Freemind diary of a local traveler: The Jaffna Peninsula

After Vavuniya, I decided to travel to Jaffna.

The trip to Jaffna was a little bit annoying because, even though the war finished more than 4 years ago, we had to go through 3 check in from Vavuniya to Jaffna District, that is less than 4 hours by bus.

Jaffna was a previous Dutch and British colony, and the colonial influence is still visible in some buildings.

The Dutch Fort

There is no that much to do or see in Jaffna District but I had to stay in the area for 5 days because I issued my Indian Visa overthere.

I thought it would have taken less time but Indian bureaucracy is very slow and actually I was lucky because usually in other districts ( Colombo and Kandy) it takes 1 week and they do not accept any exception or urgency.

Jaffna, like other previous war torn cities in Sri Lanka, is pretty quite. People want to live a simple and ordinary life, leaving behind the horror and destruction of the war. However, the military presence is still very strong and you can feel how uneasy and unpleasant is their presence overthere.

The Army and Navy people try to be nice with foreigners, trying to be gentle and funny.

Nallur Kandaswamy temple,

Once I was waiting for a ferry and a Navy officer offered me a cup of tea and a chair to be more comfortable while waiting. Obviously I refused and instead I sat in the waiting area with locals , and a old lady welcomed me with a big smile.

If you will be visiting the Pearl of the Indian Ocean for a short time, I would not recommend to travel up to the Jaffna peninsula because it takes too long and there are other more beautiful places to visit.
In any case I had good time up there, I met so many nice and interesting people except from a little disavventure me and a Norwegian guy had while visiting the Delft Island.

Jaffna Train Station

I had the chance to visit the train station that was badly destroyed during the war. Nowadays the rail station is under reconstruction and according to the rebuilders it will be finished by April, even though I have my doubts, seeing the damages and the works that were done up to December. To see the train station in that condition,( see picts below) had on me a weird effect, I am used to see houses destroyed but I never saw the effects of bombs. It is surrealistic, I imagined the scene, you are there, waiting for the train, when suddenly a huge explosion, able to create a pit of 1 meter deep in the roof, run over you...how dreadful and miserable is the war!

The roof of the rail station torn by a bomb

The explosion from the first floor

The wall riddled with bullets

However back to the Jaffna MUST, not related to the ruins , are the Hindu temples around the area, they are huge, the painting inside are breathtaking and all atmosphere with the smell of incense elevate you to a relaxing and positive state of mind...
There are few islands around the peninsula, I visit two of them. The nearest is Nainativu, it is around 30 minutes by ferry, and there are two nice temples, a Hindu and a Buddhist one.