We booked four nights at the Flame Tree estate, in the hills near Kandy. Of course, as previously mentioned, we have the Flying Squirrel room. How can you beat that? We look out on an amazing landscape of rolling hills and thick jungle– there are palms, tropical trees and such an array of plants that is hard to comprehend the variety.
I went for a walk yesterday with Herath, one of the staff here who is incredibly knowledgeable about plants and all of their uses. He showed me trees — cinnamon, clove, jackfruit, vanilla and, of course, the prolific coconut palms. He pulled off leaves for me to taste and showed me pepper vines.
As soon as he pulled a leaf from the cinnamon tree, the air filled with spicy cinnamon and the leaf tasted the same. It’s a spicier, fragrant cinnamon than we get in the US and miles above in taste. I sampled curry leaves as we walked along, then ate a few slices from a mango that had recently fallen. Herath talked about how all of these plants are used–leaves for cooking and tea and medicine, bark, fruits, flowers… I eventually pointed to a branch full of leaves that looked a lot like the curry tree we had just seen (and nibbled). “Can I eat that?” I asked. “Oh, no. No.” Well, I decided from that point that I will always need a guide through the jungles and spice plants here.
As we walked looking at plants, we also saw another mongoose. And Herath stopped me to get a look at this guy–“Stop. Look there. Wait. They can bite.” Then, slowly, slowly we approached a little closer. It was a huge monitor lizard!
Herath made us teas from flowers he picked, from the trees and grassy plants just a stroll away from our table. He introduced us to beli mal tea, sweet and perfumed and delicious from the flower of the wood apple.
Richard mentioned our mongoose. When we saw him on the back deck early one morning, I thought what a cute little guy (and he was!). We lay in bed one morning watching him with the sun just coming up. He was long and sleek and inquisitive. He darted back and forth on the back terrace from one side to the other. Next, he promptly lifted his leg and peed on the outdoor table before he left. We also have some very playful small squirrels that I’ve insisted on calling chipmunks because that’s what they look like. They run tirelessly along the small brick ledge that defines the outer edge of the terrace. Birds are ceaseless in their chirping and calling from sun up to sun down. At the pool, there is a small group of swallows that dive and dip throughout the day. They circle up in the palms and a minute later approach the runway, tap the water and are up again circling.
Of course, with the jungle come ants in every variety, many of which have bit me; though I don’t have near the bites I thought I’d have. I also discovered on my walk yesterday that, with the jungle, come a lot of leeches. Herith had to stop during our walking tour to help me knock them off my shoes. One dived immediately into my sock. We wrestled that one and three more appeared around my ankle–and that was just one foot. Luckily Herith had me apply oil to my feet, toes and ankle before we left, so the leeches didn’t seem to get a hold, even when they got in my shoe. 🙂
Foodwise, the Flame Tree has been amazing. We’ve had fantastic dinners every night and, given the low season with the monsoon rains that roll in this time of year, the hotel is not fully booked. In fact, we have been the only guests here since we arrived. A few rooms are booked for the day we depart.
The estate here was renovated by two interesting guys, both foreigners–Mikael and David. I would love to have met them, but they are away at the moment. However, the directors are here and in charge– five little Schnauzers, three generations of them, all apparently snoozing above us each night in the penthouse. The details of the renovation are striking–antiques, ecological cultivation of the perimeter with the jungle given to grow as it will just beyond. They have 25 acres. They have goats–goats with names and, no, they are not eaten. It is a gentle and peaceful oasis here.
Leave a Reply