Travel Writer that I am not / Travel Writer that I am!!

I have had the good fortune to have just fallen into a role of writing along with a forum for my photographs for the past six months, almost weekly in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, that prints in excess of 60,000 a week and which is read or rather looked at by many more than that. It happened purely by chance!

Just so my fellow journalists know, ( I am not a professional journalist who gets paid, so I write what I want, not what I am paid to write!) unlike the papers they write in, which get thrown away the next day, I find that many people hold onto ONLY the Travel Magazine and keep it lying on their coffee tables, in the hope that one day they can fulfill one of their travel dreams. 

This living vicariously helps me, one of the few who actually talk about our beautiful Country, Sri Lanka, and who comments on areas not normally covered by writers, for my readership to become aware of important aspects that must be taken account of, if we are to continue to enjoy this blessed land, before it is destroyed by its own inhabitants.

My presentations, do not take any particular form or style, except to say, they allow me an outlet to express how I feel about a topic that is covered in the article that is published. So whether it is a plea to assist the temple custodians in archaeological sites to preserve them for posterity, or for suggestions on how to revive a dying craft, by providing a win win situation for their continuance, are some of the examples of my indirect route to awareness, and hopefully, pressure for their protection, revival, rehabilitation, enjoyment, clean-up or restoration.

If truth be told, in today’s world, we can search the Internet to find answers to historic facts and data, which should not be my duty to detail in all its particulars, in my essays, when more pressing points need to be highlighted and aroused in a short essay, where attention spans are very limited.

Duties as citizens of ‘Paradise Island Sri Lanka’, need to be reminded time and again, so it hits home, that if we do not act today, there will be no tomorrow for our next generation to enjoy, as I have done in some of the places I have brought to your notice. “Responsibilities come with the privilege of living.”

I have been accused by some of showing people places of interest, which could get crowded and spoiled, due to publicity, and I should keep it to myself. I believe that is selfish, BUT it is our duty as citizens to manage visitation so that over visitation does not ruin a good thing. My answer to that is to use a price point to restrict demand, as all other means are prone to corruption.

I believe we shortchange our tourists through greed, confining them to 100 places of historical interest, leaving out 250,000 other places for treasure hunters and defilers to plunder and destroy. 

There you are “points to ponder on”