Waterworld

The past week or so Korat and many other parts of Northeast Thailand have been under water.  Apparently, it was the worst flooding in 15 years.  No doubt there was massive destruction, property ruined, farms destroyed, and lives lost, but there always seems to be another side to natural disasters in Thailand - particularly floods, which aside from the undeniable devastation, can be kinda fun. 

All of the floods I've lived through while in Korat or Chaiyaphum have always been more like events than "disasters".  Granted, there is always that initial anxiety when the water starts to rise, but soon after it stops, and everyone has assessed the damage to their property, it was time to drive around town to see who had more damage, park your car in the middle of a newly formed lake and give it a long overdue wash, let the kids play in their new pool, throw out that old TV that didn't have a remote control anyway, go see the big politician or movie star who has come to hand out supplies... Instead of feeling humbled and awed by the power of Mother Nature, I always felt like a Circus had come to town unexpectedly.

This time, I'm high and dry in Bangkok, so I've plucked some pictures from multiple websites and forums* that show Thai people in the different stages of post-flood life (ie after the water stops rising), as they try to survive and put their lives back together - and, as always, doing their best to make the most of a bad situation with that eternal Thai smile.

Okay, not everyone is smiling....

*I got the pictures from the following websites:

Korat Farang

Paradoo

Pantip Forum

Sirichai Digital