Before I left on this trip, I did a good amount of research on each place I was going. I watched videos, searched the web for itineraries, and listened to blogs and podcasts. Everyone I read or listened to raved about Sri Lanka. It was supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to have ancient temples. It was supposed to have amazing beaches that you could actually use, unlike India. It was supposed to be affordable. People were supposed to be friendly. Unpopular opinion alert: I didn’t like Sri Lanka. I found it to be one of the more distasteful places I have visited.

Does Sri Lanka have some beautiful places? Yes. I would not say that there are any more than other countries in the region. Does Sri Lanka have ancient temples? Yes. Some are over two thousand years old. They are nowhere near as impressive as Angkor Wat or the Taj Mahal, however. Were there beaches? Yes. You can even surf on some of them. But beaches are not really my thing. Was it affordable? My biggest beef was the affordability. My food and lodging were dirt cheap. I rented motels that cost no more than $10-$15 per night in U.S. currency, and my meals often cost around $2. The government of Sri Lanka, though, did everything they could to make visiting as expensive as possible.

As a historian, I was interested in the ancient temples and strongholds. Sri Lanka has a region called the “cultural triangle,” comprised of historic capitals, hilltop palace ruins, and Buddhist temples from before the time of Christ. They are spread out over several cities, though. Each one of these sites has its own entry fee. Every time I went to a temple or palace that Sri Lanka had gotten approved as a UNESCO site, they wanted to charge another $35. Sri Lankans pay nothing to visit any of these sites, and no one asks anyone who isn’t white about paying. It is clearly a white tourist tax.

Readers probably know that I am a frugal traveler when in solo mode. I do, however, spend money on experiences and admissions. I often ask myself, “You came halfway around the world as a tourist, are you really going to let a $35 admission fee keep you out?” Usually the answer is a resounding, “no.” I pay admissions, even if they are a bit steep. The unanswered question was, “Is there a limit to how many additional admissions you will pay?” Sri Lanka taught me that the answer to this latter question is “Yes, there is a limit.”

For comparison, I paid $15 to see the Taj Mahal. None of these sites are the Taj Mahal. I paid $62 for a three day pass to see hundreds of temples in the Angkor Wat complex. None of these Sri Lankan temples rivals the ancient Khmer sites. Each time I pulled up to a new temple in Sri Lanka, they wanted more money. Beyond that, the Sri Lankan sites are set up in such a way to squeeze tourists at every opportunity. Like many places, tourists must walk through a maze of aggressive souvenir vendors to leave. Some of the sites I visited in Sri Lanka even funneled tourists to an exit a mile and a half from the entry and parking lot in an effort to force you to hire a taxi back to the parking lot. As is the case at other Asian temples, in Sri Lanka, you are required to remove your shoes prior to entry. Shoe minding stations are set up at all of the entries, encouraging tourists to pay “shoe guards” to watch their footwear. That’s right, shoe security is not included in your $35 admission. Some tourists in the past had apparently tried to circumvent this part of the shakedown by stuffing their shoes in their backpacks. Signs have now been posted declaring that it is somehow disrespectful to even carry your shoes in a concealed pouch, and further authorizing and encouraging all Buddhists to confront visitors forcefully if necessary to enforce this policy. Those are just a few of the instances of Sri Lanka being made more expensive than it should be based on its own current economic conditions.

Lastly, the people. Are the people friendly? I met a few friendly people. The folks at church were kind. A met a couple of friendly motel owners, and to this day, I still talk to a friendly security guard I met at Anuradhapura – though technically even he was trying to get me to shell out more money. Beyond those few exceptions, people in Sri Lanka saw me simply as a pinata that they could hit in hopes that cash would fly out. It was extremely rare to meet anyone who wanted to talk to me simply to make conversation, or welcome me to the country. Nearly everyone who spoke to me, did so for one purpose only – to extract money, and most of them through some kind of foul means.

In addition to the systematic tourist shakedowns mentioned above, Sri Lanka is full of other rackets. As in India and Southeast Asia, tourists in Sri Lanka are hit with a deluge of pushy taxi drivers, touts, and street vendors. That’s to be expected in any developing country. In Sri Lanka, on several occasions I reserved rental cars either online or over the phone only to have the clerk attempt to bait-and-switch me when I arrived to pick up the car.

“Hello, I am here to pick up a car I reserved,” I reported.

“Sorry, we don’t have any more cars,” the clerk sympathetically offered.

“But you gave me a reservation,” or, “You just confirmed my reservation on the phone before I took a cab over here to pick up the car,” I protested.

“Let me look again,” the attendant would feign helpfulness. After walking around outside, “We have no self-drive cars available, but for $xxx, we can offer you a car with a driver.” This price was invariably well over double what I had been quoted or secured in my online reservation.

I probed, “So, you do have a car, you just won’t give it to me unless I pay over double what was agreed so I can hire your driver.” They would never patently admit to this, but clearly it was the case. They just figured, “This tourist is here. He has too much skin in the game to argue further. Will he really waste a day or two looking for another car?” Indeed, the price for a car with a driver is not exorbitant for what you get, and driving in Sri Lanka is extremely high pressure, adding to the general discomfort I felt in the country. In any case, I didn’t want to pay extra for a driver, and that’s not what the rental agency had agreed to. It was the dishonesty I objected to. It took me four rental car companies before I found one that would live up to their original commitment, and even then I ended up with a 2004 model station wagon with aging interior and one window that would not go up or down.

Sri Lanka quickly transformed me into a jaded traveler. I love talking to people. I got where I wouldn’t respond to greetings, or I would respond testily, assuming (correctly) that the greeting was only an inroad into a scam. It hurt me not to be able to make small talk or exchange pleasantries with locals. Eventually, I learned that it was generally safe to visit with small children or fellow tourists, as neither of these groups were likely to be part of a shakedown.

My experience may have been different had I started in the more relaxed beach towns, then headed to the nature parks and visited a church. Instead, my first several days involved constant hassles trying to reserve a car, being squeezed for another $35 at every temple I visited, and then constantly having my shoes held hostage. My mood did improve a bit toward the end of my stay in the country. I interacted with more fellow tourists and kind motel hosts near the national park and near the beach in Galle. I suppose if one knows ahead of time about all of the scams and high pressure, budgets for the inflated admission at temples on the itinerary, and wants the convenience of a driver, all of the annoyances could be anticipated and avoided.

In short, I had high expectations for Sri Lanka, and walked away feeling irritated and underwhelmed. There were some interesting things to see, I made a few friends, and I learned some lessons. I am not sure I want to return to Sri Lanka, but if I do, at least this time I will know better what to expect. Please do read on, and see what I was willing and able to see during my week and a half in Sri Lanka. I have some good stories, and there were some interesting sites. Perhaps you will decide it’s worth a go!