Seeing the camera, these locals stop work, giving us typical happy Thai smiles. No one would believe that just a short time ago, many of their family and friends were swept away, disappearing forever in a huge wave.

It's been a year and a half since the devastating tsunami, and these people still have plenty to do to rebuild their tiny island home.

Foreign tourists pour in from the nearby island of Phuket. They come to enjoy the blue water, white sand, tropical rainforest, and Thai hospitality. Although the tsunami is still fresh in the minds of many people, the tourists don't seem too concerned.

On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake in the Indian Ocean unleashed a devastating tsunami that traveled as far as Malaysia, and east Africa. The huge wave left more than 220 thousand people dead or missing, in its wake.