This is uncomfortable but I owe it to myself and all the girls who are thinking of taking surfing lessons here to describe my experience openly. I took lessons here two mornings in a row with the same local instructor in December 2019. On the first day, he was quite friendly. There was some physical contact when he helped me tackle some of the waves as we were getting into the water, where he offered to hold my hand several times. I was okay with that. However, there were times when he put his hand on my surfboard very very near/exactly where my breast would be — very uncomfortable. Once, he lightly touched the back of my thigh — at the time, I thought it might have been accidental. On day two, I regretted not trusting my instincts to get a different instructor. The same guy took the physical contact up a couple notches. He got braver this time. Once, he put his hand on my lower back in a gesture that guided me forward in the water — totally unnecessary. Another time, when the waves came for us quite aggressively, he looped his arm completely around me under water close to him (my body was pressed on his) so I don’t drift too far away. This was done without my consent. On top of asking me repeatedly if I wanted to go a party/see the turtles with him (both days), he also asked me if I was married. When I said no, he asked me if I wanted a Sri Lankan husband. It was quite gross. I’m trying not to let this experience ruin my otherwise good vacation in Sri Lanka but this was not okay by any means.
