February 16th 2008. Arrived on the Bandaranaike Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is raining hard, we can see the lightning flashing through the air in the distance. It appears that the water drains cannot process all the water very well in Colombo.

The taxi driver makes clear that the government does not want to spend money on this problem. Especially in the poorer districts, it is all one big water puddle. Along the road there are regular soldiers armed with guns checking the neighborhood. The soldiers stand here because of the war with the Tamils.

On the way to our destination we also see some small businesses that separate waste. Not because they are committed to improve the environment, but more from poverty. In this way a lot of people can earn some extra money. They have never heard from soot filters here. The buses spread regularly black soot.

The farer we travel we see less traffic, just some buses overtake us regularly. At last we arrive on our destination, the Kallabongo Lake resort in Hikkaduwa. An oasis of rest.