Sri Lanka with My Parents: The Days I Still Return To

In July 2018, I travelled to Sri Lanka with my mother and father. Years later, the photographs still bring me back to the happiness of being together.

When I have a little time, I like to look through photographs from the journeys I took with my parents. Our trip to Sri Lanka is one I return to often.

I chose it partly because of its Buddhist heritage. I wanted my mother and father to have opportunities to visit temples and pray, while also taking them somewhere new. I wanted us to see a little more of the world together.

At the time, we were simply going on a holiday. I could not have known how precious those ordinary days would become.

Welcome signs in the airport arrivals area in Sri Lanka — The beginning of our Sri Lanka journey, July 2018.

A Journey with Room for Prayer

For our family, visiting Buddhist temples was part of what made Sri Lanka a meaningful choice. Alongside sightseeing, there was room for something familiar: paying respect to the Buddha, even while we were far from home.

One photograph shows a shrine filled with Buddha images, beneath a ceiling of gold-colored floral details. Another holds a much smaller memory: orchids and purple ribbon against my white clothes. Looking through them now, I am reminded that a journey is made up of both the places we visit and the little things we notice along the way.

Buddha images and floral ceiling details inside a shrine — A temple visit during our journey.

Orchid garland with purple ribbon against white clothing — A small detail saved among the travel photographs.

Climbing Lion Rock with My Father

One of my clearest memories is climbing Sigiriya, or Lion Rock, with my father. We made it to the top together.

Sigiriya is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its fifth-century royal complex, gardens, and extraordinary setting above the surrounding landscape. The great lion paws beside the stairway give a sense of the scale of the entrance that once stood there.

It is a remarkable place. Yet what matters most to me now is very simple: my father and I climbed it together. When I think of that day, the history and the view are part of the memory, but so is the happiness of having him beside me.

The stone lion paws and staircase at Sigiriya — The lion-paw entrance at Sigiriya.

Aerial view of Sigiriya rising above the surrounding green landscape — An overview of Lion Rock and its summit ruins.

Tea Country, Train Windows, and the Sea

We also took a train through the tea-growing countryside. I remember passing the tea gardens associated with Ceylon tea, watching the landscape change as we travelled.

There is something I love about seeing a place by train. The journey itself becomes time spent together, with no need to move on to the next attraction quite so quickly.

Among the photographs from Sri Lanka is another railway scene, this time beside the sea. In it, the red carriage runs close to the shore, with waves beyond the greenery. It is a different landscape from the tea gardens, and another part of the island I am glad to have seen.

Lan beside the window of a red train travelling along Sri Lanka's coast — A coastal railway moment from the trip; a different landscape from the tea-country journey.

Small Moments by the Coast

The photographs bring back the coast as well: breaking waves, large rocks at the water's edge, and fishermen perched on wooden stilts above the shallows. Stilt fishing is a distinctive tradition associated with Sri Lanka's southern coast.

Then there is a photograph of my parents sitting down with fresh coconuts. My father is looking down at his drink; my mother is looking toward the camera. Behind them is a thick tangle of green leaves.

Nothing grand is happening. They are resting and having something to drink. I love that we kept a photograph of it.

Lan on a Sri Lankan beach with stilt fishermen and waves behind her — By the sea, with stilt fishermen in the background.

Lan's mother and father sitting with fresh coconuts beneath leafy trees — My mother and father taking a break with fresh coconuts. One of the moments I treasure.

The Photographs I Return To

My father passed away in 2021. When I look at these pictures, I can still feel the happiness of the time we spent together. For a moment, I am back on that journey with him and my mother.

I miss him. And I am grateful that we went—that we had those days, climbed that rock, took those train rides, and made these memories while we could.

Over time, photographs that once seemed like simple holiday snapshots have become something I treasure. They help me remember my parents in the middle of living: travelling, looking around, taking a break, sharing a day with me.

Go While You Can

What I carry from this trip is the wish to cherish what I have now, and the people who are beside me.

Life is short. There will always be work to finish and reasons to put things off. When circumstances allow, I want to make room for the places I hope to see and the people I want to see them with.

If there is somewhere you have been hoping to go together, perhaps it is worth making the plan. It does not have to be a distant journey. What becomes precious may be the simplest part of it: sitting side by side, sharing a drink, having time.

I am glad we went to Sri Lanka in July 2018. I am glad I took these photographs. And I am glad that, when I look at them now, I can still feel how happy we were to be there together.

Historical background: UNESCO, Ancient City of Sigiriya. Cultural background: Ruhunu Tourist Bureau, stilt fishing.