Sri Lanka, Nuwara Eliya, November 4

We have a wonderful travel companion. Last night, she met, for the first time, her nephew. He is a distinguished army officer. He has traveled the world and given serious thought to how his professional resources can be used to help the country recover and better their conditions since the conclusion of their three decade civil war. I was heartened to hear him speak. He was pleased to meet us, too, and made excellent recommendations for our day.

We began at 8 AM, at The Turf Club to watch his novice soldiers show what they have learned in four months of intensive training. He invited, from the coast, the Brigadier General to inspect and encourage the young men. (There were no women soldiers).



The Turf Club, a few years back, was the recipient of a lot of dirt from an excavation for a hotel. That and the huge rainfall yesterday made the fairground a muddy place. Among all the cars entering there were dozens of smallish horses hoof-deep in muck wandering munching grass. The field was large. Around the perimeter were hundreds of supportive family members, old and young. The kids were fun. They mimicked everything on the field.

The soldiers were in neat orderly groups. Six groups of sixty. In dark green open collared uniforms. Berets with jaunty Scottish plumes of different colors. White gators around their ankles. Ascots, to match the plume, in their open collars. And rifles.

The marching band began with flourishes. The soldiers did soldier stuff: rifles up, rifles down, single file procession before the General. They were precise and in sync. After a short intermission, they continued in track suits: navy blue with orange trim. This time they arranged themselves in various staging areas for diverse purposes. In the back, a long row, long as the field, joined arms at the shoulder and on cue undulated like a sea wave. Some formed human towers. That was a a challenge on the muddy field. A hoop was set aflame and the guys jumped through it. My favorite was the lotus thing. They formed three concentric circles of men then opened and closed like a lotus blossom.  Through it all the band played rousing toe tapping music.

When it finished, we were invited into a gymnasium set with tables of sweets, Sri Lanka's finest. Uniformed waiters circulated with pots of Ceylon tea and porcelain cups. We were conspicuous. The only ones who were not officers in formal uniforms dripping with medals and purple hearts. I was introduced as "famous Hollywood movie musician". It caused a stir. Photos were taken.


The entire morning was a surprise to us.  After the pastries, tea and photos, outside the young soldiers were still being hugged and photographed and adored by family. The elders seemed especially proud.

From the reception, we were assigned a military escort for our remaining activities. Nearby, was the tallest peak of the country,  Pidurutalagala, (in english, Mount Pedro). Elevation, 8,281 feet.  Wikipedia says it is the home of central communications for the government and the armed forces.  Up top, we were told, an aircraft cannot land in or depart from Sri Lanka without permission from there.  The area is notable, also, for it's leopards. A nearby painting of a leopard says, "danger".



From the mountain top, we stopped roadside for fruit. It is now a favorite pastime. This time, jackfruit. They were on the pavement, huge, like on steroids, watermelon sized. Inside, the fruit has large flattish seeds. The seeds, you discard after eating the sweet tropical fruit flavored membrane wrapped around them. We found out later, the fruit once opened fills the car or room with an overwhelming scent, aroma is not the word.



We arrived at the Pedro Tea Plantation in the sunshine. By the time we left it was raining again. Through out our Sri Lanka visit there was intermittent rain, quite heavy, but it always seemed to clear just for our activities.  The tea tour was outstanding. We all learned from it. We watched the leaves arrive in bags from the field, get weighed, then carried upstairs and dumped on long drying tables to reduce moisture. Get rolled around on a teak surfaced round bruising machine. Every stage till it gets into bags to be sold to the famous tea labels of the world.



Finally, we returned with our army escort to the army base for lunch. The base is tucked into a beautiful hillside overlooking a lake in the city center. The lunch was a classic Sri Lanka buffet. We ate, as did the officers, with our fingers. And when waiters brought bowls of warm water to the table, we washed our fingers, left hand covering the right. We were grateful to our new "nephew" for his suggestions and generous invitations.

In the evening, we went to checkout rooms and suites in a new hotel, the Araliya Green City. It was recently built by the brother of the President of Sri Lanka. Just off the lobby,  the gleaming new food court ha a room length kitchen counter divided into food types: pizzas, asian, Arabic, Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, American. On one short wall is a bank of sinks, fully exposed, at least a dozen, a lot of sinks, for hand washing. Sunday night they do not allow alcohol, but somehow, beer found it's way into a tea pot and tea cups at our table. We ate falafel and lamb biryani. And sipped "tea".