Historic Town of Pheonix

Pheonix Old Town

The town of Pheonix was built along the river, a lot of buildings were extended out of its foundation on the banks, resting on wooden struts over the river.  They made a very serene scenery, especially when the water was quiet, the traditional slab-sided white-wall-and-grey-tiles "Fai" style buildings were reflected off the calm water.  Everyone would be awed by the exquisite view.  The town was small, and life had been quiet until the whole country's economy went through the roof and everyone's inflated discretionary income and leisure led to an explosion of tourists.  The fact that it was on the same region as the very famous Zhang Jai Jei national park further exacerbate the painful commercialization of this otherwise tranquil small historic town. Look carefully in this picture (click the picture for a bigger view) for the big and prominent signs of bars, restaurants and hostels.  Inside the town, at every building, there is now some form of commercial activities, even toilets are charged at $1 per use.  This is even worse at night -- all buildings are brightly lit, (or tastelessly lit, to be exact) and the pollution that's even worse than the lights are the noise.  Every bar or karaoki or whatever is blaring away with the "music" inside-out to attract attention, and the streets are teeming with nocturnal youths who seem to have endless energy on cigarettes and alcohol.  The historic town is being "consumed".