My friend's tavern/guest house was unaffected, as it's up a fairly stiff hill in Phuket, and he actually slept through the whole thing, being in recovery from cooking and serving Christmas Day lunches for his customers. His neighbour, though, saw the wave arrive onshore at Patong - a terrifying sight - and when it swept back, it bared the entire bottom of the bay, sucking out with it sunbathers, swimmers, and scuba divers. Not to mention anyone just strolling in the morning sun.
Crowds of survivors took to the hills, as a result of which he quickly ran out of beer and food. One of the problems is that the main food suppliers were based in the town, so there'll be a huge run on Tesco's (yes, Tesco's in Thailand, too!), which isn't quite so vulnerable.
My friend's brother cooked a wonderful Christmas dinner for me, my mother and other friends yesterday, and was completely unaware of this disaster when I called him this morning to ask if he'd heard from his brother. Fortunately, only minutes later he got an e-mail to say he was okay. However, he's still waiting to hear if another of his friends and his wife, who were staying downtown, are all right.
When these things occur in distant countries, or places where few visitors go, it's terrible news, of course. When people you know may be involved, they take on a much more sinister significance.
David (the friend in Phuket) says that all the beachfront bars, discos and cafes have been swept away or are ruined now. Apparently, there is an amazing news item (as there always is) about a Swedish couple being sucked out of their holiday bungalow by the wave, but deposited back again safely. They searched desperately for their young son, and were relieved but astounded to find he'd also been deposited safely back... in a tree!
