Phuket Species / 04
Phuket Species 04
The Rawai Old Hand
Known example: Gary. Has lived in Phuket long enough to remember when everything was cheaper, quieter and better.
Conveniently, the golden period always ended approximately eighteen months after he arrived.
Natural Habitat
Rawai café.
One coffee.
Ninety-minute conversation.
Field Signs
“Phuket has changed.”
“Rawai wasn’t like this before.”
“You should have seen it ten years ago.”
Knows a shortcut that has not been a shortcut since 2022.
Typical Arc
Gary arrives in Phuket.
Gary loves Phuket.
More foreigners arrive.
Gary complains that too many foreigners are arriving.
Property prices increase.
Gary explains that Rawai has been ruined.
Gary also owns property in Rawai.
These positions coexist peacefully.
Behavioural Notes
Every generation of Phuket resident believes it arrived just before the island changed forever.
The exact date varies.
The certainty does not.
There was always less traffic.
Better restaurants.
Cheaper rent.
Friendlier bars.
Fewer influencers.
More authenticity.
The past has one enormous competitive advantage:
nobody can drive back and check.
