Author: Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Many Thais believe ghosts are wandering tsunami-hit beaches, spooking taxi drivers, making the Andaman Sea hungry for more victims, and jinxing an economic recovery for devastated resorts.
Fish sellers and seafood restaurants are suffering a severe downturn in business along the west coast because many Thais are refusing to eat fish, amid fears that sea creatures may have nibbled human corpses swept out to sea.
"Foreign tourists will come back to Khao Lak, but many Thais and Chinese will not want to go there because so many people died, and so many ghosts are there," said Somchai, a taxi driver, as he drove along Phuket's sleek, undamaged highways.
"Thai and Chinese investors, maybe they will not want to buy property or help rebuild those resorts, because those places are bad luck," he said.
Most of Thailand's 5,300 dead perished at Khao Lak, and many have still not been identified.
About half of the total deaths were thought to be foreign tourists who were enjoying the swank resorts in Phang Nga province, just north of Phuket island.
The others were Thais who lived and worked along the gorgeous stretch of tropical beaches.
Thais and foreigners, however, are fueling ghost stories by retelling rumors and hearsay.
"Did you hear the one about the taxi driver, who picked up passengers who turned out to be ghosts?"
That question, spread through conversations, e-mail and the Thai media, has become an urban legend in Thailand.
Most versions of the tale describe an unidentified Thai taxi driver who picks up a "foreign tourist" and his Thai girlfriend, for a taxi ride to Phuket's airport or elsewhere.
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