TSUNAMIS DON'T HAPPEN TO ME!!!!!!!!

Back from Sri Lanka after laying to rest a few post Tsunami ghosts. We arrived at the same time 08.15am on the 26th Dec one year on. This holiday will be the 5th we've spent wandering the beaches, hills and temples of this exquisite country once called Ceylon


I knew it by this name when the urge to go there entered my world in the form of a semi precious stone, the moonstone, creamy, blue, and opaque. Hold it up to the light and see the moon glowing in its curve. I was about eight years old and this little stone fascinated me. I didn't have one but I wanted one and I usually get what I want by fair or foul means or if that fails by shear hard work. Decades hence I own about 500 in various forms.

The country is every thing I expected of it except a Tsunami, these natural disasters happen in the news paper, not in my world, but there we were on the Galle road, half a mile inland, thank god, going over the main river bridge which links to the harbour .The river has usually just a trickle of water in the bottom and there was this mass of water up to the top of the bank, rushing inland, at a guess 30 feet deep, High tide today we said!!!!!!!!Lots of people hanging off this bridge, we knew it was a holiday, Boxing Day for banks and Christmas celebrants, Sunday off for workers, Poya, full moon festival for the majority Buddhists. That bridge went down 10 minutes later and those people were pulling washed away victims out of the water!!!!! . So on we traveled after being turned up country by the police who informed us there was water on the road, totally oblivious of the situation on the coast until 10 hours later after traveling though the mountains and tea plantations, we arrived in Tangalle ,south coast, to find the beach side of our village had been washed away .Friends Chris and Linda ,who have a house in Tangalle, were at our guest house, which is on high ground above the beach, to tell us what the problem was but we hadn't any true realization 0f the total devastation of Asia until arriving home one month later and seeing the TV coverage . The thing you think of are self. Is there enough bottled water? If not it will have to be boiled, haven't packed sterilizing tabs, only take those to India and Nepal!!! Oh Hell I didn't have my typhoid jabs before leaving, not enough time!!!! No electricity which means no A/C, which means sleeping in 95 degree F. There isn't any sea breeze either, don’t moan about the smell of diesel from the broken boats on the beach . Get your self in control and stop panicking ,people are dead and you are not !!!

From then on we became more positive, helped out in the village, visited friends who had lost family and property, just generally showed support because there was nothing we could do until the army got through and took over the clean up.

The trip we had planned was then put on hold as it was to Arugam Bay on the east coast which was hit by seven 40foot waves killing hundreds of people including a couple of our friends who have lived there for 25 years. ,We were returning having enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the bay out of season a couple of year before,. After two weeks in Tangalle we headed up country to the tea plantations and the planters bungalow with its own staff including chef and house boys to look after your comfort at 8000ft

Then on to Ella and the Hill Club in Nuwara Eliya pronounced Nurayleah,This place is normally booked up for years in advance, so as all the tourists had gone home and no more were arriving we had the place to our selves. The hotel/club was a preserve of the British male until 1970 now native Sri Lankan and women are welcome, bully for them, Dinner is quite special, 5 course set menu is served promptly at 8pm The whole thing is carried of with great aplomb ,white gloved elderly waiters, flowers, linen napkins and table cloths , crystal glasses , one problem men must wear jacket and tie and as with backpackers one doesn't normally give these items of clothing priority, "not to worry sir" said this snotty little male receptionist who wouldn't have been let in the place before 1970,"We have a dressing up box" !!!This was more of a cupboard than a box and in it we found jackets and ties even a pair of shoes so Cinders could go to dinner after all because he wouldn't have been allowed into the public rooms without this apparel, I nearly told them to stuff their dinner where the sun doesn't shine but after a couple of very large G&T's and current husband looking great we dined. After dinner a fire is lit in the hearth and large brandies are quaffed down before retiring to bed to find not one but two hot water bottles waiting, MAGIC.

Heading up country to Kandy and The Sharon Inn ,Owned and run to perfection by Sue and Faiesz Samad,overlooking the Tooth Temple lake and visited by Mr monkey and his mates , the answer is don't have beer at lunch time and nod off on the balcony leaving bananas in the room because Mr sneaky will come and wreck every thing to find them!!! We try and head for this place as the buffet rice and curry in the evening is the best one in Sri Lanka and a reliable man and a van can be found to take you further north for a reasonable amount of rupees. We then decided to take advantage of the no tourist scene and see if we could get a bed at the Rest House at Polonnaruwa as it’s always been fully booked when we have attempted to go there in the past. Yes a room was available, every room was available "no tourist madam" the telephone voice said,"Would we like the Queens bed room”, seemingly QE2 had stayed there on one of her world tours,

Polonnaruwa is where the 1000 years old Buddha was found in the last century its about 40 feet long and carved out of one piece of granite , after nearly treading on a cobra on the way back though the jungle we thought our last few days should be spent in the height of luxury at Kandalama eco friendly 5* hotel . Its so eco friendly even the bog paper is recycled elephant shit!!!!Again no tourist, we practically had the place to our selves with three swimming pools to go at

Well that's about it for this blog, the next one will be about our return this last Christmas to see all our Tsunami friends