Phuket is still Open for Tourists

Despite what most people think, only a fraction of Phuket Thailand is destroyed. With the coverage of this, I feared the whole place was wiped out. This is what happened to Phi Phi. Read this more positive spin on AOL News:

Although much of Phuket escaped the waves’ wrath with little damage, it is inextricably linked to one of the world’s worst natural disasters. Its most famous beach, Patong, was one of the hardest hit and the island, with its airport and good roads, has become a regional hub for delivering relief to regions to the north that sustained far more damage and loss of life.

“Definitely less than 10 percent of hotel rooms in Phuket are closed,” said John Everingham, who publishes Phuket Magazine, which gives tourists information about the island. “A lot of people haven’t left the island, a lot of people who were there have just continued having their holidays.”

By contrast, another popular but much smaller island, Phi Phi, was wiped out almost entirely, he said. The worst loss of life was on the mainland north of Phuket, where more than 3,000 bodies already have been found.

People were sunbathing right after the waves hit, within hours there were towels down, radios out and business as usual. Life goes on.