another year

I'm still rather shocked about the tsunami disaster, having just returned from Phi Phi and Phuket not too long ago. Pictures of Phuket and Patong beach are encouraging, as the cleanup effort is well underway, but I have not found, and do not wish to see, what Phi Phi looks like now. It's hearbreaking to me because I still remember the faces of a few locals I met who lived and worked on the island...and I just hope they're still alive, but from what I've been reading, Phi Phi is pretty much levelled, having been hit on both sides by the tsunami.

So it feels so strange to be celebrating the beginning of a new year when halfway around the world, a place I just visited is filled with dead bodies and rubble.

Please be safe tonight.