Unfortunatly I've got to admitted in a hospital in Paris, I was really worried as I can not speak French very fluently and how I gonna manage all the question asked. Hospital Croix Saint Simon was the hospital and I was at the 4th floor on room no 413.
The lady doctor who came to me and asked few thing in french and I understool half of it and I excused her and told that I can understand french but I prefer if you could speak in english. I never though that doctors and most of the staff spoke good english. It made me more confortable of explaining my problem to them in a right mannar.
Somehow my medical continued for 15 days at hospital and rest at home for one year. I basically got an infection on my right shoulder bone. Doctor said that it will take two months or less to weak the bactiria but for the total course of medicine takes one year to strengthen the bone and protect the rest of the bone from infection.
Beautiful place, good view, nice and fully hospitality staff and doctors were up on their profession, made me fell like home.
Innocent's Search
Sri Lankan Time
Hospital Life in Paris
End of a War
About Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is paradise. A kaleidoscopic experience of vivid intensity, where colourful sights and brash sounds intermingle with confusions of aromatic spices, friendly smiling faces, cultures that reflect peace and tolerance, and religions that promote total harmony. Lifting the veil on this magical island reveals a country where ancient customs and traditions blend perfectly with modern life. For many centuries past travellers to Sri Lanka have enjoyed its tranquil hospitality, its spellbinding history and its outright friendliness. Today nothing has changed and its traditional welcome, ‘Ayubowan’ - may you live long - is extended to each and every visitor.
Colombo, invariably the first port of call of travellers, is a city proud of its mixed heritage. Colonial Dutch, Portuguese and British architecture, in the presence of the old town hall, parliament house, churches, cathedrals, tree-lined avenues, parks, railway station and government buildings, stand cheek-by-jowl with ultra-modern office blocks and five star hotels. Reflecting a more traditional way of life an eclectic intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist temples, spice bazaars, bustling street markets, gemstone, ceramic and batik stalls all add taste and flavour to this most vibrant of cities.
Snapshots of its colonial history are to be found everywhere; still in use the red pillar-boxes erected during the days of the British Raj, but more unusual to the foreign eye is the ubiquitous, omnipresent tuk-tuk, a motorised three-wheel vehicle. A cheap and noisy way to travel it is an experience to be tried, but perhaps only once.
Top quality hotels, of which there are many, add to the creature comforts of Sri Lanka. In Colombo the Oberoi, Hilton and Taj Samudra offer clients a world of serene grandeur and pure luxury, but for many people the Mount Lavinia Hotel, where guests are greeted by white uniformed solar topee’d doormen, is the most romantic. Once the residence of Sir Thomas Maitland, a British governor in colonial days, the hotel is named after a local dancing girl with whom he fell in love and who later became known as Lady Lavinia. This is one reason why the hotel is reputed to be the most idyllic in Sri Lanka and, because of its association with Lavinia, is a favourite venue for weddings and honeymooners.
Marriage ceremonies are conducted at many of the first class beach hotels that front the Indian Ocean on the south-western corner of the island. Along the palm fringed ribbon of white coral sand between Colombo and the world heritage site walled city of Galle, the Neptune - Beruwela, the Taj Exotica - Bentota, and the Triton Hotel at Ahungalla each provide exclusive romantic wedding packages. Elephants, colourfully robed and strewn with flowers, accompanied by traditional dancers and drummers, provide local colour at the ceremony during which, if she so wishes, the bride can add to the occasion by dressing in a traditional Sri Lankan saree. Here everlasting memories are created on the beaches of Serendipity*.
Sri Lanka’s beaches extend for over a 1000 miles around its coastline. Warm shallow waters, deep natural harbours, and still lagoons with underwater coral gardens are ideal for wind-surfing, water-skiing, wave boarding, canoeing, sailing, snorkelling, deep sea diving, exploring offshore wrecks, water polo and sea fishing.
The beach holiday is just one sparkling facet of the many wonders that constitute Sri Lanka. Up-country, in cooler climes, exotic wildlife, fascinating flora, ancient temples, rock fortresses and the many sacred relics that dominate the culture and history of Sri Lanka awaits the visitor, but to many travellers discovering the intricacies of the famous Ceylon Tea industry is a fascinating challenge.
Orange Pekoe, Silver Tips, Earl Grey, English Afternoon, and Green Tea with Jasmine flowers are typical of the choice selections of Ceylon Tea that are grown and processed in the cool, hilly regions of Nuwara-Eliya, Kandy, Udapussellawa, Uva, and Dambulla. In a fragrantly aromatic atmosphere, visitors can absorb themselves in the practicalities of tea processing, a skill seemingly unchanged for 150 years. Here they can follow the arrival of the tender freshly picked tea leaves, and view the various stages of preparation to final grading, weighing and packaging prior to export worldwide.
Especially recommended is a stay at the Tea Factory, which stands some 6,800 feet above sea level, just six degrees from the equator, in the lush green misty mountains of Kandapola. Built in the days of British Raj as a factory for tea processing, it has been sympathetically converted into a five star hotel so that much of its original style and machinery remains. Its reception area is where the factory’s leaf drying process was carried out, the tea packing room is now the hotel bar and the grading and sifting area is the restaurant and as can be imagined the views from the Tea Factory are breathtaking.
Important to Sri Lanka is the protection of its natural environment. Although visitors are encouraged to explore its Sinharaja rain forests, which is the sanctuary for over 170 varieties of exotic orchid, and Horton Plains - the only habitat in the world for certain species of fauna and flora - the government rightly insists on maintaining a definitive line between tourism and its very fragile eco-system.
In national parks such as Yala, Wilpattu and Inginiyagala, where leopard, elephant, monkey, deer, boar and bear roam free, conservation and safety is a priority, and visitors are taken by covered vehicle on safari to observe the wildlife. Arguably that most impressive of all beasts, the elephant, can still be seen wandering around in sizeable herds.
A project that enables the visitor to get close to nature without compromise is the Kandalama Hotel, the first building of its type in Asia to be awarded Green Globe 21 certification. Located on the border of a vast primeval forest its design gives centre stage to nature. Rocks, caves and even cascades of rain water add charm to its corridors, and forest trees brush against galleries and room windows, while flowering woodland creepers curtain balconies and the roofs are terraces of wild grass.
Just two hours by coach from Colombo is the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage where over 60 elephants displaced from the wild are cared for in their natural habitat. Elephant watchers can observe these magnificent creatures at close quarters, see them bathing in the river, and enjoy the sight of baby orphans being fed by hand. Without doubt a visit to Pinnawela is the highlight of their visit to Sri Lanka for many people.
Kandy is thought by many to be Sri Lanka’s most beautiful city. Situated centrally in temperate hill country it is the last capital of the Sinhala kings and is dominated by the Dalada Maligawa – the temple of the Sacred Tooth relic, where, it is said, Lord Buddha’s tooth is kept. For horticulturists the Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya (close to Kandy) is a must, its vast acreage of carefully tended tropical trees, shrubs and flowers are undeniable magnetic attractions. For ten days each year Kandy is the setting for the festival of the August Moon. “Flaming torches blaze a trail for the glittering procession. Trumpets, conches, oboes and drums beat out a ritual rhythm for the dancers and rank upon rank of elephants – bedecked with golden caparisons – precede the lofted Sacred Casket, as late into the night the holiest of festivals is transformed into an unforgettable spectacle,” comments a local tourist brochure.
Also not to be missed is the ancient city of Anuradhapura. Founded in the fifth century BC, it is venerated as Sri Lanka’s Buddhist capital. Fifteen minutes away is Mihintale the mountain monastery connected with Arahat Malinda who introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Whether you travel north, south, east or west historical Sri Lanka can always be relied on to surprise and excite.
One of Sri Lanka’s most ancient and revered historical sites is Sigiriya, a massive 200-metre high rock fortress constructed in the fifth century AD. On its flat summit the ruins of moats, gateways, pavilions, a palace and pleasure gardens, that took seven years to build, still remain. On the rock face, the celebrated Sigiriya Maiden frescoes attract thousands of admirers each year.
The island is a fascinatingly beautiful experience. With its colourful mixture of ancient religions and cultures, friendly smiling faces, and a range of activities that embrace almost every taste imaginable Sri Lanka, the emerald pearl set in the Indian Ocean, is the tropical meeting place of old and new. Mass tourism has still yet to make its mark on Sri Lanka, and perhaps it never will, but for those people who do make the effort to visit this most fascinating country they will be well rewarded.
*Sri Lanka is often referred to as the land of Serendipity, derived from the Persian fairytale of the three princes of Serendip who had a wonderful talent for making fortunate discoveries by accident.
IS 'MANAGING CUSTOMER EXSPECTATIONS' REALLY MANAGEABLE
While these two reasons do indicate the possibility of loyalty, it would be naive to believe they are sufficient indicators of loyalty. We need to determine whether customer retention and/or repurchase are due to inertia or a lack of options? Or, is it due to high switching costs? For example, several people retain their bank accounts in a particular bank only because that is where their employer is willing to credit their salary. Can we really consider them as loyal customers? The fact is many of such customers will have accounts with more than one bank, and will move business elsewhere if communications on offerings are not done routinely and well, Ultimately, given an option many of these customers will easily migrate elsewhere.
A study reported in an article by Stephanie Coyles and Timothy C. Gokey, "Customer Retention is not enough," in The McKinsey Quarterly, 2002, Number 2 indicates that more customers tend to change their spending behavior rather than defect. They report that at one retail bank five percent of checking-account customers defected annually, taking with then 10 percent of the bank's checking accounts and three percent of the balances. But, every year, the 35 percent of its total balances, while the 35 percent who increased their balances raised its total balances by 25 percent. Obviously, merely retaining accounts is not good enough.
A better measure of loyalty is when customers are active and emotive loyalist who have no problem in being unpaid referrals and advocates. These are customers who have a high level of satisfaction and have no intention of reassessing their banking options. Research shows that these are the customers who typically end up spending the most.
The conclusion is that customer loyalty is a complex phenomenon and heeds to be approached from different directions, behavioral as well as attitudinal. A few good places to start would be understanding expectations, and use it to shape customers' perceptions of results. But, customer loyalty could also be incresed by raising switching costs and building defection barriers.
IS 'MANAGING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS' REALLY MANAGEABLE?
The other part of the customer satisfaction equation is the customers' perception of results. For fat too long, institutions have had a narrow focus in this area. Attention has been given to 'checking' customer perceptions instead of trying to 'shape' it. The focus has been on asking 'how are we doing?' Instead, making customers see what the institution has been (doing) and is doing for them, will yield better results. Research shows on average customers defect to competitors simply because they have failed to perceive the value received from their current institution. What this means to institutions is to manage expectations better, they should make it a priority to ensure their customers are aware of everything being done fro them. Institutions should not assume that customers will automatically make the perceived value connection.
A bank in Montreal tested out this conclusion by instruction its staff to inform all customers who came into their bank about 'all' the services and products the bank had on offer. Result? The bank experienced an 18 percent increase in sales during the first month of the programme. Institutions typically make the mistake of not making it a routine to communicate with exciting customers about their product offerings. For any number of reasons a customer may have initially declined a product or service at the time of opening their account. Failing to communicate product and service offerings after the account is opened can lead to customer's using a competitor for a product or service available at the institution. The value of spaced repetition to existing customers on the bank's offerings cannot be overemphasized.
A few words on loyalty are necessary especially since it is defined in different ways. Some consider customer retention or just continuing to bank with them as enough evidence of customer loyalty . Several banks in the Gulf offer better rates to customers based on the length of time the account has remained with them. Other consider a repurchase as an indicator of customer loyalty.
To be continued................
