Sri Lanka was not particularly on my list of countries to visit and yet, the opportunity presented itself, I was able to stay there. Overall, I do not regret the trip and I came back conquered by the kindness and smiles of the people.
The sense of hospitality
The civil war had just ended a few years ago (Tamil vs Sinhalese) but the country seems to be moving forward and moving beyond this long conflict (1983-2009), life is getting back to normal.
And the least we can say is that they have a sense of hospitality, like this tuk tuk driver who insisted on taking us to eat at his place in Anuradhapura. Sri Lankans tend to smile easily, and there is no age limit. Whether it is mischievous, shy, outbursts or other, we are often rewarded with a smile if not a curious look.
Smiling is contagious
Sri Lanka is not yet too visited (it was not in the top 50 most visited countries in 2012) and people seemed quite happy to see heads from elsewhere visiting their beautiful country. This was especially the case when I was walking around the villages around the site of the Lion Rock in Sirigiya. When it wasn't the children who were following me laughing, it was people who invited me to come and sit near them and offered me a glass of water, which I couldn't drink, because unfortunately, running water here is a rare commodity and I preferred to avoid water from the well... I also felt embarrassed by the situation...
We had a good time with Tamil families, those whose women are generally the tea leaf pickers, there again, the smile was omnipresent, many looked with a curious air at my wife drawing their portrait in order to give them. The children are particularly generous in smiles, not to mention their general amusement in front of these people who have come from far away to visit them.
This state of mind makes the trip enjoyable in that a smile is universal and contagious, so we generally return from Sri Lanka feeling boosted and happy ourselves in return.
Finally, I can't resist posting this photo, certainly without a smile, but with this look full of wonder and filled with innocence.
Have you ever been to Sri Lanka? If not, is the country on your “list” of visits? If so, how did you perceive the Sri Lankans?
