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Paradise - Lost and Found - A Tsunami Tale
Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka
January, 2005
When I arrived in Sri Lanka, I did the one thing I try not to do very often. I paid the high price of 4000 rupees (about $40 USD) to get a taxi directly to Hikkaduwa. There were other alternatives, taxi and hotel in Negombo but that was in the opposite direction as Hikkaduwa. There was a taxi to Colombo, but there was no guarantee of a cheap hotel room. I bit the bullet and decided to head straight to Hikkaduwa and in that way I could be surfing to next day.
I chose Hikkaduwa because my best friend, Christopher Gilmore, who passed away last summer, told me all about it. "Mon! It is the coolest place in Sri Lanka, great surf, lots cheap places to stay and many beauties on the beach!" he enthusiastically reflected.
My cab driver was very nice. It was the morning of Christmas Eve and he told me that he was Christian and that he would celebrate for the next couple of days. Their main celebration was on Christmas Day and that in the morning they exchange presents and eat all day. I told him it was the same in America.
Even at 2:00AM, the traffic was incredible. The Sri Lankan's are totally insane drivers. It makes Bali seen tame. They pass around blind corners, pull out into intersections without looking and to top it off, the all use their horn about once every two seconds. The honk when passing, they honk when they approach from behind, they honk at all pedestrians, Honk, Honk, Honk, Honk! It's enough to drive anyone insane. During the first hour of the four-hour drive we passed two accidents. In one, the car was turned over and in the other a big truck had side swiped a little car. "These people are crazy!" I thought to myself.
After an hour of passing, swerving and honking, I crawled into the back seat and went to sleep. I woke when we arrived in Hikkaduwa. I could not tell it apart from any other places I had seen during the beginning of the drive. Everything was dark. Lots of wooden shops and illuminated hotel signs.
When we stopped on the side of the road for the driver ask some people about cheap hotels, every car that passed honked at us.
The driver was directed up the road to a place called the Ranmal Guest house. We drove into the dirt driveway and a couple minutes later an old lady appeared with a flashlight. It was grandma Ranmal herself.
She showed me a nice room on the second floor, near the ocean with a balcony and aircon. I asked her the price. "Only 1800RP ($18USD) a night." she said smiling.
"That's way too much for me. I was really trying to find a place for around 500Rp"
"Ok, Ok," she replied. "I have a place for you. It's in the back and has no balcony, but I can give it to you for 800Rp"
She opened the door and the room was spacious with a single bed, mosquito net and ensuite bathroom. But, it was dusty and looked like no one had stayed there for quite some time. "It will take us a half hour to clean it up, you wait?" she said with the same friendly smile.
I really had no choice. I was the only place in town that was open and it was a good location. At the time, I didn't know how lucky I was to get the cheapest room in the place, the room farthest from the beach.
The next morning I woke around 10:00AM and did a quick survey of the area. The hotel was right on the beach, and I saw the main surf spots about 1/2 a Kilometer to the north. I needed some supplies so I walked out to the main road and asked a Tuk Tuk driver how far it was to the center of town. He said, "At least 2KM, better to take Tuk Tuk, only 60RP."
I agreed and he took me into the center. The street was crazy. Honk, Honk, Honk, Honk! We traveled at about 8 honks a second. It may be a cultural thing, to honk to let everyone know you're there, but I found it the most annoying thing about Sri Lanka. The town was north about 2Kis; I found some shops, got some water and snacks and decided to walk the beach back.
As Christopher had said, the beach was really nice. There were two breaks, both shallow reefs, and lots of guys renting boards for 150-200Rp per hour. I quickly got back to my hotel, threw on my baggies and in no time was paddling out.
Later in the afternoon I wandered around looking for another hotel room. I saw a room at Vernon's, right on the beach near the main break for 500Rp and another room across the street from Ranmal for 400Rp. I decided to move to the 400Rp room the next day. When I got back to the hotel I told Grandma Ranmal that I was moving.
"Why you want to leave? Room not nice enough?" she said.
"No, it's not that, it's just a bit too expensive."
"Where you move?"
"Across the street to the Green Garden, rooms there are only 400RP."
"OK, OK, I give you room for 600RP," she said with her warm smile.
It was agreed, the room at Ranmal was much nicer, so I decided to stay there.
I spent the next two days surfing the 3-7 foot seas. The main break is incredible; the wall sucks up from nowhere to form a 10-foot face that breaks left and right. Te water is a clear light blue that it makes the break a bit frightening. As to do your bottom turn, you can see the bright blue parrotfish swim by in the two feet of water that lies between you and the reef. Not a place for beginners. Not a place to make mistakes. Even though it is a dangerous spot, there were still about 50 guys out. I still got lots of rides because most of the guys didn't take off on the main peak.
I had great warm water surfing sessions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. After surfing on Christmas Morning I went into town and bought a bike. Hikkaduwa is large enough to make it essential to have a bicycle. To rent was 200Rp/day. I was planning to stay 2 weeks. I did the math and found a beat up old Sri Lankan special for 1800Rp. On the way back to my hotel I passed a beach that was filled with hundreds of Sri Lankans enjoying the lovely Christmas Day.
I went down and took pictures and videos of the children laughing, swimming and playing. There was a group of teens with drums all dancing and singing. It was very festive and it was the first light side of Sri Lankan culture I had experienced.
That night I rode around town to find a bar or some place that I might find some backpackers who spoke English. My hotel was filled with families of Germans. They were having a big party in the center courtyard and at least 20 of them sat down to dinner. Someone told me later they had come to Ranmal for the last 5 years to celebrate. No one likes to spend the holidays alone and this made me kind of homesick. But, I had no luck finding anything going on, so I went back to the hotel and went to bed early.
The next morning disaster struck.
My alarm went off at 8:00AM, but I decided to sleep in. I was going to go snorkeling at the Marine Park at 8:30AM from the suggestion of the dive school. You go out 1 hour past low tide and then it is easy to get back at the height of the incoming surge.
But I blew it off and thank god I did. At 9:00 I woke up and fiddled about in my room. At 9:30 I was brushing my teeth when I heard some big surf outside, I thought, "Excellent, I'll head to the beach and go surfing."
Then I heard breaking glass and screaming.
After the sound of commotion, I ran out of my room and looked at the courtyard below and it was filled with 3 feet of water!?!
I was in my underwear, so I grabbed my baggies from the ledge, threw them on and ran down the hall to the restaurant balcony to see exactly what was happening and if I could help anyone (my room and the restaurant were on the second floor).
When I arrived there was six feet of water in the courtyard and the sea was still rising. At that point the sea had risen 15 feet from normal level. The people from the first floor rooms were struggling to stay afloat.
Two girls in the front cabana were screaming and holding on to the doorframe for dear life. Then two big set waves came in. They both had 7-foot faces and reached half way up the railing on the second floor. I watched to two girls take both waves on their heads, but they held on.
I was helpless. There was so much debris that it was impossible for me to go down and help anyone.
Then, after the two big waves, the ocean retreated back to its normal level. It was an incredible thing to see. The ocean actually dropping 15 feet before your eyes in a matter of a minute.
That was it. It all lasted only few minutes. It may not sound so incredible, but I get chills down my spine as I relate this to you.
Just after the disaster a German lady was screaming, crying and yelling for her children. Luckily they had made it into the Kitchen and were OK. She grabbed her son and daughter and smothered them with tight hugs and kisses. The girl was crying, but the teenage son just shrugged like, "That was nothing." Typical teenage boy!
People were cut up and hurt, but luckily no one from our hotel died. The entire first of floor was destroyed. The second floor was just wet. The two ground floor wooden cabanas that were closest to the sea were completely destroyed. I guess the occupants got out just in time, before the set waves came in and crushed everything. My friend Michael told me one of the guys story:
"I was sitting on the toilet taking a shit,i he said. "All of the sudden the toilet began to shit back! Then I knew something was wrong and I ran out of the room."
This man had his passport and about 1000 Euros in his shoe that were never found. Many tourists lost their money and passports. I have noticed lots of locals come into the Internet to exchange money, mostly euros and pounds. I'm sure lots of people found cash in the street.
The beach was trashed and the sea was filled with debris. One of the hotel guys, the Cook, noticed two people way out in the water, maybe 2KM from shore. He was a great swimmer so he went out to rescue them. One had a boogie board and they were both clinging to it.
It must have been fairly safe to be in the water during the Tsunami if the sets didnit catch you. The surge and the waves went right under you. The problem was that when the surge retreated, you were swept way out to sea.
We all watched as the Cook swam out and helped the kids to shore. They were a girl and boy of about 15. They were scared, but were happy to be on shore. The wandered up the beach to find their parents who we all hoped were OK.
***Note: Photos of the disaster, the Cook, Grandma Ranmal and of Austrian Family are in Photo Section.*******
After they arrived on the beach, a 30-foot wooden outrigger canoe paddled to shore right next to the hotel. It was a large canoe that could probably fit about 25 people on board. The boat had been going around rescuing other people who had been swept out to sea. When they landed, many tourists and locals got off kissing the hands of the captain and crew. Unfortunately, on the next big surge, the canoe was swept right into the house next to the hotel.
After wandering around looking at the destruction at our hotel, I decided to go up the beach to survey the rest of the damage. When I was about 200 yards north, I saw a group of men and ladies screaming and crying while pointing out to sea. They were Sri Lankans, but I think they were also tourists. Two teenage boys were swimming out and grabbing a human size bundle. It was a dead lady who was washed out to sea from the beach. She probably couldn't swim.
I was in a daze. I had my camera and video with me but I didn't have the heart to take them out. It was too tragic. They brought her to the beach. She was probably about 50 and was still wearing her Sari (traditional Indian dress). The crowd surrounded her and everyone was sobbing hysterically. I bowed my head and started walking north.
I couldn't believe the damage. The first floors of every hotel were gutted. Some of the smaller two story hotels were completely gone. The place I had sat and ate dinner the night before was completely gone. The room at Vernon's I considered was a pile of rubble. The devastation was tremendous. At every place there were people walking around in a daze. They shook their heads helpless amongst so much damage.
There was a Sunday market going on in the center of the city and over 900 people died there, many of them women and children who could not swim. In total, over 3000 people died in our little village alone. There was a train 1km outside of town, on its way to Hikkaduwa when the wave hit and it was demolished. I toured the sight a few days later and it was breathtaking. The tracks were 20 feet from their original position and the engine and cars were tossed into the jungle like little toys. I don't know how many died there, but I doubt there were many survivors.
I was lucky I only got my feet wet and my room was not damaged at all. My only casualty was that the day before the Tsunami I sent most of my clothes to the laundry. None of them were recovered and I lost by cherished "Bert's Books" t-shirt that I got from Christopher Gilmore. After what I had seen, itis was obviously no big deal.
For the rest of the day the surge came back every hour, but only rising about 9-10 feet and only putting a foot of water in our courtyard. This was quite nerve racking. Every time the sea rose, people would scream and think that the big waves were going to come again.
There was a half sunken fishing boat floating down the coast all afternoon. Only about 10 feet of the bow and part of the cabin remained afloat. When it made finally made it directly off Ranmal's, someone yelled, "Look, there someone still on board."
I looked and the guy was right, we could see him waving to shore. The Cook was there and he began waving at the man stranded on the boat. The Cook was back in action. The boat was about 1 1/2 miles from shore and the ocean was filled with debris, but the Cook started swimming out anyway. Somehow, the guy on the boat figured out what was going on and he jumped overboard and he started to swim in. They were going to meet each other halfway. There were about 10 of us watching from the balcony amazed.
It took them about 15 minutes to meet and they started swimming in together. We all cheered. At that point one of the Ranmal's tugged on my arm and pointed to the beach at a lady who was on the beach. She was dressed in a Purple Sari with her long black hair braded in a ponytail. She was staring out to sea concentrating on the swimmers. Her right hand was stretched out in front with her fingers contorted in and odd position.
"She is a woman of power," Said the worker. "She is helping guide them to shore." The woman stayed in that exact position, without moving a muscle, until both the men were safely on shore. We all cheered from the balcony. The woman of power ignored us and started walking down the beach. The Cook triumphantly thrust his fist into the air. He was the hero of the day.
That evening I watched to sunset on the restaurant deck with a family of Austrians. The breakfast from the morning was still on the table. Uneaten eggs, toast, filled cups of tea and baskets of untouched toast. The eternal breakfast. The father of the family and I started grabbing the toasts and munching. The rest of the family joined in. We had not eaten anything all day.
The Grandma Ranmal approached us with a lit candle. "We all must leave. They say there may be another wave on the way. You come. We stay with my family in the Jungle."
We really didn't have much to say. We went and grabbed some things from our rooms and got into a minibus. I got my cash, cameras, passport and guitar. The Austrians weren't so lucky. All of their cash and passports were missing. They grabbed some clothes that remained dry.
At this point, I must say a few things about the Kendlbacher's.
The Austrians were a family of five. The Dad (G,nter) 45, the Mom (Anna) 42, the older son (Michael) 17, his girlfriend (Anna) 17 and the younger son (Thomas) 12.
The mother and the father were staying in one of the first floor rooms when the wave hit. Anna told me her story.
"I was sleeping when all of the sudden I heard water coming in the room. I wasn't too frightened until the glass began to break. I was struggling in the water to get to the door. There was furniture floating everywhere and I couldn't get past it. The water kept on rising. Then I finally made it to the door and Michael came up, threw the remaining table out of the way and took me out of the room to safety."
Michael, Anna and Thomas were staying in a room on the second floor. Michael told me his story.
"I was sleeping when I heard all this noise outside. I said 'Shut up, I'm trying to sleep.' Then I heard glass breaking and screaming. I got up, went out to my balcony and saw all of the water. I rushed to the restaurant balcony and saw two girls hanging on to a doorframe. Then I realized my mother and father were on the first floor. I went down the back stairway, waded to my parentis room, saw my mother struggling threw a piece of furniture out of the way and grabbed her. We then went back to the safety of the stairs. The rest of my family else made it out fine."
I ended up spending the next week with the Kendlbacher's. They were the only people to remain at the hotel after the disaster. We ate our meager meals together and in the evening we played cards under candlelight. They took me in as one of the family and it made the whole situation so much brighter.
Back to the story.
We all got into the minivan and it was about a 20-minute drive to Grandma Ranmal's family's house in the jungle. When we arrived we all sat down in the living room. The TV was on and there was lots of news about the disaster. This did not make anyone feel any better. The news guy was talking about aftershocks and that everyone should stay away from the coast.
After about an hour of news, the Ranmal Family offered us dinner. We ate rice, curry and bread. We also had tea and water. It was not very hot, but we were all hungry and did not complain.
After we ate, all the men of the household sat down for their dinner, which was exactly the same as ours. After their meal was cleared, the women and children sat down and ate. This was interesting look into Sri Lankan culture, guests, men, then women and children. They may normally eat together, but there were so many of us that three shifts made a lot of sense.
After everyone was done eating the family cleared most of the furniture from the living room and turned it into a dormitory. It was already 11:00PM and everyone was tired. The Austrian family took their sheets and blankets, made a big bed and slept in a line in near the front door. All except Thomas, he got the only couch in the room. I slept behind the couch.
As I lay on the tile floor in my sheet I reflected about the days events. Itis amazing how one day can be so different from the next. Time doesnit really matter. The life goes on no matter what happens. As my mind wandered, I watched lots of large green ants roaming around the floor.
Life had not changed for them. Just a crumb is all they sought. They would approach my sheet, touch it with their antenna, and then wander away. I'm not so fond of big ants in bed, but I quickly fell asleep. I was very tired after a very emotional day. No time to worry about ants. I think I only got bitten a couple times during the night.
The next morning we all woke around 7:00AM. There were so many people in the house that it heated up really quickly after sunrise. It was like camping, no one sleeps in camping.
We watched the news and went through the same dinner ritual for breakfast. Breakfast was good, tea, some form of Pancakes with butter and jam and fruit for dessert.
Nothing was new in the news, just lots of pictures of destruction. During this broadcast they actually showed the location of the earthquake, the magnitude and the path of the Tsunami. I was really glad to finally have the facts. Up to that point it had only been a lot of speculation. The 26th was also the day of the full moon and some people even said it was just a tidal surge.
We sat around all morning and I was getting antsy. There was no news of a new wave and I wanted to go back down and see if I could be of help. I approached Grandma Ranmal and said, "So what do we do now?"
"There is nothing we can do we just sit here." she replied.
"I want to go back to the hotel, maybe I could help."
She gave me a motherly smile and said, "Very bad at hotel. No electricity, no water, you can't even use toilet. Best to stay here."
The answers weren't good enough for me. "I will use candle for light and I will use ocean water to flush the toilet. I don't like to sit here and do nothing. I want to help."
She came over looked into my eyes, grabbed my arm and said, "But there is no petrol, you have no ride."
I looked back into her eyes, smiled and said, "I will walk."
She laughed and said, "OK, OK, you go."
I grabbed my stuff and she walked me to the front porch. The Austrians were all sitting out there and heard none of our conversation.
"He is leaving back to hotel,i she said to them as we walked out. "He wants to help."
I quickly looked up at them and curtly said, "Yes, I'm walking back." I turned around and left through the front gate with out turning around for their reaction.
On my way down the hill, I felt really bad about my quick words to the Austrian's. I was rude. I should have said, "I'm walking back to the hotel, would you like to join me?" or something like that. I hate it when I'm in a hurry or frustrated and let it take over my actions.
Oh well, I felt bad. Of course the Austrian's walked too and arrived at the hotel only 10 minutes after me. I apologized, but they seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.
On the way down I found a store that was open and bought 3 liters of water, a couple boxes of crackers, some sweet biscuits and a bunch of bananas. This cheered me up. No matter what happens, at least I have food and water.
When I arrived back on the main road, I realized something was missing. It was almost tranquil. No cars, no honking, no madness. It was also solemn. Some cars were making it through, but most of the street was blocked by dirt, trees, bricks and various debris. Many families stood in front of their ruined homes and shops in shock.
Back at the hotel, the first thing I did was find a bucket and fill my toilet. After that I went down into the courtyard to access the damage. There was glass and bricks everywhere. All of the walkways were blocked. Lots of the Ranmal Family and friends were also there accessing the damage. But, no one was lifting a finger to clean anything up.
I decided to take the initiative. I grabbed my big bucket and started to pick up the glass on the walkway on my side of the hotel. All the Ramnals just looked at me like I was crazy. There was at least 15 of them. They were dazed; they just walked around shaking their heads.
After I had cleared 10 feet of glass I took the shovel and scooped up the sand. They didn't seem to like the example I was setting. Finally, one came over, stopped me and said, "You don't have to do this."
I smiled back at him gently and said, "I know. I want to. I live here. I want to walk without glass. I don't mind really. I have nothing else to do."
He smiled, let go of my shovel and went back to the crowd. Then the Cook approached me. "You work hard, would you like drink?"
He made the motion of drink with his hand and then motioned me to follow him. I thought we were just going to the front foyer, but we went up the stairs the part of the hotel that was in the process of being constructed. It was about half done, the walls were in place but no doors or glass. Then he pulled out a bottle of Whiskey and said, "Anrack, we have drink."
It was only 11:00AM, but I thought what the hell, I'll be cleaning up all day, how could it hurt. It was also the polite thing to do so we both did a shot and I went back to work.
I continued clearing the walkway and then the Hotel Boy, who had taken my laundry the day before, showed up and actually helped me. We finished clearing the walk way and then cleared out one of the destroyed rooms. He has really nice and we chatted the whole time. He would repeat whatever I said, working on his English. He was timid and very sweet. Everyone else just watched.
Then at 2:00PM, A man ran into the courtyard and yelled, "Another wave is coming we must all go!"
Everyone was scared and began to run up to the road. Many jumped into their cars and minivans and drove away. They had a minivan there for the Austrians and me.
I looked to the ocean and it was calm. I was very skeptical. The wave was going to come the night before and now, over 28 hours after the earthquake, another wave was going to come?
The boy was tugging at my arm saying, "Quick we must go!"
He was terrified. I wasn't moving. "Please sir, come!" he pleaded.
I shook my head, walked casually up to my room, grabbed my bag and guitar and walked to the parking lot.
The whole time the boy followed my, tugging on my arm, exclaiming, "Quick, please, quick, I don't want to die!"
On my way out, I noticed the Cook slouched in a chair comatose. A couple of the Ranmal's picked him up and put him into a car. "Every man has a weakness," I said to myself.
When I got to the parking lot, I gathered my wits and said, "No, I'm going to stay."
"Please, Please!" said the boy. I calmly smiled at him and said, "You must go. I'm not afraid. I will stay here."
He shrugged, got into the van, and he left with the Austrians.
Here is my reasoning. First off, the earthquake was a 9.0, the largest in 40 years on the planet, and it was not possible that another quake of that size had occurred. Secondly, we were on the opposite side of the island of where the wave would hit. We didn't take a direct hit from the big one the day before. We just got a wrap around. Scientifically, it was almost impossible that we would see another significant wave. Besides, I didn't get any footage of the first one so I was waiting video in hand!
It was 2:00PM and the wave was supposed to arrive at 2:30PM. I waited out on the road with lots of other Sri Lankans. I marked a bus stop I would climb up on if a wave rolled in. The top of that bus stop did not get wet from the big one.
2:30PM came, nothing. 3:00PM nothing. I put my bags back in my room and cleaned up a bit more downstairs. By 4:00PM everyone was back, except the Hotel Boy. I never did see him again.
For the second night in a row I watched the sunset from the Restaurant with the Austrian family. After the sunset, we broke out whatever food we had. We all ate a fine dinner of Crackers, Bananas and Water.
After dinner I had a great time playing cards with Anna (mom), G,nter and Thomas. We played rummy and sipped on Warm beer and Anrack. Grandma Ramnal's son gave me all the beer I wanted for my help around the hotel.
The next day, the 28th, still no one was really working around the hotel. Michael and young Anna showed up with bread, margarine and onions for breakfast and that was killer.
I spent the morning clearing the opposite walk way and then cleaned up the main entrance hall and the walkway that includes Grandma Ranmal's Room.
Late in the afternoon I walked my bike into town to get it fixed. Somehow the Tsunami knocked the air out of my back tire. Both my tires were really bald so I decided to replace them both. Not many shops were open, but the bike family, they were in high gear. They were cleaning, mopping and really getting stuff done.
After getting my bike fixed I toured the rest of the town. It was a true disaster. On one side, cars were swept into the stores that line the road. On the other side, boats were sitting on the shoulder after plowing through hotels. Tons of debris littered the street and there were people standing around everywhere. Not doing anything, mind you, just looking at the damage.
Most of the big hotels in the center of town were empty. Some had a few tourists out front with their luggage waiting to be picked up. Most of the smaller beachfront hotels were completely destroyed. Especially around the main reef break. Rajits, Vernonis, Drunk Monkey, Blue Moon, all destroyed.
The harbor was a complete disaster. Only one small dive boat was still afloat. Some of the boats had sunk and all you could see was the cabins sticking out the water. There were about 5 large fishing boats that were actually sitting on top of the jetty that surrounds the port. Its very odd the see large boats like those 15 feet out of the sea on top of a rock jetty. You could sit there with cranes all day and not produce the same affect. Only the ocean has power like that.
I couldn't make it all the way into the center where the bus depot is located. There was too much stuff in the street. At least down in that part of town there were people working to clear the road.
Back at the hotel I saw the cook and he looked pretty ragged. I looked at him and waved, but he was too embarrassed to reply. I went up on the Restaurant deck and sat back and watched then surf. He finally approached and said, "I'm sorry. I drink entire bottle in Anrack yesterday."
I patted him on the back and said, "Ah, no big deal, you just have to be careful. I'm going out for a swim, you want to come?"
He declined and slowly went back down stairs. I felt sorry for him. I'm sure he really lost face yesterday after being such a hero the day before.
I went back to the room to put on my baggies. While I was there G,nter came by and with a big smile on his face said, "I found our passports and cash!"
I asked him where. "Out in the front parking lot under a pile of leaves and wood!"
He held up the bag to me and shook it from side to side. He was really ecstatic and I couldn't blame him. It also contained their Airline Tickets.
As I went through the Restaurant deck I noticed that Anna (mom) was laying out all of Passports and Tickets to dry in the sun. I went over and took a look. Not only the passports and tickets, but she was drying out the cash too. About 5000 euros. This was attracting quite a crowd and it even made my eyes pop out. Lots of Guys were wandering around staring.
All the sudden one of then took out his phone, said something into it, looked up and said, "There's another Tsunami coming!"
I couldn't believe it! Anna quickly grabbed all the cash, passports and tickets and threw them into her purse. She was scared and yelled for the children. Luckily, G,nter showed up and calmed her down. We all noticed that nobody was running and the Ramnal's were still wandering around in the courtyard below.
"Who says there is another wave?" he stated with authority. The guy with the phone recoiled and timidly said, "Me."
He was about 19, wearing black corduroys a collared whit shirt and polished leather shoes. He was with three other friends about the same age, but not so well dressed. I have never seen the guys around the hotel before.
Gunter walked over towards him. The guy suddenly regained his confidence and said, "My friend on Phone says government has issued another warning. I have taxi. Let me take you to safety."
Gunter looked him in the eye and said, "Were not going anywhere." Anna looked relieved. The guy shuttered, and he and his friends left the balcony.
As they were leaving, Gunter walked over to me and said, "They were outside when I found my bag. I guess I was so happy that they thought it would be a good idea to come in and see what was inside."
I grabbed a boogie board that was on the deck and I my way down to the stairs I said to Anna and G,nter, "It's probably not wise to flash so much cash. I'm sure not Sri Lankan's don't make that much in a year. I was even staring. Maybe dry it on your balcony."
They both smiled at me and I walked down to the beach. As I was swimming around catching waves, I noticed something floating about 500 yards to the south. With the sun setting the light was difficult so I couldn't tell what it was. I definitely wasn't wood or just plastic so I paddled over to check it out.
As I approached and saw what it was, I was really stunned. It was a Diver's BCD (Buoyancy Compensator Devise) Jacket with the tank still attached. The BCD still had air in it and that was why it was floating. Everyone from the hotel and the neighboring house came out to see it when I dragged it on shore. We all looked at each other like, "I sure hope the diver is OK..."
That night ate the leftover from breakfast for dinner and the Ranmal's also brought us some cold rice with curry and warm beer. It was a great candlelight dinner. After, Gunter, Michael, Thomas and I all played poker. They only play straight poker so I taught them all the games from home. They learned, 7 card stud, 7 card no peak and lowball. I also taught them about the one-eyed jack and suicide king. It was a really fun night. I ended up losing about $10, but it was well worth it.
The 29th. No Tsunami warnings. Had breakfast again with my Austrian Family. From now on I will refer to them and "My" family because they have really taken me in as one of the family.
Our breakfast was same as the day before. When you are in a situation like ours, you are thankful for whatever you have. I was craving warm food, but there still wasn't anything open in town.
This was my last day helping to clean up around the hotel. This was the first day where everyone in the hotel and the town were actually working. Most of the guys at the hotel were working on dismantling the two front cabanas and I helped clean out a some rooms.
The rooms were filled with sand and most of the furniture was destroyed. We basically pulled out all of the furniture and clothes and plied them in the courtyard and then used shovels and squeegees to mop up the mess.
That afternoon, I was going to ride to the next town to the north for some money but I had my first accident of the disaster.
I was riding into town and it was really smoggy. Half was from the cars and half from trash burning. I decided to take my shirt off and use it as a muffler so I would not breathe in all of the toxins. So I was riding along one handed and all the sudden a Tuk Tuk pulled out in front of me.
What I have not detailed was that my front break doesn't work correctly. It slows the bike, sure, but I completely lock up the front tire. To complicate things, in every country they put the front and back break on a different side of the handlebars.
So the Tuk Tuk pulls out. One hand is on my mouth and the other in on the handlebar. There is sand all over the road. I realized my situation; I've got a 50/50 chance. I have no choice, I had to break.
My front tire locked up and started to slide. I dipped to the right and was out of control. There was also a car passing my on the right. I threw my t-shirts and tried to grab the handle bar to regain control. It was too late. The car to the right locked up the breaks and I tumbled right in front of it as is skidded to a stop.
It really was no big deal. The guy in the car started to get out to help but I motioned him that I was OK. The guy in the Tuk Tuk was embarrassed and apologized while bowing. I got up, grabbed my t-shirt and surveyed the damage. A small cut on my left foot and some road rash on my right thigh. That was it.
The problem was that it completely destroyed my plans for the day. I couldn't go riding around with my foot bleeding. The air and everything was way too dirty. I had to go back to the hotel, put some disinfectant on my wounds, and spent the rest of the day reading. I'm on a little Hugo kick right now, recently finished the Hunchback and now I'm tackling the unabridged Les Miserables. Hugo Rocks! Great stories.
At around 3:00PM we had a great downpour. The sky literally opened up. It was a godsend. The Family and I waited for the dust and debris to clear from the drains and we all took showers. There was a drain in the courtyard that was broken about head high and we all took turns washing off. After my turn, I went a got a bunch of water bottles and filled them up for future use. Rain has never been so welcome!
I went back to my room and read until about 5:00PM and then I wandered out to the Restaurant Deck to see what was going on. Anna (mom) and Gunter were there and we ended up playing 1000 rummy. Anna is unbelievably lucky with cards. She always wins. I was destroyed in that game, I think I barely scored 400.
That evening we had dinner on the deck again. Bread, Margarine, Onions, cold rice and curry and the Cook showed up with some hot noodles. The noodles had this hot sauce on them and my mouth almost burned off after trying one bite.
The 30th. I got up early this morning and helped the guys out on the street clear the drains. I ate a few bananas for breakfast and was on my way. I wore my Van's to cover my foot wound because the muck we were shoveling was really stenchy. It was great to see everybody at work. No more standing around and staring. When the Sri Lankans want to work they can really go at it.
There was still no water or electricity at the hotel. No big deal. We would all swim in the ocean or use rain water for showers and use candles for light. This may sound difficult, but really, but then we were quite used to it.
I really needed some cash, so that afternoon I decided to ride south 20 KM to Galle. The town to the north, Ambalagoda, was closer, but one of the bridges was out and the inland route was over 45KM. The guys at the bank in Hikkaaduwa were certain that there were ATM's operating in Galle.
The ride was easy, very flat and the route was filled with Sri Lankan families standing on the side of the road. There wasnit much open space. There were little towns connected to each other almost the entire way. Nothing was very built up; all the houses and shops were one story and mostly made of wood. Lots of the places on the ocean side were destroyed and most of the places on the jungle side were fine. The destruction did not seem so bad in this area
About every 2KM's there would be a group of police/soldiers. There usually 3 of them and they were all armed with automatic rifles. In some towns they wore light blue (police?) and in other towns they wore green (army?). Needless to say, I felt very safe on my journey south.
I want quite sure what all the people were doing on the side of the road. As I rode by the groups of young men one of them would always shout, "Were are you going?" with a faint, "Come here." as I passed. I must have heard, "Where are you going?" 50 times on my Journey. I asked a guy at Ramnal why they yelled that. He said, "Because you are special tourist."
I asked him what should I reply? He taught me how to say, "Why do you care?" in Sri Lankan in case it happened again. Special note: I rode back to Galle yesterday and not a single person asked me where I was going.
When I passed groups of ladies and young girls, the women would smile and the girls would bashfully turn their heads. The groups of young boys were quite honest and they just thrust their hands out and yelled, "Money!"
When I arrive in Galle I was surprised by all of the damage. Galle was more in the direct line of the Tsunami than Hikkaduwa and was more heavily damaged. They say that a 15-foot wave went right up Main Street. I rode all around the center of town and there were lots of people, cars honking, tuk tuks and armed police, but nothing was open.
The streets were an inch deep in mud and debris fill the windows of every shop. Some owners were cleaning up but most of the places were abandoned. When I got near the port there were a few boats literally on the highway. The place was a mess.
Luckily, for the people, there were lots of aid trucks arriving and there were long lines waiting for packages. As I rode by someone in line would yell out, "Where are you going." I really wasn't sure.
I finally found a bank with it's doors open and went inside. I asked the guard if the ATM was working. He said, "No go to the fort."
As I rode into town, I did notice a big fort on the right hand side near the port entrance. I hopped on my bike and in 10 minutes I was at one of the port gates. It was like entering the Medina of a Moroccan city. The gate was a 50-foot high archway that I'm sure at one time was blocked by a couple of huge wooden doors.
The fort was over 2000 years old and once was the trading post for ancient Ceylon used by the Egyptians and Romans. Later it was occupied by the Portuguese, the Dutch and finally Great Brittan.
Since it was up on a hill, the Tsunami caused very little damage. Only one street had some minor flooding. It was a breath of fresh air. I actually felt like a tourist again. Everything was intacket. There were historic mansions, old churches and a lighthouse. I got out my camera and took pictures of nice things. I had almost forgot what it was like.
After touring the town I found the bank and got some cash. There was a long line, as could be expected, but no one was in a hurry.
On the way out, I decided to tour the ramparts and it was quite scenic. A great view of the destroyed city and the mangled cricket stadium. In the field below the main wall a large Indian transport helicopter was getting ready to take off. It was surrounded by a large crowd of Sri Lankans. It was a great photo op and I took advantage. I filmed the copter and it took off and flew to the north.
On the way back to Hikkaduwa I passed many groups of men who would yell, "Where are you going?i jump out at me, and almost spit at me. This was really getting on my nerves. They were very rude. Some lone men on the street would smile as I passed, but most were in groups and quite obnoxious.
When I was about 5KM's from Hikkaduwa, the guyis expressions changed. They looked scared. They would yell, "Where are you going?" without the spite and then point inland. Then another guy running down the road yelled to me, "Big wave come at 2:00PM!"
This guy was serious and scared. I couldn't believe it! They haven't had a Tidal wave for 2000 years and now they were going to have on everyday.
When I arrived at Ranmal's, all the guys were running around and getting ready to leave. Grandma and the women were already on their way to the jungle. They sew me ride up and all at once said, "You must leave, big wave come, very dangerous!"
I look at all of them and say, "No, I'm staying!"
One guy grabs my handle bar, shaking his head and says, "No friend, really, big wave come at 2:00PM, very dangerous, you must come!"
I push past him and say, "Look, the last wave was from the biggest earthquake this century and it didn't even get the rooms above us wet! It is impossible that another wave that big could be on its way. I'm going to grab my things and wait there."
I was referring to the second floor of the new construction. The big wave didn't even make it half way to those rooms. Then I hear the owner say, "Yes, this new construction very strong."
It was 1:30PM, so we had a half hour. I leisurely went up to my room, grabbed my guitar (I already had my passport and money on me) and went up to safe rooms. I decided to be extra safe, so I went back down and carried my bike up to the second floor in front of my room.
When I returned to the safe room, to my surprise, most of the men, including the owner, were all up there with me. Gunter and Michael were also there. The rest of the family had gone to the temple up on the hill.
They were all ready to leave, and then because of my speech, they were all staying. Then I questioned one of the guys.
"Who says there will be a wave?"
"The government has warned us. There was an earthquake in India." he replies.
"In the sea?" I question.
"No, on land."
I shake my head, "Tsunamis don't come from earthquakes on land."
Another speaks up, "I got an SMS from a German lady I know that there was a earthquake in India."
I was exasperated; "There are earthquakes in India all the time. Will you evacuate if there is an earthquake in Africa too? The wave we experienced will not come again in our lifetimes! How could it happen again in such a short time? Impossible!"
Then I looked at all of them, pointed across the courtyard to my room on the second floor with my bike out front. I smiled and said, "But, I guess your never quite sure..."
Of course, the wave never came. I will not evacuate again. I guess all the guys at the hotel know this now. They see me, not afraid, defiant and that makes them believe too. By 3:00PM, they were all back in the courtyard working like there was never a warning.
That evening on the beach we had the family Olympics that Thomas and Michael put together. We all competed except the two Anna's. We had 6 events: 90M dash, Coconut Put, Tennis ball distance throw, Long Jump, baseball longest drive (my idea) and a 3K run. Gunter and I both insisted that the 3K run come last.
Quick run down on winners, Michael won the 90KM dash, Gunter won the coconut put, Michael won the Tennis ball distance throw, I won the long jump and the baseball longest drive. Going into the last event, Michael and I were tied with 21 points, G,nter had 16 and Thomas had 5.
The 3KM run. I didn't have a chance. We used the washed up fishing boat on the beach as the marker. Up and back twice from the boat to the hotel. I was fine up until the last length. After touching the boat Michael and Thomas picked up the pace and I was lost in the dust. I used the excuse; "I had already rode my bike 40KM that day." But then I smiled and admitted, "That didn't matter, I couldn't have won anyway."
We all shook hands and took and ocean swim to cool off. What a great family experience.
That evening we went into town and had dinner at the only open Restaurant, the Blue Violin. We had not had warm food in quite some time and it was excellent. I had some pork chops and chips, and most of the rest of the family had the calamari. We were all very content.
After dinner we played cards and I really won big. After poker we played black jack and I was the house. I lost at first, but by the time we were done I had really cleaned up winning about 3000RP. I was getting really lucky constantly getting 21's with 16's.
Man, the Austrians. It seemed that I had really become part of this really nice family. They are Germanic, and I guess not so naturally warm to outsiders, but as the days went on they included me in everything and even seemed to enjoy my presence.
Let's take a closer look at the Kendlbacher/Kroiss's.
At first the father seemed a little wary of me, and never spoke directly to me. As the days went by he would open up more and more. By the time showed up at my door with his passports with his big smile, I knew he was my friend.
Wolfgang Gunter Kendelbacher is a proud Austrian father. He owns a successful construction company and has the forearms to prove it. He is about 5'10", brown eyes, hair not long or short and quite thick. He has a little ponch, but overall is in very good shape. He grew his beard out the whole time he was in Sri Lanka. Michael told me later that he didn't plan to, but wanted to look rough when he arrive home after the Tsunami. Gunter holds quite a command over the family and dominates the dinner conversation (but I have no idea what he is saying - we will go more into that later). He is good with his children and shows both command and respect.
The Mom, Anna, is proud and strong like G,nter. She is of Medium Build, brown eyes, long black hair, a pointed nose and quite attractive. She really looks like a classic Gypsy. From the start, she was very sweet to me. Her English is not so good, so we have a hard time communicating. She provides the children with motherly tenderness to balance G,nteris command.
G,nter and Anna make a great couple and it is obvious they love each other very much. You can tell just by the way they look at echoer with warmness and affection.
You will note, above, that I listed the family as the Kendlbacher/Kroiss's. G,nter and Anna aren't married. Anna explained this to me one night when we were playing cards.
"When we met we were very different. He was very proper, well dressed and from a nice family. I well I.." Gunter chimed in "She was a Hippy!"
She continued, "We were opposites. Him so straight and me, well, I guess, yes a hippy. We fell in love and decided to never get married."
When she was done Gunter added, "We might get married someday, on a cruise ship or something like that." and then his vice trailed off.
Anna lifted her head, raided her eyebrows and with a half smile looked at him with astonishment. G,nter cleared his throat and we were back to the game.
Even though they are close to my same age, I really looked up to them like my adopted parents and the kind of treated me that way. It was very cool and it was what I needed for those dark times during the holidays.
Michael is a good looking, patriotic young Austrian. Once, over dinner, he went over the list of all the famous Austrians like Franz Klamer and others I can't remember. I brought up the Van Trapps. He is a cool guy, about 5'9", brown eyes, long brown hair and in good shape. He looks a bit like Anthony of the Ret Hot Chili Peppers. He is Jr. in high school and likes sports. One of his dreams id to export a Tuk Tuk to Austria to tour the countryside in the summer.
The young Anna is pretty, about 5'6", blonde, blue eyes, softly spoken and quite nice. She sails Hobie 14's and we had a great conversation about her lake over dinner. She is also a JR in school.
As the days went by, I was wondering about Michael's and Anna's relationship. I had never seen them touch, even hold hands. They did give each other pensive looks and she sometime acted coy to him. There was something there, but I wasn't quite sure. They shared a room together with Thomas, but I doubted they were sharing the same bed. One night Anna brought up the situation because young Anna was acting a bit depressed.
"I think Anna is homesick,i she said to me. "You know, Michael and her came here as friends and I think that might be straining her."
So that was it, I understood. I think that they both really liked each other but in such surroundings the pressure was too great. I'll bet they become boyfriend and girlfriend when they return
to Austria.
Little Thomas seemed to me most refreshing. His childhood giggles, big smiles and Beatles Haircut cracked me up. He reminds me of a young Nick Nickels, and old friend, quite the character. He is a real goofball. I can tell by the way he talks and the others react. Quite a cool little punk.
Funny thing, around me they almost always spoke German. We would have dinner and they would have these boisterous conversations led by G,nter and I would have no idea what they were saying. I would tune out. Then all the sudden I would hear my name, look up, and they would just continue along with out telling me what was going on.
Only young Anna seemed to be uncomfortable about the family not including me in these conversations. Every once in a while she would look at me and kind of shrug her shoulders. But, during one part of each meal, they would turn to me and ask me a question. We would then spend a few minutes in English. They asked my about my trip, about surfing and about my family.
The Kendlbacher/Kroiss's became quite famous in their home town of Thalgau (near Salzburg) while they were gone. Their pictures were in the newspapers and they also appeared on the evening news. Some of their relativeis homes were invaded by reporters.
I teased Thomas that all the little girls were going to run after him when we returned to school. Michael didn't seem so annoyed with the prospect.
My family left on January 3rd and I was sad to see them go. They truly adopted me and they made the holidays shine amongst so much gloom. They have invited me to come and visit them in Austria and I will take them up on it next winter. I got an email from them and they are safe at home, managed to get by the reporters without too much hassle and are eating lots of Austrian bacon and cheese!
New Years Eve. We got water and electricity back today. It was so nice to have a real shower, and best off, I was able to recharge my video camera that was out of juice.
I treated the Family to breakfast with my winnings at the Blue Violin and we enjoyed or first eggs and toast for quite some time. I had an omelet with onions and CHEESE, god I love cheese!), it was the best meal I have had in my life. The dinner the night before was good, but this breakfast was the best.
I spent the afternoon searching for a surfboard and I actually got one lined up for the next day. I also searched for fire works that I found at the shop across the street. But he could not sell then to us.
Normally, there is a great celebration this evening with the beaches packed with people and fireworks going off all around. But not this year. Sri Lanka has decided to make this the day of mourning for the over 29,000 people that have perished.
Whet could we do. We were still going to enjoy ourselves. We went out to dinner, got lots of beers to go, went back to the hotel and played Risk. Thomas ended up winning.
At midnight we quietly had a toast to life.
The rest of my time in Sri Lanka was uneventful. I surf in the morning, use the Internet in the afternoon, surf for sunset and read in the evening.
The funny thing is that before the Tsunami, the beach was packed with tourists and all of the surf breaks had 50 guys out. The cars and busses filled the street, Honk, Honk, Honk, HONK! Now there's no one on the beach, the breaks have 5 people out max, and there's hardly any traffic. I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but to me, Sri Lanka became more of a tropical paradise after the Tsunami.
But, I am the only person staying at Ramnal's and they will not register any new guests until February. It has been a bit lonely since my family left, so I look forward to going to India in a couple days. I will definitly return to Sri Lanka and I hope the next time I am here things are much less eventful!
Prolog:
It will take the Sri Lankans a long time to get over this Tsunami. I'm sure there will be many more false warnings and people will stay away from the sea. I know this from talking with various locals.
When I was at the Nature Park, I was invited to sit down with some guys having lunch. I told them that I was a surfer. The leader states, "You go into the ocean? Aren't you scared of the Tsunami?"
I gave him my usual speal about once every 2000 years etc., but he stops me and says, "I saw so many dead people, I can't forget it, I will stay away from the ocean."
Last night I was out swimming when an old man came to the shore in front of me. I could tell they wanted something. I went in and the old man said, "It's not safe to swim, you should come in."
The ocean was really calm, no undertow, nothing. I said, "Look how calm it is. The waves are small!"
He replied, "Very dangerous, big wave will come."
I was sitting up on the Restaurant balcony and the owner walked up. There was lots of progress made in the hotel and it was almost back to normal. I complimented him on all the good work. Then he said to me, "You think another Tsunami will come."
"Not in our lifetime." I replied.
He shook his head and pensively said, "When I hear you talk I believe there will be no more waves. But, I'm still not sure."
The cleanup is almost done. The construction will take some time. The train won't be running again for a least a year. For the Sri Lankans to recover psychologically, that will take a long, long time.
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