5/5 Arnab M. 2 years ago on Google
On
the
morning
of
January
19th,
my
frustration
with
the
responsiveness
of
a
"travel
expert"
of
a
leading
Indian
travel
portal
made
me
look
for
some
alternative
options
while
planning
a
trip
to
Sri
Lanka.
Why
not
explore
some
established
tour
operators
based
out
of
Sri
Lanka
itself?
After
some
search,
the
name
"Blue
Lanka
Tours"
popped
up
among
a
few
others.
Yes,
the
reviews
are
great,
but
one
usually
takes
these
internet
reviews
with
a
pinch
of
salt.
So,
I
dropped
note
to
Dinesh,
the
CEO
at
11:51
AM
and
pat
came
his
reply.
We
only
exchanged
a
couple
of
text
messages
on
WhatsApp
but
that
was
good
enough
to
gauge
his
professionalism.
And
he
promised
that
his
team
would
get
back
with
the
tour
itinerary.
Time
was
4:13
PM
and
there
was
an
email
from
Reshani,
the
Tour
Consultant,
with
a
detailed
itinerary.
Wow,
simply
brilliant
for
the
manner
in
which
it
was
curated
perfectly
according
to
our
preferences.
The
next
few
days
were
spent
in
some
back-and-forth
discussions
with
Reshani
to
fine
tune
the
itinerary
and
yet
she
never
lost
her
patience.
Additionally,
she
also
helped
us
with
the
list
of
documents
/
procedures
required
before
or
during
the
trip
which
helped
us
organize
our
plans
better.
Her
thoughtfulness
in
crafting
a
pragmatic
tour
plan
and
her
ability
to
come
up
with
feasible
alternatives
at
times
is
what
impressed
us
the
most.
The
verdict
was
out
โ
a
9-day
tour
of
Sri
Lanka
with
Blue
Lanka
and
the
journey
begins
on
20th
February!
A
few
days
go
by
and
enter
Carol,
the
COO
and
our
point
of
contact
on
any
operational
matters
related
to
the
trip.
She
would
frequently
connect
with
us
before
the
start
of
our
journey
to
help
with
any
queries
or
concerns
we
had.
And
later
on,
during
our
stay
in
Sri
Lanka,
Carol
would
constantly
keep
a
tab
on
our
experiences.
We
had
stayed
in
hotels
at
Dambulla,
Kandy,
Nuwara
Eliya,
Ella,
Kosgoda
and
Colombo
during
our
trip,
and
thanks
to
Carol
our
experiences
everywhere
were
absolutely
smooth
as
she
had
been
pulling
the
strings
behind
the
scenes.
She
also
had
a
few
pleasant
surprises
in
store
for
us
that
made
our
trip
more
worthwhile!
Beware
of
Shan,
our
Tour
Guide
throughout
the
entire
trip
โ
he's
much
more
than
what
meets
the
eye!
He
has
this
infectious
charm
about
him,
can
strike
up
conversations
with
anyone
at
will
and
is
excellent
at
"jugaad".
Shan
doesn't
take
long
to
understand
the
pulse
of
his
customers
and
adapts
accordingly
to
ensure
that
they
have
an
enjoyable
trip.
His
attention
to
the
finer
details
added
with
his
improvisation
skills
is
what
really
sets
Shan
apart
from
any
of
the
tour
guides
we
have
come
across
till
date.
We
were
also
lucky
to
have
some
of
the
tastiest
home-made
Sri
Lankan
food
at
his
beautiful
little
home.
Surely
our
trip
would
not
have
been
this
fun
without
Shan!
By
the
time
we
left
the
shores
of
Sri
Lanka,
we
took
with
us
lasting
memories
of
an
eventful
trip,
and
this
would
not
have
been
made
possible
without
the
team
of
rockstars
at
Blue
Lanka
who
went
above
and
beyond
at
every
step.
There
is
a
phrase
in
Sri
Lanka
about
EGB
(a
popular
beverage)
โ
"No
EGB,
No
Food".
I
would
draw
a
similar
analogy
when
I
say:
"No
Sri
Lanka
without
Blue
Lanka".
Our
heartfelt
gratitude
to
the
entire
team
and
the
people
of
Sri
Lanka
โ
Ayubowan!
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