Thursday 31 January 2013

Liptons Tea, Haputale January 23rd 2013

Liptons Tea

Waking up to yet another wet day, and my cloths haven't dried out from yesterday's rain, and cloths from the day before that are still damp! So, on my last set of cloths before things get desperate! I mean, there's obviously no point hanging out on a line and folks round here have no idea what a tumble dryer is, so let's hope for a sunny, or at the very least, a dry day very soon.

The obligatory visit to a tea factory today. When amongst all this tea then one should really see what go's on behind the sheds, I mean behind the scenes. Two options for getting to Dambetenne; the train to Haputale then the bus straight to the factory, or the bus to Bandarawelya, changing to the bus for Dambetenne.

The bus then bus option sounds like fun, and since I don't know how far the bus stand is from Haputale train station then bus from the start sounds the better option. 20 minutes waiting at the Village bus stand and 2 buses roll up, both for Bandarawela, the next town along the way to Haputale. First is the grubby red local bus, full to bursting. Behind that is the nicer blue and white bus, still full to bursting but just enough room for me - it's a mad scramble for a prized place on this bus. 18p for this ride, a rough one at that, but good fun all the same. Good enough for the locals then it's good enough for me. Just close eyes and pray that one arrives still able bodied.

30 minutes of bone shaking and the end of the line on the Ella Road in Bandarawelya. Just a few meters to the roundabout, make a left and there is the bus stand for all the buses heading out of town west and southwest. Another red bus to Dambetenne, just a few on so I quickly gab a seat. Getting a window seat means I shall get penned in later and so I won't be able to give up my seat to the elderly, infirm or pregnant.

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