What the heck are Poyah Days?

Poyah Days in Sri Lanka

Many people planning a tour of Sri Lanka have seen the phrase Poyah day and often ask me what  Poyah days are and will they affect their backpacking or holiday plans. The truth is Poyah days are national holidays so some disruption to your travel plans may occur.

Sri Lanka is mostly a Buddhist country and so many of it's holidays are linked to religious Buddhist celebrations such as Poyah day. Poyah day also known as full moon day is linked to the moon cycle. There is a full moon every month so every month there is a Poyah day which is a national holiday.

Buses, Trains, taxis and Tuk-tuk

There are fewer buses and trains and fewer taxis and tuk-tuks available, so be prepared for delays or get ready to make new travel arrangements if backpacking. If your tuk-tuk driver turns up at all be prepared to find him drunk.

Visiting the Beach on Poyah Day

On Poyah days everyone heads to the beach and you will quite often see Sri Lankans all jammed into the back of a lorry, singing, dancing and eating as they head off to the beach. The privately owned blue and white buses get hired for the day and get packed with party goers. With music pumping out full blast the bus is magically transformed into a disco bus and as it races towards the beach at full speed, horn blaring you can see the locals inside dancing and singing their hearts out.

Places like Negombo beach park become a Mecca for locals on Poyah day, traffic comes to a stand still around the beach side and the beach park area is absolutely packed full of locals partying. Expect to find parties of guys singing and dancing and getting high on extra strong beer and the local arrack. This is fine to start with by the tend to end up fighting as the night falls. If you decide to brave the local party zones be prepared for constant harassment, as every few seconds a local will be asking you, "Where you from?" "What hotel" and the kids will say "Give me money". It's best to ignore all of them and just keep walking.

Eating out on Poyah Day in Sri Lanka

Many restaurants/bars will close on Poyah day and those that stay open cannot sell alcohol and should not sell meat dishes, fish and vegetables are allowed.  Most restaurants will observe the no alcohol rule but many do still sell meat dishes. Wine stores/supermarkets are also prevented from selling alcohol and shops are not allowed to sell fresh meat produce, although they can sell prepared hamburgers etc.

More about Backpacking and travel to Sri Lanka

If you would learn more about Sri Lanka please check out my 5* rated guide book to Sri Lanka HERE

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April New Year in Sri Lanka

New Year in Sri Lanka

For those of you who don't know Sri Lanka  celebrates it's New Year in April. From the 12th of April the country goes on a go slow as the New Year festivities kick in. Sri Lanka has a large Buddhist community and so follows the Buddhist New Year on the 13th April, known as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The President sends out a very nice message to all mobile phones and the country goes into party mode.

Sri Lankans love to party especially at New year, the men in particular love to sing and dance and of course drink bottles and bottles of Arrack or the terrible but potent and illegal kassipu (moonshine), a very nasty drink that is sure to help you go blind, you can read more about this HERE in Backpacking Sri Lanka.

Transport cannot be relied on 100% during the party season so double check all arrangements during festive times. Most holidays in Sri Lanka result in a ban on alcohol sales which can be a big pain if your looking for that nice cool beer or a nice cold cocktail to cool you down. Fortunately party season ends very shortly!
This New Year brings with it the Monsoon rains and although very welcome it is likely to mean that travel especially tours in tuk-tuks might not go as planned!

If you are planning a tour of Sri Lanka or want to learn more about Sri Lanka? Then check out my 5* rated book HERE

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Find Out What Gem is For April Birthdays

Gemstones For April Birthdays

Diamonds for beautiful April People
People born in April get Diamonds as their birthstones. Diamonds are loved world wide and always in big demand because of their clarity and purity that gives off that wonderful sparkle. Sri Lanka is a gem mining island famous for rubies and sapphires but not diamonds as they are not mined in Sri Lanka.
The small tropical island of Sri Lanka sits off the southern tip of Indian a warm blue sea that kisses it's golden shores and although you can find a rich supply of precious and semi precious gems, Diamonds are not on the top of the list so be warned if anyone offers you a white diamond mined in Sri Lanka it's a scam!

Healing Powers of Diamonds

The amazing sparkle that Diamonds have comes from their purity and clarity, this is said to give them great healing powers allowing them to purify and detox the body. Diamonds are strong and unbreakable and so they are known for helping you to build up your bodies strength and stamina and to rebalance the metabolism. The purity of diamonds has lead them to be used in treating allergies and chronic conditions and to help clear glaucoma and to bring greater clarity to sight. Their healing powers are considered so great that they have removed dizziness and vertigo and improved the clarity and functioning of the brain.

Diamonds used to Predict Guilt
Believe it or not Diamonds were once used in trials to decide a persons guilt or innocence. Jewish high priests believed that if a person was innocent the diamond would sparkle when held in front of their face, but if guilty it would be dull and dark.

Famous Diamonds

One of the most famous diamonds in the world is the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, it is found in the crown of England and was a staggering 186 carats. However, it was not a very shiny diamond so Prince Albert had it cut down to just 105 carats trying to improve the shine. Result - smaller diamond still not shiny!

The most famous gem mined in Sri Lanka is the Blue Sapphire, the Sri Lankan sapphire was made extremely popular by Princess Diana who had a massive blue sapphire from Sri lanka in her engagement ring. The gems are mostly mined in Ratnapura which is an unremarkable town in the middle of Sri Lanka.

Traveller Tip 

If you want to buy Gems on your tour of Sri Lanka but are worried about getting ripped off, buy at departure, gems here are a reasonable price. For more useful tips buy my book and save yourself money!

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Planning a tour of Sri Lanka or want to learn more about Sri Lanka? Check out my 5* rated book  Backpacking Sri Lanka guide here

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