Phuket is a tourist haven for foreigners from all over the world, but mostly Southeast Asia and some from Europe. I met a family on the beach from Washington and he’s Air Force, stationed in Singapore. They flew over for the beaches (1 ½ hrs) since there are none comparable around them or in Malaysia.

There are many, many beaches (30-40) and resorts. We expected to go to one and relax for a few hours, but I think they just wanted us to see some of them, so we only had about 30 minutes for swimming at one late in the day. No one else went in, so I’m not sure what they do normally. Maybe they do relax instead of showing all the sights. Beam has visited here before, but even she had not seen the sights that we saw so we’re thankful for that. There are also many islands and inlets surrounding this larger one. Phuket is about the same size as Singapore, but only has about 600,000 pop. Compared to 4 ½ million for Singapore.

We stayed at a VERY, VERY nice “western style” 19 story downtown hotel with a great pool, fantastic fitness center and complimentary breakfast buffet (about $33/night) with a teacher discount (about half price).

Among the sights we saw were the biggest Buddha in Asia ( 45 meters high & marble) on a high hill in the city, plus other high lookouts. But the most moving was a visit to a school of one of Beam’s friends.

There are 7 secondary schools (7-12) on the island and hers is the largest 3,500 and I’m sure the nicest (also girls only). The boys is right across the street and some boys may go there for specialty in English and vice versa for science and math. That should be a big motivator for the boys!

The director is a remarkable man, seemingly gifted in leadership. Soon after he was hired he noticed how uncomfortable the students were which caused them to be distracted and talk during their weekly (large group graded) assembly. So he raised money from the community and completely remodeled the LARGE group meeting space and installed air conditioning so the students would be more comfortable and quiet. The space is available to the community also, anytime they need it. Their test scores rank second in the country behind some school in Bangkok, which is also source of pride. But his main accomplishment on campus revolves around the tsunami.

Thailand was hit hard, with about 10,000 deaths (one being the king’s son, the prince). Their school lost 3 students and 7 parents, including one entire family unit of mom and dad. The director had a vision that would honor and help the victims. First, the staff with input from student interviews, etc. wrote a book about the tragedy. All the proceeds from the book went to the victims and their families on Phuket Island. He then went to private sources (including the monks) and built a BEAUTIFUL addition of four rooms onto the school. One houses a memorial to the victims, with DVD’s documenting the damage (graphic and moving). The king and queen of Sweden stood in that room when they paid their respects to the victims. According to the director, no one even knew about a tsunami (an English student visiting there saw the water suddenly drop and go out to sea and warned everyone to run). So the room also serves an educational purpose for the public.

Another room is a museum of their culture over the years, the third is a temple and the fourth honors the princess and her relief work for the area. In addition he has also raised about 2 million dollars to add a building onto their campus, adding rooms, but also as a place to house victims if it ever happens again. All in all, a VERY emotional and moving experience.

On the drive back to Sadao we stopped at a National park (saw some tiny “walking fish), we visited a cave (with plenty of very tight squeezes) plus saw lots of monkeys, and continued to eat wonderful Thai dishes! A great trip. Now two days of work and the weekend.