Here I am on an Air Arabia flight over the middle of the Indian Ocean on my way to a city I had never even heard of a year ago, Colombo. (I am wondering if I should be wearing a crumpled trench coat and smoking a cheap cigar, but I digress) Colombo is the capital city of a country I had only heard of because I am a news junkie, Sri Lanka. 



Sri Lanka is only a few years past a civil war that pitted the Tamil Tigers (never to be confused with the team from Detroit) against the…

My travel style,in case you are a new reader, is to hire a private guide with a comfortable car who is mine for the duration. I do not just show up and say "whatcha got." I do my own research with every book I can find and do not forget my wife is a university librarian. I also peruse all the social media sites, the usual suspects and a few that are truly suspect.



Then I start contacting guides using again every source I can find. If I send someone an email and get no response…