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Having been lucky enough to be taken to Sri Lanka back in 2004 as part of an educational trip with the travel company I worked for, I was touched that the children who crowded around our bus one day were asking not for money but pens. "They have compulsory schooling now, but nothing to write with" explained our guide. Giving out our plain blue biros, it was truly humbling to watch the children excitedly swop the (identical!) pens amongst themselves to get their favourite. Heading back for a holiday in 2015, I was worried what over ten years of development and tourism would have done to the country and its incredible people. Of course tourism is essential to developing countries for growth – but not all the effects may be positive Would it still be the place I so fondly remembered, with just the right mix of welcoming tourists while retaining its local culture, or would it have become a tourist trap? Would the children still be asking for biros or would they have lost their innocence and be interested only in cold hard cash? Having told my travel buddy about my previous experience, she suggested we stock up on biros, balls and bubbles just in case! With a suitcase full of basic goodies, I headed off to see what a decade had done to Sri Lanka. Of course the country itself was still breathtaking. Whether it's beaches and luxury escapes, ruins and relics, wildlife and forests, or cultural shows and bargain hunting that get your tick of approval - Sri Lanka has it all. And of course, it also has world renowned tea. Which brought us after a couple of days to a tea farm where we were approached by a young girl who asked politely if we happened to have any pens or sweets to spare. Telling her to stay right where she was, we rushed off back to the car to get our goodie bags. On our return we were greeted by a long and incredibly orderly line of children, all waiting patiently to see if we had a biro, a sweet, or anything at all left over by the time they reached the front of the line. We saw frantic faces peering down from the back – but not one push or jostle or fight over position. Thank goodness we'd stocked up and managed to give every child there (and more we met along the course of our trip) a ball, some bubbles and a biro. To see these children, who had next to nothing, waiting so hopefully and politely to see if they would get a toy and a pen reminded me again why I fell in love with this country the first time around. I am acutely aware of how vast our privilege is to be able to visit developing countries as tourists for our simple pleasure. While tourism is essential to many of these countries, it can also bring with it many negatives. Sri Lanka was, once again, a reminder not only of how lucky I am, but how easy it is to bring a moment of genuine joy to others with just a little bit of forethought. Next time you travel to a developing country, do a bit of research before you go. Find out if there's any simple items that the locals need. What is polite and impolite in their culture. What local organisations are legitimately helping people at a grassroots level. What you can do to make any kind of positive impact. Having worked in animal shelters, I tend to take not only pens and basic toys but also mange treatment for dogs. It's amazing how grateful people are just to be given something to stop their dog from itching! Whatever it is we can do, let's try to leave the places we visit with a memory of us that is as good as our memory of our holiday!