srupesh's VirtualTourist Home Page

I am sort of busy these days with office work to be an active member of VT! But if you need any help or clarification pls wirte to me in the following address
rupesh.selvaraj@gmail.com

Happy Traveling and Enjoy VT

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I finished my degree and graduated on last Sunday (2nd September 2006). Here after I can help more VTers like in the past and become an active member.

My very next plan is update my VT pages with lots of helpful information which I gathered during the past few months for my final year project. I am also planning to upload some Graduation pics soon.

Cheers
RUPESH

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I couldn’t update my home page for a long time as I got really busy. I will put up new and very informative page soon. Until then if u have any questions or need any information please feel write to me…

Rupesh

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In Sri Lanka the roads and railway tracks are repaired and are being used. The Train service and other transportation are back to Normal. The restructuring work is quite slow but it is happening in most parts of the country.

There is no epidemic as feared but safe to travel I can say. The hotels and other structures along the coastline are getting back to back to normal business or being repaired. The tourism industry is getting back on track. Traveling to Sri Lanka at the moment is safe and ok.

The below articles which I have put up is to tell the world, the destruction caused by the Tsunami.

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Due to the disaster created by the Tsunami waves most of Sri Lanka is devastated with the costal areas being the most effected. The East, South and parts of West and North are badly hit by this catastrophe which hit Sri Lanka. It is reported some of the waves were about as high as 40-60 feet.

When comparing with the West and North the East is very badly damaged. Because when the Tsunami & Tidal waves hit Sri Lanka most of the people in Sri Lankan were asleep. Another reason for the high number of deaths is because the day before this catastrophe was Christmas day, and costal areas are populated with the Christians; normally there would be plenty of entertainment on Christmas day until late night, and people would have been asleep.

The current death rate is around 30 000, which has been calculated by the dead bodies. But some unofficial reports say that death rate would be more than 35 000. We should not forget that there plenty of people are still reported missing, including fishermen who went for fishing in the sea, mostly from the eastern cost of Sri Lanka.

The roads are pretty damaged and are blocked with the ruins of the destruction. The roads are still not cleared in some areas. The Southern roads are reported to be partially open by the time I’m writing this. The railway tracks are blocked with fallen trees or ruins of the destruction. Some parts are still not accessible so aid has to be taken by sea or air. The worst thing is the government could only deploy 3 helicopters for rescue operations, each in South, East and Northeast parts of Sri Lanka.

The sea water seems to be rising at times in the costal areas but mostly it keeps decreasing. Most of the time we hear news of evacuation and even my office was closed (we were there only around 1hr) as we are situated near the Colombo Harbor/Port. The situation over here is pretty bad and there are footages which cannot be viewed or shown in TV.

Most of the hotels in the costal area are devastated by this catastrophe. Most of the hotels seem to be closed. There was news that around 200 foreign people (tourists and travelers) are dead out of which 150 are people who had traveled to the Yala National Park according to a local news paper. Another 50 more casualties are reported around the country. And also there are reports that more than 200 people are injured but none of them are seriously injured, which is good news. But one news channel said there are unconfirmed reports that around 400 people are dead well I am too not sure of it but I thought I should mention it.

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Beach near the Sea

Devastaion in Sri Lanka - part2

The foreign citizens were safely evacuated and moved to Colombo, the Airport and to other safe places. Some parts of Colombo were devastated due to the high rising waves. Most of the travel and tour operators had brought the travelers to the hotels in Colombo or to the International Airport. There some reports most of the travelers have already flew out of the country. All the tourist areas are devastated and its difficult to find a trace of some of those places in the Southern, Northwestern and Eastern Areas….

The badly suffered places are without electricity as the entire system has to be rebuilt. And also there is a lack of safe drinking water. But necessary food is being provided by all sorts of ways especially by the people. As the hospital had suffered baldy there is a lack of facilities to treat the injured and I should mention that there are shortages of medicines which are essential. Necessary steps had been taken to provide the above motioned to the people of these areas.

The people of Sri Lankan are doing their best to help their fellow citizen by providing all sorts of aid and relief which is not enough at this moment. We are currently expecting some aid from foreign nations. Some of them are on the way and most of them are in money, in millions, which is the only good news for Sri Lanka at this moment.

If you want to travel to Sri Lanka the only safe place and also least effected, when comparing with the others, would be upper parts of the country (up country) and Colombo. There was a mild earthquake in the up-country which didn’t bring much damage. But the news went under the carpet with the big disaster in the costal area. All the main tourist attractions are devastated or severely damaged, including Mount Lavinia which is the main beach in the Colombo District and a main tourist attraction. And also the costal areas, which are quite far from the main road which leads to the Airport was also devastated. Most of the other tourist attractions are inaccessible right at this moment due to the bad conditions of the roads or the roads are blocked with the ruins.

The weather will be another issue which plays a major role in the rescue operation. Yesterday there were 5hrs of rain which halted the rescue operations and also brought more pain to the people. Even we are not sure what will happen tomorrow. Most of the times we are even mislead by wrong information or rumors.

The worst possible incident to hit Sri Lanka in a few days time is the spread of waterborne diseases due to bad, contaminated or unsafe drinking water. There are fears that an epidemic will break out in Sri Lanka which will bring about more deaths in the future. The government and other institutions are doing their best to stop this. But the effort is not enough and more resources are required at this moment.

If you are planning to visit Sri Lanka in the near future it would be advisable to reconsider your plans especially if you are coming with your children. It would be really nice if you contact your state offices, foreign state offices and embassies and other respective institution before leaving for Sri Lanka. And also mind that you have to depend on your selves for your own safety. Please reconsider your plans if you are planning to come to Sri Lanka right now. I am not even sure how the situation will shape up in the coming few months. Pls do keep in touch with me for true and unbiased updates.

All the way from Sri Lanka
Rupesh

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Check my album about the disater in Sri Lanka. I hope u will understand the true situation by looking at them....

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Beach in the South

Latest news on the devastation - No1

01. The current no of people lost there lives are around 31 000 according to the no of bodies found.

02. The no of people who are missing has decreased to about 3500 right now. People who got injured has risen to around 12 000.

03. Around 80 000 homes are destroyed and 25 000 homes are damaged.

04. The no of children who are displaced is around 11 000 and around 201 schools have been destroyed.

05. Around 850 000 people are displaced and they have taken refuge in around 800 centers including schools, churches, temples etc.

06. The highest number of deaths occurred in Ampara (East) that's around 10 000 and in Colombo its around 35.

07. Currently most of the foreign nationals are at the BMICH (Colombo-7) their respective embassies have taken action to provide all the necessary measures to contact them and their relatives….

08. The immigration, airlines and the respective embassies are trying to help the tourists who have lost passports, tickets and other relevant documents.

09. The biggest problem is now is to get the food and medicines to the effected areas as the roads are still in a bad condition cannot use for transportation purpose.

10. Not even single animal in the Yala Park had died due to the Tsunami. The rangers say the animals some how knew about the disaster and fled to safer places.

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In the East of Sri Lanka

Latest news on the devastation - No2

11. The most urgent things are now is medicines and medical equipments (eg: injections) and so on……

12. The monsoon period as arrived in Sri Lanka which brings rainfalls mainly to Sri Lanka. The metrological department has told there will lots of rainfalls in the coming days.

13. All the aid delivery in the parts of North and East are come to a halt due to the rain and places started flooding.

14. Aid delivery is going well in the South, West, and Southeast. But there are lots of complains about delivering aid and other necessary facilities to the East, North and Northeast.

15. The foreign nationals who are staying currently in BMICH are looking for their missing loved ones or waiting until their loved ones get cure from the injuries which will allow them take long journey back home.

16. Buddhist statues around the country did not suffer any damages due to Tsunami this news was published in the Daily News.

17. The only fear we have is spread of diseases or break out of an epidemic.

18. Some analysis say that it will take 5-10 years rebuild the country up to this point.

19. Dec 31st has been declared as the national mourning day religious observances were held in all languages for all religions. The tourists died due to catastrophe were specially remembered in the ceremony.

20. In one refuge camp there were reports that 2 people had got “Chicken Pox “(measles) and in other camp there are diseases spreading like “sore throat” and “cough” for most of the people in the refugee camp due to the bad drinking water.

21. There are new reports saying that the Galle Fort wall near there provincial council had partially broken and the sea water came inside the fortress by this way.

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Devastated City

Hospital Telephone No

I am including these telephone numbers for the benefit of who ever has lost contact with their loved ones and friends. Most phones seem to be busy so please don't loose hope, keep on trying until you get connected. I hope you can find any information that can lead to their location or some information about them.

Country Code no: 94-11
Then 2 digits are district code eg: 63 for Ampara
Last 7 numbers are hospital no eg: 2222235 for Ampara
If your dailing for Ampara the no is: 94 11 63 2222235
Note: There is no need of district code for Colombo.

Ampara Hospital - 94 11 63 2222235
Batticaloa Hospital - 94 11 65 2222261
Colombo National Hospital - 94 11 2694731 or 94 11 2691111
Galle Hospital -94 11 91 2232276
Gampaha Hospital - 94 11 33 2222399
Jaffna Hospital - 94 11 21 2222833
Kalmunai Hospital - 94 11 67 2229222
Kalubowila Hospital - 94 11 2822262
Kalutara Hospital - 94 11 34 2222661
Matara Hospital - 94 11 41 2222223
Negombo Hospital - 94 11 31 2222261
Panadura Hospital - 94 11 38 2232261-2
Trincomalee Hospital - 94 11 26 2222261
Vavuniya Hospital - 94 11 24 2222261

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Galle Main Bus Stand

National Mourning Day

The national morning was held 31st December. There were special ceremonies were held to remember the people who lost their lives in the catastrophe. The ceremony which was organized by the government was chaired by allsorts of religions, people and political parties. Religious observances were held in all religions and in all languages. The foreign nationals who lost their lives in the disaster were specially remembered in the ceremony.

Special ceremonies even held at the churches, temples and religious places. Everyone was asked to light a candle or oil lamp at their door steps on 31st night. There were no fire crackers or fire works which is normal starts at 11.30 pm and continues until 1am. I did not hear any sound of a single fire cracker. The night was a silent one but was a long one.

Very Latest on Sri Lanka

There was a fear that epidemic might break in Sri Lanka but it did not happen. Thanks to all the medical people here and the entire foreign medicals teams in the island. Spread of diseases is under total control. The only sad news here is the government estimates that 40 000 people who have died in this catastrophe. Because every day there are hundred of bodies found in the rubles and other damaged sites and even in the canals too.

There was a person who had survived 13 days after he was rescued from rubles. This happened in the South of the country he is getting well in the Hospital. The foreign people’s bodies which could not be identified are taken DNA samples to match with their relatives to ensure their identities

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Cities of toursit attractions

Few words about Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is situated in the Indian Ocean and South of the Indian sub continent. The Sri Lanka is a really a paradise for the travelers it is formally known as Ceylon . Its tropical a island, and in some season you get plenty of rain due to monsoon rain apart from those season there is plenty of sun shine.

The Sri Lanka has a history of more than 2500 years and way back. From the ancient time it has been known for its species, gems and ivory. Now it is popular for the tourism and unfortunately the ethnic crisis going on the North and some parts of East. Don?t hesitate there is a peace process going in the country and there is no problem for travelers at all. Some tourists do take the challenge to go to the troubled areas too.

The people in Sri Lanka are really friendly and they'll be always ready to help u in any moments. The English Literacy is around 3% but still the people can communicate in English, and if you are traveler don't worry about communicating; the people can still understand you and fulfill your needs.

The tourism industry is the 3rd largest industry in for the country and brings a good income. There around 150 000 men and women directly or indirectly associated with the tourism industry. There are pretty good classic hotels built in the 18th centaury and newly built hotels as been reconditioned and refurbished to provide the ultimate luxury for those who stay.

The travelers normally would prefer go to South and West cost of the country for the beaches and sun, most of the travelers avoid going to North and East. But the situation has changed in the East plenty of people do travel over there. You will find the most exotic beaches in these areas because they are not used for more than a decade due to war. The average temperature is 30' C in the costal area. The ruins of ancient buildings and tanks built by our ancestors are situated in the Northern Central of the country.

But Trincomale in Northeast is really felt ok to travels by the travelers for its beaches and tiny islands. But if you're coming from tropical country the perfect gateway is the hill country (up country). The temperature is lower (less than 15' C) and the hills covered in green either by tea leaves or small rain forest. In the hill county the Temple of Tooth and its Perahara in Kandy , are the symbol of up country.

The Sri Lanka was ruled by Portuguese, Dutch and English from 15th centaury to 1948. There are still few good structures and ruins scattered around the country remembering their stay in the country. But unfortunately you can go only to Galle Fort and the Light House, where both of them had been built by Dutch in Galle . And also you can see the colonial style houses and building are scattered around island. Some of them are preserved by the state and mostly owned and used by the individuals; they are really beautiful for their magnificent architecture.

Every one likes to travel to Sri Lanka because everybody finds it's a really cheap place to go for holidays. The food and transportation are really cheap when u compare with the other countries. But the major reason is people are friendly and it is safe for travelers (even for a single woman traveling alone). These are the reason why Sri Lanka became the dream destination.

I think the information I gave about Sri Lanka is more than enough. So, next time if your planning to travel why don't u choose Sri Lanka as your destination.

On Behave of every Sri Lankan:
"You are always welcome to the paradise island for Sun, Culture, Heritage, Tea and for the lovely Beaches."

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Guess Who?

About Me

18-Aug-04
Hi Everyone,

I am a Sri Lankan and I reside in Colombo the metropolitan capital of Sri Lanka.

I following a IT degree and currently doing my trainning in a leading Software Company here.

I joined to VT.com because to provide much information to the people who are willing to travel to Sri Lanka the paradise island. I think every one always like to get some info from a native guy for a successful journey or holiday.

Although I am quite busy with my work & studies, I'll try to help the people who need info abt Sri Lanka, when ever I can and in the best possible way.

I think this is one way of paying back something to my country which has done a lot to me. And to the fellow citizen who are directly and indirectly involved in the tourist industry.

I am not a person who travels often but I like to do so. And there are various things which do make impact to my wishes.

If u need any information abt Sri Lanka, mail me or post a message and I will do my best to answer it.
Bye

Regards
Rupesh Selvaraj

Thank you for visting my web page and do come again to see the latest updates. Bye!