I wasn't the first or the last tourist to arrive in Phuket in 1980, but what I do know is that I was very lucky to catch an international flight to their airport.
I flew up from Penang, and having seen quite a lot of Asia already, my anticipation was tenable.

I arrived in Phuket town at the Thai Airways office, on their airport bus.
Outside their gates I was greeted with the latest state of the art transportation service out to the beaches.
This of course was the cutting edge of public transport at the time, so we all tumbled into the back of one of these fashionable, romantic songthaews.


 
Fast forward forty years in the Tardis (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), what's changed.
Well not a lot really, whereas the total backpackers could have been numbered in their thousands, today tourists have replaced them in their millions.
And during this period, it seems the only thing that has been preserved is their prehistoric transport system - the songthaews.
No you don't have to go a museum to see one, rather if you are permitted to wait beside the roadside, by the local tuk tuk and motor bike Mafia, you may surely catch a glimpse of one.

Not many countries can stand by such an achievement. Few can boast that they have not spent so much as one Baht, whilst bleeding their Golden Goose dry, in providing any kind of a public transportation system what so ever - zero.
And to be honest that's not a bad record, 50 years of songthaews.

Well the elastic has been stretched so far it is at breaking point.
By that I mean there has been no new infrastructure by the way of a public transportation, since the first tourist arrived on this island, say way back in the sixties.
Every man, woman and their dog has to use a motor bike or car.

So now eventually after decades of procrastination, the most dangerous roundabout in the world is having an underpass built underneath it.
The Hyack Roundabout (five ways (or is that five years) in Thai), has now been reduced from nine lanes entering into it, down to seven.
And these two lanes that have been closed have lead to an almighty traffic delays and tailbacks.
What normally can be covered in minutes or less, is now taking up to and over an hour on occasions.
Couple this with the fact that the Thais have not had two World Wars to learn patience, tolerance and the ability to queue, tempers are at breaking point.
When will it be finished, well this image gives you an idea of the current pace of construction.
Just how many crops are they proposing to harvest in one year.


 
What was just manageable up until the high season kicked in, has now become a nightmare - gridlock.
That's right gridlock in Paradise.
So one really has to plan when to go out, and really asks oneself is this really necessary.

Never have so many been bleed by so few.

Pics from 1980 would be nice. 

3 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Pics from 1980 would be nice. 

https://reallifephuket.com/en/art-and-culture/phuket-old-photos/

http://tomyamthailand.com/2016/01/05/amazing-set-of-old-photos-of-thailand/

 

Remember: Google is your friend ;-)

Thanks. I meant pics taken by the OP.

So, to sum up- 'Phuket used to be great, now it's sh1t'.  Brevity is the way ahead if one wants to moan about a place 40 years later.

 

I was chatting to a chap the other day who was talking about around the same period one could sunbathe nude on Kata beach. As I was eating at the time I thanked him for that image (he's 75 now!)

On 12.12.2017 at 3:07 AM, hkt83100 said:

https://reallifephuket.com/en/art-and-culture/phuket-old-photos/

http://tomyamthailand.com/2016/01/05/amazing-set-of-old-photos-of-thailand/

 

Remember: Google is your friend ;-)

well i was in th in 85 the first time he photos are very touching showing us once again that all is passing