Tonyinbkk
burble (in the United Kingdom) 26 Dec 2004 at 17:50 GMT

I haven't been in for a while, hello and Merry Christmas to everyone...
Mainly i've ventured in to enquire as to whether anyone has heard from, Tonyinbkk? is he in Thailand at the moment and if so does anyone know if he's okay?

Re: Tonyinbkk
® adl (in Canada) 26 Dec 2004 at 18:03 GMT

Hi Burb - good to see you back.

I was watching the news and wondering about Tony. He hasn't been on here in ages, which is a loss for all of us. I think some of the BRers who know him say his email isn't working. I wonder if anyone has his phone number? He dropped from sight so quickly you wonder if something is wrong.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® h™ (in the United Kingdom) 26 Dec 2004 at 18:55 GMT

As I understand it there was nothing wrong; he just felt the need to go walkabout for a while (ongoing). However, with the news from that area today I'm certainly concerned for him.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Val (in the United Kingdom) 26 Dec 2004 at 20:54 GMT

He should be OK if he was in Bangkok when the tidal wave hit. But what is worrying is that he has recently been involved with property in Phuket which was badly hit. I hope he and Sak are OK.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Val (in the United Kingdom) 26 Dec 2004 at 21:00 GMT

Bit worried about Watcher's friends Matt and Dec, but I think they are also located in Bangkok.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® adl (in Canada) 26 Dec 2004 at 21:57 GMT

Hi Val - have you been in touch with Tony lately?

I had forgotten about Watcher's friends. I wonder if people wouldn't have gone to the resort areas for 'our' holidays?

Re: Tonyinbkk
® h™ (in the United Kingdom) 26 Dec 2004 at 23:08 GMT

Pretty sure Mat & Dech should be well inland, but it's a hell of a 'welcome' for them.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Val (in the United Kingdom) 27 Dec 2004 at 01:02 GMT

Adl, I am slightly embarassed to tell you that he was in touch with me a few weeks back. So far as I know he still lives mainly in Bangkok with his b/f, Sak. Bangkok was safe from the tsunami (sp?). Whatis worrying me is that he told me that he was doing some business with property in Phuket and was going to have a pied a terre type flat there.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Val (in the United Kingdom) 27 Dec 2004 at 01:04 GMT

Phuket was very badly damaged by the wave..

Re: Tonyinbkk
® adl (in Canada) 27 Dec 2004 at 13:29 GMT

Val, if you do hear from him again, give him my best. Meanwhile, fingers crossed that he and Sak are safe.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Wilf (in the United Kingdom) 27 Dec 2004 at 15:27 GMT

Oh my goodness I do hope he is OK, what a terrible tragedy this is, we cannot begin to understand what it must have been like.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® the watcher (in the United Kingdom) 27 Dec 2004 at 16:12 GMT

mat and dech are indeed well i was on the phone to them as soon as i heard as they were planning a trip to phukket but they dint go at the last minuet

Re: Tonyinbkk
® h™ (in the United Kingdom) 27 Dec 2004 at 16:38 GMT

I'm really glad to hear that, Watcher. We've enough bad news at the moment.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® TisFrank (in the United Kingdom) 27 Dec 2004 at 17:18 GMT

Yes that is good news to hear that they are safe.

I have a friend who lives in Southern India so i'm wondering if he is ok.

Re: Tonyinbkk
tonyinbkk (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2004 at 11:29 GMT

Hiya all. Haven't looked in for a while, but was alerted to this thread by somebody else and couldn't have you all worried. We are both fine as we were in Bangkok when the tsunamis struck. Three of them.

We'd been on Ko Phi Phi only a month before, by ferry from Phuket. The restaurant we'd had lunch at was demolished, everyone in it swept out to sea on a 10 foot high wave, together with everything in the restaurant. The roof and the concrete pillars remain. For those of you who know nothing about Phi Phi it's two crescent beaches along opposite bays with many tourist bungalows built on the strip of land between the beaches. Then there's lots of high ground at both ends. Everything in between was just washed away when the waves swept from one bay to the other.

Thailand death toll is now over 1,000, and mostly farangs (oops, Westerners). Sadly. it's going to rise even further when quieter beaches away from the usual crowds start including death tolls in the total.

Phuket was also very badly hit, though sadly the BBC and CNN have grossly exaggerated the devastation (a good story is everything). ALL of the beaches damaged rise up to high ground very quickly. The water washed inland about 200 metres. Substantial structures were flooded but not destroyed. As Val would know from his Pattaya days, so many of the beachside businesses are flimsy man-made affairs, and all of those were lost. The force of the waves was so strong that 40 seater buses were tossed around like corks, and getting one of those come hurtling through your bar window would tend to rearrange your bar stools.

The Thais are resilient. They are smiling as they pick up the pieces. Lots of families ruined, and many dead, but once you get past those 200 metres from the shore line it's business as usual. Thailand has better resources to cope with such disasters than Sri Lanka and India so we'll recover quicker. It's a tragedy of massive proportion around all the 9 or so countries affected.

I iterate the advice of the Phuket island authorities - anyone planning to visit should still do so if your hotel is operating - if there was ever a time that these people need the money that tourists bring it's right now.

I did indeed contact Val a few weeks back but I didn't receive a reply. Too busy getting stuck in lifts, I was told!

I may start posting again soon, but for now I'm too busy with work. We send all BR'ers our very best wishes for a healthy and happy 2005, and many thanks for the concern shown above.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® TisFrank (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2004 at 11:53 GMT

Nice to hear from you Tonyinbkk and great to know you are well.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Wilf (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2004 at 12:21 GMT

Can't tell you how nice it is to hear from you again Tonyinbkk, I can tell you we have really missed you.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® mouse (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2004 at 13:38 GMT

Really glad to hear from you, Tony.
Hope you and Sak had a fabulous Christmas - tsunamis and earthquake excluded, of course.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® h™ (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2004 at 13:45 GMT

Wonderful to hear you're both OK, Tony, though obviously we're pretty horrified at the devastation wreaked across such a large area.

My youngest brother and his partner tied the knot formally on the beach at Phi Phi only a few weeks ago. Not exactly a near miss, but enough to concentrate one's mind on the power of nature.

Re: Tonyinbkk
® Jim-S (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2004 at 23:49 GMT

Hi Tony, great to hear from you. With regards BBC and CNN et al, this is all too common, the same happened in Miami after Hurricane Andrew (I arrived there a couple of days later and whatg I saw was totally different to the media); I have seen this time and again. It is a shame that the media have to blow things out of all proportion for the sake of ratings.

Nevertheless, it does alert the rest of the world and hopefully, help should therefore be more forthcoming.

I am so glad to hear that you are both fine. I do hope you have, given the circumstances, a really great new year and that the tsunami won't dampen the spirits (sorry, couldn't resist it )

My thoughts are obviously with all those who have lost loved ones and or who have been affected by this awful tragedy

Re: Tonyinbkk
tonyinbkk (in the United Kingdom) 29 Dec 2004 at 10:15 GMT

Thanks for the warm wishes, guys.

We both wish all of you the very best for the new year.