- Madushka Lakshan on his travels
Madushka’s travel blog is trustworthy because of his years of experience in the tourism industry; he knows all the hot spots and even the little hidden gems in Sri Lanka, all of which he talks about extensively on his page. He has even worked with high-end hotels like Shangri-La, Kingsbury, and Marino Beach Hotel, to promote tourism and travel to the locations foreign tourists would like to visit. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, he is currently out of work, so he was forced to return back to his village, where he started a small bookshop to earn a living. He remains hopeful that the situation will die down soon, and he will be able to pursue the career that he is so passionate about. He also added that sometimes foreign tourists that he had guided come back to him and request that he guides them on more tours, because of his depth of knowledge and experience.
His love for travel has been ever-present since his childhood, living out of Colombo had already exposed him to the wonders of nature that he loved to explore. His love for our beautiful country led him to a career in the tourism industry, where he can truly voice the allure of Sri Lanka. It was once he came to Colombo for work that the itch to travel set in: “I missed my village, I missed the trees, and the birds, and the unpolluted sky. I couldn’t get that in Colombo, so together with a few friends, we would set out for adventures all over Sri Lanka whenever time permitted.”
On the topic of why he began his blog, he informed us that before travelling, he would look for advice from various other travel bloggers online. Once he felt like he no longer had to look for advice on travelling, he realised he had a treasure trove of knowledge that he could share with others in order to share his love and passion. Then, he checked out a few more blogs to understand what style he should go for, and what type of content he should be promoting, and that’s how his page was born.
Talking about travel after the pandemic, he noted that more people are going to want to travel since they’ve been stuck in their houses for more than a year now. “It is good that local tourism will also be promoted, but many people don’t know how to appreciate the beauty of our island without destroying it,” he commented, adding that something he sees all the time during his travels is pollution from bottles and plastic wrappers. He questioned why it’s so difficult for people to clean up after themselves, and advised travellers to bring a garbage bag with them so all the trash can be put in it once they are done. “There is no harm in eating and drinking and having a good time, but it is our responsibility to take care of nature that provides us with such lovely images and feelings. We are facing a global emergency and nothing will change unless we own up to our responsibilities and take the initiative to change our ways.”
Brunch asked Madushka if he had any plans for the rest of the year, to which he sadly told us that he has had plans since the first wave, and hasn’t been able to go on any travel adventures because of the pandemic: “It’s better to be safe than sorry. I don’t want to put my loved ones at risk, just because I want to travel,” he added, which is honestly, advice that many irresponsible people can use. He does plan to get together with a few more friends and begin another travel blog soon. He added that he will continue to work on this, but he has plans for a new and improved blog.
Facebook: Madusha Lakshan Kulathunga