Serendip serendipity

My wife, Danielle, and I took a segment of the Seven Seas Voyager’s 2008 world cruise, sailing from Singapore to Mumbai, in March ’08. It was scheduled to stop March 22 and 23 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, but two days before our arrival the captain canceled the port, citing security concerns.

We had already made arrangements with a Colombo tour operator, Nizam Lantra of Silan Travel Services (264/11, Artigala Mawatha, Talangama North, Sri Lanka; phone +9411 4935387, fax +9411 2790482, e-mail lantra@sltnet.lk or visit www.silantravel services.com), for us to hire a car and driver and spend the night in Kandy. We e-mailed him our regrets from the ship.

But then we got to thinking. We had previously set up a post-cruise 4-day tour in India (a country we know well). Why not substitute four days in Sri Lanka, a country I had visited only once and which my wife had never seen? We did so, and our trip to Sri Lanka, March 27-31, became the highlight of our vacation.

From the ship, online we bought two round-trip tickets from Mumbai to Colombo on Air Lanka (good food and service).

Mr. Lantra rose to the occasion and engaged a well-educated English-speaking driver with a late-model air-conditioned car. He also booked us four nights in excellent hotels: one night at the Trans Asia in Colombo, two nights at the Amaya Hills above Kandy and the last night in a room to die for in the classic Mount Lavinia Hotel, with a balcony overlooking the beach.

He even provided us with a local cell phone and took us to dinner at the Mount Lavinia.

Our guide had a relative at the Vajirarama Forest Hermitage, in the hills above Kandy, so he was able to take us there. It was a magical place. We watched the Buddhist monks (Bhikkhus) eat their noon meal in silence, then we engaged in fascinating conversation with the head of the hermitage.

For transport airport to airport, our driver-guide, hotels (with breakfasts) and entry fees to places like the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy and the Elephant Orphanage, we paid Mr. Lantra $900 in cash.

Having had some experience with tour operators around the world, we can heartily recommend Mr. Lantra for travel in Sri Lanka.

I would point out that over the last 40 years, India has become increasingly urbanized and congested, but Sri Lanka has hardly changed (except for being renamed from “Ceylon”). The pace is relaxed, the people are very friendly, and English is spoken everywhere. Although the famous Perahera festival in Kandy takes place in the summer, the best weather begins in November.

Except for guards around the Temple of the Tooth, we saw no evidence of terrorism when we were there. Since our trip, however, some incidents have occurred (April ’08, pg. 22).

The current State Department advisory states “Although there is no specific indication that American citizens or institutions have been targeted, there is a heightened risk of American citizens becoming victims of violence just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” It advises travelers to stay in the southern part of the island and to avoid public transport.

Since the cost of hiring a private car and driver is reasonable, it is not hard to avoid most of the risk.

GEORGE TOWNER

Sunnyvale, CA