A good Story about phuket- tsunami 2004

[dannyh2000uk]

As we approach the ten year anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami,

I want to tell the story of my experiences with Thai people and particularly of the Thai people on Phuket, in what was a period of time I will never forget, for obvious reasons.

Since those days, it seems Phuket is always taking a hammering on here.

On December 11th 2004 my family and I (four kids, including one in a wheelchair) arrived in Nai Yang for a week or so before travelling south to Libong and then Lanta.

The kids loved Nai Yang so much I agreed that for my youngest daughter’s birthday 29th December we would be back in Nai Yang.

My oldest daughter had been helping out a beach side restaurant delivering plates etc. (she was only 12,) and the kids were all treated beautifully by the Thais

The hotels were all booked up but I found a Thai lady who had a beach side house for rental, so I paid her about £200 up front and we were due back 28th December to stay for a week or so.

Off we set on our trip.

On Lanta the Tsunami Hit, we spent the night up a hill with Thai Villagers, them giving water/fruit and accommodation, all free, all no strings, all done with a smile.

On arriving back in Nai Yang 28th, and seeing the state of the place you can imagine the shock.

What I will never forget is Thai people running up when we arrived and some ladies openly crying when cuddling the kids, and the fact that the kids were fine.

I then walked down to the beach house I had rented (see pictures)

And prayed thank god my kids were not in there on the 26th.

But this is the bit I want to highlight, against the never ending bad Phuket stories.

The lady was sat there waiting for me, she said she knew we were due today, so she had waited. She gave me back every single cent, she apologised for the condition of the house, she stated she had organised rooms for us in nearby Nai Thon, she then gave me the Keys to her 4x4 and said I would need it for the kids.

I had use of the car until we left, and try as I might the lady would not take a penny.

Since those far off days my marriage came to an end and funny enough a business partner moved full-time out to Thailand so I have since spent many a long month out there, BKK, Isaan even good old Pattaya. And sure there are crooks around, but I will never forget the kindness of Thais when needed.

Edited October 16, 2014 by SeaVisionBurma

[bazza5335]

Bravo.....

[Aussieroaming]

Well the lady wouldn't take a penny..hopefully you pay forward one day when someone else needs a hand. Nice story and even better if it makes us all think about others more

[samuijimmy]

Nice to read a positive story on TV for a change, !

[innerspace]

I hear you. I was also on lanta, though a few days later drove to phuket on a honda dream to help look for a non surviving friend.

The community spirit, friendlyness and just all round togetherness was unbelievable.

I helped clean up and rebuild so many places, got all sorts offered to me as a result but that was not the reason I helped or the reason it was offered.

Want to see true human nature, take away everything. Want to see true kindness (<deleted> off naysayers), survive a tsunami in Thailand. Post tsunami was and always will be one of the greatest times of my life.

[Fatherfluffybottom]

Nice story mate, thats what the land of smiles is all about. Sadly, nowadays, its more the land of frowns :-(

[joecoolfrog]

Yes nice story , there are a lot of good honest Thai folk. Unfortunately the other side of the story is the monsters who stole a fair lump of the donated relief money and the developers who used the aftermath of the tragedy to steal land from people who had lived on it for decades.

Edited October 17, 2014 by joecoolfrog

[NamKangMan]

A nice story.

Sadly, Phuket, and it's Thai inhabitants, have changed a lot in the last 10 years.

[joecoolfrog]

I have been a regular visitor to Phuket since 2001 and yes it has very much changed for the worst. Were it not for the fact I have some friends resident there , I would have stopped going a few years back.

[robertson468]

A lovely story of humanity at its best and just to compliment it, my Thai Brother in law who lives on a plantation near Chumpohn, got all his friends together the following day, loaded up their pick ups with food, water, clothes, blankets etc and drove across to Phuket to offer what ever help they could. They said it was horrendous, but they felt it was their duty to go and help as much as these farmers could. Another bunch of lovely people to add to this positive story.

[Jimi007]

Nice story! It seems to happen after disasters. This Saturday is our 25th anniversary of the 7.1 earthquake here in Santa Cruz, California, where I've lived since 1974. The community really came together and helped each other out in that crisis. I was in Cambodia the day of the tsunami and I had a booked flight for Phuket the day after the tsunami. Obviously I couldn't go there. I finally arrived in Phuket in May 2005 and still have a house there. Things have really changed though over those years….. More so in Phuket than in Santa Cruz in many ways in a much shorter time and not for the better. I'm still waiting to see what happens this "high season."

[off road pat]

I love to read good story's about Thai People, there are so many great and nice people in Thailand. And it's so sad that a bunch of rotten apples can make the majority of them look like crooks.......

Of course, in my 20 plus years in Thailand I had also bad and good experiences.... but the good prevail on the bad ones.....I just learned some lessons from both. And made some long lasting great friendships....