My Thoughts of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was a very difficult place for us. We decided not to sail on, had to plan logistics for us and for the boat, and had a broken transmission to deal with. As if this on it's own wasn't enough, we were in Sri Lanka.

One of the things that makes traveling by sailboat so unique is that when you arrive in a country, you don't just get to play tourist. Oftentimes you have to interact with government officials and the local economy on a professional level. Whether it be buying fuel, obtaining port clearance, or hiring the services of a mechanic, you often get a very different glimpse of the country you are in. You get a sense of how easy/hard it is to do business, and how simple/complicated the bureaucracy is.


Past Examples:

Australia has some of the strictest immigration and importation requirements; however a very efficient system was set up in which the procedure was done very quickly.

Panama Canal transit is a complicated process; obtaining clearance through not only takes a fair bit of money, but several days worth of visiting many different offices throughout the city of Colon.

Dominican Republic clearance is rather benign, however officials there were very keen on extorting money and gifts or at least making life difficult for those who wouldn't bribe.

Indonesian clearance was complicated, expensive (in terms of costs and gifts), and most of the leg work has to be performed on your own (rides into town to visit many offices).


Sri Lanka is very unique (compared to the places we've been so far). Every official who boards your boat asks for gifts, but we found it easy to say no. I would venture to say that the country is relatively bribe-free. However, the bureaucracy there is incredibly stifling.

Examples:

- Mailing a package from the post office in Galle to the United States took about three hours (and none of this was spent waiting in line). Seemingly endless amounts of paperwork, signatures, and approval stamps were required just to be able to pay the required postage.

- We had to ship some transmission parts from the US to Sri Lanka (they were unavailable domestically). The parts cost about $70, not including shipping. It took four days for them to reach Colombo, the capital. DHL then informed me that the package was being held by customs for an unforeseeable amount of time. They told me the fastest way to get the parts was for me to travel to the airport in Colombo and pay the import duties myself. After a three hour train ride and two hour bus ride, I arrived at the cargo terminal of Bandaranaike International Airport. Approximately three hours later, with visits to the offices of DHL and many government officials, I was allowed to leave with the package (it was really just an envelope with two transmission pressure plates in it). The taxes and fees paid amounted to about $60 USD.

- While attempting to repair the transmission, we employed the services of a mechanic who worked for a ships-services company in Galle Harbor. This individual's main job is to maintain his company's two 30' motor launches. He came and spent some time on our boat helping with our transmission problems, but every time he walked from his end of the harbor to ours, we had to obtain a letter of approval with signatures from our port agent, the head of port security, and the harbormaster. (I heard the phrase "You have to make a letter" far too many times).


The people of Sri Lanka are generally friendly and helpful, and it is indeed a beautiful country (just check out Matt's posts about his travels!). However, the bureaucracy is unbearably stifling, forcing most people to work in the informal economy. Import regulations make sure that almost all goods are produced in Sri Lanka, but this also means that you can't purchase good, cheap things from other countries. (The 50cc Yamaha motorbike is ever-present throughout the developing world - except in Sri Lanka).

I can give the country a bit of credit - they are still recovering from a very long and painful civil war (the motivations for which are still unsettled). However, I believe an easing of business and trade restrictions would be a small step that would do a whole lot of good.