A very sad day on 26th December 2004, sitting with friends and having a jolly nice drinking time when my mobile rang in the mid afternoon (no radio nor Tv there so one knew), told all that were there, checked my bill and went home to look at the news.

It took me, as I was in so much shock, reading, watching the tv, 53 days later to visit and to photograph Khao Lak, as I was only there in October 2004, the very same places that I visited then, with a blue sky and sunny day.

February 16th 2005

Then 6 months later also on this Gallery and 1 year later.

Also a gallery from Aceh this year from Ron.

Added 2 Years Later.

Now 10 years on, so, please revisit with me the places that I photographed. Many are of Panoramic images, if you wish to see larger photos, please click the Original at the bottom of the photo. Files as not mega larger btw.

http://www.pbase.com/win13/khao_lak

Win

A shocking reminder of the power of nature.

May I also add this link, it's a diary of a photographer that was on holiday there when the tsunami stuck, it has some pictures included also.

http://www.kleptography.com/gallery-tsunami.htm

i was on Patong beach myself just 3 months before that terrible event occurred . . .

RIP 10 years on to those lovely people.

Lived up the hill overlooking Ban Dong Kam. Had a horrendous hangover

on the 26th morning. A beaut of a day it was too. Saw it all happen...shot

some video...couldn't feed it cause no power for me uplink & dead batteries.

When the water receeded only groans & screams were heard in between

the deafening sound of silence.

At 1400 hours 26 Dec volunteered for SAR.

Two weeks later I was in Aceh...all over it actually. Nasty. Me rash

finally went away mid March. I don't wanna return to those days folks.

Me & the missus were just dating when the Boxing Day Waves hit

and we lost a lotta friends in a very short period of time. Maybe we'll

return this year for the 10th anniversary...maybe we won't. Tear jerker

and all that stuff makes decisions quite difficult.

My very first trip to Thailand, started a couple of days after the Tsunami, although I had never planned to head to the west coast, it was shockingly sad news...

Visiting Khoa Lak and north of there, this past March I visited the Museum and various sites which are hauntingly still there and nothing has been touched..

One of a number of resorts, which were never rebuilt... sometimes a case of the owners never been found

Thank you to all that have posted on this thread.

Win

I had spend 2002-2003 high season in Phuket and was living in Singapore at the time. When the tsunami came, my company called to me and asked me to go to Phuket to do a small aid project giving emergency mobile phones to the hospitals so that the patients could call home, volunteering groups etc.

http://oilinki.com/blog/tsunami-2004-phuket-khao-lak-and-phi-phi-islands

From todays event at Patong, Phuket.

Tsunami monument, Kamala, Phuket