Sri Lanka : from Kandy to Balapitiya

After a few days of heavy rain and thick clouds, the sun appears just in time for a few last pictures of Kandy, before heading towards the south.

After the rice fields of the last days, the countryside is now a patchwork of tea plantations, in the middle of what they call the "Little Switzerland".

It is also the country of the water falls, and after the buckets of water which have been falling for days and days, the result is quite amazing. Walking through this scenery is close to heaven, specially with a temperature which has come below 30°C, for the 1st time in more than one week, thanks to the altitude.



For those who would tend to forget that it is already December, there is Xmas decoration everywhere (at least in the Christian villages, and it seems there are quite a few ones around).



And you can even get a nice colored cake if you want, or you get fed up with pineapple and papaya, but I will probably stick to fruit a bit longer, and wait until I am back in France for the cakes...



Then a short trip by train in the "Express to Colombo", but don't believe that the word "express" refers to something even remotely close the French TGV ! OK, you might have to travel sit on a table in 3rd class coach (mmhhh, this reminds me a recent statement from another traveler...), but the permanent activity (greengrocers, food sellers, musicians...) makes the trip seem a lot shorter than the reality.