Sri Lanka for Solo Female Travelers
Basic Information
Sri Lanka is a country in Asia in the Indian Ocean
It's capital is Colombo
The main airport for international flights is Bandaranayake International Airport in Colombo
Their official currency is the Sri Lankan Rupee.
Currency is around 1 USD = 300 LKR (Data: July 2024)
There are two official languages: Sinhala and Tamil
The main religion is Buddhism
Safety
Before I came to Sri Lanka I heard many good things about the beautiful country, yet I had the worst impression of people when I arrived.
Sri Lankan people are quite poor and everyone looks at you like you are money walking.
People will want to "help you", Where are you going? I can show you let me bring you to Tuktuk, you are going here? etc. But they want to get money from you and probably scam you.
SCAMS are quite the norm here, so it's hard to avoid but try to do things with more research.
People talk to you a lot in every corner, and ignoring them is the best thing you can do.
If you are a female solo traveler, this is my advice:
- Cover up... and although it's hot try to be as covered as you can.
- Avoid walking alone in the nights
- Try to meet with other solo travelers, because people won't bother you so much if you have someone
- Avoid trails when nobody's there. I went on a hike to see Sirigiya's Lion Rock from a free viewpoint and this Sri Lankan guy was there... seemed like expecting people to arrive. Anyway, on my hike, there were some steep parts, and he grabbed my ass! I slapped his hand out, and then on the way down... he tried it again.
I am 1,55 cm tall (4,5 ft tall) so I cannot start fighting, so if you are solo traveling please be careful!
Greetings and Survival words
Hello
In Sinhala is = Ayubowan pronounced "Aayu-bo-wan"
Which will be used in Colombo and Sirigiya.
It means " may you live long" and it's a nice phrase!
Where to Eat?
There are two things you must know about Sri Lankan food.
1) Curry is the main dish and there are so many delicious varieties to try!
2) Tea is delicious
Before I arrived I did some research but once here you can see many curry options in all restaurants, from vegetarian to crab curry! To curry hamburger!
There are many delicious dishes and the main ones you will find are:
1- Kottu (There is vegetarian, chicken, fish)
2- Rotti (salty or sweet. You can find vegetarian roti, chicken roti, chocolate rotti, chocolate banana, chocolate pineapple, the classic coconut one)
Rotti are sold for like 100 rupees at bakeries but they are a bit spicy
Colombo
I went to this teashop which has a sustainable focus on producing high-quality tea and has an animal foundation to protect species in Sri Lanka.
They give you a free tea sample when you arrive and it's delicious!
I ordered the Pom and Berry tea, which is enough for two people. And a curry burger which was delicious and perfect spice level!
Sirigiya
Ella
Kandy
Trincomalee
Where to Stay?
In my Sri Lankan trip I stayed in budget hostels as part of a long journey, so these are all budget friendly stays between 5-8 USD per night.
What to Do?
Money and ATM
Sri Lanka is a cash based country where 90% of things will be paid by cash and some extremely rare ones by card with a little fee.
In the airport there are many money exchange stores where you can get an average exchange but not the best.
Small bills vs big bills
If you have US Dollars there will be a difference in rate if you have small bills such as 20-10 vs if you have bigger bills like 50-100
I was able to get the best rate in the jewelry shops but I wouldn't say it's a 100% trustworthy way to exchange as you never know if you'd get scammed it's worth a try and most of them want stronger currencies so they are happy to exchange money.
The ATMs, on the other hand, are ok but have a low rate and a high fee depending on your bank. In my case getting USD 100 worth of Sri Lankan rupees with taxes was in total spent USD 110 ... so 10 USD of taxes, which is quite a lot if you have a low budget.
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