REGISTERED!
First of all, it is interesting to mention that East N’ West On Board! is a Sri Lankan private limited company registered as a travel agency by the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority under the number SLTDA/SQA/TA/01547. Wow!
MEET OUR SMALL-IS-BEAUTIFUL DREAM TEAM
So now, you really wanna know who we are, huh? Ok, ok…
This is Sandrine, originally a social worker, dreamer and founder of East N’ West on Board, director, tuk-tuk driver, web designer, bathroom cleaner, sometimes photographer or French teacher, always motivated for a bicycle ride in villages or a beach-cleaning day . She happens to be French, so she at times “has the right” to protest or to be angry against half of the humanity, but she also happens to be in Batticaloa for some years, so she has learnt enough patience from this experience and can usually be quite helpful to visitors puzzled by the local ways of life…
Here is Sugitha, our office fairy who – without even a magical stick – looks after all the internal affairs of our centre. Depending on the time of the day, you might find her receiving guests, brooming the garden, calling students, repairing bicycles, cooking lunch or preparing the sweetest tea on earth… We heard that she is also learning to drive the tuk-tuk, to be able to guide guests around in future, but shhh… this is secret, ok?
Awubowan Amarasinghe! THE technical adviser of our travel agency, Amarasinghe knows Sri Lanka and the tourism industry for the past… hmmm… how many years Amara? Let’s say 25, if you don’t mind. Passionate about his job of chauffeur guide lecturer, Amarasinghe can bring our guests to each and every hidden gem of Sri Lankan beauty and therefore handles our all-island tours with gentleness and panache!
Wanakkam Prabah! A specialist in community development, Prabah is known to half of our district for his multiple roles as a drama master, teacher, community developer, interpreter… Instrumental in developing our rural tours and gently connecting our travel agency with people in villages, Prabah is also expected to prepare some cultural events for the coming season…
The hero of our video, Kingsley has joined the dream team in July 2014 and enchanted our guests with his care and guiding skills. His willingness to accompany our guests during bicycle rides on whatever-small-lane-that-exists-or-not and his multiple language skills have made him one of our preferred local guides. Climbing, visiting the market, connecting our guests with villagers, this is his daily routine with us!
Probably sleeping with his mobile phone, Sugandan answers our phone calls whenever we need a driver to bring our guests around. With professionalism and kindness, Sugandan accompanies our guests at the hospital when needed, gives them extra time on Passikudah beach before their departure, finds them the best restaurant in town on the way. One minus point though, he does not speak Russian! But none of us does, though!
Our lovely cat is Bibidee, which means “Beautiful Black Dot”, from the time the tiny-black-dot-that-he-was entered our life in January 2014. A specialist in climbing mosquito nets, preferably during our French class (to get more audience to see the performance), Bibidee is also in charge of looking after the garden by sitting at the top of the trees. But the good news are that his favorite activity during his leisure time is to get petted by our guests!
