TSUNAMI & INDONESIA’S FIRES

I’ve heard lots of questions about the effects of the 2004 tsunami that devastated 11 countries along the Indian Ocean -- especially Sri Lanka, the beaches on Phuket (Thailand) and the entire northern tip of Sumatra (Indonesia). Although 68 people died in Malaysia, the country feels lucky; since 229,866 people were lost in the region. Malaysia was fortunate, because Indonesia shielded the wave(s). I’m guessing that’s why the Malaysian government doesn’t put up a bigger stink about Indonesia’s fires. That was the biggest bummer about Malaysia for me. Every year Indonesian farmers burn their crops and forests as a cheap way of cultivating the land. This creates thick smoke and serious health problems, not only for Indonesians but also their neighbors in Malaysia and Singapore. Someone has to stop this. It was so bad when I was there in early October that it shut down some airports and schools. I don’t recommend traveling to this region when these burns take place (in 2006 they began in July; the worst occurred in October). For more information about the 2006 Southeast Asian haze, click here.