I have received many calls, sms and emails after the strong earthquake in Padang on 30 Sept 2009 evening to check whether I was in Padang or get hurt or not. I appreciate your concern and the care and love you people shower on me. I would like to post it so that I can inform more people about what is happening in Padang especially to SHC who have travelled to Padang and Bukit Tinggi.
For the past 4 days I have been calling our lobster friends Mr Tham and Ms Ho frantically on their mobiles and home lines but not accessible. To my great relief I received a call this morning from Mr Tham and Ms Ho saying that they are safe and are in Solok now. Their house in Padang had collapsed totally. Luckily the workers have not returned from Hari Raya and nobody is hurt. They told me that the quake is so strong that it was literally shaking constantly. Although they are seasoned by the on and off quakes in the past, this time was so strong that they were scared and terrified.
The hotel which Terence and I stayed in Padang, Hotel Mariani (oposite Hotel Bumiminang) is collapsed totally. One Singaporean, John Lee was buried in the rubble for 25 hours when Hotel Mariani collapsed. He was alive and rescued. Long live to him.
We hope and pray that Padang (and many other surrounding towns) and its people will overcome this natural disaster. Amen.
By Chin HW
I have conveyed the care and concerns from SHCian who had known Mr Tham and Ms Ho and they appreciate very much. They asked me to say a big thank you to all of you.
Frankly they really really took good care of us during our two trips to Padang and Bukit Tinggi.
They have since returned to Padang to start all over again a hew home and their business now. As Padang is destroyed 80%, hotel accommodations are not many. Hotel Bumiminang has serious cracks and is not safe to be used now. Bukit Tinggi is not affected by the quake.
Frisna #17, I suggest we donate to Red Cross Singapore.
Hi Chin,
Glad to hear that Mr Tham and Ms Ho are both ok. Mmmmmm…….their whole house collapse you said? What about the poor lobsters too – so no more lobsters for us for awhile I guess but anyway, good for our health since they’re very high on cholesterol. Pls do help me convey our wishes to them should you be in touch with them again.
I guess everything is fated, if your time is near, nothing can stop it from happening but we’re all glad that you’re fine and so is our friends in Padang. Take care.
Best regards
Lisa
Hi Chin
How about collecting donations from SHC for the disaster, you be the EO and I be your assistant (if need be). We can either deliver the goods/money to Padang directly or channel the fund under SHC name thru Singapore Red Cross
Thank you Steven and NancyM-Tan for agreeing with me.
It is reported that the Indon govt will be pouring more than $600 mio in the recontruction of Padang, with buildings which will be able to withstand a magnitude-8 hit. Let’s hope that the bulk of this money wont be dissipated elsewhere but into direct & actual constuction and material costs. Padangites deserve better.
Further to the south east, the jury has returned with a guilty verdict after protracted deliberation. Having kept a keen eye on this case, I am with the jury and feel that justice is finally done although the defence counsel did put up a forceful argument which could have cast a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury (think it was a majority, not unanimous, decision),
In Padang as well as in NSW, lives were senselesssly cut short. The dead are gone but their loved ones live to mourn and struggle with the pain of losing someone so dear to them for a long time.
In Padang, deaths were caused by what is generally regarded as an act of godd (a terrible misnomer, isnt it?) whilst in the other case, it’s an act of a hog. Alas, we have not seen their last acts, godd or hog………..
The casualties from these calamity are indescribable, hence i would like to convey my sincere condolences to the victims that perished that their losses are my sorrow.
From this episode, we should learn to treasure the people around us with love and care while we can or else nothing left to be said when they left us.
Rose White
Life feels so unpredictable, and you wonder what will happen to you next. People die unexpectedly, death is easier when one has lived to a full life and dies at a ripe age but when a child or an adult dies whoes age is not yet senior, I question why these young and gentle souls are taken, none of us understand the flow of the universe, I feel very upset over the natural disasters that happen all over the world that had taken lives away.
Tim Liu has well said in his post.
We struggle life’s unpredictability, life is a gift we are granted moment by moment,we should never miss an opportunity to show affection to our loved ones, our relatives and our friends.We should not take things for granted.
I pray that those who were rescued have a rapid recovery.
Hi Chin and SH readers,
My apology with reference to #10 first sentence. I had typed “Praise the Lord (not Pray) that you and those we know are safe and sound”. Initially, I encountered a minor problem in getting through. I tried the second time without checking. Now that I see the error, it is embarrassing. So folks please pardon me….
Jane Loh
Hi Tim Liu,
……in one’s life as we just wont know when we will be taken away.
You are right.
Life is unpredictable. Death is certain.
So whatever time we had remaining ,made good use of it.
We are able to identify and feel more for the suffering survivors because we were there just a few months back and brought home fond memories stored in fotos and videos made of the friendly people, a peek at their simple lives and how easy going these folks are.
Perhaps, that bright & sunny receptionist at Hotel Mariani who made Terence turn his head swivel – the root cause of his headache and panadol popping – may now be buried under the mounds of debris and calling out to him weakly one last time.
Life is really about timing. We made not 1 but 2 trips to Padang and we all returned with no bigger a loss than some sleep. Had Chin been indisposed or felt that the 2nd trip should be further apart from the first, and to try the Mariani for accommodation, there might be a lot more and real aching pain and sorrow in this forum now.
Life is fragile and fraught with unpredictables. I am writing this moment, may be maimed the next and gone the day after. So, I am convinced that the desire to be a good today and a better person tomorrow is not too far from making the best in one’s life as we just wont know when we will be taken away.
Hi Chin,
Pray that you and those we know are safe and sound. We extend our sympathies to those affected. We pray for them to be comforted, recovered and strengthened. I hope the survivors be able to pick up and rebuild what has been lost or destroyed. Life has to go on…..
Yes I, too, remember the people we met on my first trip to Padang. I am glad that Mr. Tham n his wife are safe. I hope and pray that the bus driver, tour guide and teenage bus attendant are safe and sound too. Life is going to be hard for them as they need to rebuild all that they have already achieved.
We count ourselves really lucky to be living in Singapore and away from the quake zones and I am glad that I did not miss the trip to Padang before this disaster which I almost did….
Yeap Nor #4, I wonder too, how’s the driver, the guide & the boy?? yes of cos I remember the time in the bus teasing him to sit when he looked so kesian…. only bring back fond memories of Padang.
Chin, thanks for updating us all here. When I saw those pictures in the papers…gosh, I wonder what have become of the bridge we once stood taking pics. Has it been destroyed or collapsed as well ?…hmm…. now we can only keep photos of the scenery in rememberance….so sad!
After reading the Straits Times this morning, I am saddened by the disastrous Earthquake in Padang. Imaging we were enjoying ourselves there in early August and what if it happened right in front of us! Aiyooo…… can’t imagine that. Wonder if the restaurant where we eat our “nasi padang” upon arrival, were affected, because it’s so near the beach.
So glad that Chin and his business associate, Mr Tham & Ms Ho are safe. Nor, Hope that the driver, tour guide & that assistant teenage boy are also safe & sound. We are helpless here, we can only pray for them & the rest in our prayer.
Ah Nee
Hi Padang nites,
Today NST pps hilight pictures of the landslidesin Pariaman,
which remind me of the landscapes around the 88 180 deg bend where the whole grp scream aloud at every bend. I just quietly my mouth and close my eyes or I will thrown out ; getting nausea.
Yes Chin, we are glad that you were not in Padang. Blessed
Mr Tam & Ms Ho that they are safe and sound.
Nor, how can I forget ? We had a good time and enjoyable trip but now…we can only pray and hope for the best to the
unfortunate people there.
PakChin
I am so glad that u started this post…so that we can chat & hv news updated on the wellbeing of our frens & the people in Padang
So blessed that we are all safe…
Padang & Bukit Tinggi hv become so acquianted to us …we had fond memories of these places…dont u agree?…to shcians who visited..rite?(1st & 2nd group)
Just minutes ago…when i took the newspaper…another sad news…landslides
wipe out villages!…triggered by the earlier earthquake!
I looked outside my house…mango trees bearing fruits..the birds chirping & flying happily so free..we are so blessed to stay in Spore…& thru the peaceful sky…i looked & my hearts ache ,shed tears when thinking our our Padang frens…while im glad that Mr Tham,Ms Ho are safe & fine…wonder what happen to our tour guides?…the handsome driver who drove us expertly thru the hills & mountains & always smiling(Bira..remember we always tease him), the innocent boy who all the way in the coach standing at the doorway even when we asked him to take sit.(Ahnee,SuzChang,remember?).he so shy & of course the bubbly & naughty joker ‘backside’ guide(Im sure everyone agreed & easily recalled how he so funny.. when he tried to translate in English!)..I gazed again at the passing clouds ..send my hopes & prayed that our dear frens are coping & safe….
Hi Chin,
I for one has not experience any earth quake but from the the CNA and ST newspps, I was shocked to see the whole town of Padang being “devastated” like a War Zone.
However,we are very relief to hear that Mr Tham , Ms Ho and yourself are SAFE & SOUND.
……The hotel which Terence and I stayed in Padang, Hotel Mariani (oposite Hotel Bumiminang ) is collapsed totally.
What happens then to the Hotel Bumiminang which we had stayed ? Pls. update. Thanks.
Aren’t we lucky to visit Padang in its normal state earlier before the quake and as such had “escaped” from this natural disaster ?
No wonder there are few tall buildings in Padang as it is so earthquake prone.
As for those victims of the quake, we prayed for their recovery.
Hi Chin, thanks for the update.
Oh dear so sad to hear about Padang, as this is natural desater,what can we do accept to feel sorry for the people.
I am sure all us are very glad to hear that Mr Tham & Ms Ho are safe & sound.
We will keep them in our prayers..
eileen
Hi Chin,
We are glad that you, Mr Tham and Ms Ho are physically
unaffected by the earthquake.
May I wish all of you continue to live in good health.
pls send our regards to them on your next contact with them.
rgds,
james n susan