Phuket finally!
Such is the mystique, allure and reputation of the place that I had made it my choice as retirement abode just based on the pictures in the glossy mags alone. But that was washed out by the tsunami of 2004, which I avoided thanks to the monsoon alert my geog teacher friend gave me.
8 yrs later I finally went there with my mum. On the way to the return flight to Singpore via Phuket Airport T2 (a temp terminal with better furnished interiors than the Indonesian airports I've been to), the friendly Mr Preecha from Holiday Republic told me many nuggets of life in Phuket, starting with information about the tsunami.
1) the Novotel Phuket resort was not affected (good to know after seeing signs for evacuation and cutesy looking map on the back of the door that seems more like a child's guide to exploring the resort).
2) the waves devastated patong, ko phi phi (flat land) and Khao Lak.At Patong, it reached 150m inland, and reached 20m high.
3) the patong stretch is entirely new... I am not sure if it has learnt its lesson though. Well I was not on the lookout for warning signs and alert systems. Even if there are, they would be obscured by the weaponry of assault on the senses posed by the glittery Thai assorted periphernalia of bikinis, silk flowy pants and seafood with seawater still giving the dead fishes a shiny glint off the afternoon sun. The endless rows of shops that run parallel to the traffic-jammed road, just 10m thereof away from the beach, could hardly prove to be solid arnament against the crashing waves.
4) that a BMW costs USD15k there, but most prefer Toyota and Nissan which have factories in Thailand. The former especially was sighted everywhile. Just look around you when you are trapped in one of the ubiquitous traffic jams (not just limited to Patong!) . Japanese cars are favoured as the have service centres here and spares are easier to obtain. Even a car tyre for European makes is difficult to get.
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