Four Ways to Experience Sri Lankan Life
Sri Lanka popular holiday destination in South Asia attracts a large number of holidaymakers every year. Sri Lanka is a holiday destination to experience one of the unique cultures in the world. The traditional culture is one of the very interesting aspects of Sri Lankan lives. People of Sri Lanka always respect their culture and try to retain the uniqueness of their culture despite the foreign influence.
Sri Lanka was under foreign administrations and the island was controlled time to time by foreign forces such as Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch, and English and for a short period of time by French. But, none of the foreign administration was able to make a considerable impact on the native Sinhalese culture and tradition.
Sri Lanka is a fast-developing nation in the region and fast approaching the modern lifestyle. Sri Lanka can be described as a country, which is least corrupted by globalization.
The best way to experience this cultural holiday destination is diving into Sinhalese culture by yourself. Sri Lankans are very warm and friendly people and they are ready to help the tourists to get to know their culture, tradition and lifestyle. Here are a few things that may help you to experience the typical Sri Lankan life.
Visit a temple on a full moon day
Typical Sri Lankan life is not be completed without the touch of Buddhism. And Buddhism is an integral part of Sri Lankan culture. Even though it is not essential yo visit the temple, it is a custom in Sri Lanka to visit the Buddhist temple on full moon days.
Full moon day of every month is dedicated to observing Buddhist religious activities. Therefore full moon day is declared as a public holiday in Sri Lanka. The people are encouraged to observe the five precepts of the day and alcohol and meat products are not available to buy in groceries and public bars.
People gathering to the temples early in the morning and engage in religious activities from dawn to dusk. The rich volunteers of every village supply the food and drinks for people, who love to participate in religious activities.
Wear a Sarong
Sri Lankans are very enthusiastic about fashion. All the new fashions appear in Italy available in Sri Lankan shopping complexes within a short period of time. But, Native people are extremely cautious about selecting suitable dresses for them.
Sri Lankans are very conservative when it comes to dressing code and they are reluctant to show up the body for outsiders. They usually choose cotton dresses, which is suitable for warm and humidity of the environment. Even though they love to dress up in modern dresses, Sri Lankans give the priority to traditional dresses such as Sari and Sarong in all important occasions and festivals. Sarong is the traditional dress of men while sari is the traditional dress of women.
Sip a glass of arrack
Arrack is the drink of working people of Sri Lanka. This alcoholic drink is virtually available at every corner of Sri Lanka. It also can be described as the most favourite alcoholic drink on the island.
Some men gather into the local arrack bars and sip a glass of arrack after hard work of the day. It gives them some physical strength. The local bars are the best location to mingle up with working men of Sri Lanka. This alcoholic beverage is made of distilled coconut syrup and can be consumed as a mixture of fruit juice, water, soft drinks and all other beverages.
Eat rice and curry
The traditional Sri Lankan meal is consisting of many ingredients. It is usually described as rice and curry. Rice is the staple food of Sri Lankans and curry is the best-suited accompaniment for rice.
You may think that Sri Lankan traditional meal is similar to Indian and Tai cuisines. But, Sri Lanka dishes are a lot spicier and contains low fat against the meals prepared in Thailand and India. The spicy curries are very hot and tasty but rice is neutralizing the burn effect of the curries.