Arugam Bay - A paradise in Sri Lanka by Sai Shivdutt

ARUGAM BAY- A PARADISE IN SRI LANKA

               ARUGAM BAY IS DEFINITELY A PARADISE IN SRI LANKA. IT IS LOCATED IN THE EASTERN COAST OF SRI LANKA WHICH IS DUE 320 KM EAST FROM THE COUNTRY CAPITAL COLOMBO.  IT ATTRACTS TOURISTS FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. PEOPLE COME HERE FOR HOLIDAYS AND TO MAKE WONDERFUL MEMORIES.

                 ALONG THE MAIN BEACH OF ARUGAM BAY THERE ARE PLENTY OF SHACKS TO CHILL OUT. THE STREETS ARE FULL OF SOUVENIR SHOPS TO BUY SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF OR TO GIFT SOMEONE.THESE SOUVENIR SHOPS OFFERS A WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS WHICH WILL MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO DECIDE WHAT TO BUY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF 

RESTAURANTS WHERE YOU CAN HAVE YOUR MEAL. THESE RESTAURANTS OFFER YOU A WIDE RANGE OF MOUTH WATERING FOOD. BEING LOCATED AT A TOURISTIC LOCATION THESE RESTAURANTS PROVIDE FOOD OF ALL TYPES. YOU CAN HAVE A WALK ALONG THE STREETS AND EASILY CHOOSE THE RESTAURANTS AND ALSO COMPARE THE PRICES. THERE ARE SEVERAL BEACHES WHICH OFFER YOU A GOOD SURFING AND SWIMMING EXPERIENCE ALONG WITH MAGNIFICENT SIGHTSEEING.

                           ARUGAM BAY IS CONSIDERED AND INDEED IS THE BEST PLACE TO HAVE AN AMAZING SURFING EXPERIENCE. IT PROVIDE THE BEST WAVES ANY SURFER IN THE WORLD WOULD DESIRE. IT'S WAVES ARE CONTINUOUS AND DOES'T BREAKDOWN IN BETWEEN WHICH GIVES AN AMAZING SURFING EXPERIENCE. IT HAS A LOT TO OFFER TO THE BEGINNERS SURFERS. YOU GET TO HAVE SURFING LESSONS HERE.  BESIDES THAT YOU CAN RENT THE SURF BOARD FOR THE WHOLE DAY.

                    ELEPHANT ROCK BEACH AND PEANUT FARM BEACH ARE THE TWO MOST FAMOUS DESTINATION FOR THE SURFERS IN ARUGAM BAY. THEY ARE CONSIDERED AS THE BREEDING AREA FOR THE SURFERS AS THERE THE WAVES ARE NOT ROUGH AND IT IS OF NOT MUCH DEPTH. PEOPLE VISIT HERE A LOT TO PRACTICE AND LEARN SURFING.

 ARUGAM BAY FOR SURE WILL HAVE AN EVERLASTING IMPACT ON YOU AND YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO ERASE IT FROM YOUR MEMOMY. INDEED ARUGAM BAY IS A POPULAR DESTINATION IN SRI LANKA AND IS A MUST TO VISIT. I BET YOU WILL END UP STAYING THERE MORE DAYS THAN YOU PLANNED FOR IT.

Sai Shivdutt

     

Train Journey to Ella by Sai Shivdutt

TRAIN JOURNEY TO ELLA

Ella is the most beautiful, attractive and picturesque city you can find in this island country Sri Lanka. You are bound to fall in love with this place. Ella is a hill station surrounded by mountains and forests all over. You will definitely have the best time of  your life here.

Due to the geographical location of Ella in the highlands of the central part of this island country the most convenient way to reach this majestic destination is through the train journey from the Colombo Fort station which is the main station of the country capital Colombo. The train journey may extend to nine hours and the best time to travel in this train is during the day time. The main reason behind this is that the train journey to Ella is going to take you to a dream adventure with the train moving up the mountains. 

You are going to get struck in the natural beauty of this place to that extent that you will not get to know about the time of your journey and would want it should never end.

The journey is full of picturesque view which gives a very joyful feelings to your eyes and also cherishes your soul. Your soul will definitely connect to the nature and you are going to feel as an integral part of the nature. The journey from Colombo station starts with passing through small remote villages where you can see the farms and witness the interior parts of Sri Lanka natural beauty. You get to see big trees passing through you on both the sides of the railway tracks. You can see the trees and bushes all over as the train moves in the interior parts of the forest which are of various diversities. These forests are full of natural vegetation.

As the time progresses we get to realize that we have entered the mountainous regions. From the window and door of the train you witness beautiful scenic beauty of mountains, rocks, natural vegetation. The trees are so attractive and seems to be waving by the wind in such a rhythm that its influence will get your heart beat audible to your ears. Seeing this magnificent view with your heart beat audible to your ears makes you a captive of the environment. If you are not travelling in a first class AC compartment you get to breathe the most freshest oxygen ever inhaled by your lungs. You will automatically start inhaling more and more of the fresh oxygen and will allow the breeze in the environment to enter your mouth by keeping them wide open. When you see the beautiful view from the door or window of the train you will definitely remember the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost and now realize how difficult it would have been for that person not to stop and admire the beautiful forest and to carry on with his journey.

As the train journey proceeds you get to witness more and more of marvellous scenery which struck your heart at a single glance. Your eyes will get more wider to capture all it can witness through the window and door's of the train. The entire train journey will be full of never-ending scenery with a different view. You will definitely put your head out of the window with your favourite song in your lips trying to hear your own voice along with the sound of the air. You are bound to get into a romantic relationship with the nature. You are definitely bound to fall in love with the elegant and tempting nature. Despite the long journey the fresh air when touches your skin will revive energy back to your soul. You will never realise the duration of your journey and would want never to end it.

When the train passes through the Kandy we realise that we are in-between the mountains and have reached a high altitude. You also start to feel cooler and may close your windows. It is very much essential to carry winter clothes in your bag as you may require them for sure from now onwards. The view has become more awesome. You are now carrying your mobile and camera in your hand and capturing the beautiful scenic beauty of the mountains. As you are now in a very high altitude you get to have a view of the valleys below the mountains. There are farms, grasslands and houses which you witness inclined vertically downwards. You get to see the the high mountains touching the clouds. You get to see the tea plantation farms. With the every moment of the train moving upward there is a decline in temperature. You now get to see great depressions with green mountains all around you and also witness several waterfalls. Seeing the waterfall in between the two mountains with the environment full of green trees is definitely a treat to your eyes



Journey to Ella through the remote areas of Sri Lanka, semi- urban areas, dense forests, down the mountains, between the mountains, around the mountains and numerous scenic beauty which refreshes your soul everytime you capture them through your eyes will be the most memorable part of Sri Lanka.

Enjoy your train journey as you are never going to have that kind of experience anywhere.

Sai Shivdutt

Mirissa beach ( Sri Lanka ) By Sai Shivdutt

MIRISSA BEACH ( SRI LANKA )

 Mirissa beach is Sri Lanka which is located along the south coast of this marvelous island country in the town of Mirissa which is about 150 km south of the country capital Colombo is a perfect example of a beach which can be considered both as a rocky beach as well as a sandy beach and no doubt one of the best beaches of Sri Lanka.

It is one of the best beaches in Sri Lanka especially in the south with top tourist attraction because of it's beautiful scenic beauty, white sand and clear water. There is a very big rock little bit inside the ocean known as Mirissa rock where people can climb and have a marvelous view. You will find a lot of tourists from different different countries in this beach swimming in the ocean, enjoying the heart melting scenery of the ocean, blue sky, palm trees spread along the coast line all combined together in a single frame from the Mirissa rock and definitely chilling and having a fun time.

The waves inside the ocean are mild which gives you a feeling of relaxation and the presence of salt gives you a very very refreshing feeling. You can definitely spend hours swimming in the ocean. Definitely having a walk in this beach with water passing over your feet and eyes struck admiring the natural beauty of this place will be a marvellous and amazing experience.

Mirissa beach will definitely turn out to be one of the best part of your beach holidays in this paradise country.



Sai Shivdutt

AIESEC 'APE AVURUDU'

The Sinhalese and Tamil New Year is an occasion where all of Sri Lanka puts aside their differences and gets together to celebrate the dawn of a new year in harmony. Even though LC's in our country work separately and are a little competitive when it comes to AIESEC's functions, we all work towards the same goal and this new year was the perfect occasion to bring everyone in AIESEC together to celebrate an Avurudu filled with fun and games as one family.

For the first time ever AIESEC in Colombo South took up the responsibility of organizing this event in a national scale and the organization committee comprised of a very dedicated set of people who put their heart and soul into making this event a success and the fruition of their effort could be seen on the 22nd of April when AIESECers dressed in colourful sarongs and lungis gathered in
the Colombo University Ground to take part in AIESEC Ape Avurudu.

AIESEC Ape Avurudu opened with the lighting of the oil lamp and after the kiri ithiraweema a welcome speech was given. After opening the head table and eating the tasty avurudu kevili we dived right into the avurudu games.
Everyone cheered on as people hilariously tried to break the pots in the game if kanamutti and when trying to draw the eye in aliyata asa thabima.

An entertainment item was performed by each LC and in the usual AIESEC fashion we didn't fail to include dancing to roll calls in the middle of the avurudu uthsavaya. Anyone could take part in the games that were conducted  that day and the true spirit of AIESEC came through when we got to share this occasion with a bunch of foreign participants from an LC in Netherlands.

Special thanks had to be given to Now You See Me our photography partner who co hosted our event and Pizza Hut who we decided to tribute by carrying out a pizza eating contest.
Finally the much awaited event of choosing the avurudu kumaraya and kumariya arrived and this was the highlight of the day as the contestants had to go through many trials and tribulations to receive the crown.

The event concluded with the awarding ceremony and the vote of thanks and the happiness on everyone's faces because of the day and the friendships and bonds forged between the whole LC reflected that this event had been truly successful in bringing AIESEC in Sri Lanka together as one family.

Lead CS 4.0 was the annual two-day residential leadership development seminar of AIESEC in Colombo South. It was held for the fourth consecutive time at Sanctuary House Negombo on 3rd and 4th of April 2018. Lead CS is all about developing leadership qualities, getting to know fellow AIESECers, getting to know the AEISEC way and having fun.
The accommodation, Sanctuary House at Negombo was the ideal locale with comfortable air-conditioned dormitories separately for boys and girls, spacious dining area and a well-maintained lawn for outdoor activities with the beautiful Negombo beach in the vicinity.
On arrival we were checked in and provided with name tags and goodie bags sponsored the British Council and the Coca-Cola company. The morning plenary was mainly about the chair for the event miss. Ela from AIESEC in Poland. We were acknowledged about the AIESEC way, the meaning of our vision and mission and most importantly what AEISEC delivers to the world; how AEISEC reduce conflicts among nations by promoting cross cultural exchanges among different countries.

Afterwards the organizing committee and the FACI team of LEAD CS 4.0 were introduced. We divided into groups and did a small presentation on several world issues and solutions for them. Finally, the end of the morning plenary was energized by famous AEISEC roll calls.

Outdoor games were held after lunch and afternoon plenary. We were divided to groups by random numbering. Each group had to come up with a unique shout out and a haka. These weren’t mere fun games, each game was created to test and make us comprehend about morale values such as team spirit, endurance, efficiency and productivity. As an example, the game that checked productivity was done by passing wheat flour in a container from hand to hand and finally putting it back to the original container, to check the amount of flour wasted, which made us understand that it isn’t always about speed when completing a task, it should be productive too.  Final games were held in the Negombo beach, ended with us building sand castles.

We refreshed after the games for the evening plenary, which was warmed up by Nescafe thanks to Nestle Lanka. The gala night was an outdoor event filled with glamour to see everyone dressed up in elegant gowns

and tuxedos. Special thanks goes to official food sponsor, Water’s Edge for the scrumptious dinner at the gala. The awards night for functions and best performers of AEISEC in Colombo South was held after the dinner. After party of the gala night was energized with a DJ for fellow AIESECers to dance under the disco lights.
The next morning was about AIESEC functions and other significant teams such as the business development team and the marketing team. We were acknowledged about the part of each function and teams in AIESEC, followed by inspiring stories from people who went on exchange programs abroad and their video documentaries.
After lunch, AIESECers were divided into functions; Outgoing Global Exchange (oGX), Incoming Global Entrepreneurship and Talent (iGET), Incoming Global Volunteer (iGV), we were given practical training to how to interact with exchange partners, volunteer organizations and companies. After evening tea, we had the evening plenary, and closing session. Finally, there were envelopes assigned to AIESECer in LEAD CS 4.0, and we had to fill sugar cubes for anyone we like.
After the ending session we packed up and left the premises. Special thanks goes to CBL for giving us small a small hamper of ‘YAHAPOSHA”. We had the dinner buffet at a restaurant in Negombo. Finally, we reached back to University of Moratuwa willed with appreciation, perception and memories about AIESEC in Colombo South.

The Dance of the Sun - Feel Lanka

Adam’s Peak also known as Sri Pada amongst other names is one of the most sacred places in Sri Lanka and a beautiful hike. 2,243 meters high and located in the stunning southern Hill Country, this mountain has been a focus for pilgrimage for more than a millennium. 
Every year thousands of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims venture out to go on this sacred pilgrimage and this year 9 brave young people from our AIESEC Feel Lanka group set out on this adventure as well. 
Naturally we did not want to miss out on the chance to visit this meaningful place, where different religions worship side by side in a peaceful manner. And even though the prospect of having to hike through the night for 7 hours to see the sun rise deterred some it did not diminish my enthusiasm. Therefore after some deliberation a small but highly motivated group of 9 left for this small adventure to experience the “dance of the sun” as it is sometimes called. 

Our first stop was Hatton a small, precious, sleepy town with some of the best food I have tried so far. We got there by the main Colombo-Kandy-Ella railway line. As always the train ride there already took my breath away. Considering how many hours we spent on trains in total I was expecting the amazement to eventually fade away but I continued to be blown away by the majestic scenery, the lush rain forests and the feeling of freedom when sitting in the doorway of one of those old colonial trains that in itself transports you to a past century. 
Once at Hatton we had lunch and filled up our provisions for the trip. Seeing as we believed the hike to take us about 7 to 8 hours we did not want to be hungry or thirsty on our way up or down and bought enough food to last us for a couple of days. 
After enjoying some rest we took a bus to the foot of the mountain, another beautiful drive through tea plantations during which we watched the sun set and for a short period of time the red sky created the illusion of the entire landscape being engulfed in fire. 

 Our actual ascent started at the great Makhura Gateway about 15 minutes from the bus stop. The way there is lined with guest houses, small stalls and shops selling everything from food and water to stuffed animals and gloves - a very amusing site indeed. Especially the image of local people wearing gloves and hats which resemble European winter attire, made me smile more than once. 
At this point we could already tell by looking at the summit that we would not need the estimated 7 hours but more likely 3 to 4 depending on our pace – a relief for the majority of our group!. 
We were accompanied by Rushira and Ruvin (two members of our OC Team) and through them we got to know a lot about the actual pilgrimage and accompanying rituals. In addition to not being allowed to complain –very difficult and unusual especially for us Germans- there is a river that separates the peak from the surrounding mountain range in which pilgrims take a ceremonial cleansing bath of and change into clean clothes before crossing over a bridge to the sacred mountain itself, however as most of us were already cold and considering the time we decided against it. Instead we took part in other small rituals such as burning incest and tying a thread at the “Indikatu Paana” and trailing it along for a couple of meters up the mountain. Even though the ascent can be strenuous, the way up it is fairly comfortable with broad steps most of the way, although they get more narrow and steep with time. However to me this only added to the feeling of adventure and “earning” the sun rise on top. Especially at these and other points iron rails are fixed to support the climbers. 

Furthermore since many pilgrims make the ascent during the night in order to reach the peak before dawn, the pathway is today lit with electricity, whereas formerly there were only lanterns at various points. Except for us there were mostly local people hiking up the mountain and I can only imagine that this must have been a more rewarding experience than shuffling up the steps in a crowd of tourists, who mostly get up at late at night, then hike up the mountain to watch the sun rise and immediately hike back down. But not us, we wanted to get the proper experience and sleep in the temple on top of the mountain. What struck me most was how all the people we met on our way up (some of which were already climbing back down) were incredibly helpful, offering us food as well as keeping us company for some part of the way. Halfway up the wind started to pick up and for the first time in Sri Lanka you felt cold – what a novelty. I made the mistake to underestimate what constitutes as cold in Sri Lanka and only brought a sweater which I deeply regretted later that night when trying to sleep but more on that later. 
Atop of the mountain summit is a boulder with a mysterious indentation on it resembling a human footprint. Depending on what religion you belong to this sacred footprint belongs to Adam, the first human on earth (Islam and Christianity), Lord Shiva (Hinduism) or Lord Buddha himself (Buddhism) and when you finally make it to top you are entitled to ring the bell next to the holy footprint exactly as many times as you have completed the pilgrimage - the most rings I counted that night were an impressive 10. I thoroughly enjoyed sending a sharp bell through the dead silence of the night – what a way to announce that you have finally made it. After that part of our group went straight to the temple to sleep while others tried to warm up a little close to the huge brass lamp, whose flame is said to burn day and night. 
However as I found it extinguished the next morning, it might only be never ending during the night to give some cold travelers a little bit of warmth. As mentioned before you are allowed to sleep in the temple atop of the summit and many people do – mostly locals. There we slept huddled on the ground in between the masses, usually sharing a sleeping back between two of us and even though it was the first time I dearly missed a duvet, I would not want to miss the experience for the world! 
After a maybe three hours of sleep we got up at 4 am while it was still pitch black outside to see the sunrise. Most of us were relatively well rested, however the cold ground coupled with the icy wind that was blowing let to us cuddling outside using the sleeping back as a cover against the stiff breeze. Still once we finally figured out which way we had to face (somehow many people faced west instead of east - maybe they are more used to watching the sun set than the sun rise) it was actually really comfortable. And considering that the majority of people were or had only just arrived –tourists were now streaming up the stairs to the temple- it was still very quiet, serene and peaceful as we watched the sun slowly rise and the light start to stretch across the land. Unfortunately some clouds obscured our view but it was still majestic seeing the landscape and mountains slowly illuminate in the morning light. Even though it might not have been the most comfortable or restorative of our trips it was definitely one of my favorites. 
We got to experience this magical event like locals do. Hiking up the mountain at night and then spending a few hours in the temple really gave you a place to stop and think admit of the busy sometimes even hectic atmosphere in Colombo. I recommend everyone to venture on this journey, maybe even take the long route and experience some truly magical and reflective hours away from the hustle of everyday life. 

Warming Up for the Amazing Experience - Outgoing Preparation Seminar

Outgoing preparation seminar for the Outgoing Exchange Participants of AIESEC in Colombo South, took place Friday 2nd of June at the Old TLM building of University of Moratuwa.  

The event featured 40 Exchange Personals who will be going to 11 countries around the globe namely Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Greece, Egypt, Indonesia, India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Poland and Ukraine.


The target of the event was to educate the EPs about various different aspects that they will be facing throughout the volunteering program. For many of them this will be their first experience going overseas. 

Info sessions about World Issues & SGDs, AIESEC Way, Crisis Management- Case Studies, Experience Sharing, Culture Shock & Jives made the event and eventful one. 


The evening was chaired by the Member Committee Vice President for Outgoing Global Volunteer, AIESEC in Sri Lanka Mr. Sandaru Karunasiri, and he delivered a few valuable sessions about the whole experience that the EPs are going to have.

At the end of the seminar the participants was given a chance to take photos with the handmade props of the respective countries they will be visiting and the organizing committee didn’t forget to refresh everyone with few refreshments.

Participants had gained a lot of knowledge and were extremely happy as we summed up yet another successful event.

The Island - Joana Morais

Take a look at the amazing video by Joana Morais, one of exchange participants from the project Feel Lanka 11.0.

I Will Be Back! - Laurie Dutrannoy

Last year, I traveled around east of Asia and I am completely felt in love with this continent and particularly this part of Asia. 

For this reason and also because I wanted to do a volunteer program I decided to choose feel Lanka 10.0 project in Sri Lanka.

Before to come there, I had some preconceived ideas about the country and afterwards I realized that a lot of them was wrong. It was also a challenge for me to go far away to travel by myself this time. 

Once arrived there, everything was quite different than the other countries in east of Asia. Then, I met my lovely colleagues to a color festival party at the beach, who can dream better for a first meeting? Everyone was playing and laughing and of course taking videos and photos to share for our project.

As soon I met everyone I knew we will likely create a really nice relationship together. Indeed after a couple of days we were just a family, a kind of decomposed family with people come from everywhere in the world, a perfect melting pot, Chinese, Russian, Egyptian, Bahrain, Ukrainian, Taiwanese,  Indian, me from France and also our AIESEC team from Sri Lanka.

We got know each every day when we took our breakfast or when we traveled together, I have so many amazing memories with all of those people!

The project was a really nice way to travel around the country : we went to visit the old city Galle, the mysterious islands around Kalpitya where we had a funny night in tents, a scary but funny rafting day, a exhausted but just wonderful trip to adam's peak the highest point in Sri Lanka, a long journey by train to reach to the famous place called "Ella", a peaceful place completely lost in the country side near Ampara on the Eastcost, and finally to a fresh and beautiful Nuwarayila famous for the tea plantation and the national park Hortain plains.

I will lie to you if I was telling you everything was always good and nice, of course we had also some bad moments when we miss a train or when our accommodation was not corresponding to that our team booked. But, anyway we were together and we have just overcame every difficulties all together and afterwards it's a really nice and funny memories to share with your friends when you come back no?

Sri Lanka and its citizen are very smiling, not a fake smile , a real one who just come from their heart, they are very helpful even when you don't want to travel by tuk tuk they will help you to find your way. Often they try to cheat on us about the price but it's not a perfect way to improve your bargaining skill isn’t it?  They are also so generous and I'm very glad and grateful to have met those Srilankan people.

To sum up : why to choose feel Lanka project ? Because, you will discover a new country with people from the world. You will learn everyday about their culture and they will become amazing friends!

Why to choose Sri Lanka?  It's an easy question because of its stunning beauty, its magic countryside, for its wonderful beaches, for its nice weather and  last but not least its charming citizens!

This country and my new friends are just in my heart forever.

 You can be sure of one thing: I will be back!!