On 26th January we first met Sumedha in Jaffna. He would be our guide and driver for the rest of our time in Sri Lanka (25 days). Sumedha lives in Kandy and works for our local agent. He had picked up the car in Colombo and driven nine hours to meet us.
We quickly learned that Sumedha, as well as being a devout Buddhist, is knowledgeable, conscientious and a control freak ! We also discovered the harsh realities of living in Sri Lanka during the pandemic. Our tour was his first since March 2020, since then he had received no money from his employer or the state. His sole source of income, to support his family of four, was part-time labouring on building sites.
Sumedha was the most cautious Sri Lankan driver that we came across, averse to risk amongst the chaos of crazy tuk-tuk drivers, bus drivers and other road users. On longer journeys Tim volunteered to drive, but this was not allowed. We were not even allowed to cross the road without supervision. We started to expect a few Sumedhaisms – have you got your passports and phones ?; please do not step on the ants; I learned about that on YouTube (including, how to fly a plane, apparently); I am fully vaccinated, but just incase I have a special Ayurvedic syrup, let me know if you would like some; and finally may the blessings of the triple gem be upon you (included in all WhatsApp messages).
Shilli-Fully Travels 