When the waves came (1)

Thai youngster Nort is small for his age, and I must have looked imposingly tall, I thought later – but then he has a farang boyfriend, he told me, so meeting me can't have been that big a surprise.

Nort, 20, is my internet friend from Sam Sen Nai, in Phayathai, Bangkok. After chatting on-line, we agreed to meet at the Mall Bang Kae, about 20 minutes' from my place, and more than an hour from his own.

When we met outside the mall, neither of us knew what to make of the other. We stood there for a few seconds, wondering what to do next.

We spent the next 15 minutes trying to find somewhere to sit and talk. I am not good at malls, I told him. I hadn't been inside one for months.

Nort is studying business part-time at Ramkamhaeng University, but has also served one year as a soldier.

On Dec 26, 2004 he was staying with relatives in Phangnga when the tsunami struck, taking away his parents. An only child, he had gone into the main part of town for the day. He saw the waves come in, and the destruction they left in their wake, but talks about their tragic toll mainly with humour.

In fact, to listen to his account, the drama sounds exciting rather than tragic – stories of bodies and cars ending up on the top of beach-front apartment buildings, of navy ships being swept from one side of the island to the other.

Like many of those who lost their loved ones, he joined the ranks of volunteers working for forensic scientist Pornthip Rojanasunand in the clean-up operation in Phangnga. He's proud to say he met the khunying, who is something of a heroine among my Thai partner Maiyuu's circle of friends as well.

Nort is just as funny talking about the year he spent in the army. Once he signed up, he found he couldn't leave until his one year was finished. He did not enjoy the experience, but is sure it added to his character.

Nort is so small he was often mistaken for a teenager. He had trouble holding and carrying a gun, and the recoil hurt his body. 'Two minutes for a shower once a day – it was too much!' he says with a laugh.

Today he lives in Phayathai under the nominal care of his aunt, who spends most of her time in Chiang Mai but asks a neighbour to keep an eye on Nort when she is not there.

Otherwise he lives his life alone – feeding himself, doing his own washing, ironing. He studies on the weekend, working on a degree he says will take four years to complete.

That leaves his weekdays worryingly free – too much time for someone his age to spend alone, and I suspect too close to the local internet shop, where he spends many hours a day.

now, see part 2