En route to the hotel we stopped at a Tsunami Memorial, one of four in the city, where more than 40,000 unknown Tsunami victims are buried in a mass grave. The four memorials together are the final resting place for more than 100,000 bodies. From what I have read, the survivors mourn at the mass grave closest to where they believe their lost loved ones to have been when the tragedy struck.
We also visited the huge fishing boat which washed 4 km inland to land on a house. They left the boat there and have turned it into a memorial as well. The plaque said that the boat saved 59 lives. It is amazing to see...and a bit haunting.
Our hotel (30 min from the coast) has a photo in its lobby of a huge boat in its parking lot! I took a picture of the picture- it is also attached.
The stories and sights like this go on and on.
This city lost 61,000 people on that day. We were in Tanzania where 10 lives were taken and I remember it like it was yesterday. Being here now and seeing these things...and as importantly, seeing the resilience of the survivors, is a stark reminder that even my worst day isn't likely to be as bad as this.
We are heading to Palau Weh fairly early in the morning. We will stay in a stilted bungalow hovering over crystal clear waters filled with exotic sea life. We can not wait!
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Wow, Pooh and Jane are agog over all the stories and photos! Pooh says Slippery slope - scary, but she loves the monkeys - are some of them blond? Keep safe and have fun, lots of love from Pooh and Baba
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