The Sri Lankan Toilet Dilemma

As the island nation aims to attract more tourists, its culture is getting flushed down the drain.

Victims of globalization, Sri Lanka has begun adjusting itself to meet the standards that its ‘developed’ Western counterparts have become accustomed to. This means opening Western restaurants, providing transportation around the island that is punctual and comfortable, and installing Western toilets in all of their establishments. 

These luxuries, of course, come at a cost. 

For better or worse, a major reason so many people visit lesser developed nations is to take advantage of the low cost-of-living. This is undoubtedly a result of ever-increasing prices at home pushing Westerners to dream of $2 meals and $15 hotels, and 10 years ago, that was the reality for tourists in Sri Lanka. 

As the country began to adjust, however, all of that started to change. After all, how could anyone afford to install a fancy Western toilet in their restaurant when they are serving dinner for just under $2? Naturally, the cost of that toilet was passed directly to the tourist, causing prices to soar to levels that are comparable to those of the countries that the tourists come from. 

Moreover, the quality of product and service received here is not to the level that the tourists receive back home. Take the toilets, for example: As any gentleman would, I pick the seat up when I pee. Unfortunately, the seats here never seem to stay up. This has been the case for nearly every bathroom that I’ve used in this country. Ironically, the only toilets that don’t have this problem are the traditional Sri Lankan toilets which are more or less holes in the ground. 

Maybe I’m in the minority when I say this, but the reason I travel to countries like Sri Lanka is to expand my world-view. I aim to challenge myself, seek discomfort, and experience how the people from these parts of the world have been living. In other words, I want to use the hole in the ground. 

Inherently, the result of making travel more accessible to tourists is that it becomes less challenging for them; they can be comfortable relaxing within the confines of their resort, eating their burgers and fries, and shitting in their fancy toilets. The adjustments are intended to make tourists happy, but in reality, they are perpetuating a problem that is much bigger than Sri Lanka. 

Of course, these tourists will tell you that they are there to “experience Sri Lanka” but the Sri Lanka they are experiencing is not authentic. Instead, it’s a twisted, Westernized version of a country that otherwise has a vibrant and unique culture. If they wanted to actually experience Sri Lanka, their actions would show it. 

As more of these self-deceiving tourists continue to flock to the island, the authentic culture here will become all the more distorted. And this is the heaviest cost of adjusting: Sri Lanka is losing its identity in an attempt to fulfill the demands of visitors who, given the benefit of the doubt, have no idea the impacts their ‘exotic’ vacations have on the country and its people. 

So, Sri Lanka, I urge you to bring out the sledge hammers and break down those porcelain thrones. Bring out the shovels and dig the holes in the ground. Defend your country and its culture. Build yourself up so that you don’t need to be reliant on those needy Western tourists - they don’t know what’s good for them anyways.