According to Lee Tulloch from The Sydney Morning Herald, Sri Lanka is a country where the hospitality and friendliness of the local people towards strangers is extraordinary. Tulloch recently visited Sri Lanka and shares her experience of meeting the locals, which she says was the highlight of her trip.
She explains that while travelling in an organized tour, everything is packaged and proscribed, leaving no room for a spontaneous and authentic experience. The people one meets while wandering around and exploring on their own can make the trip unforgettable.
Tulloch recounts her encounter with a young girl named Upeksha who approached her group while they were wandering the market in the small village of Rathmale near Sri Lanka’s south coast. Upeksha asked if she could practice her English, and they happily obliged. She was studying English in school and wanted to become a fashion designer when she graduated. Tulloch and her group encouraged her and even exchanged phone numbers with an editor from Harper’s Bazaar in Asia who could offer advice.
In another instance, Tulloch met Ranmali, a woman living in a small village near Ahungalla on the southwest coast. Ranmali invited Tulloch into her home to have tea and biscuits and showed her family photos. She even took them to a 300-year-old monastery nearby, where they were given a tour by one of the three monks and gifted a porcupine quill.
Tulloch emphasizes that meeting locals and being open to new experiences can be the best part of any trip. She stayed in beautiful resorts along the Sri Lankan coast, but it was the people she met who made the trip so special. Tulloch concludes that visiting Sri Lanka is a chance to restore one’s faith in humanity.
Source: The Sunday Morning Herald
