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[lookategypttour]

#lookategypttours #egypttours #nile #besttours #happytours https://www.instagram.com/p/CbsoMHDrDnZ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[javabalitrips]

#happytraveler #happytravels #happytour #happytourist #happytours #jogjatour #jogjatours #englishspeakingdriver #jogjadriver #bestdriver #holiday #privatetour #privatetours https://www.instagram.com/p/Bol6TxKFC2w/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15rh7zymld5bn

[javabalitrips]

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[javabalitrips]

#enjoy it Joan! #Happytours

[klararios-blog]

#Escocia... 😍. Eilean Donan Castle. -------------------------------------- #scotland #scotlandsbeauty #eileandonancastle #happytours #travelphotography #travelling #uk #igers_scotland #scotish #loch #highlands #snow #igerscsontour #movilgrafias #fotomovil_es #cloudyday #sunset #samsung #outlander #naturalcolor #nofilter (en Eilean Donan Castle)

[shelaghmabenskeete]

Karma is a bitch.

So last week Gayan came down to the southern tip of the island to pick me up where he had dropped me a week before at Tallala surf camp. Surf camp was not for me…I love surfing but the people in our group made me uncomfortable so I will not be writing about it here. Gayan picked me up like clockwork to take me to my next destination Barberyn Reef Ayurveda Resort, a couple hours north, with a pit stop for a quick scuba dive in Weligama. It was actually good to see him after a week absence…we had developed an unlikely friendship and had a warm reunion. He peppered me with questions about what the place was like and made some of his usual bizarre comments and I as usual laughed. When we got to Barberyn it was early afternoon and Gayan asked if I could tip him then as opposed to next week when he would return to ferry me to the airport because it was New Years the following weekend and he had some shopping to do. Ok fine no problem…well he sweated me a little and I relented and over tipped him but then I thought, you know he made a lot of things happen for me that would have been otherwise impossible, and I should reward that. The thought did cross my mind however that tipping him could be a mistake…what if he doesn’t show up to collect me in seven days??? Can you guess what happened??? Sure as shit Gayan was nowhere in sight today as I patiently waited in the lobby of the resort. Finally I called him and he gave me some crazy story about having called repeatedly the day before and the hotel reception telling him that they had arranged transportation for me and furthermore that I did not want to speak with him…really? Seriously? Really? My heart sank…I was so disappointed…the unlikely friendship just ended abruptly and irreparably. I had been prepared to help organise him on trip advisor and now I will reveal him on trip advisor, so it goes. I will give credit when it is due though…I must admit that he helped me tremendously when I had to mail a package home, and was relentless in the pursuit of a dive shop to take me to the famed Swami Rock amongst other smaller but still meaningful battles he fought on my behalf. What I believe happened was that he got the mistaken impression that I am rich, and that I could afford to pay for a service that would never be rendered, and that the hotel would surely take me to the airport when they realised there was a need (which in fact they did). Am I going to go broke because of the $50 I paid him?…no…does it taint my experience in this country? YES. The story where we stay unlikely friends is a much better ending but I suppose not very indicative of real life. Money is such a divisive instrument yet it’s how the world goes round…what to do, what to do? I think I am most disappointed that he has dampened my exuberant mood as I begin the last international leg of my journey but I don’t doubt that the simple act of writing it down will alleviate some of the angst, and seeing as Buddhism is the predominant methodology here I have emailed him saying simply this:

Dear Gayan,

Karma is a bitch.

Sincerely, Shelagh Maben-Skeete