Published on December 11, 2005 - Area still a moonscape, with only 20% of its original hotels up and running and no sign of a crystal pyramid. After the wave of destruction, anguish and horror washed over Khao Lak's beachfront resorts last December, hotelier Jureeporn Taesakul took comfort in Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's promise. By the time the tsunami's first anniversary came around, the premier said, this prestigious resort area would be restored to its previous splendour, complete with a hi-tech crystal pyramid memorial to celebrate its recovery.

"In February the prime minister came here and boasted how there would be all this help for us, that we would host a grand recovery celebration on December 26 and show the world how Thailand can bounce back," said Jureeporn, whose 78-room Theptaro Resort was flattened by the tsunami.

"This is not happening at Khao Lak."

One year on, some residents still describe the resort area in Phang Nga province as a moonscape.

Anupong Sanguannam, president of the Phang Nga Tourism Association, estimates that only 20 per cent of the hotels, or 1,200 guest rooms, have returned to operation.

Jureeporn's Theptaro Resort, like many others at Khao Lak, has not yet been rebuilt. But even those back in operation are not out of difficulty.

Sriwika Bu-nga, front office manager of the 70-room La Flora Resort and Spa, which reopened in September, said her hotel now stood virtually alone on a beachfront that one year ago had 6,000 hotel rooms, all full. The desolation of the landscape discourages travel agents from promoting Khao Lak again. La Flora's bookings stand at 10-per-cent capacity, when last year they had to turn people away.

"We have more bookings during the tsunami commemoration week, but after that rooms will be pretty empty again," Sriwika said. "I spoke to some foreign guests and they said most holidaymakers in their countries don't know that some of us are back in operation. "

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) admitted that it had not done any promotion for Khao Lak this year.

"The area is still in the midst of rubble," said Suwalai Pinpradab, chief of TAT's Phuket Office, which is also responsible for marketing Khao Lak.

"Travel agents visited the area and saw that most places are not quite ready. They may not want to risk having tourists making reservations without enough rooms available. However, we will start promoting it next year."

The major problem impeding Khao Lak's recovery is lack of credit. Unlike other affected areas where most of the structures were repairable, virtually everything at Khao Lak needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. With most of their resorts in their first few years of operation, and thus still shouldering significant debt from the initial construction, they face considerable difficulty finding financing to rebuild.

"I was very encouraged when Thaksin said we could get help, but I've received nothing. I still can't get a loan," Jureeporn said.

"Some banks told me that soft loans set aside by the government to help businesses affected by the tsunami have dried up. Other banks make me go through so much pain to prepare loan proposals. They say that if I want a loan, I may have to pay higher interest rates. I cannot shoulder anything higher than one or two per cent because I will need at least Bt100 million. That's why the future of my resort is still in limbo."

From a banker's perspective, however, property investment in Khao Lak is a high-risk business and that is why financial institutions have to be extremely cautious when considering loan proposals, said an SME Bank official who asked not to be named.

Basically, the tourist resorts will be built on the same place hit by the tsunami last year. If there are more such waves in future, the area could be badly hit again, he said.

Of the 5,395 people in Thailand who perished in the tsunami, about 80 per cent were either holidaying or working at Khao Lak.

Despite the clearly limited recovery, Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop is adamant that all is well at Khao Lak.

"I was there two weeks ago and everything is back to normal," Suwat told The Nation. "The government helped built all the infrastructure and most hotels that were destroyed by tsunami have been rebuilt and now all of them are fully booked."

Suwat, chairman of the committee organising the official tsunami memorial ceremony, focused on the big celebration planned to show Thailand's recovery. "We've even invited former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush to join us," he said.

Properly staged, the event will likely shield the international media from the trail of broken government promises up and down the tsunami-affected Andaman coast.

On Phi Phi Island and Phuket's Patong beach, where the tsunami caused less damage and resorts and businesses could recover more easily, tourists are returning and accommodation is almost fully booked. However, the frustration with the government is the same as elsewhere.

"We all heard about small loans that we could get, but nobody I know got any government help," said Je Lek, a Patong restaurant owner. "Those that could not find the money to repair their shops are gone, and new faces have moved in. My sister and I rebuilt this restaurant from our own savings."

Phi Phi business operator Nattawut Kaenthong put it a bit more bluntly, asserting that recovery happened despite the government's involvement, not because of it. He pointed out that the government not only failed to provide financial assistance, but also planning.

He said numerous committees were established and pronouncements made about imposing reconstruction guidelines to improve the overall quality and safety of the beaches as they are a vital asset to the Thailand's economy and image.

"But the biggest problem is that nobody is in charge," said Nattawut, who has lived on Phi Phi for more than a decade.

"Now Phi Phi is returning to the complete slum it was prior to the tsunami. Cheaply built guesthouses and makeshift vendors' stalls scattered all over place. The beachfront area is blocked by rows of shophouses and restaurants.

Everybody is trying to make the most out of this high season after starving for tourists the entire year."

Planners like Amnuaysart Hassadin of the Special Areas Tourism Organisation - the agency responsible for drawing up sustainable recovery plans for Khao Lak and Phi Phi - are caught between getting things right and pressure from businesses.

Amnuaysart, a field manager at the agency, hopes the development plan will set minimum safety standards and set construction as far back from the high-tide line as possible, ideally beyond 30 metres.

"But we are forced to be pragmatic," he said. "With the plans still on paper, we cannot stop investors from rebuilding their businesses. And once they have already invested hundreds of millions of baht, we cannot tell them to tear down their buildings."

Never mind rebuilding, the agency does not seem to have any plans to maintain what everyone agrees is the one positive outcome of the tsunami - pollution-free beaches. The crystal-blue waters are again turning murky because there is no programme to manage the tremendous amounts of sewage and garbage generated by the tourism industry.

"I haven't heard anyone talking about repairing Phi Phi's garbage and wastewater treatment facilities," said hotelier Charnarong Decharachakit. "The government should take the lead in restoring such facilities for us."

Reconstruction is proceeding slowly at Khao Lak with little regard for any proposed government rehabilitation plan. Like their neighbours on Phuket and Phi Phi, hoteliers here are managing on their own.

"We hope that maybe this time next year we'll have about 60 per cent of guest rooms back, but we're still not sure about the tourists," said Anupong of the Phang Nga Tourism Association. "Understandably, they don't like all the construction and noise, and even ask about the status of our warning systems, so it's certainly going to take many more years before we're fully recovered."

Like other tsunami-affected areas, Khao Lak will hold a commemorative event to mark the first anniversary, but without another thing the government promised to deliver. The crystal pyramid memorial is still "being designed", according to Deputy Prime Minister Suwat, "but its concrete foundation will be ready for the prime minister to kick off the ceremony".

This is the first article in a series.

Nantiya Tangwisutijit
The Nation