MichaelH

The point about no Muslims harmed is an important one - Bali is fairly unique in Indonesia, its population is Hindu, not Muslim!

So the target is doubly attractive because it not only has a high profile internationally but, unlike most of the rest of Indonesia, it does not have a large local Muslim population.

Unfortunately, you don't even need to bomb tourist sites in Thailand to have a serious impact on international tourism here. Bombs in Bali will frighten off many from holidaying in this part of the world for the upcoming high season. That, together with the trouble in the South, means that Thailand is already identified worldwide as a potential target (some would say THE NEXT major target). Who wants to have a holiday end in a nightmare? Who wants to even consider that kind of thing when it comes to a holiday? What are travel agents saying right now if their clients ask for their advice?

I have a small apartment I rent out in Phuket. Right now, I have only 4 advance bookings for the coming high season (about 35% of the bookings I had this time last year) and one of them cancelled yesterday - ." t"... because it is becoming just too risky to holiday in your part of the world." they said.

Sadly, I think that probably sums up the attitude of a lot of people for whom Thailand would normally have been their destination of choice.

Hay, guys,

I guess this IS the 1st of April?

As a Patong resident I can confirm its worse than quiet.. On the positive side it is picking up and getting better but as far as a high season is concerned forget it..

As to why single male travellers are the first to return.. who do you think would be the most carefree and least troubled by a bit of damage etc ?? Familes with kids to worry about or young single guys ?? Makes total sense..

Theres still fun to be had and people are enjoying vacations despite the lower numbers etc.. To be honest high season drives me a bit batty and I tend to prefer mid or low season but this is different, its a 'vibe' that feels a bit calmer and personally I almost feel guilty trying to enjoy Phukets attractions now...

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Have to agree with you and your analysis.

I was down in Phuket on business last Tuesday and had some time to see for myself. Yes, there's plenty of activity along Bangla Road at night, but it was still like low season - not a typical January night! Those empty seats are for real. Once you move outside that immediate area, it is really dead! I stayed in a hotel that had only 4 rooms occupied! I and my colleague drove out of Patong for dinner and ended up in Kata in a reastaurant with one other table occupied! Most of the other restaurants we saw were empty or closed.

On Wednesday, I drove around a bit to inspect the damage. Surin was business as usual, with many families on the beach (but still only about 1/3 of what it would usually be at this time of year). Suring Beach appeared almost unscathed. The restaurants at the beach were still there, not exactly packed but certainly doing a reasonable business. Seems that the geography of the place, the steeply shelving beach that makes Surin so dangerous in the off-season, protected it this time.

Kamala was a different story. They were still dragging cars (with bodies) from the pit behind Fantasea, and the main street of Kamala, which I always thought was one of the prettiest on the island, lies devastated in an awesome manner. There are some buildings standing, even on the sea side of the road (and being repaired) while on either side of them there is nothing at all left. Buildings on both sides of the road are totally gone and the beach is now fully visible as you walk along the road. The grotesquely twisted remnants visible in the piles of debris are evidence of the tremendous force that must have been behind the waves. The dying vegetation (much of it unable to survive the effect of the salt deposits) and the destruction right back as far as the main road, showed just how far the waves and destruction penetrated inland here. A small bar that used to be on the corner where those frustratingly slow traffic lights are (and are still working!) had totally vanished! I'm told that, proportionately, Kamala suffered the most damage of any township in Phuket.

Kalim too was a scene of great destruction - all those houses on the sea side of the road (lovely location I always thought and built when there were no regulations to prevent them) were still standing, but they were just shells, nothing left inside, even upstairs, as far as I could see. And the destruction continued on the other side of the road as well.

The damage to the Patong seafront has already been well documented, so I won't linger on it. The cleanup everywhere has been impressive and anywhere that could be restored seems to already be up and back in business, even some restaurants on the sea side of the road - impressive! Hope they get their customers back soon.

I believe that Scandinavian charter flights will resume at the beginning of February, so that should help a bit, but this season won't recover. Hope that the reconstruction will really result in a much improved Patong with business better than ever. Knowing Phuket, I'm sure the business will return sooner than we expect. Many will come who want to see the 'new face' of Phuket, many more who love the place and want to show their support, many others curious to see what happened. And many because Phuket is still a wonderful paradise to holiday in!

Final assessment: The best thing you can do for Phuket right now (for other more devastated locations it's a different story of course) is to come visit and stay a while. Phuket badly needs your business. It's an opportunity to enjoy a lovely location at the loveliest time of the year, without the usual overcrowding, traffic jams, queues and high prices. And tell your friends here in Thailand and overseas. I'm going back with family for a week's holiday as soon as possible!

Hi Anne,

No problem. Cha-am is on the East coast of the Thai isthmus, facing the Gulf of Thailand, only about 2 hours drive from Bangkok and is unaffected by all this. Have a wonderful holiday in March!

Michael

My heart goes out to all those people that was effected by the Tsunami.  We are due to go out to Thailand (Cha-am resort) in March.  Although March is a few months away, does anyone know if it was or how badly it was effected by the awful tradegy.

Anne

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Did I do the right thing?

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Hi Flummoxed. Sorry, I have a contrary opinion to most of the other posts here. I agree with Amarka (who's said it much shorter than me!).

We Westerners come to Thailand and marry Thais because we choose to (most of us do fall genuinely in love with the caring and nurturing attitude of the Thai ladies we have the good fortune to get to know). We believe there are advantages in doing so over the alternatives open to us. We make a conscious and positive choice to buy into these advantages, which are part and parcel of the Thai lifestyle and culture. It's part of what makes this culture unique and different from ours. And we love it, because it suits us and flatters our male egos!

However, we should also take note of other deeply ingrained traditions in Thai culture as well, which again are different from ours and, because they may hit our pocket book, we're not so prepared to accept them!

I mean that in Thailand, family members are expected to help each other (they can't run off and get loans and overdrafts from the bank, unlike in our society!). This means helping the family when they need it, be it time, moral support or, as in this case, money. Unless you've married into a family of total spongers, the request to you for help was a genuine one and your refusal will not be easily understood or accepted. In fact your refusal will leave them all bewildered, if you have the resources to pay. Don't talk about "not marrying the family". You did so when you married a Thai, and you should recognise this less palatable part of the bargain. Unfortunately, we 'farangs' tend to cherrypick the parts of the culture that suit us and reject the bits that we dont like!

I've been in the same situation as you and I was glad to pay up. The family has never taken advantage of me subsequently and they still remember my support! The family member in question has actually paid my wife back some of the money I gave. More importantly, I have been completely accepted into the family and her brother (and her grateful parents) will do anything for us now and in the future. A favour like this will always be repaid, maybe not in money, but in a way that can be a lot more valuable

If you don't help, you will make your wife lose face, disappoint and bewilder her (as she really won't be able to understand why you refuse), lose the friendship of her brother (and probably her mother and father too). You're lucky that the brother actually wants to marry the girl, many Thai guys just walk away! Suggests that he's responsible and probably loves her.

I'm amazed at the irresponsibility and lack of moral fibre in the advice you're getting from most of the posts. Follow your own good judgement and do what you should in terms of fairness! US$750 really is a small sum from a Western perspective for what you will receive in return, I assure you. Ignore any ridicule you get from 'farang' friends about going 'soft'. Just do the right thing. You wn't regret it.

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