As I tried to fight my way to the surface of the thick, dirty water, I didn't know which way was up. Just moments ago, I'd been holding onto my new husband, Greg, but now I had no idea where he was - or where I was for that matter. What had started as another beautiful day in Koh Phi Phi had turned into something drastically different. This wasn't the honeymoon we'd planned.
Greg and I met when we were 14. I had a crush on him - my friends even addressed letters to “Mrs Louise Gregory Harrand” - but it wasn't until we were 29 that we got together. Just 18 months later we married on a cold, crisp day in York in December 2004. It was everything we wanted it to be.
As hoteliers, January is our quietest time, so we decided to go on honeymoon then. The plan was to stay in some resorts in Thailand and then spend five weeks travelling, but Mother Nature tragically changed everything. After landing in Thailand, we spent our days sunbathing, relaxing and scuba diving, which was a welcome relief from wedding planning. On Christmas Day, we had a barbecue in Maya Bay with some locals and on the morning of Boxing Day we were nursing a bit of a hangover.
When we woke up, we noticed our beachfront bungalow was swaying and Greg even commented on the bathroom door moving. Thinking nothing of it, we headed to breakfast, ready for another day in paradise.
Just an hour later, people started running around when we were in the hotel reception. As we stepped outside to see what had happened, we were surrounded by ankle-deep water. The panic heightened and we began running too.
Shouts of “get high” filled the air, so we headed to a nearby hotel with roof access. However, as there was only a single staircase, there was a bottleneck of people. Suddenly, a huge wave came from behind, sweeping Greg and me away instantly.
TRAPPED BELOW WATER
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