reddottours

What do sailors have to do with Sri Lankan food? Everything. 🌶️

For centuries, Colombo was one of the busiest trading ports in the world. Sailors and settlers arrived from Arabia, Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain, India and beyond, and every single one of them left something behind in the food.

The spices. The techniques. The recipes that got passed between ship crews and market traders and families until nobody could remember where they originally came from. That’s Sri Lankan food, a living record of everyone who ever passed through.

We arrange a food tour through Colombo that follows that story on foot. It takes you from isso wade at Galle Face Green to a 150-year-old tea house serving the same milk tea sailors would have recognised, through Pettah Market, down a street that’s been serving curries for over two centuries, and ends with a tuk tuk ride to a pub that was serving soldiers during World War II.

It’s one of those mornings that makes you understand a place completely differently.

Save this if Colombo is on your list 🍛

POV: You’re eating strawberries and oyster mushrooms grown in the Rajasthan desert.

Nobody expects a farm in the Rajasthan desert and that’s exactly what makes Mharo Khet special and worth knowing about. 🌱

45 minutes from Jodhpur, this 40-acre farm grows over 100 varieties of crops, including Brussels sprouts, strawberries, chamomile, figs, moringa and oyster mushrooms, all flourishing in terrain most people assume couldn’t grow anything at all.

You start with a guided walk through the fields, where the farming practices are as interesting as the crops themselves, rooted in tradition and genuinely sustainable rather than just marketed as it. 

Then lunch: a multi-course, plant-forward meal made entirely from what’s just been harvested, each dish designed around the season rather than a fixed menu.

And then, because this place understands what people actually need, you lie on a charpoy under a straw canopy, watch kites circle overhead, and do absolutely nothing for a while.

It’s one of those afternoons that makes Jodhpur feel completely different from any Rajasthan trip you’ve heard about before.

Save this one. And tag someone who needs an afternoon like this 🌾

For us, great holidays don’t end at the airport. They leave something useful behind.

Quite a few of our team are Sri Lankan, and that grounding shapes the way we design trips and the way we try to give back. We favour high quality family-run stays, local guides and small businesses, and we support projects that make a difference where our travellers go.

One of those partners is Tea Leaf Trust. Their classrooms in Sri Lanka’s tea-estate communities offer English, IT and life-skills training that can change a young person’s prospects. Through our partnership, a portion of every Sri Lanka booking is donated to the Trust, which means your holiday helps keep those classrooms open.

If you’re curious how this connects to your own itinerary, or would like to meet some of the young adults who’ve been helped by the project, don’t hesitate to send us a message.

Save this for later • Learn more: tealeaftrust.com 💚

One of Sri Lanka’s oldest art forms. And you can still experience it properly 👇

https://www.reddottours.com/experience/sri-lanka/traditional-mask-making

Mask making isn’t a tourist activity dressed up as culture. It’s a craft that comes from Ambalangoda, tied to performance, ritual, and beliefs about healing and protection that predate most of what you’ll find in a guidebook.

This is one of our favourite experiences to build into a few days in Galle, and not one you’ll find easily on your own. Our host runs a three-hour workshop inside a hidden art gallery in Galle Fort, teaching the way he learned: by doing, by showing, and by telling you the stories behind what you’re making. You work with Kaduru wood, the same lightweight timber craftsmen have always used, and you can carve, paint, or do both.

You leave with something you made yourself that genuinely means something, and the kind of morning that feels completely unlike anything else on a Sri Lanka itinerary.

Save this one and DM us when you’re planning your trip 🎭

One of the most exclusive leopard experiences in India 👇

It happens here, in the granite boulder landscape of Jawai, Rajasthan, where wild leopards have lived alongside the local Rabari community for as long as anyone can remember.

Sujan Jawai Leopard Camp is ten tents, one extraordinary landscape, and a family who’ve spent nearly 50 years getting to know every corner of it.

The guides have spent years reading this land. Safaris go out small and because the camp is this remote and this intimate, there’s no such thing as a crowded jeep.

When you’re not out tracking, things slow right down with yoga, a heated pool, candlelit dinners that taste better after a day watching leopards move through the rocks (trust us!).

The family behind Sujan have restored 100km² of natural habitat, rehabilitated over 100 wildlife species, and run sanitation programmes that benefit more than 3,000 local households. 80% of their staff are from the surrounding Rajasthani communities.

It pairs beautifully with Jodhpur or Udaipur as part of a wider Rajasthan itinerary, and it’s one of our favourite recommendations for travellers who want serious wildlife without giving up comfort.

DM us if India is calling →

There’s a better way to see Northern India than just ticking off Agra. Here’s what we recommend 👇

We’re a team based in Sri Lanka and the UK, working closely with partners across India we’ve known for years. That’s how we build routes that go deeper than the standard loops you’ve likely seen online.

If you’re heading north, this is one way our friends on the ground love to show it:

📍 Delhi
Ride through Old Delhi by rickshaw as shop shutters roll up and morning prayers begin at Jama Masjid. Step into the Sikh temple kitchen at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, where volunteers prepare thousands of meals each day. Walk through Humayun’s Tomb, the monument that inspired the Taj.

📍 Panna
Take the train south and watch the landscape change. Head out at first light in an open jeep, tracking tiger prints across dusty trails. Stand at the edge of steep gorges and waterfalls inside Panna National Park. Drift along the Ken River or spend time with local communities who live alongside the forest.

📍 Orchha and Gwalior
Wander the riverside cenotaphs of Orchha as the Betwa flows past. Step inside Datia Palace, still uninhabited centuries later. Climb up to Gwalior Fort, its carved temples and palaces rising straight from the sandstone rock.

📍 Agra
Walk through the Red Fort’s vast courtyards before watching the Taj Mahal shift colour as the sun drops.

📍 Varanasi
Witness the Ganges aarti by firelight as chants carry across the water. Drift along the river at sunrise as the ghats awaken. Walk narrow lanes scented with incense and spice. Visit Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first sermon, and meet resident Buddhist monks who still live and study there.

This is one version of Northern India. Some travellers ask for more wildlife. Others want longer in Varanasi. Some are drawn to architecture and history.

We tailor every trip around what you’re curious about and where you want your time and budget to go.

Comment NORTHERN INDIA and we’ll send you the full itinerary. Or DM us and tell us what’s drawing you there and we’ll build it around you.

Would you try street food in Varanasi if you knew exactly where to go?

When we include this experience as part of a wider India itinerary for a client, we do it with someone who grew up here and knows which stalls have been doing the same thing, well, for decades. The Malaiyo that appears only on winter mornings. The Tamatar Chaat that locals queue for at dusk. Kalakand, Malai Toast, Maalpuas, Gol Gappas and Banarasi Paan made the way families have always made them.
 
You taste, you talk, you watch how it is prepared. You hear who learned from whom. The money goes straight to the small vendors who rely on daily trade.
 
This is one small part of how we design trips to India. We don’t run set tours or trips. We build full, personalised itineraries, and experiences like this are woven in when they suit you and your interests.
  
If Varanasi is on your list, follow along or comment Varanasi and we will share more!

Plus five Maldives mistakes people make when booking 👇

The Maldives isn’t one destination. It’s hundreds of tiny islands, all very different from each other.

1️⃣ Choosing based on price per night alone.
Room rates don’t tell the full story. Seaplane transfers can add hundreds per person. Meal plans vary massively. Two resorts with the same nightly rate can end up looking very different once everything’s included.

2️⃣ Not understanding island size.
Some islands you can walk around in ten minutes. Others need buggies and feel more like a small village. Both can be wonderful. It depends what you’re looking for.

3️⃣ Booking the wrong room category.
Water villas get all the attention, but they’re not always the best choice. Some beaches have better swimming. Some villas face the sunset. Others face open channel and get strong 
currents.

4️⃣ Ignoring transfer logistics.
A 45-minute seaplane sounds romantic, but if you arrive late or are staying only a few nights, it can change the experience.

5️⃣ Not matching the resort to the purpose of the trip.
A honeymoon feels very different to a family holiday. An active couple needs something different from someone who just wants to switch off.

Tell us what you’re planning, what you like and your budget, and we’ll help you choose the right island.

Yala isn’t necessarily Sri Lanka’s best safari. It’s just the most famous.👇

As a predominantly Sri Lankan team, we’ve done our fair share of safaris across the island. They still amaze us every time. But with so many national parks to choose from, we’re often surprised to see Yala National Park topping every “must visit” list.

Yala does have clear advantages. It has one of the highest leopard densities in the country, varied terrain, and sightings can be frequent, particularly at certain times of year. But it’s also the busiest park. In peak season, it’s common for several jeeps to arrive at the same sighting, which isn’t what everyone is looking for.

That’s why we sometimes suggest other parks:

Kumana National Park is a designated bird sanctuary with over 200 recorded species. Visitor numbers are much lower, which allows more time to observe wildlife behaviour rather than move between sightings. We usually recommend Kumana to travellers who are interested in birdlife, enjoy quieter conditions, and don’t mind spending longer in one area.

Gal Oya National Park operates in a completely different way. Safaris are done by boat, elephants regularly swim across the reservoir, and local communities are directly involved in guiding and conservation. There are fewer vehicles, and more of the spend remains close to the park. We tend to recommend Gal Oya to travellers who value context, community involvement, and a different safari format.

If your priority is seeing as much wildlife as possible in a short amount of time, Yala may still be the right choice. But if you care more about space, observation, and how a safari feels overall, Kumana or Gal Oya might make more sense.

Still not sure which park would suit you best? Leave us a comment, send us a DM, or drop us an email.
And if you’ve already done a safari in Sri Lanka, where did you go, and what was it like?

Thought monasteries were only for male monks? This one is different 👇

Just outside Kandy, there is a female-only Buddhist monastery where bhikkunis live and practise full ordination. This tradition began over 2,500 years ago with Mahapajapati Gotami, the first woman to request ordination from the Buddha, and it continues today through study, meditation, and religious service.

Visits like this aren’t common. Access depends on permission and the right introductions. When appropriate, our team can arrange a guided visit that explains the role of the nunnery within Sri Lanka’s Buddhist tradition, with proper context and care.

You walk through meditation halls, gardens, and sacred spaces such as the Bodhi tree and stupa, with a local guide explaining how these places are used day to day. There’s also time to speak directly with a bhikkuni about her life, her beliefs, and the routine she follows, insight most visitors never have the chance to gain.

Follow along to see more Red Dot experiences that go a little deeper, and save this post for when you’re ready to start planning your trip to Sri Lanka 🙏

🔗 https://www.reddottours.com/experience/sri-lanka/kandy-nunnery

Blessings by Hindu priests happen every day in Varanasi, but many visitors don’t realise they can receive one themselves. Here’s how 👇

Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it feels like it. Life, death, devotion, and daily routine all exist side by side along the Ganges. You’ll see families bathing at sunrise, pilgrims praying on the ghats, funeral pyres burning, and children weaving through it all on their way to school. It can feel intense, confronting, and deeply moving all at once, which is why so many people describe it as haunting. There’s nowhere to hide from the reality of life here.

Although it might feel intimidating at first, we recommend receiving a blessing from a Hindu priest while you’re there. Many travellers only observe these rituals from a distance, without realising that participation is possible. When you travel with us, we can arrange a private puja with a respected priest. 🪔

The ritual itself is simple. You sit, listen, and follow along as the priest performs the puja, offering prayers that can be tailored to your intentions, whether that’s wellbeing, marking a life moment, or simply asking for guidance.

As with all experiences we curate, this is done carefully and respectfully. Because our team works with trusted local partners on the ground, we make sure the ritual is authentic, not performative, and that it happens in a way that honours both the priest and the place.

If you’re curious about visiting Varanasi, ask us anything in the comments. And if you’d like help mapping out a trip to India that goes beyond surface-level experiences, head to the link in our bio to request a proposal.