Alright, get comfy because this is a bit of a ride.
Picture this: Our group of 13, plus our local guide Rihas, are at a group dinner on day 9 of our One Life Adventures Sri Lanka tour, everyone’s having a great time – we all know each other well by now. Or so we thought.
I’ve been acting my usual travel self – casual, chill, swearing non-stop, catching tuktuks up a hill because I didn’t want to walk, eating chocolate mousse for my first course of a meal, overall just being unapologetically me, as you do when you’re travelling 🤷🏼♀️
I like to think that ‘Travel Alexx’ is pretty much my true self, but if I was wearing my travel creator/blogger hat and had an opportunity to chat with, I don’t know, a travel company CEO perhaps, then I think it’d be fair to assume I might slightly professionalise my behaviour.
So imagine my surprise when Sean, a British guy on the tour who ‘works in marketing’, stands up at dinner and dings his glass to make an announcement.
“I have to tell you guys something.”
👀👀👀 I’m listening…
“I’m one of you, but I’m also on Rihas’ side.”
“I work for One Life. Actually, I’m the founder and CEO of One Life.”
Dead. Deceased. Panic. Cue my ADHD brain spinning into existential crisis mode replaying every minute of the last nine days to remember what I said in all my conversations with him, not knowing he was the CEO of the company I was presently collaborating with.
This was basically Undercover Boss: Travel Blogger Edition.
P.S. Our guide Rihas knew who Sean was, he had been chuckling away to himself all week so when the bombshell was dropped it all made sense. Rihas, you’re sneaky too!
After the shock subsided, and Sean profusely apologised for lying to us (there was no other option, obviously this would have majorly impacted the group dynamic if we knew from the start), he explained why he was really there.
Get your tissues out 🥺
While Sean and his wife Tanja genuinely wanted a Sri Lanka holiday, one of the reasons he joined our tour was that our guide, Rihas, had been working for One Life for seven years and Sean had never been on one of his tours.
Sean explained a bit about Rihas’ background with One Life, and that he goes above and beyond to impress his guests, which we already knew.
And then Sean said that he’d heard a bunch of us talking about booking One Life Adventures’ Japan tour for our group reunion.
He told us that Rihas had never left Sri Lanka for a holiday.
Aaaaaand he said that he was going to match our group’s tip for Rihas, and then top up whatever was needed, to get Rihas to Japan to join us for our reunion.
Flights, visa, tour, spending money, all covered.
What. A. Moment. To. Witness.
Funny GIFs aside, this was seriously a beautiful moment. Many of us had tears in our eyes, my panic spiral subsided (temporarily at least), and we were all so proud of Rihas and stoked to be a part of what was undoubtedly a life highlight for him.
Obviously everyone would like to get a free trip to Japan from their boss, but this is so much more than that. Which brings me to…
An important note about passport privilege
Most of you reading this are probably from predominantly English-speaking, developed countries with strong passports, like me.
My New Zealand passport is ranked the 5th strongest in the world, and it gives me access to more than 140 countries without a visa, and a further 37 countries with an easy visa on arrival or visa waiver. This is a privilege I am acutely aware of while travelling, yet it’s still so easy to take for granted.
In comparison, the Sri Lankan passport is ranked #98 in the world, with visas required for more than 140 countries (vs. 21 countries for me as a Kiwi). And requiring a visa doesn’t even just mean applying and getting a stamp, it can be prohibitively expensive, time-consuming, super complicated and just all-round unfair.
Then there are the hurdles beyond the visa, like weak currency impacting spending power, labour laws that make trips abroad near impossible without risking your job and financial security for your family, or language barriers for non-English speakers that make travel planning exponentially more difficult.
TLDR: Our ability to travel freely almost entirely comes down to the luck of where we’re born. Travel is such a privilege, and we should never forget that.
Working in the travel industry in a tourism-reliant developing nation, like Sri Lanka, brings immense pride to tour guides and their families. International travellers inject desperately-needed money into the local economy, so having the best and brightest on the tourism frontline is essential.
But these tour guides, who dedicate their lives to ensuring our travel experiences are unforgettable, are at the forefront of the inequalities of the tourism industry. They spend their days chaperoning leisure travellers and sharing their beautiful countries with us, hearing all about our global adventures, with limited opportunities to ever be on the other side of that equation.
Early in our trip I was chatting to Rihas about my travels, I asked him where was at the top of his bucket list and he said Japan. I asked him if he would go on the One Life Japan tour (award-winning I might add 👀) and he said that was his dream, and I said it was a dream of mine too.
This is the perfect example of that privilege, a dream trip for me means sacrificing some luxuries over maybe a year or two in order to save up, but for someone with a weaker passport and currency, that ‘dream’ is exponentially harder to reach.
Rihas being able to travel to Japan is so much more than just a free trip from his boss, it’s genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to overcome the barriers of global inequality and experience life as a traveller, rather than being in charge of a whole bus of us.
One Life clearly recognises the value Rihas brings to their company and their travellers, and from my own perspective as one of his guests, he absolutely deserves this.
How we can use our privilege for good while travelling
I don’t think we should feel guilty for our passport privilege – we can’t change where we were born. However, being aware of inequality in tourism is important, and I believe that when we travel, we have a responsibility to use our privilege for good.
Here are some easy ways we can do that as travellers (particularly important when we’re visiting developing countries):
- Support tourism businesses that are genuinely committed to the communities they operate in, whether that is using local guides, offering culturally authentic experiences, visiting community projects, etc. Not sure how to find this info? A travel company with a strong ethical tourism focus will always have this info available on the homepage of their website. If you have to dig for it, it’s an afterthought and not a priority.
- Be respectful of local customs and traditions. I might not agree with gender-based conservative dress codes, but if I am choosing to travel somewhere, I have to respect their cultural norms and rules.
- Keep things in perspective. When we’re used to the home comforts of our developed countries, things like cold showers, shitty WiFi and noisy hotel rooms can be a bit of a shock to the system, but they aren’t the end of the world. If you don’t think you’re getting what you paid for then by all means escalate the issue, just do it politely.
- Learn about the way people live in the places you’re visiting, a bit of awareness and empathy can foster a much deeper connection.
- Get to know your guides. Ask them questions, show genuine interest, listen to their stories, learn from them, keep in touch.
- Share your travel experiences. Rave about trips and experiences you loved, give friends and family suggestions for places you visited, word of mouth can do wonders for tourism businesses and travel destinations.
- Minimise your footprint. The environmental impact of travel is practically unavoidable, but do what you can to reduce your impact on the places you visit and the earth as a whole.
- Acknowledge brilliant guides. Tipping is an expected part of guided tours all around the world, and your tip can make a significant impact on a local guide, especially if their currency is weaker than yours.
Well this started as a small section in my Sri Lanka tour review and ended up turning into a whole damn TED Talk, so let me bring this back to that epic moment of Sean’s announcement on day 9 of our trip.
The look on Rihas’ face when Sean told him that he’d be getting his dream trip was honestly priceless, one of those moments I’ll never forget, I’ve got tears in my eyes just thinking about it.
My One Life Adventures tour in Sri Lanka was unforgettable for so many reasons. The country was beautiful, our group was magic, I felt panic like I’ve never felt before on a tour when we got Undercover Bossed (still panicking a little 😂), and we got to be a part of a life changing moment for our brilliant guide Rihas.
And we’re going to do it all again on our reunion tour in Japan! Hopefully without the panic 🙃
And finally…
I don’t know how to say this next bit without sounding like I’m just trying to impress the One Life marketing team, but I’m just going to say it anyway. If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll probably know that honesty and authenticity are ultra-important to me, so I hope you know this is sincere.
One Life Adventures talks about ‘transformational travel’, as in going on trips that not only blow your mind but that change the way you think about the world, while also making a positive impact on the places you visit. Seeing their commitment to their local guides like Rihas shows that they actually walk the talk.
I’ve been on more than 15 group tours during my travels, almost all of them have been epic, but only a few would I consider ‘transformational’. Our One Life Adventures Sri Lanka tour is definitely one of those few. This is a company that genuinely cares about the destinations they operate in, and I’m really proud to have been able to partner with them for my time in Sri Lanka ❤️
If you want to experience Sri Lanka with One Life Adventures in 2025 then watch this space, I miiiiiight have something cooking 👀 and if you want to go sooner than that then I will now shamelessly plug my promocode, you can get 15% off any One Life tour with the code FINDINGALEXX 💃🏼
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