Newsletter Article

Ghosts and Palm Trees
at the Tropicana

by Jason Rolan

In Khao Lak, the Tropicana Resort catered to mainly northern European clientele. Its ideal location on Khuk Kak beach made it a haven for those escaping harsh northern winters.

Reception Area at the Tropicana in the Glory Days

December 26, 2004 brought its destruction and the demise of many other resorts in the area.

The Tropicana Today

I went to see firsthand what had happened. As I stood gazing at the beach I heard a car pull up behind me. A forest monk, a nun and a female uposika (a lay person who lives and helps in a monastery) got out. After exchanging pleasantries, the monk Phra Teung, sat on a mat, faced the ocean, closed his eyes and meditated. Forest monks typically focus more on meditation and stricter adherence to the 227 principles of monastic behavior set forth by the Buddha. They also wear brown robes instead of orange.

The nun and the uposaka had several sacks of food and flowers. These they set out in a display. Then Phra Teung lit several sticks of incense and placed them with the food. “What are you doing this for?” I asked. Phra Teung replied that they were making offerings to appease the ghosts that live on the beach.

Water, Food and Incense for the Spirits

Thais are very superstitious and believe wholeheartedly in ghosts. They believe ghosts will appear and try to show where their body is located, so it may be treated to a proper funeral. When the wave hit, many tourists perished on the beach. Supposedly their ghosts still frolic noisily on the beach at night, thinking that they are still alive. Perhaps this is why there has yet to be any reconstruction on this beach. Phra Teung explained that his mission was to try and appease the restless Farang (western) and Thai spirits who try to point the way to corpses not yet recovered. He had traveled to several areas on the coast already and would continue to lay offerings on several more beaches.

The locals are so nervous about encounters with ghosts that the entire length of the nearby highway is lined with holy sai sin. Sai Sin is plain cotton thread that is blessed and, among other things, supposedly prevents ghosts from passing. Now ghosts can't wander up from the beach into residential areas on the other side of the highway.

Oddly, the Tropicana Resort's website is still functioning with no mention of the tsunami whatsoever. A striking parallel to the ghosts on the beach who do not realize they are dead.

Not a Power Line; Sai Sin Lining the Entire Length of the Highway

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Phra Teung inquired. “I don't know. I've never encountered one,” I replied.

The Author and Phra Teung

The uposika produced another sack of food and Phra Teung then invited me to eat with him. Normally monks eat only with other monks, and lay people wait until the monks are finished before eating. I took this invitation as an honor.

Trees Over the Ruined Tropicana

During the meal, Phra Teung pointed out to me the oddity that some of the palm trees survived and others didn't. We mused on how this could happen. Two supposedly identical trees hit by the same wave, and one tree falls.

We never came to an adequate conclusion as to why, but we agreed it should be taken as a lesson in perseverance. “In the face of problems, we should be strong and we will survive too,” he observed, before taking leave.