28/12/2004
On Christmas night Andrew got food posioning, he suspects from a dodgy strawberry Drumstick ice-cream, so he was up all night with diarrhoea and vomiting. Little did he know he was about to witness the devastating Asia earthquake.

Some time between 6:30 and 7:00am, while seated on the toilet, Andrew felt the room shake continuously for about a minute. This is nothing new - Andrew can be quite noisy on the loo! Just before 11:00 we walked down to reception at Ya Ya Resort on East Railey beach and checked out of our room.

Run for the hills!
With our big packs on our backs and daypacks strapped to our chests, we headed along the beach to where the long-tail boats pick passengers up for the 45 minute journey to Krabi Town. As we walked along the beach, many people started running towards us along the beach. We didn't know what was going on, and thought maybe there was a fire drill at one of the resorts along the beach. After asking a few people what was going on someone finally pointed out to sea, where we saw a wave probably 3-4m high approaching the beach.

We turned and ran with the crowd. This part of Thailand is certainly not renowned for the surfing as the coast is protected by islands and reefs, so a wave of this size was a real concern. We ran along the beach and then turned in towards the path up the hill to Diamond Cave. About half way up we stopped to watch what was happening below. The water didn't exactly crash into the shore, but instead rose suddenly like a king tide. After washing into the beachfront shops and bars, the water subsided very quickly. We walked back down to Ya Ya Resort and within a short period of time a second wave came in, but washed up the beach a bit further than the first.

Lucky we could only afford cheap accommodation
We stayed on East Railay beach because the beach front is rocky, muddy and covered for much of its length by mangrove trees, making the accommodation there cheap. The more attractive beach on the peninsular is West Railay. The fact the waves approached from the west, along with the mangroves protecting the beach, meant that we were not in too much danger. After the second wave we ran all the way up the hill past Diamond Cave to a bar on the top of a hill overlooking the beach. On the way we joined up with people coming from West Railay and Phranang Beach. A young girl of about 12 was running along with only her bikini pants on and her mother asked Zoe if she could loan the girl a top. Zoe stopped and found her sarong in her pack, which Andrew handed to the grateful mother.

Waiting on the hill
The hill was only about 30m above sea level, but felt safe enough. Hundreds of people had gathered there, inside the bar and on the lawn in front. We dumped our packs on the ground and stood around wondering what to do. All sorts of stories were being told of possible 30m waves approaching in the next half hour. Everyone kept one eye on the sea out in front. While waiting on the hill, more and more badly injured people arrived, covered in cuts from coral and rocks. After waiting around for a couple of hours, a number western tourists got together and took charge of the situation. They informed us that an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia had triggered the tsumanis and that there was a good chance of aftershocks triggering more. They also said that a possible 30m high wave was expected at around 3:30pm, and that in the event we were washed off the hill, we should gather in groups in the water and watch out for debris. We were skeptical that this would happen - so we kept a positive attitude, but many people were very scared.

Geography lesson
We were on a peninsula that is isolated from the mainland by a wall of limestone karst formations, hence the only way in and out is by sea. There were no boats game to venture out to the beaches after the waves, so we were stranded.

Sleeping under the stars
At around 5pm we were told that people in other parts of Thailand were far worse off that us, and that we would most likely be spending the night on the hill. Andrew made a quick journey down the hill to the Mini-mart on the beach. There he saw a BBC World report of the news from around the region and realised how lucky we were. Back on the hill we were fed egg fried rice and then settled in for the night, making our beds on the ground. It felt like a music festival - without the music! An American mother and her two teenage sons slept next to us. They had been separated from their Dad and didn't know where he was. We hope they found him alive and well the next morning.

The day after
After only a few hours sleep on the damp lawn, we woke to a clear sunny and calm day. We packed up our camp and walked down to the beach. We were informed that boats would come to West Railay beach to pick us up, so we walked across there.

The damage at West Railay was amazing - long-tail boats wedged in trees, floating in resort swimming pools, and smashed all along the beach. Resort bars, restaurants and bungalows were damaged beyond repair.

We sat on the beach front and waited for our rescuers. In the meantime staff from various resorts cooked rice and made breakfast cereal, bread, coffee and water available to us. They did a fantastic job of ensuring we were all fed.

The rescue
At around 9:30 two island ferries arrived and a longtail boat began transferring people from the beach to the waiting ferries. More small boats arrived and sped the process up, and by 10:30 the ferries headed for Krabi Town. We arrived 45 minutes later and were whisked away to a military compound where a crisis centre was set up. This housed the homeless and provided first aid to those in need. Since we didn't need either, we promptly left and found a hotel room with TV, A/C and a hot shower in town.

All afternoon ambulances transported the dead and wounded down the main street past our hotel, which was patrolled by the police and army to ensure they could pass through the traffic quickly.

Needless to say, we downed a few beers in the evening!

Our plans from here
Tomorrow (29th) we are heading down to Kuala Lumpar for a few days, and New Year, then on to Singapore. We are not returning home as our health is good (Andrew has recovered from the dodgy ice-cream) and we are safe. Thanks to all who have contacted us concerned about our safety - it's nice to know so many people thought of us.