sri lanka

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[quote]Originally posted by anna oz:
[b] hey there...love to chat to someone if your going 22 jan 05!!!! otherwise ill just see you there...im going to be there for some days before and after...is anybody out there????????? [/b][/quote]Hi Anna, My wife and I are going then, but given today's news I wonder if the tour will still run. Was mean't to go to the Maldives at the end of the Tour aswell!!

Dave

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hi...well yeah...its sounds real bad for these countries...ive always wondered about the maldives and sea levels...scary stuff...i guess we will have to see eh...

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Hi,

We have been in contact with our local staff and all groups currently on tour are safe and well.

At this stage we are planning on operating all tours in Sri Lanka and India as scheduled and are not anticipating making any cancellations. This includes tours departing within the next few days.

The Sri Lanka Discovery tour on the 1st January is, as above, running as scheduled. We may need to make minor changes to the end of the itinerary when the group are due to be in Bentota but this will be confirmed when the situation becomes clearer in the next few days. The tour leader will keep the group up to date as the tour progresses.

Regards,
Liddy Pleasants
Head of Operations
THE IMAGINATIVE TRAVELLER

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Hi Anna,
My wife, Shaara, and I are also on the 22/01 trip, so see you there. The news from the country is terrible but Libby's post below suggests we'll be able to get on. I hope so. Our thoughts are certainly with all those affected.

Tony

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Hello.....

Given the widespread disaster that has taken place in Sri Lanka since 26 Dec 2004 resulting in nearly 20,000 deaths, the lack of safe drinking water and the imminent outbreak of cholera, typhoid, malaria and dengue fever, I think it would be irresponsible for tourists to go there when so many local people are suffering and tourists who are there are scrambling to get out of the country. I'm wondering if Sri Lanka will even issue tourist visas to those arriving now.

Foreign affairs embassies around the world and WHO are also advising against non-essential travel to Sri Lanka and other areas devastated by the tsunamis.

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As my husband Tony says in his post above, we are booked on the Sri Lanka tour for Jan 21st. Watching the news, however, I have very mixed feelings about this. While I am sure most of the places we would visit have been "unaffected" in so much they are in the island interior, still standing and not directly impacted by the tsunami, I wonder how much they are affected by the breakdown in communications, loss of life, lack of food, water, etc.It is very hard to gain any impression from the TV or rest of the media about how the rest of the island is coping.
I can't believe that taking a tour out this weekend won't be adding to the burden of the Sri Lankans. What if someone has an accident or is ill while they are there - don't the hospitals have enough to cope with? How guilty will I feel sitting round a pool eating and drinking while people are homeless and queuing for water? Maybe the situation will be more stable in three weeks' time but surely this weekend is a bit soon? I don't know. Do the people want us there to bring in money and keep those in business going on as normal or do they all want to pitch in and help their own people back to "normal"?

Sri Lanka looks like a beautiful, interesting place and I was really looking forward to going but to visit it when people are mourning, homeless, there is the threat of disease, etc, doesn't seem right.

Anyone out there with any more info, views etc? Anyone been to SL before and can give some insight on how place away from the coastal region are likely to be coping, etc? I feel awful worrying about my holiday really when there is so much more at stake for the people out there but any comments would be good.

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Both my wife and I feel exactly the same, especially with more and more of the pictures of mass graves etc, and I don't believe the Sri Lankans will be happy with a bunch of camera clicking tourists hiking around the country in the middle of a national disaster.

I also agree with Glen's comments especially with regards to disease and drinking water and think any responsible tour operator will take all these factors in to account, before committing us and their reputation into such a situation.

One more penny for our collective thoughts, will our travel insurance company insurance us on this holiday?

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Lee,

I heard that Bentota and Negombo had been badly affected? Is there a change in the itinary to reflect this and if so, when will we be informed?

Thanks

David

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I have heard the same about Bentota and Negombo and pictures of destruction nearby. As well as there being a back log of tourists trying to leave Sri Lanka due to the limited number of passenger flights there.

I failed to mention, in my earlier post, that Kathy and I are also booked on the Jan 22nd tour. Foreign Affairs Canada states that "Canadian tourists should not travel to Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka has declared a state of national disaster." Even the Lonely Planet's website is not recommending travel to Sri Lanka at this time.

We are seriously thinking of not going for these and other reasons stated in the above postings. If we had a trip booked to India, Thailand or elsewhere in Indonesia, for example we wouldn't hesitate to go, as we could visit areas away from the disaster areas and not be a burden to those trying to survive or help the survivors.

We are also confused by ImTrav's comments that all tours are currently operating without problems. According to the ImTrav's brochure and website, the last tour finished Dec 25th - the day before the tsunamis. As well, we were unable to find any other tours listed for Sri Lanka until the one on Jan 1, 2005.

If anyone is going on the January 1, 2005 tour, I would like to have your thoughts posted.

Glen

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Hello I am living in London but my family are living in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

It has been terrible for me to watch on TV so much destruction to my country.
It is hard for me to be so far away from my family at this time but everybody here is giving me so much sympathy.

I just want to say that all TV is talking about east coast but there is also some problems on west cost as well. Not nearly so bad in Colombo but some buildings damaged with water and a lot of broken glass.
Of course I telephoned my family and they are OK thanks God but some cousins dead on the other side.

What I want to say is in Sri Lanka we have had so many troubles and so many times people stop coming to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a poor country and tourism is too important for my country. We are working very hard to make sure Sri Lanka is a good place and a safe place for tourists. I am studying now in London so I can return back home and work with tourists.

Now I hear on radio people saying that it is not good to come to Sri Lanka now because too much destruction and Sri Lanka people do not want tourists right now. I think this is a wrong idea. Many people in Sri Lanka are depending on tourists for making a living. If tourists stop coming it will be a big problem for them. On east side it must be very difficult for tourists to visit now impossible maybe because so many hotel destroyed but many beautiful places still remaining to see in other parts.
thank you
Dilhara

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Dilhara

Firstly let my wife Yvonne and I express our heartfelt condolences to you and your family for your terrible loss. Having lost two people ourselves in our immediate family this year we can understand the pain and upset caused by the loss of loved ones. Furthermore we cannot imagine what it would then be like to loose your homes and jobs as well.

However I still feel quite strongly that to go on a tour of your island three weeks after over 25,000 people have been lost is in poor taste. With millions homeless, requiring shelter, food and water I am sure that me and my fellow travellers will feel very guilty indulging in whatever food and drink are provided to us.

I agree that people shouldn't stop coming, and if this trip was in two or three months time then I am sure that a lot of people would have no reservations, but so soon in the wake of a natural disaster such as this, I personally feel is wrong.

I am also concerned by Glen's comments regarding the fact that no tours are actually running in Sri Lanka as this is not the impression ImTrav have given. Indeed as most tour operators in the UK are offering full refund for any travel to Sri Lanka up to the 31st of January (with the exception of ours at present) and I would be interested to see how many British Tourists are in the 1st of January group and read what their experiences are.

David

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First time I have ever used internet forum so hope this will end up in Sri Lanka topic .
My wife & I booked on Jan 22 S L Discovery and from comments on forum looks like we will be going which we find a bit scary but appreciate it will provide much needed support for SL economy .
Original plan was to leave tour on Day 14 at Bentota and spend two weeks dawdling along south coast to Hambantota before returning to Colombo .
This now appears unadviseable and considering getting flight /ferry to Keralla .
Any ideas ,comments on how to best fill our last two weeks welcome .Geoff & Lindy

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My initial thoughts were to not go and IF the Sri Lankans do not manage to control water born diseases then the British Foreign Office would probably advise against travel anyway.
My seconds thoughts were that if I do not go then I am depriving the country of their tourist trade. It is nice to hear the views of a Sri Lankan and I have also seen an article in which locals are pleading tourists not to stay away.
Now a tour has started it would be good to hear what the travellers advice is. As most of the tour is away from the devastation then perhaps it is O.K.
ImTrav: Do you think it would be possible for myself to use the couple of days on the coast to help the locals or any voluntary organisations?

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Hi again fellow prospective travellers!

Tony and I have been reading all your posts and replies from IT with interest this week.

I also noticed that there was a post from a guy called Paul who was asking about a guide in SL he had met on his trip out there in 2003 so I have asked him if he has any thoughts since he has been out there before and may be able to give some insight into the likely situation. Copy of my post and questions below - I think I have summed up the general mood here!

"We are really pleased to hear that you enjoyed your trip to Sri Lanka in 2003. I don't know if you have read any of the posts under the other Sri Lanka string by people who are due to go out there on Jan 21/22nd, including me and my husband. The general concern is that by going out there so soon we could be taking vital food, water supplies away from affected locals, adding an extra burden to emergency services and generally hindering the recovery operation. We are, of course, also a little concerned for our own health!

Since you have been to SL before I wondered if you had any thoughts on the situation. How do you think things will be in places not materially affectd by the tsunami such as the cultural triangle, hill country and general interior region which is our main area of travel on the trip? Do you think we are better to stay away, or as seems to be increasingly the view of Sri Lankan ex pats and some of the media, that we should go and give our economic tourist support to those still in business with their hotels, etc? How do you think the general mood/ attitude of the locals will be towards tourists at this time?

I don't know if you can answer any of this but it would be nice to hear the thoughts of someone who has been there before."

A week on from the initial shock I do feel a little less anxious about going out there although I'm sure the mood of both travellers and Sri Lankans will be somewhat more sombre than I had anticipated for our holiday. As aid seems to be getting through now I am also less concerned that we might be taking vital supplies from affected locals. I think that food is not generally is short supply on the island as I have read about more well off or unaffected locals trying to take it out to affected villages. It seems to be a question of logistics and perhaps politics in the case of getting it into north eastern Tamil regions. I also think that the hospitals are likely to be under less stress in a fortnight when we are due to go although of course there will still be many casualties.

As for our own health, since we are mostly well away from affected areas, presumably properly inoculated for typhoid etc and would be drinking bottled water anyway I don't think we should be under any great threat from disease and I don't think IT would take us if that were the case. Also the FCO hasn't advised against going to SL but just to keep away from directly affected regions.

The post by the British Sri Lankan seems to be echoed by several pieces in the media in which Sri Lankans seem to be urging tourists not to stay away but to keep those who are still able to operate their businesses afloat by bring in our tourists pounds, euros, dollars etc. I am sort of erring towards that view now but it is still hard not to wonder if we are helping or hindering. Am I being naive in thinking things will be better in a couple of weeks?

I would still be good to hear from anyone travelling out there at the moment and I support the previous posts question of whether ther is anything we could do/ take out/ provide as a group or individuals on our forthcoming trip? Maybe IT has some ideas? Do they know of any lcoal projects/intiniaves we could support financially or practically. We a re going to donate the UK appeal but it would be nice to see something happen locally directly?

Anyway, any other views/news welcome.

All the best for now and looking forward to meeting those who decide to go on the 22nd.

Cheers
Shaara

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Hi Everyone,

As you can see from the posts above I have been in regular contact with Lee Douglas, our reservations manager, over the last week or so and have similarly been in regular contact with our office in Sri Lanka. Lee has already dealt with a number of enquiries in her posts but I thought I would also add a quick post in response to Shaara as I have personally been to Sri Lanka and thought it might be useful.

Firstly though, I am pleased to be able to reassure you that all of our team in Sri Lanka are safe and well, including our tour leader Amitha. We are enormously thankful for this.

I have spent a long time in Sri Lanka over the past ten years or so; most recently I was there in May on our Sri Lanka Discovery tour. Sri Lanka is a stunningly beautiful, welcoming and fascinating country and the devastation that has been wreaked on the eastern and southern coasts is heartbreaking. I completely understand the position of those people who are concerned about travel to the country during such a difficult time and am very pleased to have seen the debates on this forum over the last few days.

I must say that in my opinion the worst possible thing for Sri Lanka now would be for the tourists to stay away. It defintely would not be appropriate at this time to visit the areas which have been completely devastated and we would never encourage travellers to do so, but the vast majority of the country has not been damaged and can welcome tourists as usual. Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for this beautiful country and to have this source dry up would compound the already immense problems that the country is facing.

On our Sri Lanka Discovery tour we spend the first 12 days of the tour exploring the cultural triangle and the hill country - areas which have not been affected (except of course emotionally) by the disaster. The last three days of the tour are spent on the beach and, as Lee has explained, we will be re-routing this section so that we stay in a resort that was not damaged. Our local office manager has personally visited this resort and has confirmed (a) that it is undamaged and (b) that they are VERY keen that tourists continue to visit.

Geoff and Lindy, it would definitely no longer be a good idea to travel along the Southern Coast to Hambantota. The hill country is very beautiful and this is one area that you might like to consider spending more time - you could travel up to the area around Ella from where there are some fabulous walking opportunities. This is not that far from Nuwara Eliya, which you will be visiting on your tour, so you will get more of an idea of the area when you are there. Your tour leader will also be able to give you further ideas when you arrive on the tour.

Lorna, Soph and Shaara, with regards to your offer to help volunteer when along the coast, this is extremely kind. My understanding however, is that aid is flooding in and that there is no longer a need for volunteers; the important thing is for the aid to be distributed around the country which is perhaps something that we cannot assist with.

We are suggesting that people donate to the Red Cross or Unicef but your tour leader in Sri Lanka may be able to advise you of any local organisations that you could donate to.

I hope that this has helped answer some queries.

Regards,
Liddy Pleasants
Head of Operations
The Imaginative Traveller

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Thanks very much for your post Liddy and taking the time to try and reassure us that our visit will be both welcome and helpful.

I too have been really pleased to see this debate on the board as I know that I shall be spending my holiday with caring, interested, articulate people!

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Regards
Shaara

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Liddy&Lee thanks for helpful comments .
Jan 22 travellers ,look forward to meeting you all .
Geoff & Lindy

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Liddy&Lee thanks for helpful comments .
Jan 22 travellers ,look forward to meeting you all .
Geoff & Lindy

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Hi All,

Just one final posting from me. Further to my posting yesterday I sent off a quick email to our manager in Sri Lanka to ask about possibilities for help and donations. I thought that you might be interested in his reply;

Dear Liddy,

Thank you for yor mail with your kind thoughts.

I kow that you all are doing this , but please ask all your colleagues to impress on the people making any inquiry that , at this particular time the best form of aid that could come to Sri Lanka is for the people who have been planning to come to Sri Lanka to continue with their tours as it will give a tremendous amount of mental confidence to the people affected and will give them the impetus to get back on their feet , specially those who are in the travel industry.

With regard to the donations / aid , locals as well as the international community rallied round to assist the affected people.But like in any other field there are lots of miscreants who will try to take mean advantage of this situation , capitalise and gain benefits for their own sake.There are numerous fund raising organisations which have cropped up , obvously not all of them are genuine.

Some of us friends organised a Medical Campaign in an area south of Batticoloa called Akkareipattu with a team of 12 doctors - as I could not go I sent my son as he is a Medical Student with the Team.Upon his return he was telling me how things have been wasted because everybody will try to finish their stocks of materials soonest possible by just distributing them to the refugee camps which are by the road side .But the ones in difficult areas interior of the main roads are neglected.So it is a good thing to have patience and give whatever is possible to the needy people who have been neglected .Their journey from Colombo took them 12 hours to get to the point.

I can suggest to you two things .

One is if you want us to channel thier contributions to the affected people , we can undertake to do it on your behalf by making investigations about the areas which are still neglected.I can do this either on a personal basis or from the LSR

Or else , I can give you the following information about some of the fund collecting agencies which are reliable.

President's Fund

Name of the Account: People's Bank - Headquarters Branch
Account No. 204 100 190 136 245
Swift Code PSBKLKLX
Sort Code 204 - 7135

Prime Minister's Office - Sri Lanka Tsunami Victims Relief Fund

Donate online to [url=http://www.emergencydonations.gov.lk]www.emergencydonations.gov.lk[/url]

Humanitarian Relief Programme by Sirasa /Shakthi/Yes FM

Donate online to [url=http://www.sirasa.com]www.sirasa.com[/url] OR

Name of the Account: Hatton National Bank - Head Office Branch
Account No. 0030323998CU

Donate Goods to

Humanitarian Relief
C/o MTV Channel(Pvt) Ltd
146, Dawson Street
Colombo 02
Sri Lanka

Relief Programme by Sri Lanka Rupavahini (Television) Corporation

Names of the Banks and Account Numbers:

Bank of Ceylon 00453 01 37584
Peoples Bank - Union Place 0141 001 00136235
HSBC Bank 007 240005 001
Sampath Bank 00 222 1

Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement

Donate online to [url=http://www.sarvodaya.lk]www.sarvodaya.lk[/url] OR [url=http://www.sarvodaya.org]www.sarvodaya.org[/url]

I must also say that the people do not have that much of faith with the politicians so they have been heavily assisting the Media Institutions.
We have noticed that MTV Channel has been doing an excellent job not only in this instance but even in the past whenever there were dissasters such as Floods , Earth Slips , Droughts etc.

You may advice the inquirers accordingly.

Thank you

With kind personal regards

Dharma

I hope that this may be useful. Once again, enjoy your trip to this wonderful country.

Regards,
Liddy Pleasants
Head of Operations
The Imaginative Traveller

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In response to Geoff's question, I just wanted to say that it isn't possible to take a ferry from Sri Lanka to India. You would need to fly. That said, Kerala has also been affected by the tsunami so you will need to do some research about where it might still be ok to visit. The Maldives would be another option. I know they were also affected by the tsunami, but it seems to have been less serious there and I know that trips are still running there as normal.

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I went on the SL discovery tour last year . Glad to hear that Amitha is OK . I would follow the advice of previous postings on the subject of travelling to SL now . The Discovery tour doesn't go to the affected areas , except at the end - which is being rerouted .
Don't deny your tourist revenue to the Sri Lankan economy at this much needed time , they have had enough problems in the past with attracting tourists due to political problems . Sadly the East of the country which is the main Tamil region , and had only just started to develop a tourist infrastucture , is one of the most devastated regions .
If you need any more persuading then think what happened to Bali , a tropical paradise turned to ghost town by one incident . Whole businesses went bust in days - through no fault of their own - and it has taken them a long time to get the tourists to return . Don't let Sri Lanka go the same way , it's far too beautiful .

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Thanks Liddy for letting us know that Amitha is OK. Very glad to hear it.

Paul
(travelled with IT in Sri Lanka in 2003)

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I have read the previous commments about travelling to Sri Lanka post tsunami which have reflected the concerns held by my husband and myself. We are due to travel on the Sri Lanka Discovery trip on 12 February and would be grateful for feedback from those returning from the 1 Jan trip.

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Kathy & I would also like to hear any feedback from those that went on the January 1st and 22nd tours. Sad to say, we won

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Glen,

We have also decided to pull out of the 22nd Tour, and are visiting Laos instead on the 11th of Feb. On a more general note, I would love to hear from those who have gone, and how the tour went.

We will return to Sri Lanka but just not this year.

David

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Dear All

Tony and I have just returned from our trip which left Jan 22nd. Unfortunately our original group of 15 had dwindled to 6 by the time we arrived. However, we all got on really well and have had an absolutely fantastic holiday out there. All members of the group had expressed the same concerns as everyone here but had decided to continue and we were given an extremely warm welcome by everybody we met. All the hotel owners, taxi drivers, beach sellers and touts at tourists sites were so pleased to see us after having had a very hard few weeks since Dec 26th. Everyone wanted to see the return of tourists. None of the places we went presented any danger to us. We have visited some truly beautiful, interesting places and wouldn't have missed this for anything. All the shops were filled with plenty of food, water, etc and life was going on pretty much as normal for people not directly in the south/east.Many people had sad stories to tell about affected friends/relatives but all said they were pleased that we had come and that we should tell everyone at home that they were welcome and their tourist money was badly needed! Many people who have not lost their houses or material possessions will not get government aid to compensate for the sudden exodus of tourists and they desperately need us tourists to start going back to buy their t-shirts, postcards, eat in their restaurants, etc. to feed their children and keep them in jobs. We feel that we made the right decision in supporting them in a very positive way. Obviously those who chose not to go had their reasons as well but anyone else booked on the trips should definitely go and they'll have a wonderful time. Think twice about two hours canoeing though - it's very hard work!

If anyone wants to know anymore please don't hesitate to ask.

All the best

Shaara and Tony Preedy

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Shaara and Tony
I'm really pleased to hear that you had a great trip. Thanks for the feedback. It's very reassuring to know that things have gone well and that tourists really are wanted. We are going to be essential for so many people's livelihoods.
How did you find the coastal bit at the end of the trip? Were you still able to get out and about along the coast? It's been confirmed that out group will be staying at the original guesthouse which has now been repaired and is looking forward to receiving guests.
We were thinking of giving the canoeing a try - hope we are fit enough! Sounds as though it was quite strenuous!
We travel out on Wed 9 and will be spending a couple of extra days in Negombo until we join the tour on 12 Feb. We fancy hiring bikes in Negombo and if possible getting a guide to take us around Colombo.
Thanks again for the feedback. We are more than ever looking forward to the trip. As far as I know the trip was full (15) - will be interesting to see how many of us actually still go! Your comments should certainly encourage other clients to definitely go!

Sheila and Alan Sides
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Hi

See my reply under the 12th Jan topic for an answer to some of your questions. Hope they are helpful!

Cheers
Shaara

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Thanks very much for all the info. It will be really useful. It really does sound a great trip. Packing is done and we are raring to go!!! Will let you know how we get on.

Thanks again
Sheila