Reputation
Galle is not a big place, and this means that reputation matters. This is generally true in Sri Lanka for a number of reasons:
- It is partly cultural.
- It provides protection against the difficulties involved in enforcing legal rights.
- Sri Lanka is largely rural so most people live in small communities where it is easy to find out what reputation someone has.
Finding out
The people best able to tell you about other people's reputations are the locals. Talk to as many people as possible. You can hear a great deal through people such as tuk-tuk drivers and shop-keepers, although you may not find it easy to establish a sufficiently good relationship to hear what you need to know.
Never, ever assume that you can rely on someone because they are from your country, or have something else in common with you. This is not only true in Galle, but anywhere in the world. To do so invites affinity fraud. If you are a foreigner in Galle, you have the additional problem that your fellow foreigners are usually an expensive source of services.
Protecting your own reputation
Apart from the obvious, read our page on the culture of Galle