A journey dotted with colourful places and experiences
When Stefan Meyer climbed Adam’s Peak to watch the sunrise he was struck by the stunning vista beneath him. Having forgotten his passport he returned to the area to pick it up, and lured in by the promise of an unforgettable view, he scaled the mountain again. He had just settled in to enjoy the view this time when he was tapped on the shoulder by a policeman. “I was a bit worried,” he remembers. “But then the guy just wanted to know if I’d like to have tea and biscuits with his colleagues.”
Stefan’s two month stay in the country was this same experience on a loop, he laughs over a Skype interview. Wherever he went, locals welcomed him with open arms, often inviting him into their homes to share their food, even taking him to family weddings. “It’s not easy travelling alone you know?” he says. “Especially when you don’t speak the same language. But I never felt lonely because there were so many friendly people wherever I went.”
Perhaps it has something to do with his undeniably cheerful disposition and optimism. A 27-year old photographer from Switzerland, Stefan quit his job as a mechanic engineer to travel the world in January 2013. “I wanted change,” he says simply. His plan was quite simple-make no plans at all. “No plan, no problem” was the mantra for this new phase of his life.
Armed with his camera, a trusty Nikon, Stefan embarked on the journey with the blessings of his family and friends. “I don’t think they really believed me up until I actually did it!” he says. The camera became almost an extension of himself during this time and he blogged extensively on stefan-meyer.blogspot.com, documenting the many places and faces he encountered on his travels.
The trip started in New Zealand, with Stefan moving onto Australia and then travelling through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and India before coming to Sri Lanka. Stefan actually arrived in the country with Cee-Roo, a musician we featured in the Magazine a few weeks back for composing a track with uniquely Sri Lankan sounds. The first few days in Sri Lanka didn’t leave him with lasting impressions. With his friends, Stefan travelled to Mirissa and Hikkaduwa and while he enjoyed the sights and people he was also left largely unimpressed by the tourist driven cities. “I wanted to explore the real Sri Lanka,” he says. “I wanted to backpack in the real sense-take the bus, meet local people and share a meal.” In Kandy he met a like-minded Austrian, Ulli, who suggested that they travel to Jaffna.
In Jaffna, he was invited to a Sri Lankan wedding by new friends. Dressed in a striped shirt and sarong, Stefan attended a gala celebration, comforted the relatives who found themselves at a loose end after giving their daughter away and then finally, danced with them till the early hours of the morning in celebration. “It was fun!” he laughs. He has developed an affinity for string hoppers, something he likes to describe as Lankan spaghetti. “The spicy food was great!” he tells us, joking that a year ago “I probably would’ve died,” and it was only his time in India that prepared him for Lankan spices.
Having returned to Switzerland, Stefan has set up his own photography business focussing on shoots, reportage, concerts, vehicles and especially weddings. He has already done a wedding shoot in India, and counts the Sri Lankan experience on the unofficial repertoire. “I would love to do more weddings in other parts of the world,” he shares. “If anyone in Sri Lanka wants me to cover their wedding I’m up for it!”
We ask him if there’s anything life changing that he has learnt from his travel. He puts it quite succinctly-if you don’t try, you’ll never know. Travel has given Stefan Meyer a taste for adventure, but it has also taught him that life is worth a few risks if you are to really live. More importantly, “don’t plan for everything,” he advises. “I remember sitting on a balcony at a hotel in Beruwala, looking out at this amazing sunset and thinking ‘what shall I do next?’. Sometimes that’s a good way to live.”