Nuwara Eliya / නුවර එළිය, Sri Lanka (11/24/2015 - 11/25/2015)

Nuwara Eliya, or "Little England" as it's sometimes referred to, is a small town right in the middle of Sri Lanka.  At nearly 2,000 meters in altitude and moderate temperatures year-round (16C avg), it's not been given this name for no reason - the British saw this as a bit of a sanctuary from the otherwise equatorial tropical climate, and proceeded to found this town, and turn it into a small enclave of Britain through importing vegetables, trees, cattle and constructing houses and buildings that resemble the old country.

It is also where much of the famous Ceylon orange pekoe tea is grown - and for more than 200 years has been exported to the world. It is also a haven for wildlife aficionados who can observe number birds, monkeys, lizards, and even leopards.  Then there is the 14 km trek across Horton Plains, the British Raj's old hunting grounds, which features grassy plains that look like they came out of a Windows desktop background, as well as a 1 km sheer drop appropriately named "World's End".

Overall a great getaway to a very nice climate - but getting there is a bit crazy - one lane curvy roads dodging lorries, tuk-tuks, tractors and occasional herd of cows or buffalo.