Nine VIP's based in Singapore were on holiday in Sri Lanka last week.

A Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) spokesperson said that the VIPs arrived in Sri Lanka to be pleasantly surprised by the country's rich cultural diversity and went back promising to come again.

The nine-member group included the US Ambassador Patricia Herbold, Russian Ambassador Andrey Rozhakov, Ambassador for Peru, Jose Arturo Montoya Stuva and head of BT Global Services Kristin Paulson. Their visit was facilitated by SLTPB, and organized by Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Singapore, Shehan Ratnavale.

The visit by the diplomnats, their spouses and other dignitaries was made possible when the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka initiated the tour and made it a dream come true trip for them.

"This is my first trip to Sri Lanka and I have not been to India or Pakistan which are bigger countries than this island," said Ambassador for Russia, Andrey Rozhkov and his wife Elina Rozhkov.

"We were fascinated when we visited the Temple of the Tooth Relic. We have not seen a Buddhist Shrine or a Dagaba and most of what we saw here were for the first time in our lives," he said.

"Russia is full of churches, snow with little sunshine, and defence personnel everywhere like here, but Sri Lanka is so colourful with beautiful beaches, green everywhere and the most outstanding was the visit to Dalada Maligawa inner-most sanctum. I count it a great privilege and honour to receive the blessings at the Sacred place", he said.

"Yes, we know that the Russians are told about a travel advisory but I saw many foreigners and Russians in particular, all having a whale of a time. It's true that the country has some problems but nobody can stop foreigners coming to Sri Lanka, and here we are! Nobody stopped us from coming. I will be coming again because five days just flew in a jiffy and there is much to see," he continued.

The contingent had been shopping, by and large, and was happy to meet many Sri Lankans who are very warm and energetic, as the Ambassador admits. "We heard that Sri Lanka was like Singapore in the 60s and Sri Lankans should take the initiative to develop the roads, and be advanced in technology," he added.

The Russian Ambassador and his wife who are grandparents of two girls, love spicy food, especially hot curries. "We are going back with beautiful memories of Sri Lanka, not missing the tea and spices in our baggage.

The Peruvian Ambassador, Jose Arturo Montoya Stuva and Montoya, were very excited about their trip too. "The Temple of the Tooth Relic is really a beautiful place to visit. We are happy to make the choice of coming here. We were marvelled to see the Sigiriya Rock and the ruins on top. We wanted to come here long back but finally we made it! The Ambassador and his spouse are parents of twins; a girl and a boy and have plans to visit Sri Lanka again. "We are looking forward to that day," they said.

Elina M. Iwatake, Head of Commercial, BT Global Services said: "Like the rest in the team, I was moved when I was blessed and tied the 'Pirith Noola' at Dalada Maligawa. We heard of the travel advisory, but we were told the problems are in the North and East. Obviously, we had to only avoid traveling to those places and be in the safe areas, which we did and enjoyed the tour relaxingly," said Iwatake and her mother who accompanied her.

The US Ambassador to Singapore, Patricia Herbold said that most of the places where she had visited during the tour were not heard of. "I was in for many surprises when I heard for the first time of the elephant orphanage at Pinnawela and the Temple of the Tooth Relic," she said.

Talking about the present situation in the country, she said, "It is true, we hear only negative stories about Sri Lanka these days, but I must say, after coming here, I realized there are more positive stories than negative ones. We also thought twice before coming here but we were given the proper picture and advised before we came. It was great to visit Galle Fort, the ramparts, Kandy , Sigiriya, turtle hatchery, to name a few, and certainly, would like to come to Sri Lanka again," she enthused.

Her only advice to people who want to travel to Sri Lanka is, "Get the proper information before planning the trip, make your own decision and don't take negative stories into account.