THAILAND: The Thai tourist industry still faces huge challenges, writes Clifford Coonan in southern Thailand
Yuppadee Mayrea was forced to run up into the mountains behind her house when the tsunami hit Khao Lak beach almost one year ago, but the wave stopped just short of her family's seafood restaurant in this former tourist hot-spot.
"My family was okay but eight of my cousins died," said the 18-year-old, speaking loudly to be heard above the earth-movers and steamrollers replacing the smashed buildings and roads near the restaurant.
Compared with Banda Aceh in Indonesia, Thailand got off relatively lightly during the St Stephen's Day tsunami, with about 5,400 victims, half of them tourists.
Of those, 2,400 died on the beaches and surrounding areas near Khao Lak, 100km (62 miles) north of Phuket in Phang Nga province.
Khao Lak has had to start again and rebuild from the bottom up.
While Ms Yuppadee's restaurant was not damaged, business is bad.
Signs along the road to Khao Lak advertise hotels that are no longer there. There were 6,000 hotel rooms before the tsunami; now there is about one quarter of that. Family tourism has all but dried up; the only visitors you see are a smattering of backpackers.
"Last year we were full all the time during the high season, but this year we never get more than 30 per cent. Long term, I think Khao Lak will recover but in the meantime, who knows?" said Ms Yuppadee.
In Namkem, where so many local fisherman died and which was completely flattened by the tsunami, the army has built scores of bungalows paid for by Thai and foreign donors, each one bearing a blue shield saying who paid for them, like Driessen Aircraft or Thai Spice Restaurant, San Diego. Some wrecked buildings have spray-painted messages saying: "Need help rebuild house".
Here and there huge trawlers washed ashore by the wave stand as memorials. Many of the fishermen have had their long-tail fishing boats replaced and life is coming back to Namkem.
Further up the coast from Khao Lak, Wat Yanyao, a Buddhist temple which acted as a makeshift mortuary for hundreds of victims, is deserted except for a few dogs and roaming cockerels, with flags celebrating the king's birthday flapping in the wind.
It's in stark contrast to the scene less than one year ago, when the temple was full of white-overalled forensic experts and body bags were everywhere.
The bodies have all been moved to the Victim Identification Centre, which is en route to Khao Lak. It also has a memorial to the victims with each country affected by the tsunami. Forensic experts are still working here to identify the remains of victims.
The route also goes past the Thai coastguard vessel, which was deposited 3km (1.9 miles) inland by the wave. The boat is now a photo opportunity.
On Phuket island, things are about 90 per cent back to normal and most of the renovation is finished. The Irish bar in Patong is open for business and the road at the beachfront is festooned with signs promising grand openings.
People are sunbathing on the lounge chairs which have been restored to the beachfront, others jog along the waterline and the hawkers selling trinkets and giving massages are back in business.
Suwanarat Chupol, who offers massages and pedicures on the waterfront and was on the beach when the wave hit, is relieved.
"They're coming back. I was so worried my business would disappear. But now they're talking about the high season being very busy so that's a relief," said Ms Chupol.
Alessandro Malevisi, a doctor from Venice, is a regular visitor to Phuket and was on the island just before the tsunami. He has been back twice as a show of support.
"The people have been working 24 hours a day. In parts of Patong, it's like nothing happened," he said. He points to the promontory off Patong which bore the brunt of the tsunami and stopped it hitting the town with the same force that it hit places such as Khao Lak.
"Patong was lucky, the wave was not as strong here. I am here because it's important to show support. I came here three months after the wave, my family thought I was mad, but I think I did the right thing," he said.
The Pearl Hotel, where the Irish government set up its emergency contact desk, is fully booked for the high season, said Wanida Limsawadee, who works on the cash desk.
"It's nearly the same as last year. People don't seem worried about the tsunami, some bookings have cancelled but others have taken their place, we have lots of people from Japan, Singapore and Russia. And there are a lot of Scandinavians too," she said.
A complete warning system for the entire Andaman coast is expected to be fully working by the end of next year.
Tourism in Phuket has been boosted by people opting to go there instead of Bali in Indonesia, where a series of terrorist attacks has hit visitor numbers. No one expects the tsunami to come back but terrorism can do long-term damage to tourism.
Even Scandinavians, who made up many of the tourists who died in the tsunami, are coming back.
About 14,000 people are expected to attend memorial ceremonies in southern Thailand to mark the tsunami anniversary, including relatives of the four Irish victims.