualified work. As such, tea pickers wages will have to rise to attract a new generation of workers.
In the afternoon we met up with the German girls and had one last beer before saying our goodbyes. They were exceedingly sweet and bought us both a bracelet as a little reminder of them. It really has been great getting to know them and travelling with them in our first half of Sri Lanka and the beers have been bloody fun. Prost!
We decided we would take a taxi / van to Aragum Bay the next day after climbing Ella's Rock in the morning. Our mission for the evening was to find 4 suckers to come with us and fill the taxi so we could get a cheaper ride. We asked pretty much every tourist in Ella if they were headed to Aragum Bay the next day and had almost given up hope when everyone said no (we had been travelling for 3 months by this point... Maybe we were a bit smelly!?!). We decided to grab some dinner, a kotu rotti, and as we were eating, a couple came in, holding Bananagrams, our FAVOURITE game. Could it be that they might be the ones... YES!! So over a friendly game of Bananagrams we got to know Mima and Joe and planned the journey for the next day. By the time we left it was gone 10 and there were no taxis to ask, but we said we'd book the taxi and they would attempt to persuade 2 friends to join, to fill the taxi. We both succeeded in our missions and we managed to get a low low price for the taxi. Bonus!
In the morning we climbed Ella's rock. It is a huge rocky hill that looms over Ella, with a pretty distinctive lone tree perched two thirds of the way up. The route up started with a pleasant stroll along the train track, a little nerve wracking at first as god knows when the trains run. However as we walked along we met many locals walking the same way, and the trains are so infrequent and so slow, you'd have plenty of time to jump out of the way. It was fun hoping from one railway sleeper to the next, attempting to get into a rhythm but finding that they were all spaced slightly differently apart. The route was pretty steep at times, and the going was slow because our legs still weren't working properly after climbing Adam's Peak, but the view from the top was worth it. We looked down across the valley and hung out with the stray dogs who had followed us the entire way up. Then it was time to head back down, pack up and find the others.
We met them in the roti hut again and ordered a late breakfast of chocolate and banana roti, paired with a game of Bananagrams! I don't think Will has ever been so happy.
