Continuation from here ...
Even though Sri Lanka is a small country, it is the world's fourth largest (according to Wikipedia) producer of tea. Since we didn't have enough time to go to Nuwara Eliya feeling ala Cameron Highlands, we just stopped at one of the tea factory after our visit to the elephant orphanage.
There were no operations that day so we couldn't watch the process that went into making tea. However, one of the manager took us around the factory, explaining the whole process while showing us the machines. Quite a fascinating insight into how tea is made.
dried tea leaves
the machine
another machine
more machine
different types of tea
Once the tour finished, he took us to the shop and gave us each a cup of tea to sample. Since they gave us free drinks, of course we bought some tea gift packages to bring home as souvenirs. haha...
We were actually going back the next day. Yeah... it was only a short trip. sob sob... When we booked the tickets, we actually planned to cover only Colombo. But afterwards only we realized there's so much more to see in the country. So, looks like we, or I, have a reason to come back to this small miracle.
Our flight was at noon the next day so I told Rammuni that we wanted to stay in Negombo, as the city is near to the international airport. But he suggested that we stayed in Bentota instead. So I just agreed with it since I reckoned local knows best!
Negombo and Bentota are actually among the best beaches in Sri Lanka. But it was almost sunset when we arrived at our hotel. Beach babes have to turn to stay-in-hotel-room babes. And we're going to depart to the airport right after breakfast. Meaning, we had no chance to go to the beach. Nooo!!! This couldn't be!!
I was determined to see the beach and didn't wanna go back to KL feeling unsatisfied so we woke up super early the next day. Semangat ok! Truly worth the sleep we sacrificed cos the view was amazing!
We saw a rainbow that morning. What a pleasant sight!
Alas, it was time to fly back. We departed after breakfast, around 8.15 am. The road was busy as usual. Halfway through, we entered a highway! All this while I thought there's no highway throughout the country! Finally... a smooth jam-free ride. But it was a short one cos the rest of the highway are still under construction. Seems like the country is in the progress of improving their traffic flow.
We arrived at the airport around 11 am. After clearing the immigration, we still had some time before our departure so I just went around the duty free shop to spend my last rupees.
Oh.. they have prayer rooms here. Alhamdulillah...
Even though Sri Lanka is a small country, it is the world's fourth largest (according to Wikipedia) producer of tea. Since we didn't have enough time to go to Nuwara Eliya feeling ala Cameron Highlands, we just stopped at one of the tea factory after our visit to the elephant orphanage.
There were no operations that day so we couldn't watch the process that went into making tea. However, one of the manager took us around the factory, explaining the whole process while showing us the machines. Quite a fascinating insight into how tea is made.
dried tea leaves
Once the tour finished, he took us to the shop and gave us each a cup of tea to sample. Since they gave us free drinks, of course we bought some tea gift packages to bring home as souvenirs. haha...
We were actually going back the next day. Yeah... it was only a short trip. sob sob... When we booked the tickets, we actually planned to cover only Colombo. But afterwards only we realized there's so much more to see in the country. So, looks like we, or I, have a reason to come back to this small miracle.
Our flight was at noon the next day so I told Rammuni that we wanted to stay in Negombo, as the city is near to the international airport. But he suggested that we stayed in Bentota instead. So I just agreed with it since I reckoned local knows best!
Negombo and Bentota are actually among the best beaches in Sri Lanka. But it was almost sunset when we arrived at our hotel. Beach babes have to turn to stay-in-hotel-room babes. And we're going to depart to the airport right after breakfast. Meaning, we had no chance to go to the beach. Nooo!!! This couldn't be!!
I was determined to see the beach and didn't wanna go back to KL feeling unsatisfied so we woke up super early the next day. Semangat ok! Truly worth the sleep we sacrificed cos the view was amazing!
We saw a rainbow that morning. What a pleasant sight!
Alas, it was time to fly back. We departed after breakfast, around 8.15 am. The road was busy as usual. Halfway through, we entered a highway! All this while I thought there's no highway throughout the country! Finally... a smooth jam-free ride. But it was a short one cos the rest of the highway are still under construction. Seems like the country is in the progress of improving their traffic flow.
We arrived at the airport around 11 am. After clearing the immigration, we still had some time before our departure so I just went around the duty free shop to spend my last rupees.
Oh.. they have prayer rooms here. Alhamdulillah...
As Sir Arthur C Clarke remarked: "The island of Sri Lanka is a small universe; it contains as many variations of culture, scenery, and climate as some countries a dozen times its size. Lovely beaches, beautiful landscapes, impressive ruins, a vibrant culture and charming people... no wonder Sri Lanka is a small miracle."
I would definitely visit the country again!
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