Phuket Post :: Article :: Abode of angels

�We wanted to create a place beautiful enough for angels,� says Khun Kantima, explaining the inspiration behind the name of the Apsaras Beach Resort & Spa.

Apsara is a Sanskrit word meaning 'Celestial nymphs'.

If heavenly maidens were to indeed descend on the Earth, they are sure to feel quite at home in this stunning abode.

Located on a seemingly endless stretch of virgin Andaman shore, the Apasaras Beach Resort & Spa rises up against the breathtaking foreground of Laem Prakaran beach, Khao Lak.

The tableau is picturesque, the serenity overwhelming. Khao Lak still retains the natural charm and beauty of an unspoiled landscape.

A luxuriously long swimming pool curves through the sprawling premises designed in modern Thai architectural style. Palms and other greens take pride of place through-out the resort.

Gazing upon this vision of peace and comfort, you would hardly guess that three years ago, on this very site stood the ravaged remains of a hotel torn apart by nature's fury.

Khao Lak was one of the worst hit regions in 2004, when the tsunami tore in with its devastating tidings, wreaking havoc on homes, businesses, livelihoods...and so many lives.

All that was left of their Blue Village Bungalows and Villas, (the Scandinavian boutique brand), was an empty shell, with only a few beams and portions of walls holding up the memories of what, so painfully recently, had been a thriving resort filled to capacity.

As we sip our coffees at cafe in Phuket, Khun Chatree and Khun Kantima recall the sudden collapse of their dream.

On that fateful weekend, the couple were in Phuket, where they still have their home. Khun Kantima recounts how she and her children, spending the Sunday at Laguna Resorts escaped the first onslaught of the waves by running to safety to higher ground. Unaware of exactly what had happened, the screams and confusion were enough to make her pack her family into the car and drive to Phuket city. �Phone lines were down, the roads were jammed, everything was a complete mess. I had to take another route to into town, all the main roads were blocked with traffic.�

For the next 24 hours, they could reach no one by phone. Television reports screamed disaster, but it was only the next day, when they drove to Khao Lak, that they realised the magnitude of their loss.

There was nothing else to it, they would have to start all over again.

�The biggest decision for us at this time,� recalls Khun Kantima, �was � did we want to restart?�

After a long period of contemplation the couple decided that they would indeed, rebuild their dream. Quite literally, as of course it was to be.

With the many hundreds of others who suffered such huge losses, they set about recreating their business. This time, they decided to go it without Blue Village, so as not to be restricted to Scandinavian tourists.

With government support, slowly, the region limped back to normality. One of the biggest impediments, Khun Chatree says, was the lack of people willing to work along the coastline again. A mass exodus of labour saw hundreds flock to Samui and other destinations on the East coast of Thailand, spared by the tsunami.

�The more educated people had access to media and news from various sources,� explains Khun Kantima, �and so were aware of the unlikelihood of such a thing happening again. A large portion of the service staff however, had no such reassurance. It took a long time for them to come back to working in the region.�

The couple ploughed on, endorsing their confidence with their presence and investment, spending much of their time on the resort, determined to bring things back to normal.

Another mammoth task was of course, coaxing those all-important tourists to come back. It has been a struggle. Only this year, say the couple, have numbers begun to pick up in earnest, with signs of real improvement.

Their commitment to their trade is by no means random. Khun Chatree comes from a family that has owned and operated hotels in Phuket and Khao Lak for almost two decades. Both Khun Kantima and he studied Hotel Management in Switzerland, many years ago.

In fact, that's where they met. Not long after she met the man she was to eventually marry, Khun Kantima quit her Political Science studies to switch to Hotel Management.

�Because of me,� beams Khun Chatree chirpily. �It was fate. What we should do was so clear to us�

More than a decade on, the couple looks at each other fondly, before they turn back to me to explain that they then moved back to Thailand and worked at five-star hotels, before taking the step to have their own.

Working 7 days a week, the couple now strives to full fill their commitment to creating a heaven on earth.

They would like to see Khao Lak remain the heaven it is, too. They shudder at the thought of this paradise turning into an all too familiar tourist trap with the kind of bars and rampant development that plague many erstwhile idyllic locations in Thailand. �We certainly don't want to see Khao Lak go down that road.

�Of course we would like to see good development,� they clarify. �Better roads, good water supply, excellent phone lines, we would like to see all these facilities improve. But not at the cost of the beauty and peace that Khao Lak has in so much abundance just now.

�There is so much to do, so much to discover in Khao Lak, tourists who come there will be delighted with the many activities that are close to nature. That is the beauty of Khao Lak.�

And that's how they want it to stay. A place fit for apsaras.