The morning started at around the correct time for travelling. The three rooms we rented were a floor down from the main road. Yet to the back of the building, we must have been an apparent 6 floors high looking still further down to a valley. The panorama from the outside corridors was a nice way to wake up. We got ready, had tea, checked out, and first drove into Bandarawala for breakfast. We found a Muslim bakery that was perfect. Whereas most had bread and curry, Jay and I ate short eats.The weather was perfect. Although sunny in the city, we could still see the mist rolling along the peaks of the higher mountains. I think I’ve now replaced Ratnapura as my favourite Sri Lankan city. Bandarawela was larger than I might have expected by the size of the letters on our map. The city itself sports a very large clean mall-type shopping center. Also, in this country if there’s a Cargill’s Food City and a clothing store called Fashion Bug, then one knows it meets a certain level of sophistication. Bandarawela had both. Additionally, the views are great coming into or leaving the city. I loved the fact it was downright cold at night. This was only the second time, I’ve not awoken with a sweaty face since arriving on the island. The first time was the prior night in Nuwaraeliya.
Then the rest of the day was spent heading down from the mountains towards home.
The road through the mountains offered stunning views although it was under major construction. I would venture we passed 30 or 40 kilometres of road work. Although that may not sound like much to some of you, by Sri Lankan standards, it’s a major project!
I’m not sure if the road work is coming from government funds or under foreign aid. I think I may have seen Korean faces among the supervisors. Regardless, it is an absolute necessity in order to get this country moving. We spent the better part of yesterday passing cultivated areas in the mountains where most of Sri Lanka’s vegetables are grown. The majority of this produce must head to the tables of people in the capital area. It’s imperative that roads are improved not only Wfor the flow of people but for products. In West, we don’t spend lots of time thinking of infrastructure projects. We’ve had literally generations of spending on developments that are new to many countries such as Sri Lanka. I had never heard to the term carpeted road until this trip. What it means is a highway with a proper foundation. The roads that are being carpeted must have formerly been merely trails were patched with successive coats of asphalt and tar. That was every road in Sri Lanka when I visited in the 1980’s. Transport has changed a lot since then. Twenty years ago, private transport wasn’t prevalent, so there were few private busses or tuk tuks. Over the years there’s been an additional explosion of motorcycles and private autos.
The headaches which the West still encounters are more pronounced here. Many roads cannot handle the sheer volume of traffic and improvements will only guarantee the addition of future vehicles. Unfortunately, safety and environmental standards are lax in Sri Lanka. People who live in the North America's "Land of the Free" seldom stop to think how extremely regulated they really are. Whether it’s zoning rules, or federally mandated auto-glass regulations, people in developed countries have regulated themselves a safe and reasonably pleasing environment. This is not the case in places which cannot afford spending on such luxury.
As a final note, I’m pleased to have been able to see the sights I did today. Returning through Ratnapura meant lunch at our guest house. The same steward set the table for our group of eight as did for Jay and I two years ago.
We got home at about 5:30. I couldn’t wait to have a shower!