Tips for travelers in Sri Lanka Jewish Traveler and take us to peace

Sri Lanka is becoming the next desired destination for Israeli tourists. Below is information and suggestions that can help us on our trip to Sri Lanka:

It is better to issue a visa to Sri Lanka in advance via the Internet at their embassy in Israel, in Migdali Basar 2 in Bnei Brak. The price is 40 dollars. They usually approve after 4-6 hours or the next day. The visa is for thirty days, and it is possible to extend it.
You can also get a visa at the airport, but it requires you to stand in a long and tedious line. The visa at the airport costs $50, and sometimes in times of stress they give it for free, so that the line goes faster. not recommended.
Sri Lanka is a tropical country and we must be prepared with appropriate vaccinations. Recommended vaccinations include diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and polio. Long stayers may also consider getting vaccinated against typhoid and rabies.
Living expenses in Sri Lanka are very cheap compared to what we know from Israel. Everything is cheaper there, even when shopping in supermarkets.
How to know the value of each product in shekels or dollars? Well at the time of writing this guide every 1,000 Sri Lankan Rupees is worth 12 Israeli Shekels, or 3 US Dollars. Based on this, calculate the price that is being asked of you, and decide for yourself if it is worth it to you.
Credit cards are not accepted everywhere. There are hotels and stores that accept credit cards but add a “fee”. Know that this fee is illegal.
Exchange rates for buying Sri Lankan Rupees are better at the airport than at banks or money changers in the city. This is in contrast to what we know from Europe.
Also, buying a SIM card at the airport is more profitable than in communication shops in the city.
The time in Sri Lanka is GMT+5.5. That is, they are 3 and a half hours ahead of us. When here it is 12 o’clock, in Sri Lanka it is 3:30. When in Sri Lanka it is 12 o’clock, here it is 8:30.
From Israel there are direct flights to Sri Lanka only by the airline sky. The flight usually lasts about six hours. These days when Israeli companies are not allowed to fly in Oman’s airspace, the planes fly a longer route that bypasses Oman, extending the flight by about two hours.
Many Israelis also arrive in Sri Lanka on foreign airlines with connections and plane changes in other countries. A longer and more cumbersome flight than Arkia.
Consider the monsoon seasons. From May to September there are storms of monsoon rains and rough seas on the southern and western coasts. From November to March the monsoons hit the northeast of the island.
The most common natural disaster in Sri Lanka is localized flooding during the monsoon, which can cause landslides in the highlands.
The only Hachshara restaurant in Sri Lanka is in Beit Haved in the town of Weligama. There are other Chabad houses in the capital city of Colombo, in the town of Ella in the mountains, and in the summer also in the coastal town of Arugam Bay.
Kosher products with the OU seal can be found in supermarkets. Chabad houses in Colombo and Bala also provide kosher products and meals. Srilanka is a Buddhist country where there are many vegetarian restaurants, which serve only vegetables with rice and curry, without fear of kosher.
Greeting in Sinhalese is “aa-yu-BO-wan” which means “may you live long”
Sri Lanka is like India, but cleaner.
All the students of the primary school seen dressed in a white uniform. The reason is to accustom them to cleanliness and hygiene from a young age. Any stain is visible on a shirt or skirt. A child who stains his clothes is ridiculed and humiliated by the teacher as well as his friends, and if the stain is particularly large and ugly, the student will be sent home. From the first grade, the students get used to maintaining cleanliness.
Srilanka is close to the equator and the weather is tropical. There are no seasons like ours. Throughout the year the average temperature on the beaches is 26-33 degrees, and in the mountains 20-25 degrees.
Many Israelis travel around Sri Lanka on a rented scooter. Renting a scooter in Sri Lanka costs an average of 1800 LKR per day, but you have to bargain. I managed to lower it to 1150 rupees.
In Sri Lanka there are two types of buses. The red colored buses belong to a government company, and the other colored buses are privately owned. A large number of bus owners usually paint them in bright colors, and decorate them with beautiful paintings. Usually the buses are cheap and crowded. Travel with open doors where passengers are also standing, or sit on the stairs.
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You should also plan a trip by train, especially between Kandy and Ella. The track passes through an amazing landscape of mountains, forests, tea plantations and waterfalls.
The train has first class with air conditioners in the carriages, or second and third classes for those who want to save money and mingle with the locals. It is advisable to order tickets at least a week in advance at the train stations, or on the 12GO Asia website.
Be sure to take your passport everywhere. Sometimes there are checkpoints where soldiers or police check all passengers.
The trips within the cities are usually by tuktuks. You have to bargain with the greedy tuktuk drivers. In Sri Lanka there are also local apps like Uber, called PickMe here. These are more reliable and the prices are fixed without bargaining.
History: In the 16th century, the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka, and changed its name to Ceylon. The island was a colony of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British empires. The British left in 1948, three months before the establishment of the State of Israel. Tsilon gained independence in 1948, and in 1972 changed its name back to Sri Lanka.
Most Sri Lankans are Sinhalese sympathizers of Israel and sympathize with our struggle against the Palestinians. The Sri Lankans have suffered for many years from the Muslim terrorist organization ‘Tamil Tigers’ who demanded an independent state in the north of Sri Lanka. Muslim terrorism ended with a peace agreement in 2009, which many see as an agreement to surrender to Muslims. Therefore, they respect and appreciate our dealings with Palestinian terrorism in our country.
Most Sri Lankans are Buddhists, so we see Buddha statues and stupas in many places.
In many places in Sri Lanka you see a structure that looks like a karambo with a spike on top. It is a “stupa”. A sacred building for Buddhists. When Buddha died, his body was cremated, and his ashes were placed in eight urns that were sent to all kinds of places. In every such place they built a stupa in which they put their sacred ashes. Over the generations, they built additional stupas near temples where there were no Buddha’s ashes, and even in the courtyards of private houses and on street corners, they built stupas of all kinds of sizes.
Every month, a full moon day in the middle of the month is a holiday. The banks and many businesses are closed. The stores do not sell wine and spirits. It is worth going to visit a Buddhist or Hindu temple on this day to watch special ceremonies.
Sri Lankans tend to nod their heads in a way that reminds us of a “no” movement, but in Sri Lanka it means “yes”. Especially when accompanied by a smile. Don’t get confused between the gestures.
The locals are ashamed to admit that they don’t know something. Sometimes it happened to me that they pointed me in the wrong direction instead of admitting that they don’t know the way.

The most recommended way to travel in Sri Lanka is with an attached driver. The local tourism company Andrew Offers a service of driver-guides, and assembles itineraries according to the taste and wishes of the customers. The price is not expensive, but not for seamstresses. The telephone number for inquiries and orders: 094114513466. (If you tell them that you came to them after reading this article, you may receive a significant discount).
You should always carry cash, because ATMs are quite rare in towns and villages in Sri Lanka, and not everywhere accepts credit cards.
The average daily wage for a local laborer is $20, which is about NIS 80 per day. According to this you have to decide how much tip is appropriate to give to the person who serves you.
The electricity is 220 volts like here, but the electrical sockets are like in England. For some of them, you can also insert an Israeli plug. It is better to bring an adapter to a British outlet.
Sri Lanka’s international airport is Bandaranaike International Airport. It is 36 km from Colombo in about an hour’s drive. The field is 6 km from the town of Negombo, a 10-minute drive away. It’s like Israel is closer to the city of Lod than to Tel Aviv. That’s why many Israelis prefer to spend the night in Negombo on their first and last day in Sri Lanka.
Suntan cream and mosquito repellent ointments or sprays are better to buy in Sri Lanka and not to bring from the country, because it is more adapted to the local mosquitoes.
When passing a Buddha statue, always walk clockwise.
Sri Lankan food is very spicy. Pay attention to what you order in restaurants or buy at street stalls. Give a small taste first, before filling your mouth.
It is better to buy bus tickets online.
Before photographing local people, ask for their permission.
Inside temples it is allowed to take pictures only without flash.

Sri Lankans take their faith seriously and respectfully. This is also expressed in the prohibition of taking pictures in front of Buddha statues with our backs and buttocks facing the Buddha. Innocent tourists get it wrong. In big cities it’s not bad, because the police are busy with their work. But in small towns and villages the police are very strict with this law, and impose heavy fines on those who sin by turning their buttocks towards Buddha.
Don’t get stuck on the beach. Most Israelis come to the beaches for surfing or for a backpacking vacation. But Srilanka also offers fascinating sites in the mountains in the center of the island, and to my surprise Israelis do not visit them.
When diving at the beaches, you must not touch the beautiful corals.
On safari tours in nature reserves, it is forbidden to stop and get off the jeep inside the reserve.
It is forbidden to buy souvenirs made of ivory or coral or animal bones. At the airport we may be stopped before the flight to Israel.
Many stray dogs roam the public domain in Sri Lanka, and some are very small and cute. Do not come close to petting them, because there are many dogs that are sick with rabies.
Many monkeys also carry rabies viruses that can be transmitted to us by a monkey’s scratch or bite. Be warned!
Sometimes we will meet elephants wandering on the sides of highways, just as we see camels and donkeys on the sides of the roads in the Negev. A single elephant may become aggressive because it is afraid of humans. But a herd of elephants is not dangerous because the elephants feel safe in the company of their friends, and they rely on the protection of the female leader of the herd.
The water in Sri Lanka is not suitable for drinking, so we are only allowed to drink mineral water.
Toilets are called Wash Room here. If you ask locals where TOILET is, they might not understand you.
The transport flows on the left side of the road, like in Britain which ruled here until 1948. Pay attention! In Israel we are used to looking to the left before crossing a road, but in Sri Lanka we have to look to the right, because the vehicles are coming from the opposite direction to what we are used to. Too many Israelis have been hurt when they went down the road in an unsafe way, when they looked in the wrong direction.
Renting a car or scooter for self-driving is not recommended. Many Israelis enter the square by mistake from the opposite direction, or after turning they enter the wrong lane.
A second problem with driving – the signage of the street names is lacking, and the direction signs to other cities are almost non-existent at intersections. It is very easy to get confused. It is true that the Wise app will help, but here it makes mistakes more than once.
Cattle are considered sacred in Sri Lanka, and sometimes we see cows wandering in the middle of the road or beside it. It is forbidden to honk at them and drive them away or disturb their rest in any other way.
Experienced tourists are already familiar with the phenomenon of exorbitant prices for tourists, which sometimes reach two or even three times the prices for locals. In Sri Lanka it is not like that. In Sri Lanka the price for a tourist is ten times the price for a local. Especially among the tuktuk drivers.
Before getting on a tuktuk, you must agree with the driver in advance what the fare will be. If you do not pre-arrange, when you arrive at your destination the driver may demand a price ten times the standard. If you start arguing with him, suddenly other tuktuk drivers will appear from all sides and join the argument by shouting in favor of the driver. In the end you will have to pay him what he asks.
One of the tourist traps in tuk-tuk is “I don’t have excess”. When you reach your destination and give the driver a bill with a higher value than what you agreed on, he will put it in his pocket and announce that he has no bills to return the excess. I write this from personal experience.
If the tuk-tuk driver offers us a ride and a trip at a cheap price – it’s a scam. He wants to bring us to some remote shop for tourists where they will milk us. When we want to go back, other tuktuk drivers will ask a very high price for the same way back.
Also beware of stilt fishermen. Once the fishing method in Sri Lanka was to stand on stilts stuck in the shallow water, and cast a rod into the water. A beautiful play. Nowadays they no longer fish like that, because they have learned to fish with a larger net. But the tradition is kept for tourists and fryers. There are many beaches where we see such stilts stuck ashore. As we approach their direction, children will rush to board them with fishing rods. Lovely photos, especially at sunset. But this is also a tourist trap. After we take pictures, we will be approached by adults who will firmly demand payment for the fact that we took pictures of their children.
When traveling on roads in rural areas, one lane is sometimes blocked by grains of rice or corn. This is how the locals dry their crops from the fields. It is forbidden to run over the grains that hinder the movement. The drivers respect the method.
At the entrance to any Buddhist or Hindu temple one must dress in a dignified manner. The cap and hat must be removed and shoes must be taken off. Do not enter in immodest clothing. Men are not allowed to enter in shorts, and women are not allowed to enter with bare shoulders and generous cleavage. In most places they will give us a silk cloth to wrap ourselves in.
It is forbidden to take pictures of army camps and police stations.
Monks do not shake hands with strangers. They will talk to us willingly, but do not extend a hand to them for peace.
Expressions of affection are prohibited in the public domain. It is forbidden to hug and kiss and cuddle with your partner on the streets outside the hotel.