Explosion

Tuesday 8 August
Today we saw mitral valve prolapse, suspected TB, pneumonia following a stroke, weight loss/ dysphagia 2º to oesophageal stricture, alcoholic liver disease, exophthalmos/goitre, suspected Ehlers Danlos and hepatosplenomeagly. I also saw P pulmonale on ECG for the first time.

In the afternoon we saw thick black smoke rising from buildings in the next postcode. Someone in the flat suggested it was an explosion and this was later confirmed by the news reports. The Sri Lankans we were with seemed undisturbed by this and life carried on as normal.

Wednesday 9 August

Poya is a public holiday which celebrates the day of the full moon so we had today off. Wetraveled on the most crowded bus ever to get to Fort station in Colombo at 6 am and caught the 6.45 am train to Galle in the south. The ticket cost 58 rupees one way and the three hour journey was eventful. There were many traders offering everything from food and drink to colouring books, interspersed with the songs of beggars asking for donations. It was an experience I will never forget.

The port of Galle (gawl) is the setting for the 36 hectare fort built by the Dutch in 1663. Our travel guide warned us about the con artists. Low and behold after we left the train station we were harassed by at least 3 different male touts offering maps or being a nuisance. We made a hasty exit towards the fort. On our tour of the fort, we passed the old gate with the letters VOC ( Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie), Flag Rock and many buildings with Dutch architecture e.g. the museum, library and Dutch Reformed Church. The light house is beautifully set on top of a hill overlooking the sea. We waded on the beach in clear blue green waters and visited my host's grand uncle who was very sweet. Our air conditioned bus ride Hikkaduwa on the west coast, cost us 40 rupees (vs 20 rupees for no air con). The driver made pedantic requests for us to move to the front of the bus or he would throw us off. We obliged scowling and muttering under our breaths. Lunch was a more pleasant affair at the Coral Gardens Hotel, overlooking the beach and where the reef runs from the shore. Afterwards we went on a glass bottom boat ride where we saw coral, fish and turtles. We discovered that the boats and bleaching in 1998 have ruined the coral and I felt awful for going on the boat ride.

The train journey from Hikkaduwa was picturesque. I kept snapping away with my camera. We were in second class which made for a more peaceful and cooler journey despite the repeated stares from some tourists.