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Guest Book - Honeymoon Holidays

Mr. and Mrs. J. Dodson

17 December 2009

Reflections on our honeymoon

To whom it may concern

We arrived at the airport after a very long and tiring journey, to be met by Jith and Jawardene (Jaya). We were taken to at first hotel, the Dolphin, There we were given a briefing by Jith over dinner. Our room was beautifully prepared with fresh flowers and fruit, and we also had fully working air condition. Our room also overlooked the sea with a balcony.

The following day we transferred by car to Sigiriya, to what was to become our favourite hotel of all. Set in beautiful woodland and eco friendly it was also very quet and peaceful perfect for honeymoons. On the way to our hotel Jaya gave us an insight into the history and culture of the region, and stopped several times so we could take photos. We stopped at a lovely restaurant for lunch. Jaya demonstrated his discretion by leaving us, so we could eat and chat by ourselves, a habit he maintained throughout our entire trip. We arrived at our hotel in a rainstorm to be met by extremely corteous and friendly staff who made us feel really welcome and for whom no request was too much trouble. Jaya was always punctual wherever we went at for a trip , and always made sure we never missed anything. He was extremely knowledgeable throughout the trip put on many occasions gave us sound advice which ultimately saved us time and money by steering clear of local touts, ‘guides’ and street sellers. Unfortunately Nicky became very ill at one part of during the tour. This could have had dire consequences to our continuing of the journey. Diagnosis and treatment was made within the hour, thus saving Nicky days of discomfort and meant we could continue with our itinary. Jaya maintained a fantastically calm manner whenever he drove and we always felt safe with him behind the wheel. His car was clean and tidy on every trip, even though we constantly managed to fill it with sand and many occasions. During all of our hotel stays we have enjoyed the extra touches that have been arranged for us, from flowers, to fruits to chocolates, and this is what has made our honeymoon so special for us. The one hotel that we found did not meet the standard was quickly changed, so that we did not feel that we had lost the feeling that this was our trip of a lifetime.

We leave this beautiful country very reluctantly, having experienced the fantastic hospitality of Jaya, Jith and the friendliness that everyone has shown us. This is something we could not have experienced had we been on a package tour. We thoroughly recommend Jith and Jawardene to any prospective honeymooners.

Yours,
Mr. and Mrs. J. Dodson

Jon Hobbs, Solicitor
& Karen Hobbs
Eastleigh
UK

6th to 20th September 2009

Prasanjith,

Thank you for your part in organizing such a wonderful honeymoon.

The quality of service that you have provided has been outstanding at every stage from dealing with my initial, rather hesitant, query through responsibletravel.com right up to meeting and greeting me and my new wife from the airport. Throughout the organisation of this trip and our stay the service has been friendly, honest and reassuringly personal. We arrived at Bandaranaike tired and disoriented travellers having spent more than half of our married life to that point on an aircraft and it is thanks to your warm welcome and to your experience and hard work in organising our programme that we were quickly able to find our feet and relax in our new surroundings.

Thank you, too, for your suggestions for our tour programme during our honeymoon. Your advice and recommendations have been direct and have enabled me to really get the most from our holiday. We have seen and experienced a huge amount in two weeks without needing to do endless research ourselves and without having to slavishly follow someone else's schedule. We have had an ideal mix of culture, activity, beautiful scenery and real relaxation and your service has been flexible and accommodating throughout.

Both my wife and I would like to extend our special thanks to Jaya, our driver and trusted guide. His depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for sharing it have been impressive and in two weeks we have gained a real insight into the history, myths, culture and modern society that makes up this very special country. His knowledge of the history and practices of Buddhism has been particularly fascinating. This insight will give us some of our most interesting and lasting memories of this country.

Just as important has been his detailed local knowledge that has allowed us to improve our tour programme as we progressed by avoiding busy times and arranging our schedule so that no time was wasted. His advice on dealing with the locals (when to tip, when to haggle or give a firm "no thank you") has been invaluable. The welcome gifts we received in each hotel were a thoughtful touch and very much appreciated.

Some day we hope to return to Sri Lanka and I would have no hesitation in booking your service again. I would definitely positively recommend "Walk With Jith" to anyone planning a trip to Sri Lanka.

Best regards,

Jon Hobbs
Solicitor
and Karen Hobbs
Eastleigh
UK

Michelle & Andy Plumb
Bedfordshire
UK, MK43 OPL

Jith,
Thank you for providing the most interesting and memorable component of our trip into the Sinharaja Rainforest along with all the fantastic birds, butterflies and mammals you helped us to see. Our experience was further enriched by our stay at the rainforest edge hotel which you kindly arranged at our request. Thank you also for your insight into the food, customs and lives of the Sri Lankan people. Thanks also to Silva our driver for his care and patience in getting us to our hotel!

Adrian & Rosie
West Wickham, Kent
England

16th July 2008

Thank you for organizing a fantastic Honeymoon for us. We enjoyed our week touring Sri Lanka - seeing many sights and soaking up the culture.

Highlights were climbing to the top of Sigiriya, the local Monkeys, safaris at Minneriya and Uda Walawe where we were amazed by 100s of elephants as well as crocodiles, wild boar and birds. We also enjoyed relaxing by the beach for a week after the tour.

Our driver, Jaya, was very knowledgeable and helpful.

Best wishes

Justin and Helen Hutchings
Plymouth, UK.

13 April 2007

Many thanks for making our honeymoon in Sri Lanka such a wonderful experience. From our first arrival to the very end of the trip you have looked after us tremendously with every consideration and considerable attention to detail.
Undoubted highlights were the visit to Sigiriya (conquering Helen's vertigo), our stay in the wonderful villa at Hotel Tree of Life Kandy, the jeep safari at Udawalawe and the visit to the wonderful turtle hatchery.
Best wishes to you and your family!

James and Tasha
Peterborogh, UK.

November 30, 2006

The holiday was amazing -  I would give it five stars Jith (from Walk With Jith) and his driver Saman were extreamly knowledgable and so kind and friendly that we now consider them friends. Apart form a night from the airport hotel on our arrival late in the evening we stayed in small eco lodges that coocked food grown on their property/estate. I would highly recommend the Eco Lanka Lodge on the Maussawa estate in the hill country where we were treated to Sri Lankan coocking lessons.

We also visted the homes of craftsmen in the Kandy area where we bought our souvenirs directly from the craftsmen, ensuring a better price for them.

Jith is also an expert in bird knowledge and has written reports to try and stop the use of mating calls to attract birds on bird spotting tours as this has a negative impact on their ability to mate. he is also writing reports to try and stopp cruelty against by snake charmers and porcupines as well. He certainly is doing some excellent work in that field.

My advice to other travellers would be to book with Jith, perticularly if you have an interest in birds or wildlife which is his passion. I will recommend him to all my friends that travell to Sri Lanka. He took us to more places than we had agreed beforehand and, along with Saman worked tirelessly to make our trip a full and enriching experience. They were on hand to do as much of as little as we wanted and pointed out all sorts of interesting things that we would have missed had we were not with them. Difinitely five stars!