In 2004 on the 26th of December an earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated Thailand. It took just two hours for the tidal wave to reach the western coastline of Thailand after first scouring Phi Phi island. Overall about 4,800 people, locals and tourists, perished and over 8,000 people were injured. There is plenty of video footage of the sea receding initially and then surging forward pushing further and further in-land sweeping all before it if you care to look it up and a movie was made about it as well called the Impossible starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts.
Economically it was devastating with the tourism and fishing industries being the hardest hit. European tourists were slow to return however the new tsunami waring system was heavily government-backed and supported which provided a level of confidence to tourists. Some hotels reopened within 2 weeks and some never reopened and these days there is almost no evidence of the 2004 tsunami. The locals will talk about it generally , but most lost family and friends so prefer not to talk about it too much.
Our first visit was 1 year after the tsunami and despite having some concerns we thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The people are friendly and accommodating and for Australian's the trip there is usually very cost-effective.
We have been a few times now and on each occasion have stayed at the Novotel at Patong Beach. Not only is it an excellent hotel located a little away from the main Patong Beach hub it's also elevated. In fact it's actually one of the tsunami evacuation routes due to its elevation. We figure in the advent of a tsunami we would have a pretty good chance to survive.
Across the road from the hotel is one of our favourite restaurants in the world. Yes, the world! :)
Baan Rim Pa, Patong is one of the best Thai restaurants you'll find with amazingly friendly staff, superb views and of course the best Thai food you'll ever have. http://www.baanrimpa.com/thai-restaurant/
It's a lovey place to enjoy a romantic dinner and my wife and I have had many meals there watching the sun dip below the horizon. Our meals at Baan Rim Pa are some of the most enduring memories we have of our visits to Thailand. Below is the view looking back towards Patong Beach and the first image is the sunset later that same evening.
There's many things to do in Thailand. You could immerse yourself in the culture and history, get active on and in the water, relax around the pool at your hotel, hire a motor bike and explore and of course eat. If you decide to hire a bike make sure you're a good rider; It's totally hectic. Oh and wear your helmet. I didn't and had to make a visit to the police station with a fist full of Baht which they quickly relieved me of. It cost me 300 Baht in fines. $10 Australian dollars is about $260THB so it didn't hurt too much.
On the topic of money...If you're not eating at restaurants like Baan Rim Pa it's possible to eat for about $2AUD per person. In fact my wife set ourselves the Phuket street-food challenge to see how cheaply we could eat dinner. We spent about $2.50AUD between us!
If you get a chance to visit Thailand, and Phuket in particular, do yourself a favour and book in at the Baan Rim Pa for a meal at least once. I suggest you make reservations too, otherwise you may be disappointed As for the tables on the balcony too.
The last image is a shot I took off our balcony at the Novotel. It was a truly spectacular sunset.
Thanks for reading guys and girls.