The rain had washed the dusty roads and polished the lush green vegetation ready for our 15 mile journey from Kandy to  Taylor’s Hill in the central province of Sri Lanka. Mist was hugging the Kandy Hills as albeit slowly we made our way through the traffic congested city. Before long we were beginning to climb high and Lal our private driver pointed out the Ceylon Tea Museum evidence that we were entering the plantation country.

By this time heavy rain had returned and we didn’t see anyone picking from the low tea bushes which cling to the side of the hills. Old tea factories appear hollow and silent and Hindu shrines shine brightly, isolated on the side of the roads.

Towns are busy as we cut through the hills, brightly coloured homes and brightly dressed families stand huddled under umbrellas waiting for the Leyland buses to take them home. Villages are mainly Hindu but there are some Muslim areas and all are equally welcoming to strangers when they walk the hills .

The road got steeper and it got narrower as Lal guided the car competently and cleverly round sharp bends breathing in visibly when the buses shuffled their way down and tuk tuks weaved their way in and out.

Not a journey for the faint hearted but a colourful one for sure. That 15 mile journey took two hours but it took us to paradise and beyond in the form of Taylor’s Hill.