Complimentary water bottles at the Hilton Colombo Residence hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka on December 1, 2011.
The first thing I notice when I enter the room at the Hilton Colombo Residence is a couple of water bottles on the table. They are meticulously arranged behind the fruit basket with their labels facing the room entrance. Both the fruits and the custom branded water are complimentary.
Water bottles displayed in the storefront of a makeshift convenience store in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka on December 2, 2011.
Sigiriya is perhaps one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sri Lanka. Once serving as the royal capital, this giant rock formation towers over the vast forests in the surrounding plain. Near the entrance of the archeological site I find a small canteen filled with tea drinking guards and tourist guides. I ask the woman behind the counter for a large bottle of water. “Only small,” she replies and brings forward a cold bottle from her tiny fridge. Although the price is printed on most of the local bottled water she set her own price by adding 30 more Rupees to the original 50.
Water bottles displayed in the storefront of a makeshift convenience store in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka on December 13, 2011.
In western countries bottled water prices vary greatly depending on where the water is bought. Surprisingly in Sri Lanka stores and even restaurants sell the bottled water at the price printed on the label. One exception was Sigiriya Village, a resort near the popular tourist destination. Although the management provides a complimentary large bottle of water per room each day, drinking bottled water during breakfast and dinner is not part of the all-inclusive deal. Although proper filtered ice water is available on request the waiters first serve guests the small, custom branded bottles. The price is 146.10 Sri Lankan Rupees that is conveniently rounded up to 180 Rupees with the added 33.90 Rupees for surcharge and tax.
Label for ‘Osil’ bottled water in Sri Lanka on December 9, 2011.
Restaurant bill showing water purchase at a beach restaurant in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka on December 9, 2011.
Most of the tourists in this season visit the beaches in the southern coast. Unawatuna is considered one of the best in the country. After suffering from the unbearable heat in a tiny room without air conditioning at a dodgy hotel called Happy Banana I decided to upgrade to a much more comfortable spot at the nearby Banana Garden hotel. Across the street is a small convenient store where I buy water every day. At first I am surprised when the young man at the shop gives me two different prices for the same bottle. If I would like to buy the chilled water from the fridge he charges 10 additional Rupees on top of the standard 50 Rupees. “In Sri Lanka the electricity is extremely expensive,” he says, explaining why he makes his customers bear the cost of the $100 USD monthly electricity bill.
Sign near the beach in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka on December 6, 2011.
Water bottle on a table at a beach restaurant in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka on December 9, 2011.
Water bottles displayed in a storefront in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka on December 6, 2011.
After having a couple of bad experience with bottled water on the road I start to look for brands I am either familiar with or wish to avoid. Although the label states that the content is “approved by Ministry of Health” I cannot screw back on the top of the Sisila bottled water fast enough to avoid its nasty odor spreading inside the car. It might be simply bad water quality, a packaging mistake by the company or a consequence of inappropriate storage but I want to make sure I don’t buy this one ever again.
Although I find most label designs awkward and funny, at the same time western companies could learn something from their Sri Lankan counterparts. In general the bottles on sale are always sealed and the packaging always provides valuable information such as the source, the content and the product’s expiration date. The information is printed visibly according to what’s valuable to the costumers and not what’s needed to sell the product.
Water bottles displayed in the storefront of a makeshift convenience store in Galle, Sri Lanka on December 5, 2011.
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During the couple of weeks I spent in Sri Lanka I mainly saw bottled water on the shelf in two sizes. In this article I refer the 1.5 liter bottles as ‘large’ and the 1 liter bottles as ‘small’.
