I woke up early yesterday so I could say goodbye to Thushanti, Doshi, Shama, Mama, and all of the other friends I met in Unawatuna. Over the past 3 days, we played volleyball together, danced together, cooked together...just had a great time together. They all responded, "Goodbye, brother." I can't wait to go back and see familiar faces.

We didn't have to be in Colombo until midnight, so we took our time driving up the coast.

We first stopped to visit the train site, where 1800 people died from the tsunami. As we toured the area, a lady began conversing with Senaka and me (in Sinhala). I couldn't understand a word of what she was saying, but I didn't need to: Her facial expressions and body language and gestures and tears said it all. She went into her house and then returned a minute later with a family portrait, pointing to the people she lost (everyone but herself). I felt so helpless.

We went from the train site to Niranjala and Mihiri's housing project. They have arranged for 1500 homes to be built for tsunami victims. I walked around the new neighborhood, chatting with the workers and taking pictures to show Niranjala and Mihiri the progress.

We drove into Colombo just in time to park and watch the sun set from the Galle Face Park - a big, happening grassy area (like Venice Beach). After a very nice dinner, Kyle and I said our last goodbyes (to Senaka and Gamini) and got on the plane.

Now I'm back in Bangkok, back to high speed internet. I don't think I've ever spent so much time at a computer in one sitting. I've uploaded almost twice as many pictures than Vietnam. At this rate, I'll need days to do China.

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