Banda Aceh: When a tsunami engulfed Indonesia's Aceh a decade ago, it not only killed tens of thousands of people but also wiped the slate clean in the conflict-racked, poverty-stricken province and paved the way for peace.

The province on the northern tip of Sumatra island was ill-prepared,disaster struck in ruins, mired in poverty and with barely any functioning infrastructure after almost three decades of conflict. Rebels in Aceh had spent years fighting against the central government for an independent state, a conflict that left at least 15,000 people dead, and a heavy military presence kept the area cut off from the outside world.