After a nice breakfast (served, not buffet, for a change) we boarded the bus to head inland to an area of “low-level rain forest” where we would visit a tea plantation and processing factory.
On the way, our tour leader suddenly had the bus pull over. Then he turned to us and asked if we’d like to ride one of the local buses for awhile. We all did. So we jumped off our bus quickly, ran to the bus stop behind us, while the tour leader begged the driver to stand still for us. Western tourists on a local bus were enough of a novelty, that he did. We were the object of attention from every other passenger.
The local buses are all over the roads, usually packed to the gills, driving wildly and blaring their horns. Red buses are operated by the government transportation department. White, yellow, blue, and pink buses are operated commercially and compete directly with the official buses. They all race to get to the bus stops first, because waiting passengers will get on the first bus that comes along for their route.
As soon as the passenger steps on, the driver floors it and races to the next stop. The passenger holds onto anything available and stumbles his or her way to s seat, if one is available. A driver’s helper or conductor follows the passenger, collects the fare, fills out a slip from his ticket book by hand with a pen, and tears it out to give to the passenger. All this while the bus, which is invariably ancient and with worn out shocks, weaves wildly through traffic, honking its horn.
Our bus came equipped with a display of Hindu gods, brightly lit with colored LEDs. The tour leader informed us that some buses have a Buddha that lights up whenever the brake lights come on. If the bus is braking, it must be time to pray! The front three rows of seats had signs reserving them for clergy (first row for monks), the disabled, and for pregnant women.
It was an exciting ride, but ended for us at the bus depot of the next town, several miles down the road. We continued from there in our own, much quieter, less rattly, air conditioned bus to the tea plantation. We drove quite a ways up hill to the “bungalow,” which was far bigger than a bungalow.
After being greeted by a servant with ice cold wet washcloths and glasses of cool fruit juice, we were shown through the spacious house to the veranda where we were introduced to the “farmer.” We were greatly surprised to see that he is only in his 20s, dressed casually in t-shirt and shorts. He explained that the plantation was begun by his late grandfather, and now that his parents have retired and his sisters have shown little interest, he is now in charge of the family business.
As a recent graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts, with degrees in food science and agriculture, this young man has become convinced that climate change will soon take Sri Lanka out of the tea business. He is committed to creating a model farm for sustainable, indigenous crops.
We were taken for a walk through the tea bushes, and through a pilot crop of pineapples, palm trees, and various other crops, and then on a tour of the tea factory. Picking tea leaves in the sun is hot work, but drying, fermenting, “rolling” (breaking up the leaves), roasting and sorting tea is even hotter. The furnaces raise the temperature, and the water necessary for fermentation raises the humidity level to near 100%. It was so steamy that one could hardly see across the room.
Everywhere we went in the factory, though, workers smiled when they saw their boss. He bantered in a friendly was with many of them as we passed. Once we were outside, in the not-so-cool air, he walked us to the school, where children of employees, ages 5 to 15, can attend tuition free and also receive a free daily lunch. (The kids came out to sing for us, then Mary taught them Grey Squirrel, which was a big hit.) We also saw the plantation grocery, where workers are able to buy food on credit, if necessary, rather than go hungry until the next paycheck. These are unheard of innovations in Sri Lanken business.
We returned to the bungalow for more discussion of sustainable agriculture, a cooking demonstration, and a great lunch (finish with a cup of hot tea, of course). We found this young man to be quite impressive.
After a few hours back at the hotel to relax on the beach or in a chair next to the ocean, we enjoyed our “farewell dinner” in the hotel restaurant. Tomorrow we will drive back to Colombo and fly to India for the main trip
It was an exciting ride, but ended for us at the bus depot of the next town, several miles down the road. We continued from there in our own, much quieter, less rattly, air conditioned bus to the tea plantation. We drove quite a ways up hill to the “bungalow,” which was far bigger than a bungalow.
As a recent graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts, with degrees in food science and agriculture, this young man has become convinced that climate change will soon take Sri Lanka out of the tea business. He is committed to creating a model farm for sustainable, indigenous crops.
We were taken for a walk through the tea bushes, and through a pilot crop of pineapples, palm trees, and various other crops, and then on a tour of the tea factory. Picking tea leaves in the sun is hot work, but drying, fermenting, “rolling” (breaking up the leaves), roasting and sorting tea is even hotter. The furnaces raise the temperature, and the water necessary for fermentation raises the humidity level to near 100%. It was so steamy that one could hardly see across the room.
Everywhere we went in the factory, though, workers smiled when they saw their boss. He bantered in a friendly was with many of them as we passed. Once we were outside, in the not-so-cool air, he walked us to the school, where children of employees, ages 5 to 15, can attend tuition free and also receive a free daily lunch. (The kids came out to sing for us, then Mary taught them Grey Squirrel, which was a big hit.) We also saw the plantation grocery, where workers are able to buy food on credit, if necessary, rather than go hungry until the next paycheck. These are unheard of innovations in Sri Lanken business.
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