Phuket 3 Years Later…

On December 26^th 2004 I was having Dim Sum with some friends at the Peninsula in Bangkok. My friend is late, he comes down 10 min. later says for some reason all of the elevators are dead and he had to walk down 20+ floors. He asked me if the windows down in the lobby shuddered. He said he thought there must have been huge gust of wind or something.

None of us new anything had happened. By the time we were done eating we could people crowded around some televisions watching cnn. My buddy David was staying in Phi Phi, I hope he was okay.

A few days later I get a call from David, he’s catching the next military transport into Bangkok. He arrived bruised, battered and thankful to be alive. He says he’s about to jump in the shower when he hears people screaming and see water seeping in under the door. As he grabs his shorts he notices the water is already waist high and is pouring into the window. He’s able to scramble out. There are some people who’ve scrambled up some rocks and help him up. They watch in horror as people are falling and disappearing underneath the water. I’m not going to try to describe his ordeal as it’s just to much to put down.

It’s been a while since I’ve traveled to Phuket. Phuket looks to be back on its feet. I was told by locals that tourism is still down by at least 50%. The only way I can tell anything has happened here are the random Tsunami evacuation signs.

I’m stayed at the Mom Tri’s Boat House on Kata beach. I was speaking to the staff and they said that this are didn’t get hit by large surges. That being said the water level did rise about 20 feet. If you look at this picture of the resort the water was up to the roof of the first floor. You can see that the resort is at least 10 feet higher then the beach.

If you get the chance to head to Thailand and are looking for some beach time while training I suggest you head to Phuket. I think there are better beached else where in Thailand, but I think if your looking to train , fight, relax or party I think Phuket is pretty hard to beat.