new career Archives - GlenMyu Estate

We met dancing..... and then moved to Sri Lanka

My wife and I met dancing in London , may years ago.

Little did I know that I would end up moving to Sri Lanka many years later.

I’m so glad that we did.

Sri Lanka is a magical island and we have created an amazing place to stay, off the beaten track, in the Sri Lankan hill country.

Find our more about our story and also about our luxury bed and breakfast, GlenMyu Estate.

The photo is of us dancing at our wedding in Negombo. I had a full head of hair when we met!

Ceroc - the perfect type of dancing for me!

A friend of mine in the UK introduced me to Ceroc.

I had no idea about what this dance style was about. He had taken me to a Salsa club in London, but I was overwhelmed with the dance steps and it didn’t appeal to me.

Ceroc was a completely different for me.

I loved it as I could pick up the simpler dance moves.

After some weeks of practice and some ‘beginners weekends’ I managed to grasp what was needed. I loved it so much that I would dance at various venues around London at least three times per week.

What is Ceroc

Ceroc explains on their website that “Our dance moves incorporate a wide variety of dance forms such as Jive, Ballroom, Latin, Tango, Salsa, West-Coast Swing, Blues, Bachata, Zouk…..the list goes on”.

The format in the same every night. There is a beginners class and an intermediate class. In between the classes you get to practice the moves that you have learnt.

You have no rhythm!

At one of my ‘beginners weekends’ I was told by one of my partners that I had no rhythm. She told me to listen to the music.

As much as this was hard to hear, she was right. I could mechanically master the dance moves but I hadn’t connected them to the beat of the music at that stage.

It was a time where I could have easily given up hearing this crushing view of my dancing ability.

However, I was determined to go forward as I enjoyed dancing this style so much.

Over the coming weeks I listened to more music and it clicked.

At the Ceroc sessions that followed, I would be asked to dance by the ladies rather than the other way around.

She happened to be Sri Lankan

I met my future wife through Ceroc dancing.

One of the venues was at International Student House near Great Portland Street station in London.

Ruwanthi was working in London at the time and a work colleague brought her along for a night out. She regularly attended the venue when she was in London and we danced from time to time.

The rhythm was good between us and we really enjoyed dancing with each other.

Ruwanthi was from Sri Lanka. Little did I know that several year later I would be living with her on this beautiful paradise island. I also did not envisage that we would both give up our successful careers and build and operate GlenMyu Estate.

Are we still dancing?

It certainly was a lot easier to dance when you have the lure of a great fun dance venue to go to.

We don’t dance as often as we would like to as there are lots of things for us to do with our time at GlenMyu Estate.

I’m inspired when there is some music on and when you see our lounges we certainly have the setting to dance.

Perhaps this will be a joint New Year’s resolution for us in 2025. Dancing more often as the sunsets at GlenMyu Estate!

Stay at GlenMyu Estate to explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country

Stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country

See sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.

We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.

The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,

GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.

Changing jobs at 50 – moving to Sri Lanka

Holiday, Life in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Travel / By Mikeez

Changing jobs at 50.

Changing jobs at 50 – inspired by Gina d’Albiac of True Colours Coaching I thought I would write about my experience of changing jobs at 50 yeas old.

Some of the items that True Colours Coaching can help you with resonates with my move from a career in Banking in the UK to a new life in Sri Lanka:

Explore your purpose and how to live a more fulfilling life
Uncover a career- or life-path where you are free to be yourself and to do something that is in line with your values.

These two elements reflect my change in life and what happened when I changed jobs (and countries) at the age of 50.

And that was then.

A career in Banking in London was fulfilling for a long period of my life.
I was motivated, learning, challenged, energetic, ambitious, happy, rewarded, developed, and much more.
Most of my work was a happy experience and of course there are always ups and downs. I did feel, at the time, that I had a fulfilling life.

My wife and I had a good lifestyle and really enjoyed living and working in London.

There is a saying that “familiarity breeds contempt”. Although these words are a bit too strong a description of what I went through, being in a career for so long eventually creates a desire for change.

I had experienced credit booms and busts over my career and there were periods where the enjoyment and fulfilment were stressed. In addition to this, despite earning well, my wife and I were not able to spend as much time together as we would have liked.

Business travel and long hours became the norm and it was clear that we both needed a change.

50 - a good moment to change my job.

My wife and I had a plan to relocate to Sri Lanka. Shortly after my 50th birthday we landed on this Paradise Island. Ru is Sri Lankan and this would enable her to spend more time with her parents and reduce the amount of work travel she was enduring.

I had some projects to do in Sri Lanka before deciding on next steps so was engaged for a while.

My change of job at 50 had not yet been determined.

It didn't go to plan.

After some months being based in Colombo, it became clear that the work travel and stress my wife was experiencing was not going to change.

Same experience, different location.

We ran to the hills!

Maybe this is a little bit of an exaggeration. My wife had purchased part of an abandoned tea estate in the Sri Lankan Hill Country many years ago. We planned to build a small holiday home for ourselves so we could escape from the heat of Colombo from time to time

Once we started building, we added some additional rooms and eventually we ended up with GlenMyu Estate.

Changing jobs at 50 - From Banker to Gardener??????

My job role changed once GlenMyu Estate was open. I became an unpaid gardener maintaining the grass pathways and lawns around the estate. A far cry from my work in London, but I really do feel fulfilled and love it. I’m very proud when I see the results of my efforts trying to get the grass as flat as Lords Cricket Ground. (I’m still working on that!).

Fulfilment is added to when meeting our new guests on a regular basis. I really enjoy talking to them about their experience of Sri Lanka and providing some recommendations on what to do and se when they are staying at GlenMyu Estate.

The pay is lousy but my new job is the best.

Sure, I was better off financially when I was living in the UK. I was able to drive in a nice car, eat in a good restaurant and holiday a few times a year.

I now am able to spend more time with my wife, the stress levels are lower and it doesn’t really matter whether I have the latest i-Phone. We keep on dropping our older phones around the estate so a new phone wouldn’t be shiny for too long!

I really enjoy my new job and my new life. I’m very happy that I decided to change my job at 50.

We both feel privileged to be in a position to live our new lives and know that continuing to work hard and do the best for our guests at GlenMyu Estate should result in a long and fulfilling job and life.

Stay at GlenMyu Estate to experience the Sri Lankan Hill Country

A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and see sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.