The following morning, we had breakfast at a traditional foot market located in front of the tea plantations.
Afterward, we started driving towards Batticaloa, a town located by the seashore.
We made a stop at Nuwara Elya, a resort town particularly for foreigners. We stopped in at Grand Hotel and had coffee with some nice deserts.
We decided to avoid a pathway through Kandy because of heavy traffic. Initially, the road was very nice to a pleasant surprise. Also, the scenic road by the lake was beautiful.
But, the last part of the road was all under construction, ranging 80 km. The total time to drive well exceeded 10 hours. Moreover, on the last section of the road under construction, two trucks crashed into each other, blocking the entire road. Fortunately, we were able to get by them within 20 minutes.
We stayed at a bungalow hotel by the beach.
The next morning, we woke up at the noisy chanting of Hindu countered by the Islamic chanting coming from the mosques. In between, I heard the Buddhist temple bell sound. Moreover, the roosters added their crows to the orchestra harmony. The early morning amplified unwanted orchestra ended by 6am. By the time I woke up again around 7am, the town regained the tranquility. What a way to begin the day! The high pitch chanting from the Hindu temples was quite annoying to say the least.
But the beach scenery was peaceful and soothing.
The area was devastated by the tsunami caused by the 9.1 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia in 2004. After so many years, the beach area still remained in ruins. A few huts on the beach made the area look peaceful.
As we passed through the area, we found a few interesting spots, including a stand for fishing.
Around the Easter in 2019, Sri Lanka faced five bombing incidents by Islamic terrorists, all targeting Christians. They occurred at two Roman Catholic churches, two hotels and one Protestant church. The Protestant church was Zion Church located in Batticaloa. 30 people died out of the bombing at this church, mostly children. The Zion Church;s main building still remained destroyed and the holes on the wall made by the bearing balls showed the cruelty of the incident.
Later in the morning, we visited a house that used to be owned by Pastor Mohan and is now owned and lived by his sister and her husband Alex with Pastor Mohan's father.
Pastor Mohan's sister is working at World Vision now for 7 years. Alex worked as restaurant manager in Saudi Arabia and he seems to want to go there again whenever possible. For now, he has been taking care of household needs. He said he was considering going there again in May or June.
They had two young kids I played with them and a young girl from the neighborhood through English vocabulary games. It was amusing to play with them.
Batticaloa is truly a town of many religions. - Jeffrey
Afterward, we started driving towards Batticaloa, a town located by the seashore.
We made a stop at Nuwara Elya, a resort town particularly for foreigners. We stopped in at Grand Hotel and had coffee with some nice deserts.
We decided to avoid a pathway through Kandy because of heavy traffic. Initially, the road was very nice to a pleasant surprise. Also, the scenic road by the lake was beautiful.
But, the last part of the road was all under construction, ranging 80 km. The total time to drive well exceeded 10 hours. Moreover, on the last section of the road under construction, two trucks crashed into each other, blocking the entire road. Fortunately, we were able to get by them within 20 minutes.
We stayed at a bungalow hotel by the beach.
The next morning, we woke up at the noisy chanting of Hindu countered by the Islamic chanting coming from the mosques. In between, I heard the Buddhist temple bell sound. Moreover, the roosters added their crows to the orchestra harmony. The early morning amplified unwanted orchestra ended by 6am. By the time I woke up again around 7am, the town regained the tranquility. What a way to begin the day! The high pitch chanting from the Hindu temples was quite annoying to say the least.
But the beach scenery was peaceful and soothing.
The area was devastated by the tsunami caused by the 9.1 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia in 2004. After so many years, the beach area still remained in ruins. A few huts on the beach made the area look peaceful.
As we passed through the area, we found a few interesting spots, including a stand for fishing.
Around the Easter in 2019, Sri Lanka faced five bombing incidents by Islamic terrorists, all targeting Christians. They occurred at two Roman Catholic churches, two hotels and one Protestant church. The Protestant church was Zion Church located in Batticaloa. 30 people died out of the bombing at this church, mostly children. The Zion Church;s main building still remained destroyed and the holes on the wall made by the bearing balls showed the cruelty of the incident.
Later in the morning, we visited a house that used to be owned by Pastor Mohan and is now owned and lived by his sister and her husband Alex with Pastor Mohan's father.
Pastor Mohan's sister is working at World Vision now for 7 years. Alex worked as restaurant manager in Saudi Arabia and he seems to want to go there again whenever possible. For now, he has been taking care of household needs. He said he was considering going there again in May or June.
They had two young kids I played with them and a young girl from the neighborhood through English vocabulary games. It was amusing to play with them.
Batticaloa is truly a town of many religions. - Jeffrey
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