Tsunami: the aftermath

[thalenoi]

lazyphil said:

I've already informed the Mrs ghosts dont exist ...and all will be ok in the south for a holiday, shes not convinced by my wisdom

 

I just asked the gf if we would go to Phuket next month???

 

She: because not expensive???

 

Me:Can we just go?

 

She:yes

 

But Ko Phi Phi, No

 

Me:Why?

 

She: everything kaput

 

She has a point there, but Phi Phi without the bungalows would be back to nature, as it was 50 years ago....

[kamui]

From Thaivisa:

 

Airlines see holiday bookings drop

 

BANGKOK : Cancellation numbers are swelling on flights from Europe and Asia as tourists scramble to avoid tsunami-devastated southern Thailand.

 

With Sunday's catastrophic Asian earthquake and the resulting devastation still fresh in their minds, several thousand international travelers are scrapping their trips to southern Thailand during the traditional peak season.

 

Between Christmas and New Year thousands of mainly Western tourists normally descend daily on the resort island pearl of Phuket, which was slammed along with several other popular beach resorts by the deadly waves.

 

"Incoming passengers at Phuket have dropped up to 40 percent since the tsunami lashed us," Chaisak Angkasuwan, the director general of Thailand's department of aviation, told AFP.

 

Thailand's prime resort destination saw more than 2.75 million foreign visitors last year.

 

Orient Thai Airlines, which operates 12 direct flights a week to Phuket from Hong Kong and South Korea, is being hit hard, the company's founder and president acknowledged.

 

"All passengers from overseas in Hong Kong and South Korea have totally cancelled for the next month," said Udom Tantiprasongchai. (ghosts? :

 

"We are the airline that flies most passengers into Phuket and now even on our low-cost airline, One-Two-Go, flights to Phuket have reported lower domestic passengers."

 

The losses will top 100 million baht (2.6 million dollars) over one month, Udom said.

 

Flagship carrier Thai Airways International reportedly expects half of its inbound passengers to cancel flights this holiday week, prompting losses of 270 million baht (6.9 million dollars).

 

"The cancellations are expected to come mainly from tourists in Japan," president Kanok Abhiradee was quoted as saying in The Nation. The newspaper said similar losses from Europe were expected.

 

Thai Airways executives could not be reached for comment.

 

Japan Airlines, which flies some 1,500 people per day from Japan to Thailand, said it expects 20 percent of bookings to be scrapped.

 

"Half of our passengers continue on to Phuket but some of them are changing their plans," said regional manager Iwasaki Seiichi.

 

Wolfgang Schmidt, the general manager in Bangkok for Lufthansa, said: "We have seen some cancellations, of course, and some charter flights have been cancelled."

 

Not all incoming markets have been severely affected.

 

United Airlines daily jumbo jet flights into Bangkok from the United States are still virtually full during the holiday season, said the carrier's general manager in Thailand, Warren Gerig.

 

He acknowledged several travelers were likely trading in their beach holidays on Phuket, Krabi or Phang Nga -- the provinces worst-hit by the disaster -- for vacations in northern Thailand's mountains or on beach resorts on the eastern coast, such as Koh Samui or Hua Hin.

 

These were unaffected by the tsunamis.

 

Thailand reeled in 10 million foreign tourists last year, generating six percent of the nation's GDP. It aims to double arrivals to 20 million by 2008.

 

- AFP 2004-12-30

[SiamIAm]

"Incoming passengers at Phuket have dropped up to 40 percent since the tsunami lashed us," Chaisak Angkasuwan, the director general of Thailand's department of aviation, told AFP.

 

 

 

Only 40%?!? Not too bad when you think about it. I thought that number would be much higher...

[Guest]

Many are going there only to find lost friends and family. They are not tourists. They are going there out of nessessity.

 

HT

[kamui]

There was some discussion about ghosts, it seems that the ghosts already arrived:

 

 

Ghosts stalk Thai tsunami survivors

By Tony Cheng

BBC News, Phuket

 

Lek looks nervously at the Patong sea shore as he describes the passengers who climbed into his tuk tuk minivan late at night on 6 January.

 

"Go to Kata Beach", the seven foreign tourists told him, after agreeing on a 200 baht fee.

He drove a while, but then felt numb all over his body.

Looking around he saw the cab was empty. He had had what he thinks was an encounter with the ghosts that many say are haunting the beaches and resorts on Thailand's Andaman coast.

 

And the religious charms he wears around his neck are not helping him overcome his fears.

"I can't get over this. I'm going to have to get a new job. I have a daughter to support, but I'm too scared to go out driving at night," he said.

 

Lek's experiences are by no means unique.

 

Other apparitions which have been reported include a foreign woman, whose screams echo through the night from the wreckage of a hotel that was particularly badly hit.

 

A security guard on the site has already left his job because he could not bear it anymore.

 

In Khao Lak, a local family say their telephone constantly rings through the day and night. When answered, the voices of friends and relatives cry out to be rescued from the flames of the crematorium.

 

Such reports, according to psychologist Dr Wanlop Piyamanutham, are signs of post traumatic stress disorder.

He pointed to the fact that many stories started to appear about 10 days after the wave struck.

 

That was when the real horror of the loss and devastation hit people, he says. Now it is spreading beyond those immediately affected.

"With all of the pictures on the television, and everyone talking about the disaster, it affected many more people, who have reported seeing ghosts and smelling corpses," he said.

 

And Dr Wanlop has an explanation for why such a large number of "foreign" ghosts have been seen.

"Foreigners make a big impression on Thais," he said.

"They're physically imposing, and often seem rich and powerful. If people like that die in terrible circumstances, it's not surprising they should come back in people's minds as ghosts, especially when they have so far to get home."

 

Peace of mind

 

That might provide a logical explanation, but it does not provide much comfort.

For that, many Thais have turned to Buddhism, the majority religion in the country.

 

Although superstitious beliefs are common in Thailand, with many houses incorporating a spirit house to appease local ghosts, Buddhist scripture has guidance on dealing with the supernatural, much of which is a remnant of previous animist religious practices which pre-date the arrival of Buddhism.

 

Local folk beliefs have given monks the power to dispel troubled spirits, and many are prepared to provide "protection" if it is needed.

"We can do nothing to ward off the spirits", says the venerable Bhikkhu Sugandha, "but if it helps make people feel more comfortable, we can be around to comfort them."

 

He believes that in a period of crisis, monks can provide a very useful counselling service.

"At such times religion is very important because there is nothing else. The service the monks provide is just to listen, to be there, and to let them know that there is someone more grounded to listen."

 

Other religions are offering more direct help, and Patong beach has seen several "exorcisms" performed by Chinese spiritualists in the last few weeks.

 

In one, white robed monks from the Pu Ta Gong sect chanted prayers and offered sacrifices of food to the spirits.

 

Special offerings of pizza were included for foreign 'spirits', and paper clothes and money were burned to help in the passage to the after world.

 

As clouds of incense drifted down the white sand and over the calm blue waters, the troubled spirits of the dead and missing were urged to return home, for the sake of the peace of mind of the living.

[Guest]

 

 

 

As I said earlier, I would like to come and spend my money to help the Thai economy but I now skip Thailand since the gov't has decided to not allow me to enjoy the nightlife anymore.

 

I keep very busy during the day, then relax into the early evening before going out. I find no reason to go out if the nightlife closes down at 12 or 1am and I am forced to carry my passport around while drinking.

 

It's their country, they make the rules....I found other countries to spend my money in.

[chuckwoww]

Some amazing photos just found...

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002188746_knillphoto24m.html

[Nervous_Dog]

amazing pics!

[dean]

I just heard on the Fox new channel that an earthquake of 8.2 hit Indonesia (near the area of the Dec. 26 earthquake) about midnight, Tuesday, March 29. They are warning that the conditions could cause another Tsunami. At least the warning is getting out this time. If it occurs, it will hit in the next hour.

[dean]

Its been an hour and a half and so far, no tsunami. After 3 hours, any potential danger will be over. It looks pretty good for the area, in that case.