As I’m sure most of you have already heard, there was a massive (magnitude 9) earthquake off the coast of Indonesia two days ago.
Chaos erupted at airports in Thailand as tourists, many bandaged and brought in by ambulance, tried to board flights. Hundreds of people died in Somalia, thousands of kilometres away.
The death toll rose sharply a day after the magnitude 9 quake struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia, unleashing tsunami waves six metres high. It was the world’s most powerful earthquake in four decades.
…
Powerful waves smashed into seaside towns and resorts, sweeping away boats, homes, fishermen and scores of foreigners on Christmas vacation. Among the victims were a grandson of Thailand’s king and a six-month-old Australian baby pulled by torrents from her father’s arms on the Thai island resort of Phuket. (source:
CP )
Our plans initially involved us heading straight down to the climbing area of Krabi which is located near some of the worst damage that occured in Thailand but given the severity of the incident we will most likely be staying in central and eastern Thailand (quite far away) until we can get a better idea of what conditions are like.
A has already had her shots for things like Hepatitis A/B, Typhoid, Tetanus/Diptheria, and the Flu and I have an appointment coming up to receive these vaccinations as well. We will also be taking malaria medication with us for use in high-risk areas.
We will be doing everything we can to minimize any danger to ourselves, including postponing travel to any areas which we feel are still recovering from the tsunami.
Aside from that, we’re in full trip-preparation mode and are feeling the crush of things to be done before we leave! As of this thursday (Dec 30th) we will be moving out of our place here in Squamish and heading down to the city to stay with one of A‘s gracious co-workers until we leave. In the meantime there is much packing to be done and more than enough last minute arranging to keep us busy.
