Days of the Raj

When you do drag yourself away from the full sized snooker table, you can rediscover the real Sri Lanka very quickly. Just 35km away from Raj Town is Horton Plains. We hopped like old pros with a grin as we were picked up by another jeep one very early morning to meet Rajah the botanist reggae musician and our driver Limal. They were utterly wonderful: yabbering away to us and each other constantly, switching from Sinhal to English, joking and gossiping as we climbed higher and higher above Nuwara Eliya via a series of (what should be all too familiar by now) hairpin bends on what seems to pass for a road in developing countries – ie boulders, crevasses, loose scree not enough room for two cats to pass each other and nerve wracking drops. I joked that at least there weren’t any buses, but Limal reassured me they do come up here, and on weekends there is something coming straight at you on every bend. Thank heaven it was 6.00am on a Monday then! It was quite a drive, to put it mildly. Limal and Rajah stopped every now and then for a smoko and a view, plus some more chat. Marvellous stuff.

Horton Plains are high up in the heart of Sri Lanka, blissfully cool in the early morning. We went up there for a walk that turned out to be 9 kilometres long – just about the furthest the kids can do. Rajah led us through plains, forests and waterfalls pointing out all the medicinal plants and leopard poo, and we spotted wild elk (ha! A moose type creature, and we saw them!) The kids were brilliant, and even Jen walked at least half of it, with clambers up and down banks, streams to cross and hundreds of steps. It was a really good walk, punctuated by absolutely stunning surrounds. Half way along the track is the World’s End. Here, a small concrete platform marks, with little other warning, a sheer cliff edge that plunges 880 metres down … hence the name. Rhys and Joe went to the edge of the highest viewpoint, while I sat quietly holding onto the girls hands VERY tightly, quite a bit further back from the edge. The early morning was the perfect time to see this before the smog sets in and before anyone else arrives. We were alone with Rajah, a totally laid back and fascinating guide (and guy), able to really relax and enjoy the walk. It was good to be out of the car and in the fresh air – every journey here takes many, many frustratingly slow hours.

And hey, after our hard walk, we could get back to our croquet and cucumber sarnies at St Andrews. Tea wallah, another cup of English Breakfast, if you please.