Moving houses or Caravans go back in time to the year of 1800. Gypsies and Nomads would travel from place to place with everything they owned all stacked up in a trailer or cart. As years went by and inventions were taking place one after the other with everything being upgraded for better comfort level, so did the upgrading of these moving houses.
Soon these Caravans became actual houses with bedrooms, toilets and a kitchen towed to the engine in the front to go from one place to another while saving money on booking hotels and camp sites. As this concept grew, people in the European region used it as a retirement getaway too…travelling the country stopping in places they wanted such as the petrol station and malls to stock up.
Surprisingly, as most of you would not have seen such caravans going around in the roads of the island you would actually ask yourself what is the purpose of such a thing here. Well, to answer that, we take a drive down south to Gurukoda, Kirinda, Yala where the holiday getaway has gone one notch up and come out with Caravans as your private chalet and rooms to enjoy your weekend.
The Yala Caravan Village concept has been the brainchild of Dixon Dale and Nilanga Dale. They, who already have a bungalow for Yala Nature visitors, saw the empty 1.5 acre property facing the beach and rented it. When they had the opening ceremony for the bungalow, they had a caravan and parked it there.
Then the people who had come for the opening saw this and told them what a good concept it is and how they should do something like this as it’s not done anywhere else in the country.
Then as this place came up and running they got down the very young and talented Trinitian M H M H Nadisha as the Manager of Caravan Village Yala.
“This came to me through my swimming coach. He told me one of his friends was going to build up this place and if I would like to join. I am a nature lover so I decided to join here and I came here in December 2012. I was with Amaya Hills as a trainee front officer for two months soon after I finished my exams”, Nadisha stated. His family was not too happy that their only son was going this far for a post like that but now they are settling down with his move bit by bit.
“I did not have a post when I came here and I got the post as Front Office Manager and thereafter with the training and everything else I became the Manager”, he added.
There are 10 Caravans divided into two categories – three Standards and seven Deluxe. The Deluxe varies as their main feature of the caravan is very spacious and bigger than the Standard ones. But the interior is the same. The Deluxe has triple bed sharing basis and three single beds and in the Standards they have one double bed and two single beds.
All the Caravans (brought from England) have an attached bathroom outside and the inside bathrooms that are not in function are to be brought down and made into a stairway for an upper deck (like a double-decker bus) that will be constructed in time to come. This will make the caravan a little more spacious and using the lower deck for F&B and the upper space for beds and cupboards.
There is the bungalow where guests are supposed to bring in their own dry rations and the chef will cook the meals. Here, there are two rooms (with triple beds and three single rooms) and there is a large verandah with a common washroom. If people want to use the Air-condition the rate will be higher.
There are altogether five people working in the property. Chef Ranjith prepares anything to the guest’s request. Then we have a driver who takes the guests on safaris and also helps in the kitchen along with two other people who take care of the bungalow.
There is no specified time for meals and this is the only hospitality property in the area that allows guests to have meals even at 2 or 3am in the morning. They have records of people who have appreciated that and they have had BBQs going on till late in the morning.
We have had nature lovers who really love to visit Yala. Guests who have come here were excited about this concept and we were happy about the activities also provided for the children. There are Jet Skis, rifle shooting, wall climbing, tight rope walking etc. We had so many guests who have booked the whole bungalow and the 10 caravans, cooked their own meals and shared it among the Caravan staff as well.
There are also honeymooners and we give them full privacy to spend their time together by serving them meals in the porch outside the caravan.
Their open air restaurant with a beach front will be rebuilt with a bar. The flooring will be done using kumbuk wood and the construction is to begin in a month’s time. Furniture and tables are already done so only thing needed done is the floor and outer area and is to be completed within a week of beginning construction.
So from all my travel escapades, this was indeed a very unique experience and after all the refurbishing and additions to the caravans it will definitely be the next happening getaway for holidaymakers and adventure seekers. For more details on the property you can log on to www.yalacaravanvillage.com.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko