bus from kandy to nuwara eliya.

travelling in a rickety bus blasting sinalese classics as it rattles round bends up and down rolling hills of tea plantations is something i could spend the rest of my days doing.

i love sightseeing from local buses; women waiting in peacock-coloured saris, delicately protecting themselves from the sun with umbrellas, men jumping on and off as the bus is moving, looking forward to each bend to see what breathtaking view is in store. 

local buses, i love you. 

even when i'm wedged so tight against the window i can't breathe. 

even when i know you charged me twice the local fee. 

even when you stop just so the driver can have a coke and a samosa, whilst we sweat it out inside. 

yesterday we took this baby from kandy to nuwara eliya: 

every bus should look like this.

 we drove past fruit stands and flower garland stands:

flower necklaces!

we also saw tea factories, which made me all thirsty for, tea. a big, steaming mug of tea. with biscuits to dunk in it.

                     

after three hours of twisty curves, the tea plantations gave way to the cute town of nuwara eliya, also known as little england. how cute is that?! it's cute. 

cute.

 we are staying in a lovely hotel on misty moutain, which makes me feel as if i were in the lord of the rings. this morning i woke up at 6 or so (Vipassana wakes you up at 4am every morning, so i'm still getting used to the concept of a lie in), and walked outside to watch the sun breathing life into the valley. it was, indeed, misty.

a little later my dream came true and i was sipping on a porcelain cup of tea with toast and jam.