Hikkaduwa on ilmselt yks Sri Lanka k6ige turistilikumaid ranna-alasid ning p2rast rahulikku sisemaad oli oli atmosf22ri j2rsk muutumine meie jaoks p2ris ehmatav. Turiste on siin jalaga segada ning yllataval kombel on pooled neist Venemaalt - venelaste rohkus saab selgeks juba poe- ja restoranisilte j2lgides - need on pea alati kakskeelsed, inglise ja vene. On kerge m6ista, miks siia tullakse - Hikkaduwa rand on pikk ja ilus, ning seda 22ristavad lugematu hulk restorane, kohvikuid, hotelle, poode jms. Ranna2ride taga aga jookseb absurdselt tiheda liiklusega t2nav, ning t2nava teisel pool on veel rohkem restorane, kohvikuid, hotelle, poode jms. Meie 88bisime sisemaa-poolses osas ning meile sobis see suurep2raselt, kuna meie kylalistemaja oli rahulikus kohas kuhu t2navamyra ei kostnud. Ja t2naval on myra lakkamatu. T2nav ise on ysna kitsas, aga tiheda liiklusega - enamasti on tegemist enamv2hem m6istlike motikate ja tuktukidega; t6eliseks nuhtluseks on hoopis hullumeelsed bussijuhid. Nad s6idavad sel kitsal teel absurdse kiirusega, sanas vahetpidamata signaali lastes ning k6ikidest ja k6igist m88da s6ites, s6ltumata sellest mis vastassuuna liikluses toimub. Jalak2ijatele on see olukord samuti p2ris hirmu2ratav kuna sel t2naval k6nniteid ei ole. Ma olen yllatunud, et me nelja seal oldud p2eva jooksul yhtki 6nnetust ei n2inud (ja heameel, et me ise tervete nahkadega tulema saime!).
Me saime ka l6puks seletuse sellele, et miks bussiliiklus nii hullumeelne on. Tuleb v2lja, et siin ei ole bussifirmasid, kes bussiliiklust kontrolliks ja bussijuhte palkaks. Selle asemel antakse busse teatud perioodideks yyrile ning juhid ja konduktorid rendivad iseseivalt endale teatud ajaks bussi. Ning et selle aja jooksul v6imalikult palju raha teenida, s6idavad nad v6imalikult kiiresti, m88dudes v6imalikult paljudest teistest bussidest, et sel viisil v6imalikult palju reisijaid peale v6tta. Yhes6naga on sellises olukorras 6nnetused v2ltimatud, ja ma ei kahtle et neid ka igap2evaselt juhtub.
Vaatamata hullule liiklusele oli Hikkaduwa v2ga meeldiv. Me kaalusime oma seal viibimise jooksul ka mingeid tegevusi ette v6tta ent l6puks otsustasime selle vastu - ekskursioonid (nagu n2iteks vaalade vaatlemine) olid liiga kallid, ning me ei olnud 6iges vormis sportlikumate tegevuste jaoks (nt surfamine) kuna meie jalalihased olid liiga valusad p2ev varem Sri Pada otsa ronimisest.
Seega nautisime me niisama rannal olemist, lugemist ning kaunis India Ookeanis ujumist (v6i 6igemini ookeani suurtelt lainetelt peksa saamist).
Yht kohalikku vaatamisv22rsust - Tsunaamimuuseumi - me siiski kylastasime. Ma polnud meie senise reisi jooksul sellele kyll m6elnud, ent 2004. aasta tsunaami m6jutas loomulikult tugevalt ka Sri Lankat. Uskumatul kombel oli p2rast Indoneesiat just Sri Lankal k6ige rohkem hukkunuid - yle 35.000 inimese kaotas Sri Lankal tsunaami t6ttu elu. Tsunaamimuuseumis saime n2ha eelk6ige fotosid tsunaamij2rgsest perioodist ning lugesime nii kohalike kui v2lismaalaste kirjutisi nende kogemustest. Muuseum paiknes kohas mille l2hedal juhtus tsunaami ajal eriti v6igas vahejuhtum - Colombost teel olev rong peatus esimese (n6rgema) tsunaamilaine t6ttu ning niigi juba t2is rongi hyppas sisse hulga rohkem inimesi, lootes sealt varjupaika leida. Ent 15 minutit hiljem saabus teine ning tunduvalt tugevam, 10-meetrine laine, mis viis endaga kaasa nii rongi kui raudtee. Yle 1500 inimese kaotas selle rongikatastroofi t6ttu elu.
Muuseum pani (ning paneb j2tkuvalt) meid tsunaami m6ju peale m6tlema, kuna see juhtus vaid 11 aastat tagasi. Me m6istame nyyd, et k6ik, keda me siin kohtame, teavad kedagi kes tsunaamis hukkus, ning ilmselt pidid nad k6ik oma kodu ning elu sellej2rgselt uuesti yles ehitama. Ei ole kerge ette kujutada mis m6ju sellisel katastroofil kogukonnale on. Et sellist asja kunagi uuesti ei saaks juhtuda, on Sri Lanka valitsus rannikualadele installeerinud tsunaamialarmid, ning Colombos asetseb tsunaamij2lgimise peakontor. Paraku oleme kohalikke kuulnud ytlemas, et nad ei usu, et alarmid yldse t88tavad, kuna neid polevat keegi kunagi kontrollimas k2inud. Me v6ime ainult loota, et nad eksivad.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It appears that this time I don't have much to write about, since we haven't done a lot in the last days due to being lazy beach bums. When we left Hatton and the Hill Country, we suffered another day-long voyage in multiple busy trains, but eventually reached the South-Western coast of Sri Lanka when we got off in Hikkaduwa.
Hikkaduwa is one of the most touristic beach areas in Sri Lanka, so it was quite a change of scenery from the relatively quiet inland. And there really are lots of tourists here, but somewhat surprisingly the majority are Russians - this is evident from nearly all the shop and restaurant signs being in English and Russian. It's easy to see why they come though - the beach is long and beautiful, and lined with all kinds of restaurants, cafes, hotels, shops etc. Behind these though, there is a ridiculously busy street going all the way along the coastline, and on the other side, still more restaurants, cafes, hotels, shops etc. We stayed on the dreaded 'landside' (i.e. on the inland side of the busy street). This was great for us, since our homestay was really quiet and nice, and a long way away from the noises from the street. And noises there are, incessantly. The street is quite narrow, but it gets quite a lot of traffic, mostly from scooters and tuktuks, which are harmless enough, but the real culprit in making this street really unpleasant are the crazy-ass busdrivers. They drive along the straight road at ridiculous speeds, honking their horns incessantly and overtaking anyone and anything without regard to incoming traffic. It's pretty daunting for pedestrians as well, since the street doesn't have any sidewalks. I'm amazed that we didn't see any fatalities during our 4-day stay (and happy that we ourselves survived it!).
We did actually find out why the bus traffic is as crazy as it is. Turns out that there are no real bus companies managing the traffic and employing drivers. No, instead the buses are up for hire, and the drivers and conductors are completely independent, hiring out the bus for a certain length of time. And to make the most money possible during that time, they drive as fast as possible, overtaking as many other buses as they can, to get as many passengers as possible. So basically it seems like a proper recipe for disaster (and I don't doubt that there indeed are lots of accidents).
Apart from the crazy traffic, and the increased pestering from tuktuk drivers looking for clients, Hikkaduwa was quite pleasant. We briefly considered doing some activities during our time there, but in the end decided against it - the paid activities like whale watching tours were just too expensive, and we were not in good form for any sporty stuff like surfing, due to our muscles being ridiculously sore after having climbed Sri Pada the day before arriving.
So instead we enjoyed being on the beach, reading, and swimming (or rather getting beat up by huge waves) in the beautiful Indian Ocean.
We did however visit one local attraction - the Tsunami Museum. I hadn't thought about this earlier on our trip, but Sri Lanka was of course hard hit by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. We were stunned to learn that in terms of fatalities, Sri Lanka was the second hardest hit after Indonesia, with over 35,000 people killed. The museum was mainly a collection of photographs from the tsunami aftermath, and stories from locals and tourists who had survived. The museum was located very near to one particular spot where a particularly grim event occurred during the tsunami - a train from Colombo had stopped in its tracks when the first wave hit (which was the smaller one). The train, already packed, had lots of people jumping on it for cover, hoping that they would be safe. Instead, 15 minutes later, the deadly second wave came with its 10-meter waves and destroyed the train (along with the train tracks). Some 1,500 people died in the train disaster.
The museum had (and still has) us both thinking about the event a lot, as it only happened 11 years ago. We realise now that probably everyone we meet here will have lost someone in the tsunami, and probably all had to rebuild their homes and lives. It's not easy to imagine what the effect must have been on the community. As for preventing such a thing from happening again, the Sri Lankan government has installed alarm systems all along the coast, and there is a tsunami monitoring headquarter in Colombo. However, we have heard locals express doubt in the system, since they claim that no one has ever tested them. We can only hope that they are wrong.
 |
| Hikkaduwa rand // Hikkaduwa beach |
 |
| Suur Buddha kuju tsunaami ohvrite m2lestuseks // Big Buddha statue to commemorate tsunami victims |
 |
| Tyypiline Sri Lanka buss seestpoolt // The inside of a typical Sri Lankan bus |
 |
| Avokaado-rotty ja laimimahl - hea kerge l6una // Avocado rotty and lime juice, perfect lunch |
 |
| Kohalik t2navakunst // Local street art |
 |
| Kalurid merele minemas // Fishermen going to sea |
 |
| Narigama rand // Narigama beach |
 |
| Niisama lehmad t2naval (!?) // Just some cows on the street (wtf?!) |
Kommentaare ei ole:
Postita kommentaar