One question I am consistantly asked at the moment is what is it like living in Colombo in the aftermath of the Tsunami. Well the short answer is - exactly the same as before the Tsunami hit.
To clarify that a bit I would say that you could be living and working and Colombo and if you chose to you could be completely unaware of the problems Sri Lanka is having. The shops are open as normal and stocked as normal. The hotels, bars and restaurants are open as normal. Hey, pizza hut still delivers. The only really visible signs are the red cross drop off points, the white flags flying from buildings and vehicles (white and not black is the buddist colour for mourning) and the sri lanka flag flying at half mast.
Last night we went out to Cheers, an English style pub in Colombo (situated on the bottom level of the Colombo Plaza Hotel) where we met Paul Bishop the CEO (sorry if I got your title wrong Paul) for the three Martin Emprex (the company I work for) factories in Sri Lanka of the Crystal Martin Group. He had just got back from our Koggala factory (Koggala is about 10Km east of Galle in southern Sri Lanka). His report on the situation was very positive. Yes, we have lost a few employees and several have been made homeless but we have got supplies through to them and are providing money and assistance to get back on their feet. The road down to Galle is navigable and in fact with the lack of traffic the journey takes approximately the same time as it did before the disaster. However, rail travel is only possible for about 40Km south of Colombo on the main line to Galle.
We then moved on to my favorite bar in Colombo, the Cricket Club Cafe. This has been packed all week and Friday night was no exception. It is a favorite hangout of ex-pats and well to do Sri Lankans alike. Although the conversations enevitably center around the situation regarding the Tsunami people are eating, drinking and making merry as normal. Life must go on and although we are all doing what we can to help probably the best we, as ex-pats, can do is continue to work as before to ensure our companies continue to provide jobs to local people and bring much needed revenue into the country.
In my opinion if you were visiting the cultural triangle or any inland destinations in Sri Lanka, or Colombo for that matter, I wouldn't even consider cancelling your holiday. Obviously beach holidays are another matter. Although there are hotels on the coast open many are not and I have no first hand experience about exactly what the situation is in the main tourist areas for beach holidays mainly in the west and south of the island. The cultural triangle is a fantastic experience. See My Sri Lanka for some more information.
We have no reports of disease out of the ordinary at the moment. There is always the threat of malaria, dengee etc. in any tropical country so always make sure you take your doctors advice about injections etc. before travelling.
One poster asked about continuing to set up business in Sri Lanka and again I see no reason not to continue. Sri Lanka appears to be receiving a lot of aid to get things up and running again and certainly our garment manufacturing business is continuing as normal. The biggest worry is always the situation with the Tamil Tigers and currently this appears to be no better nor worse than in the 12 months I have lived in Sri Lanka.
However, these are my views and I suggest you check with both your own government and the Sri Lanka tourist board before travelling to Sri Lanka.