We had a short trip of 5 days to Srilanka in third week of
December 2014. It was a memorable trip, which brought us close to the nature in
an enchanting way. We visited the capital city Colombo, the commercial city of
Kandy and the hill station Nuwara Eliya.
Here are ten reasons why we will always remember this Srilanka
trip on a positive note.
Immediately on arrival at the Colombo airport, the immigration
officer noticed an issue relating to my daughter’s visa. While she should have had
a separate visa for her, the travel agent had by mistake put her name in my
visa as a dependent. To our surprise, the immigration officer was very helpful
in resolving this issue, which required him to leave the counter for well over
fifteen minutes and consult his superiors. He made an online application for
her visa and obtained approval immediately.
Reason #1: The immigration officer was extremely polite,
cooperative and helpful while dealing with us.
Once in the city, we noticed that there were auto rickshaws of
different colors like Red, Black, and Yellow etc. Later, we were told later
that just like cars, the autos in Srilanka come in different colors. The first
observation we had in Colombo was that there was a traffic discipline. All the
traffic lights worked, the roads were without any potholes, no one sounded the
horn unnecessarily and people followed traffic rules.
Reason #2: The traffic sense in the people was far superior
compared with other Asian cities.
As we traveled to Nuwara Eliya, which is located at an incredible
height of around 6000 feet from the sea level, we observed that even the narrow
roads had markings of the road divider and the hard shoulder (end of lane) all
along. However interior we went in the hilly roads, or outskirts of the cities,
we found that the roads were clearly marked.
Reason #3: The roads are laid properly with lane markings, which gave
a neat appearance of the roads.
While we traveled from Colombo to Pinnavala, on one of the single
lane road, the driver overtook an auto by momentarily crossing over to the
opposite lane, as there was no road-divider, and also the road in other
direction was empty. There was a policeman standing just ahead, who stopped the
vehicle for violating the traffic rule. The violation was that there was a
solid line dividing the lanes of both direction, which meant that overtaking
was not allowed on that patch of the road. However, when the tourist guide and
the driver explained to the policeman that they were carrying tourists to
Pinnavala, where they needed to be on time and were already late, the policeman
just checked the license of the driver and let the vehicle go. He did not take any
money with or without receipt.
Reason #4: The policemen appeared to be honest. Just imagine, if
he was corrupt, he would have taken some bribe. Then for the rest of the day,
the driver would have cursed the policeman and passed some of his stress to us,
by not being as courteous. So, in this case, an honest policeman ensured that
we spent our day blissfully.
Our guide informed us that the government wants that every child
in every government school has a nutritious breakfast every day. However, to
ensure that the disparity in the financial status of various children does not
come to the fore, they came up with a very novel idea. They ask the parents to
cook the breakfast for all the children in their ward’s class. So, if a child
has say thirty students in his class, the parents of every child cook the
breakfast for all thirty students by rotation. The government pays a specific
amount to the parents towards this, with an advance intimation about their turn.
Reason #5: The government is interested in developing a better future
for their country, by ensuring that every child has a nutritious breakfast.
As we were watching the road traffic while travelling in our cosy
van, we noticed something amazing. A boy was running to catch a bus and as he
boarded the bus, his wallet fell down on the road. While some of the bystanders
were watching this, suddenly, one of the person came forward, picked up the
wallet and ran behind the bus, which had slowed down now for some traffic congestion
ahead, and handed over the wallet to this boy who looked anxiously all along.
Reason #6: It appeared as though the percentage of honest citizens
is higher than average in Srilanka.
Throughout our stay in Srilanka, we did not spot a single beggar. This
showed that the people engaged themselves in some activity or other to earn
sufficient money for their survival. Also, the government might have several
measures in place to ensure that the beggars are rehabilitated in some
remunerative work.
Reason #7: No beggars.
In all the hotels we stayed, what stood out was their hospitality.
The hotel staff was utmost courteous, which was probably because of their
training of course, and also it could have been their basic nature to be polite
and humble. The attitude and behavior of the hotel staff has a direct bearing
on the level of comfort of your stay in any hotel.
Reason #8: Excellent hospitality.
The nature must have been extremely generous while designing
various countries on earth. The hillside of Nuwara Eliya is a treat to the
eyes. It is a wonderful experience to travel through the narrow roads,
surrounded by hundreds of tea plantations, spread over thousands of acres of
land. The scene of clouds passing below the mountain heights leaves an imprint
in the mind for a long time.
Reason #9: Natural beauty of Srilanka.
The religious harmony of Srilanka is worth appreciating. The
population comprises of 80 percent Buddhists, 10 percent Muslims and 10 percent
Christians. Barring a few incidents, the society is generally tolerant towards
one another’s religions. This is probably, because Buddha emphasizes on noble
qualities such as peace, tolerance and harmony.
Reason #10: Communal harmony.
Our guide told us many other trivia like how the Indian satellite
channels were making inroads into Srilanka. Some of the popular ‘saas-bahu’
serials were already dubbed in the local Sinhala language. These serials attracted
all the womenfolk in sitting glued to the TV sets when these serials were telecast.
Apparently, the local fashion market is also deeply influenced by these
serials, with various dresses, bangles, accessories coming out with the brand
names of popular serials.
As we left Srilanka, we felt that this land had suffered a lot in
the last few decades due to the insurgency of LTTE and was experiencing some
peace now. We pray that the peace reins in Srilanka for ages to come and it
develops and grows to become a powerful south Asian country.
