Jaffna town

I had to go to the hospital for my third anti-rabies vaccination today. Jaffna hospital was very busy with lots of people waiting everywhere. Once I found the ‘anti-rabies’ room, again, everything was straightforward. The staff were surprised when I walked in, the doctor looked at my vaccination card and asked me where I was from and what had happened. Then he signed off the vaccination and I waited for the nurse. There was a family in the queue in front of me all being vaccinated and a couple of other people. While the nurse was preparing the jab I asked about where I should go to pay. After much discussion between the staff, the doctor told me that in Jaffna I don’t have to pay.


After the hospital I went for a walk around the market. Jaffna’s suffering during the civil war is still very clear. There are bombed out buildings all over the city and the whole place looks much poorer than other parts of Sri Lanka. This is the street between the hospital and the market. The blue flags are there because the President just visited and blue is the colour of his political party.