Tsunami Ghosts Keep Tourists Away From Phuket

by Pueng Vongs

(PNS) -- Some three months after the tsunami waves invaded its shores, Phuket's most popular beaches are haunted by ghosts, locals say.

Stretches of white sand here are mostly deserted in the height of the hot season, even though many coastal areas have been rebuilt. Fears of spirits are keeping Thais away. One visitor is even said to have captured the image of a spirit on a cell phone camera and circulated the photo via the Internet.

Thais have believed in the spirit world and animism since ancient times, when higher beings were thought to control natural phenomenon such as rain and trees. These beliefs became intertwined with Buddhism, which spread throughout the kingdom, and were passed down through the generations.

Many Thais say the souls of some of the 5,300 persons who perished on Thailand's southern shores are still looking for answers. Some say that "pieeh," or ghosts, can be seen swimming along the beaches at night. A tuk tuk driver said one evening he stopped to pick up passengers only to find there was no one there. Even a multi-denominational gathering of more than 100 Buddhist and Muslim leaders to "purify" the island did not quell the strong belief that the resort area is haunted.

The fear of ghosts has greatly hurt an island heavily dependent on tourism, which generates roughly $2.5 billion a year. The steepest drop in tourism since the tsunami has been visits by domestic visitors, which declined by almost half.

Kanda Tetanonsakul, a Thai-born, United Kingdom-educated art director for a Bangkok-based French fashion magazine, says it will be five to 10 years before she returns to one of her favorite vacation spots. "My coworker just got back from Phuket and told me of how a spirit followed her home," she says.

It's not just Thais who fear unruly spirits, but also other Asians. After the Bali bombing, tourists from countries like Korea, China and Japan were very slow to return, also due to fears of spirits, says Chris Tan of Sea Tours in Bangkok. "Two years later, the Asian market is still not the same," Tan says.

Nantawan Kosai, an 18-year Phuket resident, says the superstitions are nonsense and only hurt the residents who depend on the tourism business now more than ever as they try to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. Kosai says she knows the tuk tuk driver who began the rumor that he saw ghosts. "He said that for attention," she says.

Following the tsunami, many residents have also been fighting their own demons. "They have become more religious and blame themselves for the disaster," Kosai says. "They think it was brought on by misdeeds like greed."

In the past decade, development on Phuket multiplied ten-fold. Hotels, restaurants and umbrella stands sit in practically every scenic nook and cranny. In some areas dozens of establishments that challenged the shoreline were wiped out by the tsunami in a blink. Many small proprietors say they have learned their lesson. The Thai government has also promized to curtail development in ecologically sensitive areas.

Western media has also done its share of perpetuating misconceptions and myths that have hurt the island, Thais here say. It failed to adequately distinguish the damage in Phuket from other, much more heavily damaged sites in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

"Major news networks would mention the damage in Phuket but show coverage in Aceh," Tan says. Phuket sustained only a fraction of the 163,000 deaths in Aceh. Mainstream media also failed to explain enough that much of the damage on the island was distant from Phuket's main beaches. As a result, coverage lead many to believe the entire island was leveled. Major news agencies also reported a high threat of epidemics and contaminated food and water that never materialized.

Despite all of the fears and rumors, many are slowly starting to return to Phuket. Occupancy rates on the island's 50,000 hotel rooms have crept up from 10 percent in January to 30 percent in February. Many are repeat visitors from the West who have a relationship with the island and also those who want to help, including a large number of intrepid Americans.

Americans like Mickey Howley have been traveling to Phuket en masse to help rebuild the island. Howley and several hundred other volunteers at a camp in Khao Lak are rebuilding homes and schools. He says they are teaching many families who lost breadwinners sustainable living skills such as English and Western cooking techniques.

"Over 80 percent of families here lost a relative, but you wouldn't be able to tell from anyone's face," he says. Thais' resiliency is "such a positive influence on anyone who comes here."

In a heartening shift from the heavy anti-American sentiment in neighboring countries, Americans are heralded almost everywhere on the island and have helped reconstruct an image of tourists seen by some locals as careless with the island and the culture. Together, Americans and Thais may be creating new stories and legacies.