[LOVEBoy]

I was on a visa run to Poipet, just about 30 minutes out of Bkk, but didn't hear about it until I was on the bus back in the afternoon when a friend called and said "Phuket has been wiped out by a tsunami". I thought I was hearing things.

[NutChusty]

No. Betti. I live in Sri Lanka. Aceh was very much less affected.

I suppose it depends on how the statistics are calculated. Of course Indonesia had the most deaths, but then again Indonesia has a much larger population. So who had the most deaths per million people? Which country had the largest percentage of there land effected? So it is possible that senaratne has calculated the severity of the Tsunami by the amount of news coverage in his own country, showing more stories of the tragedy of his own country compared with other countries.

[AntonayPina]

I talked about Aceh, not the whole of Indonesia.

[InsManKV]

I left Patong just before the tidal wave hit and I'm sad that my stalker survived.

Come on Thuggie, don't leave us hanging - tell us about the stalker!

[Nikitka]

I was sitting on the beach in Durban, South Africa.

The thing I remember, as unbelievable as it may be, is that suddenly a large wave washed up right through the sunbathers and then subsided! We though nothing of it but later saw the news and put 2 + 2 together.

[yWleIJm4]

I was in California, 3 weeks before I was scheduled to fly to Thailand for my first visit. Someone called me that day to let me know, and I followed the news closely for the days and weeks leading up to my departure.

Although our schedule was disrupted (Koh Surin was closed for several weeks and we barely made it in for tent camping at the end of our trip), the real shocker was that we hardly saw any other tourists during almost 4 weeks in the South. I think there was a lot of confusion (and 24-hour cable news sensationalism) about the amount of damage to tourist areas and potential risks of visiting, like water shortages and disease outbreaks. Although resorts on Phi Phi Don and Khao Lak were almost literally washed away, we saw quick repairs made around Krabi and Railay. There was a lot of suffering caused by the lack of business during high season; vendors on the beach plaintively offered us the "tsunami price".

Anyway, it was a sobering time, but also the closest thing to a private tour of some of the most heavily visited areas in the country. I'm really glad I wasn't scared off by the negative speculation. And it was great to see the beaches full again a year later.

[n2Oddw8P]

I was safely in America, but . . .

I used to take Taekwondo from a Thai man and his wife (see them here), and they happened to be on a chartered boat in the Gulf of Thailand, scuba diving, when the tsunami hit. They had some of their Taekwondo students with them at the time. Fortunately, the owner of the boat suspected something weird was going on when the water level started dropping, and he ordered everyone to get to a nearby island. My friends swam and then scrambled onto the island, and climbed trees. Miraculously, they all survived. What an amazing story! I wish he would write it as an article on his web site.

DogoDon

[vqIo7X2U]

I was enjoying a quiet day on the beach in Pattaya when a friend arrived and told us he had just heard reports about a tsunami on the radio. That was quite a shock. Only two months earlier I had spend a few days on Phuket during my first ever visit to Thailand.

During my flight back there was a young couple sitting next to me who did not exactly wear their Sunday best. They did not say much and slept most of the time. When we arrived in London and they were asked to remain seated to be questioned by some police officers I realised that they must have been in the affected area.

While browsing through an inflight magazine a came across a report about a new Japanese restaurant in Bangkok which was split into two halves, one called Tsu and the other Nami. Made me wonder whether they would now consider to rename the place.

TomUK

[yWleIJm4]

What do you mean by "tsunami price"?

Is that the time when vendors lower their prices from the original?

Yes, he was offering us a special discount he called the "tsunami price."

[KellyMP]

I was planning to visit Phuket when during a night out in Bangkok i stumbled and broke my foot...

A great example of how bad luck can often be exceptionally good luck if one can see it for what it is....

Blessed i was!

That new year was like an apocalypse in bangkok, it was just unbelievable meeting all the returning post tsunami tourists who were drowing their sorrows at the bar. I lost count how many i sat with who burst into tears after losing a friend or partner.

It was horrendous.... and a week later all the Lost photos in Khaosarn road just made it really hit home at the scale of what had happened.

ill never forget that new year in Bangkok... very sad indeed!

[duncanalisstmp]

well i was in Australia and just could not beleive what i was seeing on the TV. my brother was over there staying for 14 days but decided to come home 3 days earlier. was staying right on phuket beach i think it was on the ground floor. lucky for them. but yes very sad for all the loss of life. it was a similar feeling of disbelief when the news of the twin towers started. shocking.

[bobibnoxx]

I suppose it depends on how the statistics are calculated. Of course Indonesia had the most deaths, but then again Indonesia has a much larger population. So who had the most deaths per million people? Which country had the largest percentage of there land effected? So it is possible that senaratne has calculated the severity of the Tsunami by the amount of news coverage in his own country, showing more stories of the tragedy of his own country compared with other countries.

Thanks Paul. Actually, I didn't do any calculations. I didn't solely depend on news reports either.

I had my own sources of information and statistics. They are generally believed to be authoritative and reliable.

Maybe, David had his own sources and he thinks they are reliable.

So, I am happy to drop it at that.

After all, it is said 'lies, damn lies and statistics'.

[Kubasarika]

I was on the 24th floor of the Grand Hotel in Bangkok. I woke up after a night of drinking with friends and the room was swaying in the morning. I thought I was still drunk as I never heard of earthquakes happening in BKK. But then I could hear the curtains rubbnig against the window sills so I knew it wasn't me. My first time being in that hotel, I thought it was faulty construction... Later on that afternoon I got all the news...

An earthquake was also felt by guests in the tower part of the hotel I was staying at in Chiang Mai at about 08:30 hrs-I think there were 2 earhquakes, a smaller one which was triggered by the Tsunami earthquake and had its epicentre in Burma.
One guest swore it threw him out of bed on the 15th? floor-but he too had had a late and very boozy night!
I felt nothing as I was en-route to the country side in a van at the time.

[arrismVam]

i totally remember the day i found out about the tsunamis. i was actually in las vegas, livin' it up, and then i received a call from my friend back in san diego, and the 1st thing she said on the phone was "omg, are all of your relatives ok?" and i'm thinking "huh?" since i hadn't heard about the tsunamis just yet. so she told me what happened and i was like daaannng! then she told me where it hit, so i told her, well my family is in the bangkok area, so they should be fine. after that, i went back to my hotel room and stayed glued to the tv as the news reports came it.

such a sad and tragic day in thailand's (and sri lanka, india, and other countries hit) history. RIP tsunami victims!

[ådrrraj]

Come on Thuggie, don't leave us hanging - tell us about the stalker!

Who's hanging anyway? LOL

He's half indian half Thai with mexican face. How can i be sure he's not around?

By the way, lol I'm not wasting space sharing what he did in Patong but i remember quite well he called while i was in a hotel room with my bf... mm.. (my bf was always the first to hear my phone ringing lol. That was cute lol) He said "I called to tell you that I survived from the tidal wave".

[tickerinet]

I was on the 24th floor of the Grand Hotel in Bangkok. I woke up after a night of drinking with friends and the room was swaying in the morning. I thought I was still drunk as I never heard of earthquakes happening in BKK. But then I could hear the curtains rubbnig against the window sills so I knew it wasn't me. My first time being in that hotel, I thought it was faulty construction... Later on that afternoon I got all the news...

[Gogogo]

"tsunami price".

What do you mean by "tsunami price"?

Is that the time when vendors lower their prices from the original?

[ådrrraj]

I left Patong just before the tidal wave hit and I'm sad that my stalker survived.

[Gogogo]

I woke up late at that time, maybe around 10 or 11 am.

I've just heard my siblings talking in front of the t.v.

I was taken aback when I saw Thailand being hit with tsunami.
It was awful.

I felt sorry for those who perished during the tsunami.

After that, late at night. Every channel on t.v. televised the said disaster and making reports about some Filipino present during the tsunami.