Phuket's Nightlife in Full Swing

Most major hotels in Phuket are running at just 10 or 15% occupancy at a time of the year when they should be running at around 90% or higher. It is still peak season for Phuket's tourism industry yet due to the devastating Tsunami, travel advisories, and the disturbing graphic images that were shown relentlessly around the world, most hotels and beaches are relatively quiet.

Anyone who has travelled to Phuket before the Tsunami, knows only too well the unusual entertainment options available in what is Phuket's Patpong, Soi Bangla. This road does have restaurants and shops but mainly consists of beer bars, ladyboys, girls swinging around polls or waiting for customers to buy them a drink. It provides an unusual form of entertainment to a holiday in sheer paradise, which some may call sleazy others perhaps fun or entertaining.

Whatever your point of view, many will be surprised by how little Soi Bangla and the bars within seem to have been affected by the waters that only in December brought so much destruction. At the beginning of February 2005 the bars in Soi Bangla were busy, not as busy perhaps as they should be at this time of year, but still busy. There is hardly any sign of the Tsunami at all in this infamous nightlife area, just as there is little evidence in Phuket as a whole.

While nobody can debate how absolutely appalling the Tsunami and its aftermath is, Phuket and surrounding areas rely on tourism as their main source of income, so it is imperative that tourists return to help the people who live there regain their livelihoods and a sense of normality. To assist, Phuket and Thailand's tourism officials are doing everything they can to encourage tourists, media, and travel industry personnel to return, and the message Phuket's nightlife is giving out is one of strength and hope - life must move on.

See Pictures of Phuket's Nightlife.

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