Day 16 Last stop before dinner -- the Tea Plantation

The Tea Plantation turned out to be a big challenge. The traffic was so bad that it took about 1 1/2 hours to get there. I suspect it should have taken 1/2 hour in normal traffic. When we finally got there, they were still picking the tea on the hillsides, and we were able to pick some ourselves. The guide explained which leaves to pick and how to pick them.

We then watched a man drying the fresh picked tea in a special heated basin that was about 220 degrees. We could see him turning the heat on and off to maintain the temperature. This method was suppose to keep the leaves nice and flat as they dried.

We then went into a special tea room where we were served fresh hot tea. Our guide explained how the tea was made and the different qualities. Then of course, we were given an opportunity to buy tea.

The trip back from the plantation was just as bad for traffic and we realized that we didn't have time to go back to the hotel and then to the restaurant in time for dinner, so we skipped our rest time and went directly to the restaurant. After dinner, we considered going back to the market or the lake since they were nearby, but decided instead to just go back to the hotel.