Phuket on the road to rebirth

Below is the sharing of Lina Batarags, from Singapore, about Phuket’s recovery after two years of the pandemic, through a trip at the end of March.

Lina flew to one of Thailand’s biggest street party and festival cities – the island of Phuket – on a Sunday. She arrived at 12 o’clock and did a PCR test at the airport. After getting a negative result, she left the hotel and started sightseeing when it was already dark. After two bleak years due to the epidemic, what she sees now is a slowly reborn Phuket.

“If you want to write a story about the party town, Sunday isn’t the night to plan it out (because people usually take the day off to go to work Monday morning). My story begins, though. exactly on that day,” she said.

At that moment, Lina found herself standing at the entrance to Bangla – the biggest party street in Phuket, the largest island in the country. The first impression this place gave Lina was pretty good: bright lights, bikinis and a lively atmosphere. The smell of wine and salt of the sea rose to the nose, awakening all taste buds. What made the female tourist realize she was now, not two years ago, was wearing a mask and having her temperature checked before entering Bangla.

Standing at every corner of the road, Lina could hear vibrant sounds. A bar is playing Lady Gaga’s music. In another club, the singer was singing Edge of Glory in an almost screaming voice. Other shops also competed to play loud music. From the dark corner between the buildings, the light of a cigarette caught Lina’s attention. There, two policemen are patrolling to ensure the safety of play.

“Phuket is ready to entertain its guests. The streets are no longer deserted like in 2020 and 2021. At that time, the bars were still flashing but could not cover the countless empty seats inside.” Lina said.

Walking along the street, she saw hawkers lined up on the counters. They sell things that glow in the dark, or the menu offers pad Thai, cheese sandwiches…

Turning into a quieter alley, Lina found an outdoor bar that advertised pool parties. A man came out from there to greet Lina. But she didn’t answer and looked back with a cautious attitude. Then the man asked in English what language she could speak. Lina replied: “English”, the other as if relieved of a burden and said: “Very good”.

Then he introduced himself as the bar manager. This place was closed during the pandemic. When Lina asked him what he thought of the crowd tonight, the person said: “Not bad. But last night it was more crowded.” Then, the guy pulled out his phone to show Lina the crowded scene by the pool on Saturday night.

At 8 a.m. on Monday, Lina stopped by a Patong beach cafe with her laptop. The first image that entered her eyes was a group of runners. An hour later, the shop was crowded with customers. The group sitting next to Lina’s table began to chat animatedly. 10:30 am, traffic is crowded. And at 11am, Patong beach officially woke up.

On the third day, Lina stopped at a small street stall near the beach. A woman wearing coral lipstick is sitting behind the counter, in front of which are leaflets advertising tours to the islands. The woman named Pu, lived in Phuket for 35 years. Before the epidemic, Pu was a hotel employee. Currently, every day she sells tours for two – three guests. “But there are a lot of people who come to bid,” she said. Pu encourages Lina to go to Phi Phi Island right away because it’s empty right now.

In a place farther from the center, things have not changed. On the last night, Lina walked up the steep, paved hill. The dogs watched the female tourist from the sidewalk. A few motorbikes roared loudly on the road, trams honking their horns. Lina used to come here two years ago. Then, along the way to the beach is a strip of restaurants, lively atmosphere. Hey, it’s another world. Everything was deserted, the sidewalks full of wood and garbage. On a blue shack, the paint has peeled off. Inside the massage shops, the floor is strewn with dried leaves. On the way back to the hotel, Lina stopped by a restaurant. There were three guests sitting at two tables. The waiter brought Lina a glass of wine. She quietly watched the fireworks light up in the night, and beside her was a sea of ​​empty tables.

Phuket mainly lives on tourism. Before the epidemic, tourism accounted for 80% of the island’s economy, providing more than 300,000 jobs. In 2019, Phuket International Airport welcomed 5.3 million passengers. But in 2020, that number drops to 1.1 million. January to July 2021, the number is 600,000, according to data from Airports of Thailand.

The impact of the epidemic on the country’s economy is really serious. More than 70% of households have incomes falling, according to a survey sponsored by the World Bank. In which, 60% of low-income families do not have enough food. Sangchai Theerakulwanich, President of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, told Bloomberg 80% of small and medium businesses may have to close. When Thailand launched the Phuket sandbox campaign, it welcomed 14,000 guests in July 2021. That is considered a big step in the post-epidemic revival.

Mr. Minh (According to Insider)