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Thai Tital wave in Phuket


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Something dosent look quite right in those photos. Looks more like China then Thailand. Not quite sure they are from the tsunami. As dramatic as the photos are, I find it hard to believe that a friend of a friend took them.

 

Surely they would have been displayed worldwide and the author given proper credit.

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Nine days on a floating tree!!

 

A man 20 washed into the Indian Ocean by the Tsunami was rescued by a cargo ship after nine days adrift on a tree.

 

The crew of the vessel heading to Malaysia found the man standing on the tree 160k west of Aceh .

 

The man very dehydrated and hungry told the crew he stayed alive by drinking rain water and clinging to the tree trunk.

 

More of these amazing survivals to come i think..and hope.

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update on Phuket:

 

the dead and wounded are taken care of, hospitals are back to normal, all wounded foreigners and many others have left Phuket for Bkk or their home country

 

trade in clothes is booming

 

 

Beaches:

 

Rawai: cleaning up almost finished, most hotels will open within this week

 

Nai Harn: Yacht Club closed

 

Ao Sane: some of the cheaper bugalowas are destroyed, most are inhabitable. Beer is available, water and coke not yet. The restaurant is being rebuilt.

 

Kata: hardly affected

 

Karon: mostly cleaned up. Hilton is open.

 

Patong: clean-up going on with help of the military (they are only here), looks still bad, the town is hardly affected, but the beach no fun

 

Kamala: a disaster zone. Only Bang Tao is worse. Heavy machinery 24 hours.

 

Surin: not affected. Full of tourists - the other beaches are rather quiet and accomodation there is available.

 

Bang Tao: worst, reminds a lot of Khao Lak (which does not exist anymore).

 

Nai Torn: not affected

 

Nai Yang: pretty much cleaned up, but fenced in

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after looking again at the pictures, i am also confused. it says they were taken in Thailand, but the temples look definitely not thai. i know they affected area relatively well (have been several times in Phuket, Khao Lak, Krabi, Trang), but i could also not locate them. maybe from another country?

or totally fabricated?

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Thousands from many faiths light candles, chant to mourn tsunami victims

 

ALISA TANG, Associated Press Writer

 

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

 

(01-05) 10:34 PST PHUKET, Thailand (AP) -- Under a gray sky patched with the pink of sunset, thousands of people in a soccer stadium lit candles and released paper lanterns that floated to the heavens Wednesday as Christians, Muslims and Buddhists mourned victims of the tsunami in this ravaged resort.

 

The ceremony was the first organized by Thai officials, who have mobilized thousands of volunteers to deal with the Dec. 26 disaster that killed more than 5,000 people in Thailand alone and nearly 150,000 across southern Asia.

 

Many came from the capital, Bangkok, about 430 miles north of Phuket, hoping to show solidarity -- and offering their wishes for peace. "I know these people are suffering so much, so I had to come to provide them my strength and moral support," said Pachongsak Padamasankh, an attorney from Bangkok.

 

It was a traditional Buddhist "merit-making" service, in which people pray for peace for the spirits of the dead. But many of those kneeling in rows on the soccer field -- facing the orange-robed monks in the stands -- were people of other faiths. "I came today so that those who have passed away may rest in peace," said Konee Bangtheh, 46, who teaches Islam in Phuket. "We are asking for a blessing from Allah."

 

The ceremony began at dusk, with the thousands in white -- the traditional color of mourning here. As darkness fell, mourners passed a flame from candle to candle. "Let this candle be a bright light for their spirits to rise to heaven and rest in peace," said Chaliew Bamrungsuk, 65, a retired social worker, just before she received the flame.

 

Within minutes, the stadium glowed with a soft yellow light. Paper lanterns, powered by hot air, were then released into the sky -- another ritual meant to lift the spirits of the dead. As the lanterns rose, they illuminated the darkness. The monks chanted and mourners wept. Songs about the uncertainty of life wafted over the loudspeakers. A giant torch burned on the edge of the field and smoke settled over the stands. Speaker after speaker tried to salve emotional wounds.

 

Among those offering condolences was Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula, who acknowledged that the nation was "damaged" but that "nature's disaster has united the people."

 

Among the mourners was Debbie Brophy, 39, from Dublin, Ireland, who has been living in Phuket for a year and half. Many of her children's friends died in the tsunami. "We feel so lucky that we have been left untouched," she said. But the ceremony also was meant to offer support for Brophy and the disaster's other survivors, giving them a chance to weep with their neighbors -- and to move on. "We'll never forget what happened," Brophy said. "But we do hope to reach closure."

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