Some memories stay with us forever. We remember exactly where we were during major events like 9/11 or life-changing moments like having our first child. Twenty years ago, on Boxing Day 2004, I experienced one of those unforgettable moments. On December 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, triggering a tsunami that killed at least 225,000 people across 14 countries. And I will never forget it.
Back then, I was living in Switzerland and didn’t know almost anyone from Thailand. In 2003, I met a girl named Bee. She was visiting her sister in the South of Switzerland. They had a small restaurant there, and on a local website, she was posting some entries in a so-called forum. Her sister wanted to play matchmaker. Yes, this was how things worked back then, long before Tinder took over. So I agreed to meet her. She spent one full day with me. I showed her around my hometown and took her on a tour through Switzerland. Yeah, I was 23 or 24 years old and already pretty adventurous. However, since she couldn’t speak English or German, we struggled to connect. She carried a small book titled “English for Lovers,” but communication was incredibly difficult in those pre-Google Translate days. Eventually, she returned to Thailand.
A year later, my mother passed away from cancer. The day after, I received a call from Thailand. It was Bee who had learned English, and she could finally speak with me. However, feeling unwell and having just lost my mother, I told her I would call back. But I didn’t. Moving forward, on December 26, I was celebrating Christmas with my uncle in Switzerland. At 11 pm, we decided to have a drink at his favorite Thai bar, the only one in town. It was likely not an official bar, and drinks were sold at cost, labeled as a private party.
That bar gave me one of my best Christmas memories. I enjoyed drinking beers and singing karaoke. I remembered Bee and told my uncle: I need to call her tomorrow! Just as we were leaving the bar, the earthquake happened.
The next morning, I woke up and remembered to call Bee. On my way to the landline phone, I checked my old Nokia mobile phone, where I had saved her phone number. That’s when I also received a couple of text messages. At that time, breaking news was delivered by text message. Mobile internet didn’t exist. It was the first time I read about the Tsunami. I realized Bee was working in Phuket, and I started calling her. But, of course, no one answered the phone.
Two days later, I finally found her sister’s phone number. She still owned that small restaurant in southern Switzerland. That’s when I learned that no one had heard from Bee. I made two or three more calls in the following days. As far as I know, no one has ever spoken to or seen Bee alive until today.
I often wondered: what if she had called me just before my mother died, or what if I had responded differently? What if I had called her back right away? We had plans to spend Christmas together – either I would visit her in Phuket, or she would come to Switzerland. If our plans had worked out, she might still be alive today. Or I would have been in Thailand on Boxing Day 2004. I know such questions are pointless and don’t change anything. But even now, 20 years later, I always remember Bee and the Tsunami at every Christmas party.
Thirteen years later, in 2017, I finally visited Phuket. The photos in this blog post are from that trip.
I remember that day too. Unbelievable how fast time goes on. Today, Khao Lak is a wonderful place again. I won’t to go there next year.
This is a good idea actually. I am also planning to go there once. Maybe next autumn – Khao Lak is on my bucket list for a long time already. I think it’s a perfect place toi get a break and a rest.