Politics and tea

Recently Sri Lanka had a presidential election, the first peace time election in over 20 years. It was a tight run between the incumbent President and the general that won the war against the tamil minority. The President won, despite being somewhat unpopular amongst big groups in Sri Lanka. This has led to a lot of tension, and there are rumours of the Generals imminent arrest.

Today started in Kandy, the powerbase of general Fonseca but also the place where the President will be sworn in again the 5th of February (the day after independence day), in the very holy temple of Buddha's tooth. So the city was swarmed with military, both for security but also for practicing the parades for the President and independence day.
In Kandy I also ended up visiting a school and talking with the students. The principal studied at Lund University in Sweden!

After fighting the resulting traffic jam we headed for the Highlands and the very beautiful tea plantations there. It's a bit like vineyards – the symmetry of the plantations interacts with the landscape, creating pleasantly beautiful landscapes. These green hillocks are then dotted with colourful specks – women tea-pickers. Wonderful!

We also visited a tea factory and then checked in at Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya, having a nice dinner and trying out the fascinating mic of ginger soda and gin.  and this morning there was a wedding at our hotel with kids all dressed up in a colourful way.