Inspiration Sri Lanka

18/07/2023

Dear All,

While the last few months should have kept our team busy with the happy preparation of the “season”, so that we can welcome travellers in the best possible way, things have unhappily developed in a very different way.

Without giving too many details, our permaculture project Rûmi's Eco Garden has been repeatedly attacked by neighbours over the past 2.5 months, with total destruction of the ecosystem we had regenerated during 2.5 years.

It will take time to give a proper answer to this criminal activity, and since we are now short of time, we have decided to shift our activities temporarily to one of our homestays, Dilu’s homestay, and to reduce our activities to what is manageable for our team who has gone through a lot of emotional distress these last few months.

NEW TEMPORARY ADDRESS:
We are therefore temporarily sheltered by the lovely people of Dilu’s Homestay, and will welcome the travellers over there these next few weeks.

This is the address where you can find us:
East N’ West on Board
C/O Dilu’s Homestay
14/21, 1st cross, Thiruchentoor
Kallady, Batticaloa

This is the google map location of Dilu’s Homestay: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yN4LeyfobmwE2coG6

EXCURSIONS AVAILABLE:
Please note that for the time being, we have reduced our excursions to the following:
- Let’s Cook and Fish (possible everyday)
- Palamunai Colours (possible Everyday except Friday)

We might also be able to propose:
- A day in Kudumbimalai
- Boating in Unnichai on certain dates, please check with us.

For the time being, we will not be running the excursions
- Towards Mylambaveli
- Historic Batticaloa
HOMESTAYS AVAILABLE:
In terms of homestays, we also have limited possibilities these next few weeks, but will try our best to accommodate your possible requests. Please reach out for more information.

CURRENT SITUATION AND CONTACT PERSONS:
We could not save our garden from the savage attacks it repeatedly suffered, but we are definitely on a mission to save our company from further harm.

Please be kind enough to bear patience with us, if we are late answering your emails or messages, and rest assured we try our best to catch up our late work.

The persons you can contact are:
Sandrine Debruyne – Tel: 0770133999
M.I.M. Sajith – Tel: 0769993304

Thank you so much for your understanding,
Best greetings from Beautiful Batticaloa!

10/07/2023

10/05/2023

07/05/2023

💙💙💙

05/05/2023

Another of our postcards has been published it seems... Thank you Postcard - Mindful Travellers Club

It’s about 6AM when our team starts the journey. Birds are in a jolly mood for this bright new day. We travel on a road between bushes and rocks, where we meet more cows than humans. We reach the entrance of Maduru Oya park at about 7AM.

Before we start our safari, we visit the small museum, where elephant skulls share the space with giant snakes’ skeletons. We are the only jeep today, as if the park was ours. A red earth track leads us at the heart of this wild natural habitat.

We learn about many kinds of birds as they become visible, closely or at a distance. A jungle fowl, emblematic bird of Sri Lanka, runs on the track in front of our jeep, while mighty eagles high in the trees quietly search for their next prey… Woodpeckers and kingfishers seem to rival for a beauty contest in their vibrant coloured costumes.

Wandering and wondering go on as we are privileged enough to observe a herd of wild elephants, relishing on a leaves breakfast. Though we observe them in silence, our driver keeps the engine on. We can surely understand this, safety first, as we are impressed at how easily they tear thick branches out of strong trees as if it was dead wood.

After even more wilderness, water monitors, lizards, buffaloes, here is a lake where elephants come to drink in the evenings. A moment of contemplation follows, as we feel grateful to have shared a piece of wilderness and silence with the inhabitants of the park, far from the crowds, the traffic, the shops… a welcome break in our daily lives. After a peacock greets us farewell by performing an elegant wheel, we are back to the entrance for a picnic breakfast under the trees.
--
Postcard Travel Story published by Inspiration SriLanka from "A 15-day Transformational Journey in Inspiring Sri Lanka"
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Join the Postcard Travel Club and receive extraordinary benefits for travelling mindfully and promoting responsible tourism at https://postcard.travel
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14/04/2023

And this is the message of the day!

Happy New Year to All in Beautiful Sri Lanka!!!

I know we could have created our own photo... But hey... This is holiday after all 😊... Just enjoying the sweetness of the day !

May this New Year put our lovely Sri Lanka back on tracks towards easier days

With Peace, Hope and Love from us!

Wishing all our friends in Tourism a peaceful Sinhala & Tamil New Year! May this year be a successful and a prosperous year ahead! 😊

07/04/2023

April is there...
And it is a beautiful month indeed...

The 1st of April Muslims were engaged in their 9th day fasting for Ramadan

Day before yesterday was Poya day, the full moon day, where Buddhist and Hindu temples got full with devotees and chanting, praying and offering ceremonies...

Today is good Friday, and Sunday Christians will get together to celebrate Easter...

Next week will be celebrated the Sinhala and Tamil new year, with Buddhist and Hindus visiting temples, making traditional food, wearing new dresses, participating in village games, visiting neighbours and family members...

The following week will Eid festival day end the one month Ramadan fasting for Muslims...with a common prayer, charity to the needy, family lunch, visiting neighbours and friends...

What a blessed month really... 💜

29/03/2023

To all travellers who are worried that the season comes to an end in the south... Here is a bit of travel inspiration and an invitation to move to the East, for more adventures and discoveries.

Ampara is, together with Batticaloa and Trincomalee, one of the three coastal districts forming the Eastern province.

Less developed in terms of tourism than other parts of the country, the Eastern province is an endless collection of stunning beaches and picturesque lagoons.

Home to Sri Lankans of all religions, the province is also a paradise for wildlife, with several national parcs and nature all around for you to enjoy.

Thanks to Ampara Live for the inspiring video...

Welcome to the East!

Might you require any support to organize your stay on the East, please do not hesitate to reach out!

25/03/2023

What do we need, work or charity?

We see a lot of posts on social media of travellers wanting to help Sri Lankan people.

Though it usually comes from a good intention, what travellers propose to do is probably not always the best they could do. .

Let's not speak here about the people whose intention is unhappily to make a buzz on instagram by posting pix of them distributing pencils to poor-looking children, as i do hope they are not the majority of the travellers who say they want to help.

Nevertheless, a lot of posts by people willing to help are about bringing used clothes or stationary from their home countries to distribute to people in need here.

Is it really what is most needed here?

If you really want to help, it could be useful to think about reciprocity.

Imagine you would face an economic crisis in your own country, where employment becomes scarce, inflation is so high that at some point, even though you had been considered as a middle-class family, you also can't afford the basics anymore... Now, some foreign travellers visit your country and see your distress. What would make more sense here? That they bring you used clothes from their country? That they give stationary they brought from home to your kids?

In reality, sorry to say so, but none of these gestures significantly helps the local economy. And I am sure a majority of you would agree that if you were made jobless by an economic crisis, you would prefer to be employed for a day, so that you could provide for your family, rather than to receive pencils for your kids. Especially if the electricity company just reminded you that without payment of your bill within a week, they would disconnect the electricity supply.

So Sri Lanka is not different. If you really mean to help, please when you come, kindly try your best to create local employment. There are indeed so many ways to do so, here are just a few suggestions:

Take a local guide when you go trekking rather than relying on Google maps.
Buy from street vendors and small shops.
Hire a local taxi when moving from place to place (not through a damn cheap app please, which is known for not paying fairly the drivers).
Eat in local restaurants rather than cooking yourself.
Stitch new clothes by buying local fabrics and hiring a local tailor to copy your favorite dress.
Drink plenty of coconut juices on the road side.
Take a guided tour, an excursion where you get to learn from the local people.
Hire the expertise of a local travel agent rather than spending countless hours on social media to create your itinerary.
Buy local handicraft and souvenirs to gift your loved ones.
Tip the people who help you on the way.
Etc. Etc...

These are only a few ways to generate work and income for the local population, and to make a real difference, in terms of economic recovery.

No offense here, but please consider that as a struggling country with an ailing tourism industry, what we need from you is more work than charity.

Please assist the friendly Sri Lankan people by kindly giving them many many many possibilities to assist you in filling your holidays with some meaningful sharing and caring opportunities.

Thanks to our guests to have understood this so well! Here at breakfast time in a family homestay during their visit of Batticaloa.

18/03/2023

Thanks Postcard Travel Club for publishing our stories!

🤠Did you know?...Situated in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle, close to Habarana town, Ritigala mountain stands around 2500 Ft tall, and is much less visited than the close by renowned site of Sigiriya Rock.

The mountain of Ritigala is well known in Ramayana Epics, as the Hindu God Hanuman is believed to have dropped a piece of Himalayan medicine forest while carrying it from India to Sri Lanka to save the life of injured Lord Rama. This explains the presence of medicinal plants on a part of the mountain.
If you decide to visit the rock monastery, you would better take a guide, to bring back to life how the site was a thousand years ago, when hundreds of monks were residing there, meditating in the forest, surrounded by bird songs.

Ruins of the lavatory, refectory, hospital, library are spread in a deep forest hosting sky reaching trees and giant lanes. There are also numerous double platforms dispersed in the jungle, previously used by monks to meditate.

The meeting places, which are still visible as round shape collections of stones, are the perfect place to sit, immersed in nature, meditating on how God for some, Nature for others, has blessed us with lands of peacefulness where "buzz" means the joyous and industrious flight of diverse insects, where music means chirping of birds and gentle breeze caressing calm trees above our heads.
No wonder it is under a tree that Buddha attained enlightenment.

Ritigala is definitely worth a visit, a healthy stroll for the body as well as a gentle reminder of our internal life, where heart and soul connect deeply with the entire Creation.
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Postcard Travel Story published by Inspiration Sri Lanka from "A 15-day Transformational Journey in Inspiring Sri Lanka"
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Add this POSTCARD to your personal collection of local stories at https://postcard.travel
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18/03/2023

After 4 nights in Batticaloa, during which our guests had many opportunities to interact with local families and discover local cultures and lifestyle, we had to let them go on with their tour this morning.

4 nights in Batticaloa??? Some of you might wonder what our guests did here, isn't it, as our area is relatively unknown to most travellers...

So here was their program...

Day 1:
They arrived from inland, where they had a nice trek with a veddha chief, then proceeded to Passikudah beach for a good sea bath before reaching Batticaloa. Were welcome in a homestay and had a gourmet dinner there.

Day 2:
Had our excursion "let's cook and fish" by bicycle during which they visited our permaculture garden, then had a tour of the market, then proceeded to a local family for a cooking class and lunch, and went fishing with our lagoon fishermen on their traditional boats in the afternoon.

Day 3:
Went into the wild area of Kudumbimalai, by tuktuk, saw wildlife on the way ( 🐘, 🐦, 🐄, 🐐...), climbed the famous rock (called Thoppigala in sinhala, Kudumbimalai in Tamil) which was a witness of the civil war, went further to the village to meet a local family and have lunch in their home, visited the village pond, then the museum, and came back in the wilderness.

Day 4:
A relaxing day, where we gave them bicycles and a map to explore the area by themselves, seaside, lagoon side till the estuary. Went fishing, shopping, eating in a local restaurant... Had a great natural oil massage by professional ayurveda doctors and a steam bath.

This is without mentioning the time they happily spent exploring the beach, taking sea baths just steps away from the homestay, where they met the whole family, ate with the kids, had fun together, witnessed the uncle coming back from fishing with kilos of prawns...

So you see... They had lots to do here... There would be much more to discover about our area, but it seems they also wanted to see tea plantations and the south coast 😁... So today they headed to the tea country...

Thanks 🙏 for travelling with us Brigitte and Alain... Hope to see you again another time in Beautiful Batticaloa!

14/03/2023

Adam's Peak is such a beloved place for Sri Lankans.

What is very inspiring about this mountain is that people of the different communities and religions all find a spiritual meaning in this special place.

At the top of the mountain, there is a footprint on the rock.
Buddhists believe this is the footprint of Buddha and call the place "Sri Pada".
Hindus believe this is the footprint of Shiva and call it சிவனொளிபாதமலை, the mountain of Shiva's light.
For Muslims and Christians, it is Adam's Peak, the place where Adam, first human being in Christian scriptures and first prophet in the Qur'an, was sent on earth after being chased by God from Heaven.

So... Here is a most sacred place for local pilgrims, whatever their religion might be!

09/03/2023

After sending our guests to Palabaddala Tea and Eco Lodge , we didn't hear about them on the next day...

Looking at this photo, now we can understand why... They just went to pluck tea, the traditional way... 🌿🙏😍

Finally heard about them the following day, very happy about the village experience they had.

At Inspiration Sri Lanka ... Our aim is to connect our guests with the local communities.. whether it is where we work, in Batticaloa area, or elsewhere in Sri Lanka.

Always happy to recommend nice places where guests get an authentic taste of what local life is here...

Thanks Asanka Yapa to have made sure our guests had a meaningful and happy time in your place...

08/03/2023

Happy women's day to all those beautiful ladies out there! With the inspiring and unstoppable The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

04/03/2023

"The world is not in your books and maps... It's out there" says the video...

Sri Lanka is not (only) in Ella and Unawatuna... It's (also) out there, in so many lesser known places...

Sri Lanka, a country (still) to be discovered. Forget your Instagram feed, hire a local guide and go, go, go wherever you like!

28/02/2023

What an inspiration indeed...

💙💙💙

22/02/2023

Could your time in Sri Lanka also be a learning experience?

Current times show us daily that learning life skills is essential. School failed to do so for many of us unhappily.

But as it is never too late to learn, what about...
- following a cooking class?
- discovering permaculture?
- understanding interdependence?
- building a solar oven?
- recreating a healthy soil?
- reconnecting with simple yet beautiful ways of life?

Sri Lanka's countryside is rich with old age wisdom and eco-friendly practices.

Experiences of regenerative agriculture, conservation of biodiversity, can be life changers.

Resetting priorities, becoming better versions of ourselves... Let's learn together how to have a positive impact and to lead more meaningful lives.

…

22/02/2023

Hey... Thank you Postcard Travel Stories for sharing our stories... 😌

Let’s first test your knowledge about tea. When and why was tea planted in Sri Lanka? What are the different types of tea? How to harvest white tea?

Here is a crash course that should allow you to know what teas hide behind labels such as BOP or BOPF, and understand how the British introduced tea plantations in a region previously growing coffee.

The introduction talk is followed by a tour of the plantation, where you can learn how to harvest the different types of tea, what the expression “two leaves and a bud” means, or how to obtain the finest white tea. You find yourselves surrounded by peaceful hills, observing from a distance the mighty Ella rock, strolling amongst tea bushes and other varieties of organic plants and spices, such as vanilla or cinnamon.

You will then be invited to visit the artisanal factory and observe drying racks and time polished machines. Amba estate is indeed more of a traditional workshop than a modern factory, choosing quality over quantity, as it is embodied by their workers patiently preparing manually the amazingly beautiful star tea.

After you are clear about the different processing methods of black and green tea, you’ll cordially be invited to taste a number of teas and herbal teas, and probably amazed at the rainbow-like colours they can display.

You can for sure do a bit of shopping here, and find for your beloved ones a variety of high quality organic teas, herbal drinks and spices to take home.
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Postcard Travel Story published by Inspiration Sri Lanka from "A 15-day Transformational Journey in Inspiring Sri Lanka"
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Add this POSTCARD to your personal collection of local stories at https://postcard.travel
--

20/02/2023

Now how would you call a country where most people's first instinct is to smile when you make eye contact with them?

The Earth's greatest treasure?
The Paradise country?

We call it Sri Lanka.

Contagious smiles all around.
A life changing experience for many travellers.
Whatever the struggles the people are facing here, their smile is never too far. .

An Inspiration indeed. Love you, Sri Lanka.

💙💙💙

17/02/2023

While a lot of foreign travellers visit only known places, local travellers explore the lesser known ones...

Another gorgeous area to discover in Beautiful Sri Lanka! Thanks travelers for the inspiration... Love from Batticaloa, another lesser known amazing region...