I arrived at Phuket International Airport on a cloudy Thursday morning. Was pretty much shaken because flight was bumpy and I had my first air pocket (i.e. downward air current that causes an aircraft to lose altitude abruptly) experience. I thought I was going to die just before I turned 29. But apparently that was not the case.
After a nearly 2-hour drive from Phuket, through the Sarasin Bridge (linking Phuket to mainland) and Ban Kok Kloi (junction where the road splits; one towards Ranong/Bangkok, the other towards Phang Nga/Krabi), we arrived at the 5-star Le Meridien Spa Resort. At this point, I would like to clarify on the choice of accommodation here. I am affiliated with a Buddhist group from Singapore and they were having a meditation retreat in this spa resort. And since we were going to be there anyway, it was probably wise to make full use of the opportunity and conduct some humanitarian work on one of the orphanages that housed victims of the Tsunami. So don't worry fans, I had not betrayed the true spirit of backpacking by staying in silly 5-star resorts. I even refused to allow them to hang those touristy jasmine flower loops around my neck!
We finally arrived at the orphanage (20 mins drive along highway route No.4 towards the direction of Takuapa and turn left into Ban Pru Teaw) in evening and discovered that the children were waiting for us. After the orphanage director's speech on the Duang Prateep Foundation (i.e. the organisation that had built and managed this orphanage), the children performed some song and dance items which got everybody to stand up and dance; the children and the visitors alike. I found myself swaying to the Thai Pop while I was busily snapping photos away.
While the children were having dinner, I wondered around and saw this 2-month old baby sleeping quietly in his baby cot. His mother had left him here a couple of weeks ago; citing excuses that the father had left them and she had no means of supporting the baby. She left the orphanage thereafter; no contact information was provided.
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This was breakfast at the Le Meridien. The pancakes and eggs were great, but I chided myself for embracing the comforts of a 5-star hotel. |
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wyattwang.com posing with a road beacon (along Phuket-Takuapa highway route) denoting that it is a tsunami hazard zone. When the tsunami came, the water levels came as high as where my right hand was.
Do note that I was about 500m inland. One can imagine how bad the damage was by referencing to the buildings nearby.
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Memories of the tsunami. And the best way to overcome it is to face it head on, through art or speech.
- One of the wall drawings found in the Khao Lak Orphanage
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Ice-cream time! Queueing up for ice-cream can be one of the most exciting things in life when you are a kid.
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When I took this photo, the little girl was staring blankly in space. I have to thank her for being willing (always) to be my photo subject. |
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Accompanied by her mother, this girl caught my attention as she was very shy and kept her head down throughout the ceremony (my Buddhist affiliation were handing out scholarships to needy students from a nearby Moken village housing people who were displaced by the tsunami).
p.s.: The Mokens, or Sea Gypsies, is an Austronesian ethnic group with about 2,000 to 3,000 members who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture.
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The evening view from Le Meridien. Dark clouds were looming above the skies; it was the rainy season afterall. |
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And it rained again... every evening while I was there.
The lotus, while enduring all the hammering from the punishing weather, will one day turn out stronger when it fully blooms.
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wyattwang.com doing it on the beaches of Khao Lak - In memory of all those who perished after Mother Nature displayed her wrath on Boxing Day 3 years ago.
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Nothing much here. It was just a discarded water bottle which some idiot littered on the beach.
Thought that it was a good photo subject as the sun came out for brief moments.
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