I arrived in Sri Lanka with a group of friends for a couple of weeks of touring. The first stop on our list was Hatton where would climb Adam’s Peak. We arrived in Hatton on a fairly overcast day and decided to go exploring. Across the road from our guesthouse was a tea plantation. We followed a red dirt path up into the hills and walked through the rows of tea.
When we got higher up in the hills, we found a group of women picking tea leaves. They had their bags hooked over their heads and were stuffing leaves in at a furious pace. As we approached, they stopped for a minute, waving and smiling. As we waved back, the clouds finally gave way to heavy monsoon rains. With the pounding rain, we all scattered, running for the nearest shelter. By the time we got back to our guesthouse, we were soaked to the bone and needed a cup of that hot Ceylon tea.
Jesse Sharratt 