World Sex Guide Document: sri-lanka

Sri Lanka General Information
Subject: [ASP] Some info on SRI LANKA (and REQ for more)


Looking around in advance of a recent trip, I noticed no category for
Sri Lanka in the World Sex Guide (www.paranoia.com).  So I thought I'd
contribute what I had in hopes of getting the ball rolling for more.

Colombo, the capital, is no Bangkok, Pattaya or Angeles, but there are
outlets nonetheless.  Touts work outside the major hotels and in the
central Fort area, pitching massage places by day and fishbowl-type
places by night (i.e. a whole bunch of girls, age 18-21 or so, office
workers looking to make a little extra money, etc.).  The deal with
the latter type of place is that you pick the girl, bring her back to
the hotel, have her for the night, etc. Massage girls have a wider
age/looks range than the ones in the fishbowls, who are supposed to be
the cream of the crop. I don't rate Sri Lankan girls as highly on
average in looks as Thais, but there's room for individual exceptions.


The highly negotiable prices for this tended to run $40 or so for the
massage places and $60 for the fishbowls (depending on the girls'
looks, etc.)  Remember, though, that whenever a tout is involved you
can be looking at a markup of up to 50%, plus bargaining based on
girls' looks, time of year, etc.  A regular customer going
unencumbered by touts in low season could pay half, or even less, the
prices above. (It's also important to make sure you're staying in a
place that in fact allows you to bring in guests. Touts will always
say it's OK, but don't listen to them.)

At the low end, there also seem to be short-time houses operating in
and around Rohinee Lane (a side street off Front Street) in the Pettah
section of Colombo.  Houses for both sexes, but it seems that only the
boys were hanging around in front of their places.  Girls would have
to be called downstairs in their places by the manager (usually an old
woman standing near an opened door).  It's a few blocks from the main
railway station but not the most inviting area at night.

Official age of consent in Sri Lanka is 16 for girls and 18 for boys.
The country also has a reputation for prostitution by young boys. This
is occasionally touted on Colombo streets, but mainly seems confined
to the beach resorts (Negombo, Hikkaduwa, Mt. Lavinia) on a freelance
basis during the winter high season.  I visited the cooler hill areas
rather than the hot and humid beaches and was only approached once
about "boom-boom" by an 18-ish looking young boy.  So the underage
male prostitution situation isn't pervasive throughout the country as
some media reports might lead you to believe.

This information is admittedly incomplete because I didn't partake
(having just gotten my fill in Thailand).  Sri Lankans are generally
very friendly and easygoing.  Touts can be a nuisance, though.
Discretion seems to be important for sex-oriented businesses to stay
in business, and there's probably some bribery involved in it, too.

Costs for transit and accommodation are very low, there's Internet
access from a cybercafe in Colombo, and restaurants and casinos in
Colombo are good, too.  Like Thailand, street crime is very unusual
and violent crime especially rare.  The civil war in the north and
east is well outside most tourist areas.  About the most unnerving
aspect is all the heavily armed security they've had to post in
Colombo to guard against Tamil truck bombs.  These security efforts
are not directed against foreigners.
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