“A Guide to Remember”- Mr. Nimal De Silva of Mother Earth Nature Tours, Sri Lanka

The famous Spanish adventurer, Miguel de Cervantes said “Tell me what company you keep and I’ll tell you what you are.” While travelling in Sri Lanka, I had the great pleasure to keep the exceptional company of Mr. Nimal De Silva, the owner and founder of Mother Earth Nature Tours. Nimal is kind, trustworthy, and has a deep and expansive knowledge of Sri Lankan culture, geography, and history. Nimal’s tours are customized, flexible, and fascinating and after my 19-day tour, I am confident that Nimal’s services are the best in Sri Lanka. To experience the genius of Nimal, I suggest that you contact him directly at ndsilva67@yahoo.com or check out his website: http://www.earth-srilanka.com/

This review is about our tour-guide and driver, Nimal De Silva, whom without his guidance and company our time in Sri Lanka would not have been so memorable. Nimal’s service was excellent from the off. He has over twenty years of experience in the hotel and tourist industry including several years in Germany and Bahrain and his professional, can-do attitude is reflected in everything he does. Nimal’s international perspective enables him to relate-well with a diverse range of customers and you can be assured that Nimal makes every effort to provide a professional and flawless level of service.

After reading positive reviews of Nimal’s tours on various travel websites such as (http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/dispatch/2006/03/14/honest-drivers-and-guides-for-sri-lanka) my partner and Nimal established contact via email. Every email Nimal sent was backed up with a text message confirming that he had responded to my partner’s email. Nimal works quickly, accurately, and sensitively and if there is a delay or misunderstanding, Nimal is the first to offer an apology, (as a Brit, this is not the kind of service I am used to).

When booking a tour-guide, you may worry as my partner and I did, that you will end up carrying a “new friend” with you to every meal or activity. Initially, when planning our trip, we mentioned to Nimal that we were looking forward to quality time as a couple during our holiday. Nimal understood the implications of our request and addressed our concern honestly, which immediately put our minds at rest. In contrast to most Sri Lankan people, who are very friendly and make it their business to know your
plans/name/destination/etc., Nimal understands the idea of western privacy. Saying that, we enjoyed Nimal’s company immensely and often included him in our meals, activities, etc.

Initially, my partner and I were looking for privacy however Nimal is such a charming, knowledgeable, and interesting character that talking to him quickly became one of the consistent highlights of our holiday. Some evenings, we invited Nimal to join us for dinner and one night we all drank Arrack (Sri Lankan whiskey) and talked about the world and how to put it right, as you do with a friend. That’s not to say my partner and I did not get privacy and in fact, Nimal frequently arranged opportunities for us to be alone and enjoy Sri Lankan activities. One of the many nice things Nimal did was to drop my partner and I off at one side of Lake Kandy with the parting words of “you take a walk together at sunset I’ll wait for you on the other side”.

Nimal conducts his tours from his shiny and clean Nissan Caravan, equipped with a much-needed and appreciated air conditioning system. Every night he makes sure his van is clean for the next day of driving and as a Buddhist, Nimal starts each day with a prayer before driving. You can always feel the pride in the way Nimal carry’s out his work and he likes receiving feedback from his clients. Every tour Nimal does, he is learning and striving to think of ways to make a better tour, which is a very admirable quality.

Another commendable quality was shown at the end of our trip, when it was time to pay for us to pay for Nimal’s services. Unfortunately, I had all my cash wrapped up in traveller’s cheques and I was extremely grateful when Nimal agreed that I could send him the majority of the payment via money-gram, after I returned to England. This experience demonstrates Nimal’s trust and sincerity. (Of course, the fist day I got home I wired the money to Nimal).

If you are planning a trip to Sri Lanka, I would not recommend travelling independently (or as a couple or family) without a certified tour guide/driver. With Nimal as your tour guide, you are guaranteed to see and do more in a shorter period of time than you would if you travel independently. Be warned, the tourist industry in Sri-Lanka is a large and unregulated business, and public transport is not the best… If you’re coming from a Western or industrialized nation, then you probably won’t want to drive in Sri Lanka because you will most likely end up in a car accident. (People don’t drive fast, they just drive… well, differently).

The tourist industry is important to Sri Lanka and despite the political situation to date - not one tourist has ever been hurt (not including the Tsunami, which was a tragic but rare occurrence). Because the tourist industry is not well-regulated, you have the option of trawling the internet to find a large-company tour-guide service but if you choose to go with a company like Red Dot, then you will Not have any flexibility with your tour and you will be stuck to your pre-set itinerary. There is also the not-recommended option of picking-up one of the many non-certified tour guides who hang out at the beaches, praying on unsuspecting tourists. I would Not recommend you do this because you are putting your trust in someone with no reliable background.

If you’re going to Sri Lanka and you want to be assured of having a fantastic travel experience, then I strongly suggest that you contact Nimal of Mother Earth Nature Tours in advance. (ndsilva67@yahoo.com or http://www.earth-srilanka.com/). Nimal has the knowledge and personality to make your holiday fantastic – and if you have any questions about my experience, please don’t hesitate to contact me: trevalex@gmail.com

if anyone wants a fabulous driver for Sri Lanks -
lovely guy in early 30's - 100% trustworthy - great
english - will not drag you round shops all day - only
if requested - really cannot reccomend him enough - i
still speak to him every month 2 years after our trip
- for his email etc contact me on tw@g2legal.com and i
will put you in touch. Or visit his web side
geocities.com/jagath_in_srilanka/home.html
or www.jagathtours.com