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Just one person from around the world

We have previously shared our experience in Sri Lanka with you but we are now reposting this story as our contribution to Just one person from around the world by Cadyluck Leedy

The story of Mangala

Lion rock in Sigiriya,  Sri Lanka
Sigiriya rock

As we ventured out on our first walk around the village, Mangala was brought forward as the tuk-tuk owner with the best English of the drivers gathered together under the tree, and for our remaining days in Sigiriya he ferried us around, giving us a terrific insight into Sri Lanka and its people which was to develop into a show of Sri Lankan hospitality and friendship and give us plenty of memories which will stay with us for ever.

Being Buddhist, Mangala had a very gentle and caring nature and so his spiritual roots lead to the same ritual at the start of each journey. Just outside the village he would stop his tuk-tuk next to a roadside shrine, pick a flower from the surrounding vegetation, place it at Buddha’s feet and offer a prayer for Buddha to keep us safe, such a touching moment at the start of our day. This whole ritual would then be repeated as we returned to the village, this time offering a thank you for returning us safely, we felt privileged to be in the care of Mangala…. and Buddha.

Buddha in Sri Lanka
Buddha

Apart from our choice of temples and ancient sites, Mangala proudly took us to hidden gems, places not mentioned in our guide book, places where only the locals go, giant temples hidden in the jungle, places so remote, so peaceful, so beautiful. He took the time to tell us the importance and history of these special places, clearly proud of his heritage.

Temple in the jungle near Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Temple in the jungle

Returning to Sigiriya after one of these days, Mangala said “would you like a beer?” We looked at each other, did we hear right? This village with no bars, no alcohol in the eateries and Mangala is asking if we want beer! Of course we said yes and we set off down a dirt track in the jungle and came to a small clearing in the trees and a rickety shack, a number of tuk-tuks randomly parked outside. We followed Mangala into the shack and to our amazement it was full of locals all with bottles of beer, it appeared to be where the tuk-tuk drivers go at the end of their day before returning home for dinner. We find a table, Phil & Mangala go to the bar to buy the beers, and it is a bar in more ways than one……. the barman is behind bars, keeping the alcohol safe, and hands the bottles of beer through to his customers. The beers opened, a bit of newspaper rammed in the top to keep the flies out, we sit amongst the locals in this strange jungle bar. The locals are as amused as we are, this is possibly the first time a female has entered this male dominated drinking den and almost certainly Michaela is the first blonde lady from a distant land to drink beer with them. There is much laughter and Sinhal chatter, no clue what they were saying.

Jungle bar near Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Jungle bar

We were so honoured by the next development. Our friendship growing, Mangala invited us to dinner at his home, of course we were delighted by this offer and accepted excitedly. He explained that he had a very poor home but would like us to go there for dinner as we were very nice people and he wanted to thank us, he said that most people didn’t treat him the way that we did. He took us to briefly meet his wife and explained that we would be coming to dinner with them tomorrow. Back at our hotel we couldn’t believe our luck, to be invited into their home, eat their food, learn about life in Sri Lanka, this is going to be a fantastic experience! We went straight on the internet to research what gift we should take for our hosts and the do’s and don’ts, we certainly didn’t want to offend anyone!

Phil & Mangala in the jungle bar near Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Phil & Mangala at the jungle bar

And so Mangala collected us from our hotel, he had changed from his western style jeans and t-shirt in favour of a sarong. We trundled through the maze of dusty dirt tracks in the village and arrived at his house, a small single storey dwelling surrounded by lush jungle vegetation. We were beckoned inside. Leaving our shoes outside we entered, the single reception room sparsely furnished, skimmed concrete floor, an occasional picture hanging on the pink walls, a TV and an oversized music system and speakers. Around the room were 4 doorways, just curtains for doors, we later learned that there were 3 bedrooms and a kitchen, no bathroom. We were introduced to the family, a series of greeting, bowing with hands together as if in prayer, Mangala’s wife, his young son & daughter, Mum & Dad and finally Grandma. She was fascinating, sat in a chair at the far end of the room watching and waiting until all the introductions were done, then stood up, she was so tiny, frail and looked a great age, she shuffled over to us smiled and bowed, Michaela held her hands and bowed to her, she turned round and shuffled back to her chair to cast a watchful eye over the evening ahead. We offered our gifts, choice was very limited in the village but the biscuits were well received and the lollipops for the children were a hit. We then experienced probably the most awkward 20 minutes of our lives, Mangala said “I am going to get beer, I won’t be long” and on that he was gone, leaving us with his family who couldn’t speak English and we couldn’t speak Sinhal, we all stood and stared at each other desperately thinking of how to communicate. We spoke to the children and the word school was understood, Mangala’s son then filled in the time showing us his school books.

Mangala & his family, a traditional family in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Mangala & his family

Mangala returned with the beer and we were presented with the next surprise of the evening. The beer was just for the 3 of us, we were lead outside into the garden, the rest of the family excluded as if they were just the staff! We enjoyed a couple of hours talking with Mangala, his garden was the jungle and he delighted in demonstrating what to do if the elephants come too close to the vegetables tended by his wife, he said “if the dog barks, the elephants are here and I light a firework to scare them” he proceeded to fetch a device which he threw into the trees, it exploded, it was loud enough to wake the dead let alone scare a herd of elephants!

Traditional Sri Lankan meal with Mangala & his family in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Being served by our host

We were then summoned into the house, it’s time for dinner. Through the curtain the kitchen table was covered in newspaper keeping the flies off the meal. The food was revealed and we were told to sit down, it was at this moment that we realised there were only 2 chairs, and this was the next surprise of the evening. We took our seats in front of this banquet with the family all stood in a line along the wall staring at us. Right, what is happening now? We beckon them to join us, Mangala explained that they wouldn’t be eating with us, it’s not the done thing. We were to feast on this food cooked by his wife and Mum and they would eat what is left, this really wasn’t what we were expecting, their custom is worlds apart from ours and it felt just a little uncomfortable. We did however manage to talk Mangala to sit and eat with us, so the rest of the family melted away behind the curtain leaving us to continue our sociable evening with Mangala over dinner. And dinner was delicious, the ladies of the house must have been cooking for hours, so many dishes, chicken curry, vegetable curry, drumsticks (the vegetable) dried fish, boiled eggs, rice, salad and more unknown dishes, a banquet fit for the queen! We tucked in, the flavours unknown and fantastic, so delicious, we had our fill and as Mangala kept offering us more we were only too aware that the rest of the family would only had our leftovers, we politely declined, we certainly didn’t want this family to go hungry. As soon as we had eaten it was made clear that it was time to go, Mangala wrapped up a hand of bananas in newspaper, gave it to us as a gift and said he would take us back to the hotel. We said our goodbyes to the family and came to the end of one fantastic experience.

Michaela with Mangala and his family in a traditional home in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Michaela with Mangala & his family

We felt honoured to have experienced an evening with Mangala and his family, they are such good hearted people. This poor family in a poor region of Sri Lanka, opened their humble abode and shared what little they had, this is Sri Lankan hospitality, this was a truly humbling experience.

21 Comments

  • Annie Berger

    What you described is the the dream of all travelers in my mind – to have had such a heartfelt welcome by Mangala and his family to their home when they were poor in things but rich in spirit.

    • Phil & Michaela

      Thank you, it was amazing, such a generous family. There aren’t many posts on Sri Lanka, that trip was before we did a blog but we have since posted a couple of our experiences there, enjoy the reads. 😊

  • Toonsarah

    So glad you decided to repost this story as part of the Just One Person challenge – it’s perfect for it and it’s great that more people will now get to ‘meet’ Mangala 🙂

  • CadyLuck Leedy

    Oh my Gosh! This is unbelievable really! We certainly don’t know how other folks live, do we? What a great experience and one many foreigners would never get to enjoy! Thanks for joining in this weeK! May I also add it to my Foods From Around the World that I post on Fridays? It would be an interesting post for those folks as well! Cady

    • Phil & Michaela

      Many thanks Cady, we feel privileged to have experienced this and it is a memory that we will always treasure. Yes, please add it to your foods from around the world, do we need to do anything at our end for that?

      • CadyLuck Leedy

        Nope, I can do it! Thank you! Where are you traveling next to? Are things opening up for you now? We are traveling locally, but we have two cruises booked for next year that we cancelled in 2020! Wish we would have booked about two more! I am still trying to talk hubby into the “Around the World Cruise” for six months! I love it when we get to visit the people’s houses! I always pick those excursions when they are offered from the ship! They are in no way what you experienced in Sri Lanka though! Cady

        • Phil & Michaela

          Hi Cady, like you we are travelling locally. We have a number of trips booked around England, our first one is on Friday when we are off to our house in Cornwall for 2 weeks. Then in June we have a trip to the Midlands to see family, a few days in Wales and then in the Peak district. Although International travel starts opening up to us on 17 May we aren’t rushing into anything but we are thinking of going somewhere around the end of July, we will see where we are allowed to go and book one way flights…. cant wait 😁

  • WanderingCanadians

    That must have been one of the highlights of your trip to meet Mangala who sounds like such a kind, knowledgeable and hospitable person. That’s amazing how he even took you into his own home. This is exactly why I love travelling. You never know what you’re going to find or the people you’re going to meet. This story just made my day.

  • wetanddustyroads

    Wow, you have done what many travellers are dreaming of (or did someone already said it here in the comments?)
    Must have been quite an experience … I had to laugh at that awkward 20 minutes 😁. Hats off to Mangala (and all the other ‘Mangalas’) of this world!

  • Mark Allison

    What an amazing experience. Enjoyed reading your post. Back in 2008 we visited a small town in Poland where Karen’s Mum had lived as a child in the 30s and 40s. We were lucky enough to stay in the family home, a converted former schoolhouse, with the current owners for two days. Similar to your experience we were uncomfortable at meal times as the family always served meals to us first and ate only after we had finished eating. Great hosts – probably the best two days of our time in Poland. Cheers, Mark

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