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Stomachaches and Hillsides - Surviving the Tsunami
by Jason Peppard

From the 24th to the 26th of December, 2004, my girlfriend, Yuriko, and I were enjoying the beginning of our winter holiday on Phi Phi Island off the southwestern coast of Thailand. It was paradise. The weather was perfect, the beaches were beautiful and the food was delicious. It was the first time in our lives that we spent Christmas on the beach in 30-degree weather and we were having the time of our lives.

Our itinerary included two nights on Phi Phi Don Island, followed by three more nights on West Hat Rai Leh beach in Krabi province. The last four nights were to be spent in Bangkok where we were going to ring in the New Year. One thing I have learned in my life is not to plan too far ahead, because nothing ever really goes exactly according to plan. This was also to be the case with this vacation, as we hadn't considered how one of the biggest natural disasters in history, the Asian Tsunami, would alter our plans.

The night before the tsunami struck (Dec. 25th), we hung out in Tonsai Village, eating drinking and wandering the streets, checking out the shops. We stayed out late and I even stopped for a traditional bamboo tattoo on the way back to our bungalow. I got a tribal looking Thai circle design around the "Buddha" kanji character on the back of my neck. The shop stayed open until 3am for drunken customers just like me; the perfect souvenir.

The next morning, on the 26th, Yuriko woke up with a stomachache. She didn't feel like eating so I went down to the beachside restaurant for breakfast at around 9:30 by myself. I finished eating around 10:00 and walked along the beach for a while before going up the hill to check on Yuri. Our bungalow was in the third of four rows on a hillside overlooking the beautiful Andaman Sea with its famous limestone cliffs.

About ten minutes or so after returning to our room I heard this very loud and strange whooshing noise. It sounded like an ocean liner was coming up the beach. I went to the balcony to see all this water rushing in and some people coming in with it. At first I thought it was very odd, as I hadn't seen any waves since I arrived. The ocean had been very calm up to that point. Then I heard the screaming and noticed that the hotel workers were all running down to the beach. I went back outside to see what was happening. When I reached the reception and restaurant, I found them destroyed, full of water and its furniture floating out to sea. Some hotel guests were crying and holding each other while a Thai woman was screaming and pointing to the reception, apparently looking for someone that had been inside.

I rushed back up to the room to tell Yuriko that something very bad had happened. At this point I realized it must have been a tsunami. We looked out from the balcony and I saw a woman run up to her room below, look inside for a second and then come back out screaming that her brother was down there.

I decided to go back down to see if I could help and Yuriko said she was also coming. We were down near the reception for about five minutes and then the next big wave hit the beach. Everyone ran up the hill to avoid it. We hadn't seen anyone who needed any help and thought that it was best to stay in our room for the time being.

Some of the resort staff started going to each of the bungalows to see if everyone was all right and if anyone was missing. All of the guests started to gather at the top of the hill where the staff and their families lived in little shacks. The manager of the resort was a very strong woman and immediately started to organize the aftermath. The Thai people were extremely kind and began giving the tourists their food and shelter without thinking of their own needs. The manager wanted everyone to stay at the top of the hill as there were fears and "news" that another, bigger wave was coming. However, she told us that guests staying in the third and fourth rows were probably safe.

We found out that three or four people from our resort had died: a father and his young son (about ten), a middle aged woman and possibly a local Thai, but we didn't know for sure. The manger announced that she needed volunteers to clean and wrap the woman's body. At first no one offered to help. I felt bad for not being able to do more after the tsunamis so I volunteered along with a young Asian man and a European woman.

We quietly walked down to room 203 with the manager and picked some flowers along the way. When we entered the bungalow there were a couple of Thai men standing next to the woman's body, which was lying on the bed covered in a white sheet. This was the first time in my life I had seen a dead body. My dream vacation was the last place I thought I would have such an experience. Another woman came into the room that knew the victim. We didn't ask who she was, but judging by her appearance, she was the dead woman's sister.

We had to undress the body and wash all the sand off with bottled water and our hands. We then put clean clothes on her and rewrapped her body in fresh white sheets. I will never forget that woman's face. I never learned her name but I found out later that she had been down near the washroom behind the restaurant, which was surrounded by concrete walls. There had been no place for her to escape when the tsunami hit. She had been pierced in the neck with something sharp. I could only imagine the power of the water.

We spent that night in our room with no running water or electricity and a limited supply of bottled water and food. Luckily, I had brought a small flashlight with me that proved to be very useful. Yuriko managed to fall asleep while I spent the whole night on the balcony watching the water in the light of the full moon. I mostly thought about my family, knowing how worried they would be, and kept repeating in my mind that we were ok, hoping they could hear me. I also read some of the only book I had brought with me: An Open Heart, by the Dalai Lama. The next morning started with a beautiful and tranquil sunrise over the mountain.

We managed to find some cornflakes and milk for breakfast from the remainder of the food rations, and passed the rest on to a couple with a young daughter. He was Dutch and she was Israeli, but coincidentally, they lived in Tokyo. We agreed to split up and find out what we could about the situation and then decide what to do. I spoke with a couple from San Francisco on the beach in front of our resort and they told me that most of the survivors were heading to the only pier and catching boats back to the mainland. Yuriko and I decided that we wanted to get off the island as soon as possible, so we got our bags and started walking along the beach to the pier with the San Franciscan couple. The Dutch man came with us to check how long the lines were before heading back for his wife and daughter.

The twelve-minute walk to the village was when it began to dawn on us just how bad the situation was. There was debris scattered all over the beach: furniture, clothing, bags... everything. We were shocked as we passed the beachside resorts to find that they were reduced to piles of rubble. Numerous long-tail boats were entwined within the frames of bungalows. As we passed one of the wrecked bungalows I looked down to see several pieces of ID belonging to a young Canadian man. Yuri and I had tried to reserve a beach side bungalow but they were fully booked. It seemed like bad luck at the time. We were at a loss for words; and then we reached Tonsai Village.

I don't know how else to describe what we saw as we approached the village but to liken it to a war zone. We saw two men walking towards us wearing dust masks and the Dutch man asked them why they had them on. They replied it was just to be safe as there were bodies everywhere and they were being cautious against airborne disease. So we covered our mouths with some tissue and followed the couple in front of us through a zigzagging path that had been cut through the rubble. We had to watch each step due to the broken glass that was everywhere; we were only wearing sandals on our feet. The place was unrecognizable, compared to the lively tourist town we had partied in just ten hours before. We saw many bodies along the path, but by that time, any victim that was visible had been covered with a sheet or whatever was available. The San Franciscan couple stopped to talk with some people they knew coming the other way and I had to interrupt the guy to warn him that he was close to tripping over a covered body a few inches behind him. It was so surreal. He thanked me and we took it as a cue to continue on to the pier.

The only pier in the village was, understandably, a scene of confusion and chaos. We queued up at the end of the line and just stood there, observing the situation. Yuriko was handling everything so well and I remember being so grateful for her stomachache and our lives. By that time, she had run out of cigarettes and we were unable to find any at our resort. Now, I hate to see Yuriko smoking, but when I saw a young woman next to me opening a full pack I asked her for one and she answered "of course". I gave it to Yuri knowing that she really wanted one. She smiled, thanked me and lit it. We looked around us to see people from all over the world speaking many different languages but we all had one thing in common: everyone wanted off Phi Phi Island. There was no access to real news and we heard many rumours, some true and some not; there was a general feeling of uneasiness and fear of another tsunami. Nobody knew for sure.

We were in the minority as we had all of our belongings and no injuries. There were people with huge gashes on their faces and limbs. People were limping and wearing mismatched sneakers and sandals, and many people had nothing at all: no shoes, no spare clothes and no passports. There were hundreds of people waiting for boats. When a boat would pull up to dock, everyone would surge forward and the people up front would start yelling "move back, move back!" This went on for hours. After a while we decided to stop trying so hard since there were so many people who were worse off than we were. I actually felt ashamed that we had made it through the ordeal without a scratch and with all of our possessions.

There was a steady stream of boats of all sizes at first and then the wait for the next one started getting a little longer. When a boat pulled up the crew would announce where they were going: either Phuket of Krabi. We were holding out for a boat to Krabi since we had reservations there for another two days. However, most of the boats were going to Phuket and a crewmember from one of the boats told everyone that if they went to Phuket there would be free transportation to Bangkok and passports were not needed. By this time we had been waiting for over three hours and figured that there was a good chance that the beach resort we had reservations for wasn't there anymore anyway. At this point we still had no idea just how terrible and destructive the disaster was. We had heard about the earthquake in Indonesia, although we hadn't noticed it, but for all we knew, the tsunami had only hit Phi Phi. The Dutch and Israeli couple shouted at us from a small boat with their daughter wishing us good luck. The San Fransiscan couple had found one some time before. We had only each other.

We slowly made it to the end of the pier and got on a boat that could take 20 people after four hours of waiting. The relief we felt when we got on that boat was immense. There was a crew of four Thais, and they immediately started handing out water, Pepsi, pineapple and watermelon. They told us to relax and that it would be a two-hour trip to the mainland.

The ride to Phuket was mostly silent except for the sound of the boat slamming down against the waves. The crew were beyond kind and the guy who had handed out the food and drinks seemed to reassure and comfort everyone with his smile and warm eyes alone. There wasn't much need for words. There was a man sitting across from us with his son and daughter whom I guessed to be around 12 and 15 respectively. The father was sitting between them and they were holding each other. Every once in a while the man would hold his head and cry. As he covered his face I noticed that he was wearing a wedding band on both hands. His children didn't cry and comforted him when he would start. I wanted to say something to him, but what could I possible say, especially since Yuriko was holding me tightly. I hadn't lost anyone.

When we docked at the pier in Phuket we thanked the crew as best we could and joined the confusion in the mass of people. We didn't exactly know where we were going or what we needed to do. A young Thai girl approached us to ask us if we needed any help. She brought us to a uniformed official and he told us we needed to go to City Hall to register with out respective embassies. We were lead to the back of an almost full military-style transport truck. Three young teenaged Thai boys helped us up and got in with us. The three boys never stopped smiling and one of them sang a little. The warmth and human connectedness that the Thai people showed us made the situation so much more bearable.

The truck delivered us from one chaotic scene to another. As it crawled through the swarms of people into the City Hall square a couple of guys ran up to the back and asked us where we were coming from. When I replied "Phi Phi" they handed me a picture of a Mexican man and asked if we had seen him. We passed the picture around to all the other passengers but none of us recognized him. When we got out of the truck another couple of guys asked us about the situation on Phi Phi; one of them didn't know if his brother had made it or not. I kept asking myself if I would be able to hold myself together as well as some of these people seemed to be if I were in their position and looking for Yuriko.

We wandered around for a few minutes trying to figure out which way to go. There were people everywhere, some holding pictures of loved ones and others holding signs for various embassies. A volunteer noticed the confused look on our faces and asked us where we were from. I mentioned that I was from Canada but living in Japan and she asked me which embassy I wanted to contact. Yuriko and I figured it would be easier to speak with a Japanese rep together and the woman showed us the way. The representative for the Japanese embassy took our names and asked us where we wanted to go. We were given a few options: we could go to Bangkok and stay there or we could return to Japan. I could have even gone home to Canada if I wanted. We looked at each other and quickly discussed the options. Since we were ok and had all of our stuff with us we decided to go to Bangkok and try to salvage our vacation. We only had to find a place to stay for two nights before getting back onto our original itinerary.

Once our decision was made, the woman who was helping us led us to a pick-up truck, stopping at a refreshment stand along the way to get us some coffee. We helped the driver secure our backpacks to the roof rack and greeted the other passengers sitting in the back. There were six of us in the back of the truck: an American and his Thai girlfriend, a Japanese guy and his Thai girlfriend and Yuriko and me.

Yuriko started talking to the Japanese guy in Japanese and I struck up a conversation with the American guy. His name was Bruce and he was from California. We talked about where we had been when the tsunami struck and I was shocked to hear that he and his girlfriend, Su, were snorkelling at the time and they barely made it as they had to fight a strong undertow created by the waves, as well as, the surges above. And I thought we were lucky. I mentioned that I was really worried about my family since it had been over a day and a half since the tsunami and I was sure that they were worried sick. On hearing that, Bruce pulled out his cell phone and asked me what the number was. I was so grateful. He put the call through, said, "hold for Jason" and handed me the phone. It was the middle of the night in Canada and I think it took a moment or two for my father to realize whom he was speaking to. I asked him if he had seen the news and he answered "yes". I told him that Yuriko and I were safe and then I heard my mothers voice calling my name. She got on the phone and told me how worried they had been. The tone of their voices alone showed just how happy they were to hear that we were safe. I told them I loved them and would call them back soon after we arrived in Bangkok and let them go as I didn't want to use up Bruce's minutes or battery.

The scene at Phuket Airport was a little less chaotic than the pier and City Hall. We stuck with Bruce and Su and felt very lucky to have met them since Su could speak both Thai and English and they were both so friendly. Su found out where we needed to wait for the shuttle bus that would take us to the plane. We bought some snacks and relaxed for a while. Bruce again lent me his phone so that I could contact my friends and co-workers in Yamagata to let them know I was ok. I got Jon's number (my friend and co-worker) from my Japan only cell phone and punched it into Bruce's world phone. Jon answered and I said "Hey Jon, Yuriko and I are safe and heading back to Bangkok." Jon paused for a moment and simply answered firmly and clearly, "you motherfucker." That said it all. I told him I would email them soon and let him go. Yuriko then called her family and they, of course, were so relieved and happy to hear from her as well. After waiting for a while Su again spoke with an airport employee and found out where we needed to go and how far away it was. We needed to go to a separate building used by the air force about a kilometre away. We figured we could make it there before the shuttle bus showed up, so we strapped on our bags and started walking.

It didn't take us long to reach the air force building. We were instructed to sign our names and were assigned numbers before entering the large open waiting area. There were tables set up where volunteers were handing out food, coffee, blankets and pillows. There were hundreds of people waiting, and judging by our numbers and the amount of people, we figured we would be there for at least several hours.

We stayed with Bruce and Su while we waited. Su started calling hotels in Bangkok for the four of us. We were so grateful to have them with us. The building had showers so Bruce and I went to wash up. After I had a shower, I started brushing my teeth and noticed a guy my age looking in the mirror at various cuts and scrapes. I noticed that he had a long, bad looking gash on his arm and I offered him the antibacterial ointment that I had in my toiletry bag. He was very thankful and I told him to take whatever he needed. He was ecstatic to see that I had antiperspirant and Q-tips. He said there had been stuff in his ear ever since the wave. We introduced ourselves - his name was Brandon and he was from Missouri.

When I returned to our seats Sue was still calling hotels and Yuriko was going through her backpack. The Thai girl we met on the ride to the airport with the Japanese guy needed some clean clothes to wear. She gave her a skirt that I had bought for her a few months earlier. I started reorganizing my pack after digging for a clean pair of socks for Bruce. He and Sue had lost all of their luggage except for a small waterproof bag they had with them when they were snorkelling and the tsunami hit. Fortunately, they had their ID and essentials in the bag but they didn't have extra clothes.

The four of us sat and waited, we ate a little, drank some coffee and talked about our situation. I wondered to myself out loud if we would be able to sleep that night, not knowing if we were still in a state of shock or not. I didn't really know how to feel or what I was really feeling. Bruce opened his bag and took out some medicine bottles. He offered me some pills just in case we needed some help sleeping. He had had an operation on his stomach some time ago and had prescriptions for codeine and Tylenol 3. He gave me a few of each, and told me the codeine tablets contained a full gram of pure codeine and that one would definitely put us to sleep for quite a while. I thanked him and tucked them away in my luggage.

Soon after, Brandon came over to where we were sitting and asked if he could wait with us since he was alone. I said of course and introduced him to Bruce, Su and Yuriko. We chatted a little and he told us he had been working on Phi Phi Island for the past two summers. He was sitting on a remote beach when the tsunami struck, picking him up and sweeping him away. He miraculously survived with only cuts and scrapes. Since he had been living in Thailand I asked him if it was dangerous for me to have the codeine and Tylenol tablets without a prescription. He said not to worry especially considering the circumstances. He paused and then asked if he would be able to have a few for himself. I figured we didn't need so many and gave him some of mine, as I didn't want to trouble Bruce again.

After another hour or two we were moved out onto the tarmac to wait for the next plane. It was dark now and the atmosphere was hard to read. Some people were laughing and chatting, others were just silent while one girl just put her head in her hands and started sobbing.

While we were waiting for one plane to take off and the next one to taxi, Brandon told us that last summer he was bit by a cobra on Phi Phi while drunk and walking to a club. He danced for a while before realizing that his leg was black and needed medical attention. We all thought about how lucky we really were to be sharing our stories, but this guy had a horseshoe up his ass. We joked that he probably had the whole horse up there and warned him that maybe he shouldn't return to Phi Phi in case his luck may have run out. He turned serious and quietly said that he had a lot of friends there.

The volunteers checked our names again and instructed us to get on the plane. It was an RTAF (Royal Thai Air Force) twin prop transport plane. It was a far cry from the lousy economy seating on an Air Canada plane but it seemed like first class at the time. The sides of the plane were bare, exposing air vents and electrical cables. Our seats were rows of red canvas hammock style seats running up the length of the plane with harnesses for seatbelts. The noise of the air ventilation system and propellers made everyone raise their voices when talking. It was loud but so peaceful. Everything seemed all right. As the plane was taking off I looked down at my watch and noted that it was 10:30pm, about 36 hours since the tsunami. Then the lights were dimmed and the roar of the propellers seemed to get louder.

It wasn't a long flight from Phuket to Bangkok. Some people kept talking, maybe to keep the wave out of their thoughts, others slept. When we first got on the plane I snapped a few pictures as the passengers were getting seated and strapping in. There was quite a mix of people and languages. Among all the talking and forced laughter, I noticed a woman who was alone and had a very blank expression on her face. Like the father on the boat to Phuket, it looked like she was wearing wedding bands on both ring fingers. Did she lose her husband? I was sure she hadn't gone on vacation to Thailand by herself. I felt so sad for her, and again gave thanks for having Yuri by my side, feeling slightly guilty. This poor woman didn't have anyone to talk to or comfort her.

Sitting across from us were a few Europeans and judging by their ultra blond hair I stereotypically guessed them to be Swedish or Swiss. There were two women and one of them had a young son with her. Sitting quietly next to them were two Thai women who appeared to be in their early 30's. The young boy soon fell asleep against his mother while she talked to her companion, but he started to shift away from his mother and rested on the Thai woman next to her. The Thai woman gestured to her friend and smiled as she comforted the boy by touching his head. The mother looked over and quickly apologized but the Thai woman insisted that it was fine without saying any words. I smiled and reflected on the beautiful moment defining the love and humanity I was experiencing under such sad and horrible circumstances. I really wanted to take a picture of the blond boy sleeping on the Thai woman's lap but I was afraid that the flash would wake him up and disturb the other passengers. I didn't take the picture but vowed never to let the memory fade from my mind.

When the plane touched down in Bangkok there was a sense of completion for us. We were off the island and in the city. The death and destruction were out of sight but not completely out of mind. I couldn't stop thinking about the suffering we had seen. We still weren't aware however of how far reaching the disaster was.

We got off the plane and onto a shuttle bus that brought us to the terminal. We said goodbye to Brandon as he had made arrangements with the American embassy to head home. He didn't have his passport or anything but he assured us that he was fine and that he was being looked after. Bruce, Su and I started navigating our way to the exit and ended up waiting in a fairly long line for a taxi. Su and Bruce had two-way radios that they always traveled with. Bruce crossed the busy street and soon radioed Su and us that he had found a taxi. We threw our bags in the trunk and headed for the hotel that Su had booked for us. We were so grateful to have them helping us out so much.

Su had managed to find two rooms at The Manhattan Hotel in downtown Bangkok. It seemed like paradise as we drove up to the entrance. Just thinking about the running water and electricity made me feel more at ease. We quickly checked in and headed straight for our rooms, which were on the same floor. As we entered our rooms, we agreed on having breakfast together when we woke up, but had no idea when that would be. We put our bags on the floor and Yuri threw herself on the bed. I picked up the phone and quickly called my parents to let them know where we were and that I would call them again after getting some real rest.

I dug the codeine tablets out of my backpack and asked Yuri if she thought she needed one. She thought about it and decided that she didn't want one. I took one with a glass of water hoping to knock myself out for at least 12 hours. I was physically and mentally exhausted. Then Yuri turned the television on.

Every station was showing the same horrible images. We were awestruck at how far reaching and global the disaster was. We were in a state of shock and disbelief. Did we really just come from that? The death toll was still in its infancy, but it was so high - so much loss. Up to this point neither Yuri nor I had shed a tear. We were simply observers of the chaos with no words or even emotions for what we had seen, simply because we didn't know what to say or feel. But the TV put it all in perspective: directly in our faces, our thoughts, our whole being. We crumpled, held each other and sobbed. The footage of mothers in Sri Lanka screaming for their children gripped us. The utter destruction of villages and holiday cheer broke us down. Yuri asked for a codeine tablet and I gave it to her. She took it quickly and I immediately regretted giving her a whole one remembering there was a full gram in it. Was it going to be too much for her small body? We sat there watching the TV; our tears had dried and we were becoming numb. The pills started to kick in and make our bodies tingle. It was quite a high. It felt good. And then we were out.

We woke up late, well rested and hungry. Bruce phoned our room and we met in the hallway before heading down to the restaurant on the first floor for a late breakfast. We didn't talk much about the tsunami. The conversation was light and focused on our plans. Bruce and Su were going to hang out in Bangkok for a few days before heading up north to Su's hometown. They offered to show us around Bangkok for a couple of days and we happily accepted.

For the next two days we were like any other tourists in Bangkok, except for the obvious advantage of Bruce and Su as escorts. They brought us to the modern downtown shopping centres and the ever-popular Kaosan Rd. market area. They also showed us how to get around on the Skytrain and gave us lots of tips for dealing with the people and transportation in Bangkok. We made ourselves have fun.

The third morning in Bangkok put us back on schedule for our trip. We had a room booked at The New Siam 2 guesthouse near Khaosan Rd. for the final four nights of our vacation. Bruce and Su took the cab with us and came up to our room to say goodbye. We thanked them the best we could and parted ways. They were going to stay one more night at the Manhattan and leave for Su's hometown the next day. The room was basic, but clean and secure. I went down to the lobby and used my credit card to call my best friend Nathan in Halifax. He told me he was initially worried when he saw the news of the tsunami but when he went to bed that night he just knew that we were all right. Nathan and I always had a strong mental connection. It was comforting to talk to him.

I think it wasn't until Yuri and I were on our own in Bangkok that the impact of what we had been through started to really affect us. We still had fun and did a lot but every once in a while one of us would get quiet and lost in thought. I couldn't stop thinking of all the people who we met and crossed paths with on Phi Phi and wondering if they were alive or not. I would close my eyes and picture the woman's face from room 203, the young girls who did traditional dance, and the fire-dancing troupe that performed at our resort's Christmas Eve Banquet. I thought about the ladies who gave us massages and the nice guys who gave me the bamboo tattoo the night before the waves. They didn't finish until 3am and their shop was down a narrow alleyway. I figured they were likely still sleeping when the tsunami struck. We knew a lot of them had probably died. The death toll just kept rising. We were especially worried about Rick.

Rick was a guy from Kelowna B.C. we met on a snorkelling trip on Christmas Day. He was on vacation by himself celebrating his 60th birthday. He was very warm and friendly so we stuck together and had an amazing time exploring the coral and limestone formations around Phi Phi. He said his wife was in Greece with some of her friends. She liked the high-end hotel style of travel while he preferred the more low-key backpacker style. He was staying in a small room right in the village. Rick had forgotten his camera so I got his email address and told him I would send him the pictures we had taken. We said goodbye and went our separate ways after the trip.

I tried to clear my head and just enjoy the rest of the trip. After all, we were lucky to be alive and able to enjoy such a wonderful and exciting place; but I just couldn't stop thinking about Rick. I had emailed him from the Manhattan the morning after we arrived and hadn't heard back from him. I figured I would have to track down his phone number and call his wife. Maybe she would want the pictures we had taken of Rick and us on our snorkelling trip.

On New Year's Eve Day I received this email:

Thanks Jason i sent message yesturday but lost my glasses and not sure it went thru.Was downtown when wave hit but able to climb to mezzenin floor then onto roof very lucky.Hope you are well ,this new years will have a special meaning to us all ,god bless ,Rick

We were so happy and relieved to hear that he was ok. I felt a little less guilty about having a good time when so many thousands of people were suffering from the tragedy.

On New Year's Day we went to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is the most sacred temple in Thailand and the King's personal place of worship. There were thousands of people filling the buildings and courtyard. We got a rose and some incense at the gate and waited in line to burn the incense. We then waited in a line to enter the main temple building that contains the Emerald Buddha. The statue itself is quite small and placed high up on an alter making it quite hard to see. Photography is forbidden and you are expected to be very respectful of the sacred statue. You could feel the energy from the faith of all the people. Most of the Thais are devote Theradeva Buddhists and some of the worshippers that day had tears in their eyes. We prostrated ourselves in prayer when we finally made it to the front of the altar. I said a silent prayer for all those who didn't survive the tsunami and knew that countless others were doing the same. It was a moving experience and an appropriate end to a memorable holiday.

We spent one more day in Bangkok but took it very easy. As we were boarding the plane to take us back to Japan I remember feeling that it felt like we had been there for an eternity. I can't say that it was an overall terrible experience. In the middle of all the death and destruction we witnessed I actually felt the closest to God, Buddha etc... that I have ever felt in my life. We also felt a connection to the Thai people as they had taken such good care of us. Most importantly, I felt even closer and more connected to Yuriko. She saved my life as far as I'm concerned. I believe our karma is interconnected and it simply wasn't our time to go. We are not finished here. Somewhere along the way in Bangkok during one of our meals we decided to get married. I didn't get on one knee and propose; it just happened to occur as a spontaneous mutual decision.

Once back in Japan we had to go back to work and our respective daily lives. We collected money to donate to the relief fund but I don't feel like I did enough. Bruce told me he had helped move the most seriously injured to a hotel where they were being evacuated by helicopter. I couldn't even give blood because I had gotten a tattoo. I really wish we could have done more. People wanted to hear our story and I told it so many times that it ceased to be real. It became just the memory of a movie I had seen.

A year has passed and the footage of the memorial services on the news has brought back all the good and bad memories of our Thai vacation. We got married on July 26th 2005, seven months after the tsunami. Life is good. Sometime between then and now I bought a beautiful picture book entitled Buddhist Offerings 365 Days that has a picture and a quote for each day of the year. For December 26th, there is a scenic picture of a small white building on a plain in the Himalayas and a quote by Arnaud Desjardins: "The further you progress, the more you will perceive that the universe is divine". How true.