Dec 27, 2004
IN THAILAND
2 S'poreans in Phuket: their stories by SMS
Bank exec witnesses horror and destruction on his first trip to the resort island
By Daryl Loo
MRS Khoo Cheng Eng has never used SMS, but yesterday it was her only contact with her son, vacationing in tsunami-hit Phuket.
Mr Wilson Khoo, 29, an assistant vice-president in a European bank, had landed on the island yesterday morning, right before the tidal waves that destroyed much of the beach, damaged power and phone lines, and disrupted cellular phone calls.
The only line of communication open was text messaging, which he sent to elder sister Liling in Singapore. She then telephoned her mother with the news.
'I was really worried as I didn't hear from him until after noon. It's very fortunate that he's okay,' said Mrs Khoo, 55, a teacher.
For Mr Khoo, it was his first trip to the island - and a close shave with danger at his hotel, the Seaview at Patong beach.
In an SMS interview with The Straits Times - pretty much how he kept in touch with the world outside all day - he wrote:
'Checked into fourth-floor room at 9am. Lucky. Wave came in at 9.20am, carrying cars, lorry and crashing into the hotel on the second floor.'
'Furniture, TV, luggage and people were swept out. Screams and cries. Many hurt. Within seconds Patong is destroyed. All buildings. No water, electricity. Blackout.'
Together with other guests, Mr Khoo headed for higher ground. 'Blood stains all over the road as we were fleeing the hotel on a road leading uphill,' he described.
He checked into the Andaman Seaview hotel in Karon late last night: 'Will rest well for the night at least.'
He is scheduled on a Tiger Airways flight back to Singapore tomorrowat 9am.
'Just glad we are alive and well, items intact,' he wrote.
And while his holiday turned out to be anything but enjoyable, he said: 'Trip not totally wasted. Experience of a lifetime. Saw destruction first-hand.'
Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.