Cinnamon Travel Bloggers Conference kicks off

Title 60 World-class Travel Bloggers now in Sri Lanka for Cinnamon TBC Asia 2016!

By Himal Kotelawala

The Cinnamon Travel Bloggers Conference #TBCAsia kicked off on Thursday (2 June) with bloggers from all over the world heading off to different parts of the island on a five-day pre-conference tour. Daily FT was invited to tag along, and this is the first of a series of reports from the excursion.

The 60 travel bloggers were divided into three groups, each assigned to a prearranged tour in either a) the north central province, b) the east coast or c) the south. The three groups met at the Cinnamon Lakeside early Thursday morning where, following a quick breakfast, they set off on their respective journeys at 8 a.m.

This writer chose to go to the East, for reasons that will be discussed as the tour progresses. We were taken by three-wheeler to the Fort railway station where we took the train to Kandy. Our group consisted of a bunch of loud, colourful, well-travelled individuals both male and female all the way from Mexico, California, the UK, Germany and Norway to our neighbouring India.

Much to the relief of the Sri Lankans in the group, the train was relatively empty, given it was a weekday morning. Blissfully unaware of the daily hardships faced by the average local commuter, the international bloggers took delight in walking up and down the compartments and standing on the foot board.

Kristin Addis from California, USA, said the train ride was the highlight of her first day of the tour.

“It’s so nice to go hang out by the door. It’s dangerous, sure, but back home in the US, they would never let you do that. It was quite fun, actually. You’re obviously taking a risk, but I enjoyed it,” she said.

The train arrived in Kandy at 11:30 p.m. We were then transported by standard tour operator bus to the Victoria Golf & Country Resort in Digana, about an hour’s drive from the Hill Capital. The 17-year-old hotel, now a Cinnamon property, is a network of chalets scattered throughout a 500-acre plot of land just behind the Victoria reservoir and, in addition to the expansive golf courses, is home to an abundance of flora and fauna right up to the edge of the reservoir.

When he first read that he was going to stay at a golf course, Raphael Zoren from Mexico wasn’t all that excited, but the peace and quiet of the Victoria Golf Club soon won him over.

“When I first read it, was like really? Come on. Of all the places in Sri Lanka to go? But the mountains are amazing here, and the setting is good. I even had a swim soon after lunch,” said Zoren.

A Sri Lankan themed lunch – a lot of rice and curry, naturally, and that crispy local favourite papaddam, which made one of the UK bloggers go “papaddam preach (get it? Get it?)” – was quickly followed by a nature trail up the mountainous terrain guided by naturalist Chitral Jayatilake, which culminated in a spot of kurumba on top of a hill overlooking the breathtaking reservoir down below.

Janicke Hansen of Norway was pretty thrilled to be part of the walk. Spotting a live snake in the wild was a highlight for her, she told Daily FT.

“My first day here has been very exciting. Just the kind of travel I like – to learn new things, learn about how to survive in nature,” she said.

Mirdula Dwivedi of India, who is on her second visit to Sri Lanka, echoed Hansen’s sentiments.

“This is my first trip to Kandy and beyond. I’d only been to the south before. For me the highlights were the train ride and the evening walk, which was particularly useful,” she said.

Dinner was served following an hour of R&R, during which the visitors were treated to a cultural show that included, to everyone’s shock and delight, a traditional thovil dance with fire rituals. Things wrapped around 10 p.m. Everyone had a long day and it was time to hit the sack. Friday, 3 June, we set off to Arugam Bay. Stay tuned for more on that.

Cinnamon TBC Asia is presented by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts in association with the Professional Travel Bloggers Association (PTBA) and the national carrier SriLankan airlines, and is also supported by Sri Lanka Tourism, Four Communications, the Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB), Wijeya Newspapers, E FM, Travel Click International, Uptown Kandy, Reap Digital, C Visit and PATA.