Women are forbidden to touch or be seated beside a Buddhist monk. If they are required to pass an object to a monk, it is best to pass it through another male or to hold the object with a tissue. This is generally to avoid developing a craving or attachment to women.
--Kevangelo
10
Flowers are generally not given as gifts, but rather are reserved for times of mourning or for other events such as weddings or religious festivities.
--Kevangelo
10
Black and white are colours reserved for funerals and mourning. Avoid wrapping gifts in these colours.
--Kevangelo
10
Don't wear any clothing that features Buddha or any other deity. It is considered disrespectful and insensitive, and could incur the wrath of authorities. If you have a tattoo of the Buddha, keep it covered.
--Kevangelo
10
Don't travel much by public bus as they are crowded. Therefore you can feel tired and uncomfortable.
--Sushani
11
Some temples prohibit photography. Avoid taking photos inside shopping malls and inside tea factories (outside is okay). Be especially careful in Fort, Colombo (except when you're on the beach). If local soldiers are standing guard, put your camera away.
--Kevangelo
00
Public displays of affection (PDA), such as kissing and/or hugging, may be frowned upon. In Sri Lanka, PDA is considered to be private behavior. Holding hands and affection between parents and their children are allowed.
--Kevangelo
00
Please be cautious when buying food from the streets. Always check the surroundings of the shops where you are willing to buy food. Most of the hotels and restaurants are clean but concern when purchasing from outdoor areas. The other important thing is to drink water from sealed bottles
--Sushani
00
Don't share your personal details with strangers. Also, check your personal stuff all the time you travel. Give special attention to credit cards and use card payments all the time and carry less cash
--Sushani
00
It is common for Sri Lankans to eat food with their hands. If they encourage you to do so, only use your right hand to hold the food and pass it to your mouth. The left hand is reserved for cleaning or holding the plate you eat from.
--Kevangelo
00
Sri Lankan people eat rice and curry at least twice a day. So they prepare different curries daily with different ingredients. Beetroot, carrot, cabbage, pumpkin, beans, pineapple, jackfruit, and brinjal curries are popular in every household and can be purchase in many hotels.
--Sushani
00
Hotels aren't always hotels
Yep, this is a confusing one. A cultural quirk of Sri Lanka is that places like cafés, restaurants and bars sometimes adopt the word ‘hotel’ into their names, even if they don’t actually offer any accommodation. Why? Reasons behind this are unclear.
--Kevangelo
00
Some households, it is norm to leave a little bit of food on one’s plate to indicate that one does not want a second serving of food.Eating all the food on your plate indicates that you are still hungry. If you are given another serving but do not want to eat it, it is acceptable to leave it untouch
--Kevangelo
00
As Sri Lanka is an island it is surrounded by sea. Therefore it is the best place to taste seafood. Seafood can be purchased in any coastal area at reasonable prices. Prawns are well cooked and make sure to taste a couple of fish dishes that are native to Sri Lanka
--Sushani
00
Shaking your head means yes, not no. Both the Indian head bob and the Sri Lankan head waggle are a manner of communicating without words. In India, the bob is a side-to-side movement and in Sri Lanka it’s a figure of eight. That means shaking of the head actually means yes!
--Kevangelo
00
Business Cards Give and receive business cards with both hands, and study the other person’s card. If you decide to translate one side of the card into the local language, be sure you do not mix up Sinhala, Tamil and Hindi – give the right translation to the right audience or you risk serious insult
--Kevangelo
00
String hoppers, hoppers, and milk rice are the best food to buy for breakfast. Nothing is better than Sri Lankan sweets so make sure to taste them as soon as you arrive there. One major interesting thing about food there is they are different from one place to another
--Sushani
00
The fried snacks are delicious
Aside from delicious flavourful curries, Sri Lankans enjoy a wide array of snacks like cassava chips, deep-fried jackfruit seeds, and fried batter with curry leaves.You can pick up a roadside snack of samosas, a popular snack from coast to coast that's filled with meat
--Kevangelo
00
Walking into a restroom in Sri Lanka can be a bit confusing for a newcomer. First off, depending on whether you are in a fancy hotel or a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, there might not be any toilet paper.
--Kevangelo
