jungle rains and beaches in sri lanka

duff and i got to india a few hours ago. we flew in after spending a week in sri lanka, which was amazing. we went to the tsunami effected area along the south western coast and stayed with a family who is rebuilding their home and business. it wasn't really what we had planned on when we decided to go to sri lanka, but it was a fascinating experience.

we got into colombo after two expensive days in hong kong. the flight from hong kong to colombo stopped in bangkok, it was hard not to jump the plane. sadly, my fear of flying is still with me full force, but when i have a terrifying experience, i will choose sri lankan airlines, in the future. their service was wonderful. the neatest thing, which i have never seen before, was the forward-looking and downward-looking cameras. they fed right into little tvs on the seat in front of you. i thought seeing exactly what was happing during take-off and landing would be stressful, but it made everything easier. landing was the best part. seeing outside of the plane gave me a lot of confidence in the pilots.

we stayed one night by the airport because it was easy, and left for colombo the next morning. there was a gaint wedding at the hotel in the morning when we left. it would have been great to crawl up into a tree and perch to watch it, but as it was we didn't get that close. we took a tuk-tuk into the city, which took about an hour. it was the most amazing ride. there were cows standing along the roadside, even in the urban area, and the people were so beautiful. most women were wearing colorful saris, or other long dresses. not many had shoes, but the roads and paths were a soft red dirt. we passed briefly through the muslim quarter, but when we went south, we really didn't see many muslims. the streets were lines with shops and huge coconut trees, and banana trees. it was so beautiful, and very tropical.

in colombo, we quickly found our way to the train station, and with the help of the tourist agent decided on the town of ambalangoda. he hooked us up with a guy who's family ran a guest house there. he promised it was right on the beach, and showed us nice recommendations people had written. the train, by the way, was 80 cents, and lasted 2 and 1/2 hours. cheapest train ride of my life. the train ride was beautiful and hard. we started out going south from colombo, right along the ocean. the ocean was dark blue, and had powerful waves. about a half hour south of colombo, we began to see area that had been destructed by the tsunami. it was shocking to see. i don't think either duff or i was prepared for how bad it was. last year, we were in thailand right after the tsunami. koh lanta, the island where we stayed, had been hit, but not very badly. in sri lanka, it was so different. i think, in our minds, we just likened it to the same level of light destruction we saw in thailand. not so. before we got to the tsunami hit area, the coast was built up, right to the high-tide line. people lived right along the beach in little houses, mostly made of wood and cement. they were beautiful, and they had little yards with dogs and children. they were colorfully painted and there was laundry hanging in the sunshine. further down the coast, it was all just foundations. but for hundreds of feet back from the beach. everything was just gone.

the guest hourse where we stayed was a little more than an eighth of a mile back from the beach. even this far back from the beach, people have to rebuild their homes. they are still doing repairs with the help of some americans who come often and stay for a few weeks at a time. they used to have a beach-front resort, but now it is far from the beach. they only had two rooms (i think, out of twn before the tsunami) operational, a soft-spoken french man was staying in the other. they didn't do any work while we were there, we would have been glad to help, but i think they were taking a little break. there was a water mark 7 feet high on the walls. the family was very open when they talked about the tsunami. as far as we can tell, it was run by two brothers. both parents were killed in the tsunami, as well as aunts, and sisters and children. the list was so long, just of people in their family! one of the brothers was in colombo when it happened. it took him over 6 hours to make the journey back home. the road was washed out, and the train flipped over. i think he said 2000 people died just in the train. he talked about finding his way home, and finding his father's body, and looking for the bodies of his mother and other family members. the town used a temple as a meeting place, slighly up a hill. when they found bodies, the took them there for identification and to meet and exchange information. he talked about the government response (not good, apparently), and the international response. there were sign all over the village that said things like 'austria builds 25 houses here.' according to our host, the government fell behind when it came to aid distribution, but the people who came to the villages and made donations and helped rebuild made a big difference. he talked about the civil war, and a host of other things. he was a great host, and very interesting to talk with. the food was excellent, we had breakfast in dinner there every day.

it was interesting, walking along the beach to see what stood and what didn't. there are some structures along the beach front that are still standing, but the walls are gone, and only the floors and door frames remain. the beach, for the most part, had been cleaned up, but there were still piles of rubble. a new sea wall has been built, and there is a lot of construction. not only homes and businesses, but roads, and bridges.

okay, there is so much to say, but that is long enough for now. we are trying to decide what to do and where to go next. as much as we wanted a little beach time, it rained the whole time we were in sri lanka. i loved it. it was so pleasant to read and hear the rain falling on the huge leaves. it is sunny in trivandrum, so we'll see about a beach here. we'll keep you posted.