So often in life, if we can muster up the courage to face our fears, we are rewarded with unforgettable, and sometimes even life-changing experiences. Regardless of whether these experiences end up being positive or negative, one thing we can pretty much count on is some sort of personal growth. I have found this phenomenon to be true many times in my own life, and it was hammered home again recently, on a long layover in Sri Lanka, en route from Spain to Australia.
Of all of the unknowns ahead of me on this year-long journey, the one thing that was stressing me out for months was a silly 20 hour layover. Justifiable or no, Sri Lanka seemed intimidating to me. As an inexperienced solo traveller; female, very blonde and very white, I was concerned for my safety. At least, I thought to myself, my advancing age was probably some sort of advantage safety-wise. For once I was happy about my age. See? Look at me always finding something positive in every situation LOL.
Anyway..the reason that I was stressing was that I was not about to spend 20 hours in the Colombo airport, but I was intimidated by the idea of venturing out alone in such a very foreign place. Neither was I interested in being part of some cheesy commercial tour. I also had my very tight budget to consider….it was so early in the trip and my limited funds had to last for a whole year. I was also afraid that I might just chicken out and book myself in at the “layover hotel” in the airport, feigning fatigue upon arriving at 4:30am with likely little to no sleep on the 10 hour flight, with another 10 hour flight ahead of me. For weeks there was such a royal battle going on in my head!
I have travelled very little, but when I have taken the odd tour, I have endeavoured to seek out the most local of tour companies. I believe in supporting the local economy, and the local tours are most often small groups and the guides are typically native people or long time residents, so you get the best inside information! In addition, if you do your research, you often pay less for this much better experience, because you are not paying a cut to a large, foreign corporation who has infiltrated the tourism market.
At some point in my recent trip planning, during one of my many online escapades, I came upon http://withlocals.com. I plugged in “Sri Lanka layover” and a tour guide named Deegoda popped up. I reached out to him and it all started to flow from there. In the labyrinth of my mind, there was still lots of uncertainty. In the end, after reading reviews, vetting the tour company, stalking Deegoda online and ultimately deciding to just simply trust the process, I booked the tour and committed to shedding the stress and getting stoked for another adventure!
In the end, my day near a city called Negombo, close to the Colombo airport in Sri Lanka, far exceeded my expectations. Deegoda was an amazing host. He picked me up extremely early in the morning at the airport in his tuk-tuk with flowers and a keepsake shell necklace. He spoke English, albeit with a very heavy accent, so we were able to communicate fairly fluently. It was a wild ride as he navigated us safely through the typical terrifying traffic on the narrow streets to his home. He then allowed me a very welcome couple of hours of rest in the home-stay accommodation which he is just in the process of developing as part of his tour business. Following that, I was able to store my belongings safely while we went out..first to a beach-front yoga session (at my request), then for a lively tour around the city. We stopped at various places to sight-see and taste the local fare. Deegoda grew up in the area so he knew someone on every block. He also studied Buddhism and attends a local temple, which he took me in to see, which was quite special. The day was getting on by then, so on the way back to the homestay we picked up a lovely young local woman in the tuk-tuk, and she proceeded to involve me in cooking a very traditional meal for us all, including Deegoda’s cousin who lives at the homestay (which is also their home.).
This post would go on for chapters if I described my experience in all it’s detail. I will try to wrap it up by saying that I am beyond glad that I did not chicken out and stay in the airport, and also that I did not try to see this area on my own. It would have been extremely overwhelming and I would have missed out on all the local knowledge and insider perks! I learned so much and met such warm and genuine people. These people do not have much, their currency is weak, they face many daily struggles and yet all I saw were happy, smiling faces and felt a genuine positive vibration.
This 14 hour experience that I lost so many hours of sleep over, has undoubtedly been the most impactful part of my trip so far. Here are some of the take-home messages:
- Do things that scare you.
- Travel to a developing country and engage with the locals.
- Be grateful if you live in an industrialised nation.
- Check and frequently double-check your attitude towards life.
- Your best protection when out in the world is to have an open mind and an open heart.
I would like to share the link to Deegoda’s private tour business. He is also an experienced trekking guide, and takes people on amazing walks through Sri Lanka’s ancient rainforest..the second largest in the world after the Amazon! Sri Lanka is on your travel list, please consider his services..I am sure you would not be disappointed. http://mydestinationadventurepvtltd.com
