Last week I was finishing up a post on “All the amazing reasons you should visit Sri Lanka” when the Easter Sunday tragedy happened, which brought all those overwhelming mournful emotions. The attack on Sri Lanka’s innocent citizens and tourists is SO disheartening, devastating, and confusing. I had to put a pause on the original piece [for now] to reflect on the heartless tragedy, innocent lives taken, and send all those peaceful loving vibes Sri Lanka’s way.

Sri Lanka is such a beautiful country filled with beautiful kind people. You know those special places that steal your heart? Those places that you just know you will visit again? You actually envision yourself being there ten years from now? Twenty years from now? That’s Sri Lanka for me.

We spent a peaceful nine days in Sri Lanka and fell in love with the country and people; we felt so safe and didn’t have any bad feelings there ever.

As safety is always top of mind, even before we decided to visit Sri Lanka we spent a lot of time researching the civil conflicts that ended in 2009– there were no recent red nor yellow flags. We even have extended family that lives in Colombo and absolutely love living there without any [prior] hesitations. Thank goodness they are safe.

Flash forward four short months later and the hotel we stayed at was bombed along many other tourist hotels and Christian churches.  250+ innocent people were killed in a senseless heartless attack on a religious day meant for praise and celebration. 

Advice for my fellow travelers:

You just never know what tragedy can happen at anytime anywhere in the world. We can’t predict the future but we can focus on what we can control. While traveling to other countries it’s important to never let your guard down, prioritize safety, and stay in tune with your thoughts and feelings– always trust your intuition. Intuition can be a superpower if you listen closely.

Please send positive peaceful thoughts to Sri Lanka and all the families impacted by this devastating attack.