WS X EDGE
PASSION VS CAUTION: SURFING IN SRI LANKA DURING AN IDEOLOGICAL CONFLICT In April 2019, I headed to a month-long surfing trip to Ahangama, Sri Lanka. Little did I know the trip would be full of surprises and challenges. Surfing from sunrise to sunset, drinking coconut water straight from the coconut, trying local cuisine, interacting with a foreign culture and meeting people from North America to New Zealand. Although the dream I was living was not just full of joy and laughter, the last days of the trip were memorable, but not in a way you would think. What sort of mindset and attitude do we ought to have knowing how different our travel destination's customs are? Should we cancel out of fear? Act the way we would back home? Do thorough research? Be overly cautious? I think it might lead us to forget why we are there in the first place. I'm not saying we should turn a blind eye to how things may differ from our usual perspective, but then how do we cope? Depending on the location, constantly looking over our shoulder takes away the free-spirit that most surfers are driven by.
After being picked up from the airport by a chauffeur, I experienced firsthand Eastern religious customs - no pictures can be taken on Buddhist places of worship nor any Buddhist images. It was not a rule tourists had to follow, but rather a sign of respect. In the whole surfing community, wherever we surf, regardless of location and how popular it might be amongst tourists, the newcomers must always respect the locals. Due to the fact it’s their country, their home and seasonal surfers just come and go, we are not there to stay. Culture involves countless aspects, even the small things we might not take into account can be a violation of their ideological customs. However in our pursuit to be respectful to the local population, there will be moments where we lose ourselves in the wonder of the country we are exploring and forget to take these customs into account.
The 21st of April was a bright sunny day, the swell enabled us to surf up to 4 hours and, due to the low tide, reefs were exposed making us more cautious than usual. On the day of my arrival, I thought I had Wherever you look on the horizon, surfers been fully prepared for this trip. Stepping with salty blonde bleached hair catch your off the plane I was informed that my eye immediately, restless undulating waves surfboards had been stuck in Abu Dhabi clash with surfboards as the turquoise and my visa would expire a week before ocean swallows you into its mystery and I was scheduled to leave. I felt like I was the people, giving me a new sense of stuck with one foot on the plane. I was appreciation and belonging. As four of us ready for my adventure in Sri Lanka, but just got back from our session, all we could apparently, Sri Lanka was not ready for me. hear in the distance was the flow of police Surprisingly, I was not bothered by it. cars rushing onto the highway, heading toward Colombo. In that moment, we could hardly notice the chaos on the streets, still hyped from a sensational surfing session. 03
