Chants and incense for remembrance

The family of Kim Walsh left flowers near where she died. Picture / Brett Phibbs

KHAO LAK - The smell of incense and the peaceful sounds of chanting drift in the still air at the devastated Sofitel Magic Lagoon and Spa resort on the beachfront at Khao Lak in southern Thailand.

Nine orange-robed Buddhist monks sit cross-legged in a row holding a long piece of white string stretched out in front of them.

The string is like a pathway, helping the offerings placed in front of the monks - toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, practical things - to travel to the spirits of the tsunami victims.

Among the mostly Thai congregation at this intimate memorial service of about 30 people sit two Australians.

The mother and sister of Kim Walsh, 39, who died in room number 3122 on the ground floor, clasp their hands in prayer with the others.

This ceremony is just one of many held along this long strip of coastline in Phang Nga province on the Boxing Day anniversary of the tsunami.

Its cream-coloured sand and deep blue sea had attracted tourists from around the world this time last year.

Earlier, Karen Emerson, 36, and her mother Ruth Franklin, 61, from Western Australia, had laid flowers on the beach, red roses and white carnations in memory of Kim, pretty and vibrant.

The pair then walked through the ruined hotel to Kim's shell of a room and laid more flowers and a photo of her, both emerging in tears.

Kim was inside with her husband when the tsunami struck.

"He survived but she didn't," says Karen Emerson.

"She was my eldest daughter," begins Ruth before tears choke any further words.

Being here is helpful, says Karen. "We are hoping to get a little bit of closure. It's good to see where she was."

A Muslim service is being held here, and a Christian one.

Further down the coast an official ceremony is held at the site of a large police boat which was washed ashore and still rests a kilometre inland.

Hundreds of people gather here, the speeches read out over a loudspeaker and a poem recited by an English girl who survived and helped others.

A minute's silence is held at 10.30am, the moment the water powered through. Flowers are laid at a shrine near the boat, by the Thai and foreign families of those who died in this area.

People write messages on a giant white notebook while a volunteer shades them from the searing sun with a big umbrella.

One man writes: "Thank you to the people of Thailand for being there with us when we needed help".

A family from Sweden, dressed in white, stands together clutching each other and wiping at the tears which will not stop.

Several thousand tourists died on these beaches, and with them the Thai staff who ran the hotels and restaurants on crowded land that was once a tourist city, much of it simply washed away.

The sadness is so intense at times it is like a current in the air, and not just here.

On Phi Phi Island, a Scottish man's hunt for his nephew's body ended with finding him, bloated and partially eaten by sea creatures.

And the desperate loneliness of the Thai bar tender facing life alone after his wife and children were swept away.

Michelle Bond, formerly of Christchurch, made a heartbreaking search through piles of bodies to find her brother Stephen, killed at Khao Lak. Her need was to wash him, clothe him and put him somewhere nice.