Experiencing Sri Lanka’s Providence- Part 3: Hiking the Tea Trails

Called Serendib by Arab traders  (the origin of the word “serendipity”), Sri Lanka has an amazing diversity for a small island and offers the possibility of experiencing vastly different climates, history, and cultures during a short vacation. In this Four Part Series I will share a glimpse of four different areas of Sri Lanka that can, and should, be a part of any itinerary to the island of providence. Part 1 explores the East Coast city of Trincomalee and the Hindu  Koneswaram Temple and Part 2 brought us to the Ancient Buddha Rock Statues of Polonnaruwa. Sri Lanka’s hill country is a world unto itself. Dramatic mountains are smoothed out by waves of evenly spaced tea bushes that calm the senses and clear the mind. Amongst the tea plantations, like no where else in Sri Lanka, you can feel the blend of civilizations between England’s colonial past, the Tamil Hindu community Read full article…

Kotor, Montenegro: undiscovered natural beauty and history

The medieval town of Kotor, Montenegro sits at the end of a placid bay that cuts deep into the surrounding limestone mountains. Often called the southernmost fjord in Europe, it is actually a submerged river canyon. Once you arrive in Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you’ll have to catch your breath before you can attempt to name the majestic scenery surrounding you. You’ll be surprised that more people haven’t discovered it. No matter where you look your senses are overwhelmed by either the natural beauty of the area and the depth of history from which the Venetian influenced town has emerged. While tourists flock to the nearby, cheesy and overdeveloped town of Budva to party throughout the summer, Kotor has managed to maintain a sense of history and tradition. There is still a nightlife to be found as delicious restaurants dot the bay’s shores and a few nightclubs rock the old town’s Read full article…

Hiking in Letnica, Kosovo: A Black Madonna, abandoned villages and the old Croat miller

The road ends at the small Kosovar village of Letnica on the border with Macedonia. The white church of the Black Madonna watches over the town from a small hill. The large church only magnifies the empty feeling of the town where only about 100 people are left. Dirt roads snake into the town in between dilapidated stone houses. Despite the abandoned air the town is surrounded by forested rolling hills, giving the area a peaceful feel. The twittering of songbirds floated through the air as we climbed the small hill to the church. If the town was ever to have a crowd we found it as four men sat outside the church socializing and taking in the surrounding views. A middle aged man reeking of raki (the Kosovar equivalent to Italian grappa) shadowed us the whole way, pleading for money and trying to be best friends the way only Read full article…

Sunrise on Mount Ramelau, Timor-Leste- Travel Photo Friday 3

This sunrise photograph was taken on Mt. Ramelau in Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). The highest mountain in Timor at 2963 meters, we started hiking in the middle of the night to arrive at the top just in time for this gorgeous view. Share

Mirusha Falls, Kosovo

In October I moved from Sri Lanka to Kosovo. Coming from Colombo the streets of Pristina, the capital city, seemed orderly and quaint. The city is a mix of historical Ottoman era mosques, drab communist housing, and new buildings catering to the ever present contingent of international development workers. There is a fantastic cafe scene and a variety of international restaurants that I have not found in other developing countries. A major downside to the city is the pollution due to, a dinosaur of an electrical plant spewing cheap coal fumes over the city and the use of the cheap coal in family stoves to stay warm. Escaping the city is easy though, and Kosovo is blessed with abundant nature and is ringed by amazing mountains. You just have to be careful to stay on the paths as unexploded mines still lay hidden in the undergrowth. Taking advantage of the Read full article…

Weekend in Haputale Sri Lanka

In August I headed up into the hill country with two friends to beat the heat in Colombo. Our destination was the Kelbourne Tea Estate just outside of Haputale. Kelbourne Estate has three English tea bungalows set high up in the mountains in the middle of a working tea plantation. You are waited on hand and foot, and can have dinner in your own dinning room surrounded by ever present green tea bushes. Of course half the fun of getting to the hill country is driving up through the stunning scenery That is until you get stuck behind a manure truck and two bused sizing up each other’s %$##* We picked the Wildflower Cottage with three bedrooms and… …what was supposed to be a stunning view…. Getting closer to the view as the clouds pass underneath us Ah, there it is At night the temperature drops enough to rationalize a Read full article…

A Short Hike Outside of Geneva

In June I traveled to Geneva for a week of work. However, as work started on Monday I took advantage of the weekend to get some hiking in through the early summer air. I met up with two friends who live outside of Geneva and they took me out to the St. Cergue area. Just one hour on a local train and we were left out in the middle of winding forest paths, and centuries old farm houses. The view stepping off of the train. Luckily we arrived a few hours before the rush hour commute… The area is covered with paths that wind peacefully through the mountains. We came across a farm house selling cheese. Who could possibly walk buy without buying homemade cheese? We wandered into the house to find the owner in the middle of making cheese! We bought a nice big chunk of goat cheese. What Read full article…

The Road to Maskeliya

In November my sister visited Sri Lanka, so we grabbed some friends, packed up the car and headed back to our favorite lakeside cabin, the Castlereigh Family Cottages in the hill country. You can see our previous adventures here. This time we decided to go on a hike rather than spend our time on the porch the whole time. Rather than go on an established hike, we decided to pick a mountain and climb it ourselves. We chose this mountain across lake where we could use the tea trails to reach the top. We drove around the lake and parked in front of a Hindu temple. I guess this is the way. This would not be the only time we asked the locals for help. The tea trails. Two tea pickers on their way to work. The long sticks are laid across the tea bushes. Only the leaves above the Read full article…

Where Butterflies Go to Die

In March I escaped the crowded city of Colombo and set out with three friends to climb the most famous religious mountain in Sri Lanka. Called by many different names, Adam’s Peak, “the place where butterflies die,” and Sri Pada (“sacred footprint”), the mountain is the second highest in Sri Lanka and is a center of religious pilgrimage for Buddhist, Hindus, and to a lesser extent Christians and Muslims. Adam’s Peak The conical peak looms 2,243 metres (7,359 ft) above the surrounding mountains and is one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated backdrops. Near the summit a 1.8 meter rock formation in the shape of a footprint is celebrated by Buddists as Buddha’s footprint, by Muslims as Adam’s (of garden of eden fame), and by Hindu’s as the Godess Shiva’s footprint. We decided to join the crowds and make the long climb up in the dead of night in order to Read full article…

Road Trip to Mount Ramalou, East Timor

As promised here is the beginning of my updates. While I am currently living in Sri Lanka I want to share with you a road trip myself and 3 friends went on to East Timor’s tallest mountain, Mt. Ramalou. Located in the middle of the country it is not the easiest of places to reach. I don’t remember the exact distance (maybe about 160 km from Dili), but the first 140 km took about 4 hours and the last 20 kilometers another 3 hours!! It was great to get out of the “city” and see a little more of the country side. East Timor has an abundance of natural beauty and while the mountainous areas are some of the poorest and least accessible in the country, they also hold some of the most spectacular vistas, and kindest people there are. Enjoy the trip!! Climbing the winding roads above Dili, we Read full article…

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