Saturday 9 February 2013

Lipton's Seat, an Anticlimax - Dambatenne January 2013

Liptons seat, 6.9 Kilometres

A very pleasant hike indeed up towards Lipton's Seat under clear skies and a slight breeze. A gentle meandering of the tarmac road means the gradient isn't by any means a steep one. Sweeping fields of tea bushes below and above with a hamlet of bungalows in the distance, and here, a more ramshackle compound of tin, concrete and tarpaulin with a little stream gurgling into an irrigation Channel.  Very quiet but for the occasional echo of a dogs bark, a sudden burst of local pop music from the congregation of dwellings below and the very occasional tuk tuk or minibus taking the lazy ones quickly to the top! (infirm, elderly and babies excused).No tea picking, not even any other tourists to encounter.

Prior research suggests an average hike time of 2 hours, well if I take these steps here I might be able to shed a few minutes. A steep incline of well constructed steps, then pathways inbetween the tea bushes which at some point rejoins the tarmac road. Built as shortcuts for locals I would think - I mean they won't be daft enough to take the long way round now, will they!

I reckon I've saved about 20 minutes as the next distance marker approaches. Just 1 1/2KM to go and what hopefully should be a legendary view across Sri Lanka. The sky is still clear blue and no sign of afternoon clouds that often plague viewpoints on hilltops in Sri Lanka, so with a sudden boost of energy over the last stretch and the anticipation building.

Well, here it is, the legendary spot where Mr. Lipton would sit and see that his pickers were doing a good job, according to folklore of course. To see anything from here, he would have needed a pretty good and strong set of binoculars and on a day like today, I would think his workers could take a crafty ciggy break since there is mist and haze obscuring the views. Well I can all but imagine how this panoramic vista should be if it were not for the haze. Looking down and into the medium distance reveals much the same scenery as on the way up, but longer distance and I can just see the outline of those distant hills. Perhaps an anticlimax, yes I think a slight aire of disappointment exists. A cup of tea on Lipton's Seat, at least it's tea with some view.

A makeshift shack stands situated a few yards higher up. The place is grubby, a few plastic chairs and a bench are provided for weary visitors. Tea, and something to eat as I look around expecting to find a host of flat bread snacks so commonly found in this country. Pre-packaged biscuits, crisps and various other factory produced snacks are displayed and that's just about it. Nothing much to eat, except for a very small pastry snack called pettis. "25 rupees each"says the tall thin wiry old timer running the place, and quite rudely too. Actually, I'm not that hungry,  not enough to eat factory cakes or these little snacks. Tea with milk is my order, "no milk", says the man, and again his rude manner somewhat detracts from the experience. Black tea it is then, for 30 rupees, which increases to 50 when I actually hand him the money. He gets 30, that's it, and that's tea on Liptons Seat.

The hike back down, at a slower pace taking in the nature that seems to be in abundance around here. Bird life especially is active in the cooler climate of the hills. The bus is there, waiting at the factory to take me back into Banderawela and one last gorge on some tasty local food. The hike is about 1 1/2 hours each way with short-cuts  but do take supplies and a little carton of milk if black tea isn't to the liking!.

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