January 02, 2005 Bangkok, Thailand
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From his account, the waves started in the morning. I had gone to the mall that day, and had lunch and read the paper at Au Bon Pain, and I didn’t hear anything. Then I went back to my apartment to play video games. When I left, I don’t know why the taxi driver didn’t try to ask where I was going when I told him to take me to the Southern Bus Terminal. After all, most of the buses would be headed into a disaster area.
Even more incredibly, I asked a uniformed guy where to buy a ticket to Phuket, and he helpfully pointed me to the appropriate counter, without mentioning the giant killer waves that wiped out the beach, which is the only place on Phuket a foreigner would want to go to. And most unbelievably of all was that the ticket guy sold me a ticket without saying a word.
Once the bus pulled out of the station, I got an SMS from a Thai friend saying I should not go to Phuket because of giant waves. I didn’t know what she was talking about. Then they turned on the TV, showing scenes of destruction. She called me and was hysterical and said I should get off the bus. But since it was a VIP bus, it doesn’t stop, and we were already on the highway. I had no idea how I would get home on my own. Plus, I figured she was overreacting, and there would only be a little damage. So I stayed on the bus.
One point that needs to be emphasized, is that Phuket, or any of the other places hit, have not been completely destroyed. All those pictures you see are from the most badly damaged areas. I saw a reporter strategically positioned in front of a huge pile of wreckage, but the areas around him didn’t look that bad. Phuket is a huge island, and most of it is 100% OK. Just the beaches, and about 50 meters inland were hit.