Phuket

In Phuket started a new intense period of the summer 2000 adventure. I left an Italian friend in Ayutthaya and in the main bus station of Bangkok I got my ticket all the way down to Phuket.
Considering that we moved together form Phitsanulok I spent more then 18 hours on buses before get another bed. I still remember the long night and the down arriving in Phuket.
Now probably I’m already too old for this, who knows.
Anyway once in Phuket I spent on the bed the whole day and moved myself to the nightlife after the rest.
I was in the main town, in the center, but the good beaches are on the western side of the Island.
I did relax for several days in Phuket, met a cute crazy girl half Thai half Sweden that later on followed me to Krabi.
I was not yet into photography seriously but I did not miss some good shot to her.
I will keep forever nice memories and images.

Regretfully the story of Phuket is not so different from Samui.

Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, tin mining has been a major source of income for Phuket since the 16th century. Chinese businessmen and Chinese workers were employed in the mines. Most were Hakka Chinese, and their influence on Phuket culture and cuisine can still be felt today.
With falling tin prices, the mining has now all but ceased. In modern times, Phuket’s economy rests on two pillars: rubber tree plantations (making Thailand the biggest producer of rubber in the world) and tourism, with a thriving diving industry attracting thousands of divers each year.

Since the 1980s, the sandy beaches on the western coast of the island have been heavily developed into tourist centers, with Patong, Karon and Kata being the most popular ones. Since the 2004 Tsunami, all damaged buildings and attractions have been restored.
Phuket is currently going through an intensive period of leisure urbanization with many new hotels, apartments and houses under construction. In July 2005, Phuket was voted one of the World’s Top 5 retirement destinations by the acclaimed Fortune Magazine There are thousands of expatriates living in Phuket, many of them retirees.
A favorite spot for them is Phuket Beach, as it is very convenient. Costs in Phuket have shot up over the past decade, making it one of Thailand’s more expensive retirement destinations.

There is no excuse and is not acceptable such exploitation, something is lost forever and our children will never be able to know how it was before.
There is no excuse and is not acceptable to destroy such a paradise, the marvelous hills, the white beaches and coral reefs.
There is no excuse and is not acceptable this kind of ‘development’ especially when the Thais can learn from westerns mistakes if only they would listen and open their minds to the voice not only of the profit.

Posted on December 15, 2000

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