Former newspaperman and martial-arts novelist Louis Cha had a narrow escape from the deadly tsunami during a family holiday to Phuket.
The natural disaster he witnessed when it destroyed the holiday resort his family was staying in was bloodier and more brutal than the scenarios he has created in any of his fiction.
Cha's secretary Fan Ng said her boss was 'sound and healthy' and planned to be back at work very soon.
His youngest son, Andrew, a restaurant owner in Wan Chai, said his father planned the holiday to take a break from his busy work schedule.
'He wanted to revitalise himself and spend some quality time with the family, it was a family retreat,' he said.
Though Andrew Cha did not accompany his father on the trip, he talked to his parents on the phone immediately after he learned of the disaster and was delighted they escaped unscathed.