Escapades in Sri Lanka

Every establishment needs good employees. All individuals require a committed confidante. Every household needs a watch-person and every family needs a guardian. They could be your parents, grandparents, a relative or just any other person that one might be comfortable to be taken care by…. In short, a Caretaker. In a different context and in relation to the industry of hospitality, he or she is akin to a custodian for a specified period. This custodian, in this narration, transforms into all the above as a caretaker at this place that one might be inclined to call, a peaceful holiday bungalow in the hills of Sri Lanka. His name is Janaka. Janaka, a prematurely retired Special forces guy from the Sri Lankan Army, has taken it upon himself to enhance his army training, quite boldly, towards the hospitality industry by undertaking a holiday home in the hills of his hometown named Moragolla, in the district of Kandy, at a place called the “ATT’s Eagles nest.” His Missi...

The sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight part is the least of any passenger’s worries. It is an excess of other setbacks that tends to be troublesome. The nightmare is everything else. Ticket prices that keep changing, visa requirements, fees for excess check-in bags, frequent delays, long queues, indignities of security and border controls, inadequate staffing at gates, and the constant scuffles at airports.  Yes, he might be the king, but certainly not at the aircraft door.  Thereby, arrives the Service aspect as the value addition.   What is service. Service is nursing. People come with problems and service personnel need to listen, understand, attend, and care. Fulfilling these basic requirements would create happy moments. In short, reassuring that the consumer receives what is expected. Service entails an element of engagement. Through research, pundits believe that “one off” customer service will cease to exist and shall be all about consumer engagement; the art...

16th of March 2019, designed by a group called “Art of Travel,” my son and I embarked on a venture to conquer the sixth highest mountain of Sri Lanka as a part of a quest to fulfil our objective of achieving the task of climbing the ten highest mountains of this beautiful island that we so cherish to call home. Peaking at an elevation of 2212 meters “Great western” has nothing significantly or remotely related to any western film but situated amidst the tea plantations in Talawakelle named the Great-western tea estate rather perplexingly. One must take a left turn at the Talawakelle town to a point that has only a walking path to the GW railway station at the foothills of this mammoth massif. The access from the town consists of a 14 kilometres drive plus 1.5 kilometres walk to the station and is the last place to fill up on your non-elaborate essentials for the hike. A two-kilometre walk along the railway track took us to a methodically paved Kovil stairway on to our l...

“Cycling is a blissful diversion; one would realize its pleasures only through indulgence and not otherwise.”   The big fellow was a muscle builder not ridden for 12 years. Two more purchased their push-bikes the day before, and a few found rusting two-wheelers from some sort of refuge.   As confusing as it may sound, the four ladies and the five guys were gearing for a never before accomplished adventure in their lives. The bikers, from ages of 17 to 50 years, capitalized on an opportunity to cycle from Nuwara Eliya to Gampola on machines they were not too comfortable with. A new venture for this team.   At three in the morning on the 7th of August, expressing enthusiasm, the bikers left Colombo in a minibus to Nuwara Eliya whilst the bicycles were dispatched carefully stacked onto a lorry. On the way, breakfast heavy and yummy was at Pussellawa rest house and the presumable riders reached Nuwara Eliya at nine thirty. The weather chilly at 12 degrees Celsius, breez...

Driven and motivated to a commitment of fulfilling one of many ambitions and paranoia (I presume) drove her to commit the following crime. Not to society nor humankind but to herself, her own body, physique and mental status. Angelica De Silva bearing staff number C12407 or Angie to our cabin crew is considered to be a fitness fanatic. Her passion to complete fitness goals are in abundance and one of it was to run a marathon which was on her “bucket list” of sorts. In my opinion brave, rash; but obviously Awesome.   Randomly, she chose the Colombo marathon known as the “LSR (Lanka Sportreizen/  http://srilankamarathon.org ) Colombo marathon,” the national event recognized worldwide as the Sri Lankan leg of the global marathon events. A staggering 8500 runners including more than 300 foreigners from 46 countries representing all continents were at this 17th Edition of the series which was held on the 08th of October 2017. The route from the Ministry of Sports at ...

The numbers….. sixteen three wheelers called the “TUK TUK,” around 35 participants from seven countries, eight destinations, eleven days on an adventure to travel 1600 kilometers by driving on roads less traveled, and I had the pleasure of being an entrant along with my friends cum colleagues Lakshi and Chervon in a customized “TUK TUK” to portray our National and Sri Lankan Airline’s identity to the world. The idea generated by a movement called the “Large Minority,” partnered by the tourist board of Sri Lanka, Connaissance de Ceylan and SriLankan Airlines, the project was to showcase Sri Lanka in its own natural habitat and splendor. Not only by mingling with the local folk of normal life and lore, but also by travelling in one of its unique mode of transportation called the “Tuk Tuk.”  Aptly named “Lanka Challenge,” the planned route was from Tamarind Tree hotel Minuwangoda and on to Kalpitiya, Giant’s tank in Mannar; Jaffna via Pooneryn; Trincomalee through Para...