Patong, ghost town... 

 Patong... or what's left of it!

In Thailand... the authorities have taken steps to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, and frankly, the results are there. No new cases in Phuket, for example, in the last three weeks.

International flights are not ready to resume... so no tourists as long as these international flights are on stand-by.

I just walked in a few streets of Patong, where usually you find the densest crowds, with the noise, the excesses, the countless bars, go-go bars, restaurants etc...

We are June 23rd, 2020... the confinement is over since long ago in Phuket.

The tourists who do not exist by force of circumstance and the Thais themselves who have partly disappeared: we are talking about 30 to 40,000 people who would have left Phuket as soon as they could leave the island to join their home provinces and their families. Just out of curiosity I went to Patong today to see the state of affairs. Simply ghostly. It's a situation that shocks, that astonishes that surprises. Never seen before.

In a week's time, after July 1st, the bars will in principle be allowed to open again and receive the public... but what public?
Absent tourists, only a tiny part of the residents will be able to go out for a drink or two... that's not how bar owners will manage to pay their rent, their staff...

It's not won yet, far from it!

Anyway, here's a series of photos brought back from patong, a ghost town...      

Patong : The Beach

First surprise, the beach is almost deserted...

 Thawewong Road, the beach road

This is the road that runs along the beach of Patong... usually and throughout the year, it is difficult if not impossible to park...

Soi Patong Tower

Bangla Road, the street of thirst...


This is Bangla Road, the street of bars, called "the street of thirst"... in Phuket it is the highest density of bars...
Countless bars...
The services of the city take this opportunity to update some sanitation works in Bangla Road .

Soi Sansabai

This street (Soi Sansabai) is right in front of Bangla Road... and is a very active street usually...

Thanon Rathuthit Songroipi

This road is a main artery of Patong. It runs parallel to the Beach Road. There too in normal weather the traffic is very dense.
The small agency SOUTH TOURS of my friend Jean Beaudet (you will find his link on the home page of the site) 
Here is for this small tour of Patong on this 23rd of June 2020... before the official opening of the bars in Phuket 1st of july...
It is clear that the absence of tourists will weigh heavily in the balance and it is not the few foreign residents who will make up for this loss of income.
How all this will be done or organized in the coming weeks, no one knows yet.