‘Halal’ food isn’t much common in major hotels. The Galadari and Holiday Inn in Colombo serve halal food as does the Confifi group of hotels (Eden, Riverina & Club Palm Garden). Apart from the Halal restaurants in Colombo and Kandy, they’re hardly elsewhere. The best alternative seems to be seafood.
Star hotels and major restaurants sport a ‘vegetarian section’ in the menu. The smaller local ‘rice and curry’ restaurants may claim the food is vegetarian, but it often includes a serving of fried fish or sprats (anchovies). However, the ‘South Indian’ vegetarian restaurants are purely vegetarian.
Sri Lanka, being a tropical country, is endowed with a tantalizing variety of fruit that includes Mango and Banana, Rambutan, Pineapple, Mangosteen, Papaya , Woodapple, Melon, Passion fruit, Guava, etc., among many others. These are available for purchase on both Supermarkets and roadside fruit stalls for relatively low prices.
Yes. Sri Lankan food, The dishes is spicy and tasty but can be a little too piquant for the foreign palates. It’s worth trying nevertheless. In hotels you’ll be served food which is a little toned down due to the sensitive stomachs of most tourists.
All the major restaurants in the country offer all kinds of international food & beverage.
Most hotels will provide you with a plug-in mosquito repellent which may usually be switched on during turn down. You can purchase the mats (small repellent tablet inserted to the plug-in unit), the burning coils or citronella candles from most local supermarkets. Apply some repellent lotion when dining outdoors, etc.
Sri Lanka boasts one of the most reliable healthcare systems in the developing world. But emergency medical facilities may not be widely available outside of the main cities. Those travelling from Africa or Latin America must have a valid certificate of vaccination for Yellow fever and Meningitis before the arrival.
Most hotels provide internet facilities. Internet cafes with ADSL connection are found in most towns. Connections in remote towns will be slow. The average cost of surfing in a Cyber Cafe is about Euro 0.50 per hour. Many 5 star and some boutique hotels provide free WiFi facilities to guests.
Dialing out, you need to dial ’00’and the relevant country code before the number. Dialing within the country, inside a particular district, say, Colombo, you don’t have to dial its area code (for example, just dial 2XXXXXX) But, for an outstation call, you can’t do without the area codes.
Yes. If you have a ‘dual band’ & unlocked phone, you can choose a local SIM and top up cards (recharge cards) from several mobile operators, namely, Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat, Hutch and Airtel. Dialog has a counter at Katunayake Airport where you can buy a connection for Rs. 1500/=