Dec 26 2004, a tsunami wreaked havoc across the
Indian Ocean. 3 weeks after the tsunami, 17th of January 2005, I joined a
group of volunteers headed for Hambantota, a coastal town in Sri Lanka that had
been badly hit.
Our group was part of a medical mission organized by a Taiwan-based organization, and we would team up with other volunteers from across Malaysia and Singapore to run an out-patient clinic in Hambantota. Though the organization were Buddhist-based, the team members were from a mixture of races and religions.
Arriving at Colombo airport just after midnight, we eventually found our way to a grand old hotel in the city, where we slept for a few hours and after breakfast we were on a small bus for the 6-hour journey to Hambantota.
Looking out the bus, trying to somehow "see" what Sri Lanka was about.....
We were introduced to Sri Lankan road skills. Not for the weak of heart. But surprisingly, there was not one single suggestion of ill temper amongst any of the local drivers.
All along the route, the impression was of a very fertile country literally bursting with vegetation and crops. Memories of a Malaysia long gone, where a rich green covered the entire landscape.
I wondered what would things be like when we reached our destination.