Paradise lost?

Walking the streets around Niphat-uthit II or III roads, you will hear shopkeepers or sales people trying to persuade you into their outlets or restaurants. The languages are Malay, Hakka, Hokkien and Cantonese. Bak gut tae - spicy herbal spare-rib soup - and teh terik have become the city's favourite dish and drink. Many Bangkokians think wrongly that cha chak or teh terik is a Thai invention. Of course, those who have not ventured out of Thailand think that franchised fast-food joints are also Thai creations.

A few minutes before I left my table, a well dressed, middle-aged man named Vichai sat down. He had strong views on his home town, saying that Hat Yai was dying slowly and complaining loudly that no tourists were coming.

"It's not like the good old days. The streets used to be crowded," he said.

I quickly contested his view, saying that I saw lots of Malaysian and Singaporean tourists walking around Hat Yai.

Vichai shot back, saying that I was being fooled by the presence of tourists from neighbouring countries. Then he went on at length about the most important factor that had boosted Hat Yai's economy: Thai tourists. Well, they used to flock to Hat Yai in the past, due to its reputation as the "sin city" of the South.

Vichai smiled the whole time when he talked about Hat Yai's good old days. During the city's heyday 15-20 years ago, local people were happy and business was booming. People come from all over Thailand to buy cheap electronic appliances and counterfeit goods.

"You bought only one jorakae polo shirt [a nickname for the Lacoste brand], and it was well worth your trip," he said.

Now he lamented that the same people and their children travel instead to Singapore or Hong Kong to buy "Lui" bags. He meant Louis Vuitton. He also talked about a new trend in Hat Yai - the growing number of tourists from neighbouring countries who keep Thai female companions in the city. "You can have a girl friend here at an expense of only 3,000 [Malaysian] ringgits per month," he said.

Hat Yai has been, and I suspects always will be, the most cosmopolitan city in Thailand. As a child growing up near the train station on Thammanoonvithi Road, I picked up the English, Malay and Chinese languages. Such opportunities at an early age have provided southerners like me with a panoramic view of the world and the dynamism of southern Thailand.

Returning to my home town, it is easy to yearn for the lost cultural dynamism of Thailand.