Travel enthusiast and adventure person Shenelle Rodrigo and her team have been traveling across the country capturing the beauty and splendor of Sri Lanka.
She and her team passionately wish to help the country’s tourism industry to bounce back and show the world what this island nation has to offer to international travelers. In the past few months, Sri Lanka has faced the worst economic crisis experiencing multiple issues, despite all this Shenelle decided to cycle across Sri Lanka, videoing the travel.
The travel video was featured on many platforms including Youtuber Ryan Trahan channel. The travel content is a great boost for Sri Lankan tourism.
Q: What inspired the bicycle journey around the country?
A: During the peak of the fuel crisis, we were in Thailand filming a project and we started receiving a whole load of messages from foreigners wanting to visit Sri Lanka. The majority of them were asking us what the real situation was like on the ground. And whether it was safe for them to still visit.
As we too were outside of Sri Lanka at the time, we noticed how all the news coming out of the country was painting a negative image of the entire island and we wanted to change that narrative.
Having followed a successful series carried out by Youtuber Ryan Trahan on how he crossed the USA with just a penny and the engagement and trend it created. We thought it would be pretty cool to try and cycle around the entire country during a fuel crisis and document the whole process, as we knew it would show a different side to Sri Lanka that many had not seen before.
Q: What has been the most difficult, while riding?
A: Without a doubt, the most difficult part of our ride was the filming and editing component. As we were using Electric bicycles, the riding component was not too hard. Like any other physical activity, when your body is trained and seasoned, it becomes second nature.
Filming the entire journey while having to carry all our gear on our bikes was a whole other ball game that we had never experienced before. Each shot would delay us by half an on our ride times. We had to learn to adapt our filming and editing style on this trip.
Q: With all that has happened in the last few months, what made you connect with the travel?
A: The genuine warmth and hospitality of our people. Despite what many may consider being one of the worst periods in time for our country. It was refreshing and encouraging to see that the Sri Lankan spirit is still very much alive and that our people are forever welcoming and hospitable no matter how tough the climate may be.
We hope that through this series we captured the essence of our people and our beautiful country in what may be one of the toughest times for the country.
Q: The Vlog was shown in the US to the Sri Lankan American community. What was the response?
A: Following the viral traction, our campaign trailer was received as we completed the trip. Several Sri Lankan living overseas, and embassies, the press, and agencies reached out to us to help spread the message even further.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington was one such mission and ‘The Time’ magazine in the UK, was also another great publication that helped this campaign get further international reach.
Q: The road to recovery seems far and bleak at times, yet you and your team are determined, what keeps you going?
A: As full-time travellers, we’ve seen tremendous potential in Sri Lanka over the past four years, while many don’t see the opportunity in the crisis. We are positive that Sri Lanka will rise again. And we continuously focus on building our platforms and reach in anticipation of it. Of course, it is not as easy for many in the industry to take on a similar stance.
However, we pride ourselves on being nimble and quick to adapt to face the challenges that come our way. I think this particular campaign where we ended up cycling 43 days around the country and working with over 20 establishments at a time when petrol was not available is probably going to be our best example for some time.
Q: What was the most memorable part of the journey and why?
A: There were several memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives from this trip. But without a doubt, the one that comes to mind first has to be meeting so many lovely people from all over the country and being welcomed to their homes and establishments.
Sri Lankan hospitality is not something that is reserved for tourists spending dollars. It is abundantly seen all around the island no matter who you are or where you come from. It is a beautiful thing to experience.
Q: It will be 2023 in a few months, and what message do you wish to give the world about Sri Lanka?
A: Sri Lanka is so much more than you see on the news today. No matter how tough the situation on the ground gets for the locals, the warmth and hospitality of the people will awe you.