Published on January 12, 2005

Even the drag queens of Patong’s once-bustling beach-road area are feeling the pinch as it struggles to recover after the devastating tsunami of two weeks ago.

“Nobody comes here anymore,” said Prasert, resplendent in a transparent black outfit with a low V-neck.

Lingering in front of a shop along the coastal street, Prasert (last name withheld) said he used to earn up to Bt4,000 a night and now makes less than Bt200.

“My life has to move on and perhaps I must go to other tourist destinations like Samut in Surat Thani, or Pattaya.”

Once a nightlife paradise with colourful lighting and an energetic vibe famous throughout the world, Patong beach is a long way from recovering from the disaster. The seaside resort used to be the most expensive spot in Phuket, where merchants and bar owners enjoyed the custom of several million tourists a year.

But that was before December 26, when virtually the entire beachfront area and much of the beach road were wiped out by the massive waves. Today, the debris and wreckage remain as some shops and bars struggle to survive.

Boonsueb Krandee, 33, said she lost her three gift shops in Patong worth Bt7.5 million.

“All the Christmas stock in my shops is gone because of the tsunami,” she said.

A resident of Samut Prakan, Boonsueb began her business 10 years ago when she set up shops catering to foreign customers. Like other shop owners, she filled up her shop inventories with a variety of tourist products ahead of the Christmas and New Year period.

Boonsueb said her problems were exacerbated by the fact that her landlord had refused to reduce the Bt15,000 monthly leasing fee for her Patong businesses.

“The landlord told me that he also suffered and could not give me a discount,” she said.

Boonsueb was counting on the continuing boon of the Phuket tourist industry. In 2003, she paid Bt9 million up front to secure a three-year contract to lease three shops on Patong beach, plus a monthly lease of Bt15,000 for each of the shops. If the stores could fetch more than Bt100,000 a day during the peak season, she would have recovered her investment.

Now she can only make Bt1,000 a day.

Boonsueb doesn’t have high hopes for the government’s huge donation project either, which she heard was a “a billion here and a billion there”.

“I think it’s hopeless because the government requires lots of paperwork, business planning and collateral that I don’t have,” she said.

Vech, a native of Lop Buri who opened his beer bar on Patong beach 10 years ago, said his nightly earnings had dropped from Bt60,000 to Bt10,000 after he reopened on January 7.

“Tourists moved out of Patong and our customers are now limited to foreigners who live in the province.”

He said his monthly rent was fixed and he was now unable to generate enough income to cover it.

“We believe Patong will return to being a lucrative tourist destination next season, but the problem is how to survive until then,” he added.

Somluck Srimalee

The Nation

PATONG BEACH, PHUKET

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