Saturday 6th January 2024

I would say that this was easily my most enjoyable day so far, but it got rather spoiled this evening when I handled an extremely frustrating situation very badly. Let's focus on the good part of the day, because it really was a pleasure to work with Miggy and Stephanie all day, as we went in search of accommodation for Stephanie from next Tuesday 9th January, that we could also recommend to future volunteers who are working with Tea Leaf Trust in the Nuwara Eliya area.

We visited 10 different Guest Houses between 10:00 and 16:00, with a brief stop for a delicious buffet lunch (that only cost 500LKR - around £1.25 - per head) in between. We found some very suitable accommodation to suit a range of budgets in a variety of locations, but there was one place that was exceptional, where we returned at the end of the day to make a booking for Stephanie, who will go there at the same time as Isabelle, a new volunteer, next Tuesday.

Our ideal accommodation (and I would happily stay there any time) is very aptly named Sky Heaven, and it does have quite sensational views. I used all my charm to negotiate a good reduced price for Tea Leaf Trust volunteers staying for more than a week. We came across Sky Heaven completely by chance, and I would love to send you to a link for it on Booking.com, but it isn't on there, so I can only tantalise you with a couple of the views from it in today's photos.

I had thought that I might be doing this job on my own, so I was so grateful to Miggy and Stephanie for tagging along with me, partly because their input was so helpful, but also because they were such good company. I didn't get back to Blackpool until early evening, and after a bit of supper with Miggy (Meena is such a great cook!), I chilled out in my lovely room, which has been enhanced by a beautiful bottle light (a Christmas gift from my daughter Hannah).

Today's photos show Miggy, Stephanie, and me at the end of our whistle-stop tour of the Guest Houses, the beautiful views from Sky Heaven (the photographs barely do it justice, so you really need to come to experience it!), and my lovely room at night!