Ko Phi Phi - Post Tsunami
I was on Ko Phi Phi island in 2003, before the Tsunami in 2004. You can see my photos and commentary on Phi Phi in the innocent days before the tsunami here.
Sometimes when I think about it, a chilling realization hits me that, in geological terms, I dodged a bullet and missed the tsunami by a hair. In all of Thailand, the largest concentration of deaths was on this tiny island, with 1700 people lost that day. That's a HUGE percent of the amount of people on the island for sure, because it's a tiny island with only a few thousand people there at any given time, like two or three thousand.
In the map below you will note Lohdalum Bay and Tonsai Bay. The tsunami swept in from the north and the south in these bays, creating a cauldron of mayhem that hit the heart of Tonsai village. Everyone has seen the footage of this on t.v. and documentaries.
Needless to say, it was more than interesting to go back. I noticed some changes, obviously, but the good news is that the island is open for business, all cleaned up, and the people and attitudes were great, as if nothing bad had happened there.
Photos by Mark Isleifson ©2006
The two hour boat ride from Phukett to Phi Phi.
Another boat on the way to the islands in the Andaman Sea.
Ko Phi Phi Leh island off the main island, Ko Phi Phi Don.
Cool cave on Ko Phi Phi Leh.
This was my hotel, with a fine swimming pool. This resort is in the Sea Gypsy Village in the north east side of the island. The last time I was here I stayed in the Tonsai Village on Tonsai Bay.
One view, from Tonsai Bay. The tsunami hit the shore dead on from here.
Above, the view from Lohdalum Bay. Note how sparse it looks in the middle.
This area has been mostly rebuilt.
This image saddens me, because the Karma Bar used to be under this tree. I had the time of my life here. It's all gone now, and a snack hut has been built to the left. At least the tree survived.
I never would have expected it, but I ran into someone I knew in 2003 on Phi Phi!
In 2003 I had signed up with a scuba outfit in the Tonsai Village side of the island. I was wandering around Tonsai Village in 2006 when I came upon the scuba place that I used in 2003. There was a guy sitting there trying to drum up business with passersby. It was my past scuba instructor Adam, a British guy, from 2003. He didn't recognize me at first, but I started shooting the breeze with him. It turned out he had been there the day of the tsunami. When the water in the bay was sucked back, and the bay was unnaturally vacant of water, he suddenly realized what was happening. He was with three other people in the dive shop, and they ran to safety up a few storeys of a nearby resort. The waves hit at about 10:30 am and a group of divers was actually out at the time. He said every one of the divers out that day survived. The aftermath that he witnessed must have been traumatic for him, and I didn't press him on details. His kind of livelihood is normally transient and nomadic, so it was highly unlikely I would see him again. Yet there he was, with quite a tale to tell. We shook hands after a few minutes of conversing, and I could tell he had unnaturally aged since the last time I'd seen him.