Blogs from Sri Lanka, Asia - page 168

What follows is simply a copy and paste job of all the stuff I (or at times Alex) managed to write while in Sri Lanka last Christmas. Sri Lanka Part 1 This is the first chance that I have had to get online since we got here. We are 4 days in to what is so far an amazing trip. Glorious news. We were on an Emirates flight when December 25th kicked in. This meant that the stewardesses took off their already silly hats (they look like they have toilet paper hanging out of them) and replaced them with even more ridiculous rudolf antler hats and wandered around taking pictures of families and saying things like 'Merry Christmas.' The pilot at one point claimed to have seen Santa fly by. This was obviously brilliant. We spent ... read more

Boxing Day for me normally means eating left-overs from Christmas (especially ham), relaxing at the batch, looking over and over at the presents, spending time with family, soaking up the NZ sun, enjoying being on holiday, etc, etc. Last year, Murray and I were at Eden Park watching the New Zealand Black Caps play the Sri Lankan Cricket team. After the game had finished news broke of the Tsunami that had hit part of Asia, including Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan cricket team aborted the series, and the daily news showed pictures of the devastation the wave had left. In the days that followed the news reported about missing persons and a creeping death toll, and then stories started flooding in about how people survived the elements. It was an emotional time for the world, as ... read more

We were taken, first thing in the morning to the Tropic Inn proper. After a hearty breakfast of toast and Ceylon tea (well you’ve got to!) we were shown our room. The room was lovely with Aircon, cable TV and wireless internet; it was great, especially for the price. Our first day and we were jet lagged so just a stroll down the beach and up to the main road sufficed. We found a big shop, bought some snacks and two, very tasteful, flashing, Santa hats (for Christmas day of course). That evening we ate in our hotels restaurant, it was nice and very reasonable too. We spent the night calling our families using Skype (best invention since the interweb!). Next day was spent sleeping and being generally confused as our jet lag hit us like ... read more

I'm settling into the work here and finding it very enjoyable and challenging. It's a very dynamic work environment, which is the nature of the work. The team here has grown from nothing to over 400 Tsunami staff nationwide over the last 12 months, and new staff seem to start almost daily. I'm managing the infrastructure reconstruction projects in the South, which includes everything from shops/marketplaces, schools, hospitals, homes, water supply and wastewater systems. The Southern Region extends from Kalutara (2 hours drive west of Galle), to about 3-4 hours drive, and head office in Colombo is about 3-4 hours away, so I spend a lot of time traveling. We are basically rebuilding whole towns in some places where they have been wiped out. Building infrastructure takes time, with planning, consultation, design, obtaining permits, engaging construction ... read more

There has been some concern from New Zealand that Murray and I are doing no work! :) Let me enlighten you. I haven’t got round to hiring a house help, which means the house work is not getting done as often as it should be. Hand watering the plants, sweeping & mopping the floor, washing the clothes, ironing, dishes, boiling water for the filter, Supermarket shopping, fruit & vegetable market shopping, cleaning 3 bathrooms & bedrooms, etc etc blah blah (you asked!). Paying bills is done at the bank, which is always interesting as the forms are in Persian script, and I still haven’t worked out which is the back of the “line that never ends”. Normally the man with the shot gun helps me out, a pretty good friend to have really. It is hot ... read more