few full-time lifesaving patrols, so there’s
usually no one to jump in and rescue you.
A few common-sense rules should be ob-
served:
̈ Don’t swim out of your depth. if you are a poor
swimmer, always stay in the shallows.
̈ Don’t stay in the water when you feel tired.
̈ Never go swimming under the influence of
alcohol or drugs.
̈ Supervise children at all times.
̈ Watch out for rips. Water brought onto the
beach by waves is sucked back to sea and this
current can be strong enough to drag you out
with it. Rips in rough surf can sometimes be seen
as calm patches in the disturbed water. it’s best
to check with someone reliable before venturing
into the water.
̈ i f you do get caught in a rip, swim across
the current towards the breaking waves. The
currents are usually less where the waves are
actually breaking and the surf will push you
shoreward. Never try and swim against the
current. if it’s too strong for you to swim across
it, keep afloat and raise a hand so that someone
on shore can see that you are in distress. A rip
eventually weakens; the important thing is not
to panic.
̈ e^ xercise caution when there is surf.
̈ Beware of coral; coming into contact with
coral can be painful for the swimmer and fatal
for the coral. Always check with someone
reliable if you suspect the area you’re about to
swim in may have coral.
̈ Never dive head-first into the water. Hazards
may be lurking under the surface or the water
may not be as deep as it looks. it pays to be
cautious.KitesurferGILLIANNE TEDDER / GETTY IMAGES ©BEACH CULTURE IN THE NORTH & EAST
By and large Sri Lankans are an easygoing and accepting lot, and on the south and
west coasts they are also very used to foreign tourists and their skimpy beachwear.
For much of the East and North, though, the situation is a little different: women in
bathing suits, even modest one-piece numbers, can attract a lot of unwelcome
attention. Even in the now very popular east-coast beach resorts such as Arugam
Bay and the beaches north of Trincomalee the attention can be excessive (and there
have been sexual assaults). On these beaches and especially in more remote loca-
tions, women will not want to travel alone, and should consider wearing a T-shirt and
shorts into the water. Even in the more trodden beaches in the south and west it’s
worth remembering that the vast majority of Sri Lankans remain very conservative
and that few local women would dare wear a bikini, so although nobody is likely to
say anything to you about wearing one on a tourist beach you will risk causing
offence, and possibly worse, if you leave the beach and venture off around the village
or town in skimpy clothing.PLAN YOUR TRIP
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