[Mac]

The Tsunami has changed more than the physical landscape in Patong Beach. It has, less violently and more slowly, changed the social landscape too.

Perhaps Noi and I should have taken more notice of the fact that the business class section of our flight was full. Perhaps we should have lent more weight to the 1,100 baht hotel airport transfer fee. Perhaps we should have paid more attention to the number of children’s buggies coming off the luggage belt. Perhaps the fact that the Meridien, the Amari and the Diamond Cliff were all full should have been our clue. But even the fact that the usual chaos of Phuket Airport has been replaced with a slick and efficient immigration system, which allowed us to be off the aircraft and in the taxi in less than 10 minutes, did not prepare us fully.

Our arrival at the Baan Sukhothai in the Bangla road was uneventful. The cost (8,000 baht per night plus 17% taxes) was more than we had ever paid before and the notice above reception declaring “no unregistered guests allowed at all” was a little intimidating but after an indifferent orange juice “welcome drink” Noi and I unpacked and set off to “look around”.

The first tangible evidence that something has changed is the beach. Gone are the squatters’ wooden shacks and the small stores selling unlikely souvenirs. Gone are the cooler boxes selling drinks and water melon. The terraces of the rebuilt hotels now abut the beach and look very smart. But the ubiquitous signs “registered guest only” and “no entry – private” reinforced by a security guard, apparently put them out of bounds for the casual beach stroller looking for a cup of coffee or a spot of lunch.

The second is the number of families with children walking outside our hotel in the Bangla road. The ringing cries of “hello handsum – welcome” from the Bar Girls are very muted now. Of course the families are not stopping in Bangla but are turning left and right on the beach road to eat at the smart new restaurants. And smart they are indeed. Smart and full.

The Absolute, the rebuilt Holiday Inn, the rebuilt Baan Rim Pa with the Hemple like addition of the Joe’s Downstairs cocktail and tapas bar, all afford a dining experience worthy of any international resort. Excellent food, excellent service and exclusive.

Perhaps Noi and I feel it more than most because we like Patong so much, but the plain fact is that the tourist profile has changed. The single man on a cheap ticket is being replaced by families flying business class with the money to match. Eating in smart restaurants and staying in secure hotels. So how are our old friends in the Bangla bars responding to this change. The plain fact is they are not.

It is not the bar girls’ fault. They do not stay at the Holiday Inn, and cannot visit the Baan Sukhothai or the smart new hotels. “No unregistered guests allowed”. They do not meet the families with the children. They just see that they have “no customers” and are despondent.