Tsunami Survivors

On Saturday morning I flew to Phuket. I was picked up at the airport by my tour guide Sunthorn Thongprasert. On the way to Phang Nga he told me about the tsunami that happened in December 2004. Phang Nga was the hardest hit province in Thailand of the 5,395 people who died in Thailand 4,225 were in this province. Khun Sunthorn lost his fiancée, they were to be married the following May. He wasn’t able to find her remains until a year later when they were identified through DNA testing. There is still a significant number of people that have not been identified and the Thai government is still taking good care of the remains which have all been DNA tested in case there can be a match in the future.

Our first stop after lunch was the fishing village of Baan Nam Khem. This village is on a cape that sticks out into the sea and was one of the hardest hit areas. We first stopped at a lot in town where there are two large fishing boats sitting in a dry lot. The first picture below is of the Krisana Sakorn, since the tsunami it has been renamed The Blue Angel. On the day of the tsunami it was sitting at the dock with the engine running because it was about to go to sea. There was one Burmese sailor on board and when he saw the wave coming he tried to head out to sea. Instead the 59 ton, 73 foot long boat traveled over a kilometer into the middle of the village. Along the way a man was able to grab hold of one of the tires on the side of the boat while holding his three year old daughter with the other arm saving them both. This boat did not destroy a single house or take a single life before coming to rest in this lot. Right next to The Blue Angel in the same lot is the Sri Samut, now known as The Demon. On the day the tsunami struck this red fishing boat was also at a dock and didn’t have anyone aboard. As the tsunami carried it inland it destroyed houses and cars and is estimated to have killed over one hundred people. It destroyed more lives and property than any other boat on that day. It has been moved to this lot from its original location in town and the Thai government has purchased both boats as a permanent memorial. We visited the pier and took a small boat over to an island that lies just off the coast. The second picture below is of some of the small fishing boats that local fisherman still use. There are also many larger fishing boats and a large boat that is used to mine tin. This area used to be a tin mining area but now the boat travels to Indonesia. We walked down to a shop that is run by some tsunami survivors. I bought a pearl bracelet and ring from a lady and her husband showed me around the memorial museum. He was on a fishing boat when the tsunami hit. As his boat was swept inland he was able to pull several people aboard, saving their lives. His wife and one year old daughter were swept into the sea and were found several hours later and rescued. Their four year old son was lost. At another shop I bought a nice purse from a lady who also lost her son to the tsunami and her husband hasn’t been right since that day. We walked through the memorial. The names of the people who were lost are inscribed mostly in Thai but there are several European names and some have pictures. It is hard to even imagine what happened that day.

After we left Baan Nam Khem we went to a local market were Khun Sunthorn insisted I try Rotee (I don’t know if that is spelled correctly) which is a desert that is made by frying a thin layer of pastry with an egg mixture and in this case bananas wrapped inside. After frying it is covered in sweetened condensed milk and sugar. The first picture below is a Rotee vendor. These folks are Muslim. There is a significant Muslim population in this part of Thailand. Khun Sunthorn grew up Buddhist; in fact 14 years ago his father became a monk. His fiancée was Muslim and after she was killed in the tsunami her parents asked if he would like to become their son. He was so moved by this offer that he accepted and converted to the Muslim faith. Now he has two sets of parents. Our next stop was at a spot that is quite a ways inland in Khao Lak where a huge police boat came to rest after the tsunami. This boat was on patrol that day and there were several police officers on board all of them survived except one who fell overboard. The second picture below is of this boat. Then we stopped at another market where Khun Sunthorn bought several kinds of fruit for me to try. I am starting to feel like Anthony Bourdain from No Reservations on the Travel Channel. The last picture is of the busy market.