PHUKET'S magical sunsets just got a whole lot bigger.

The familiar thatch and bamboo restaurants on the road between Nai Harn and Kata now have a big new neighbor.

The Baan Chom View opened this month alongside the old, familiar After Beach Bar and the Small View Point.

Phuketwan used to joke that the regular expansion of the first two restaurants, from single rooms to vast places with large viewing platforms, was a reliable indication of Phuket's prosperity.

If the advent of the Baan Chom View is an accurate indicator, great times lie ahead for the island.

This place is big, bigger than the other two at their biggest, and all solid concrete in construction.

Praphaphun ''Jump'' Juttuchai, manager of Baan Chom View, said she could not reveal the cost of the project but even more construction is planned to expand the large restaurant further, before next high season.

Accommodation for staff and a store is to be added on the decks below the restaurant.

The place already has 15 workers and space for 120 diners.

Next door at the After Beach, there are 24 staff.

''Customers like our restaurant because it looks clean and modern,'' Khun Jump said. She said she was happy with the number of customers so far, with most of them expats.

This stretch of restaurants has grown year by year from small beginnings. Peak time is at sunset, when tourists flock to the hillside viewing spots to watch the sun go down and eat seafood, or other Phuket delights.

Khun Jump said the Baan Chom already has a special seafood bar. Fresh coffee is another new attraction.

While both the other restaurants are much older, they too have plenty of fans.

Bob Marley reggae still gets plenty of airplay around here, and the quaking of the boards has always been part of the attraction of these suspended eateries.

While the parking on the road outside is never easy, the restaurant people say that traffic is carefully managed and there have been very few mishaps.

As part of its new, modern approach, Baan Chom View is offering to organise a resort pickup for tourists who don't want to drive and drink or be left to hail a passing tuk-tuk.

The manager of the After Beach Bar and Restaurant, Viroj Khumbaan, said: ''The number of customers has dropped by about 50 percent since the airport blockade.''

Tips are not so good now, either.

After Beach opens at 9am, while Baan Chom View opens at 11am. Sunset is the popular time, and bookings are sometimes wise.

Old fans of the original restaurants love the sense of swaying in front of the sunset.

But if the theory about the island economy expanding at the same rate as the hillside restaurants, get set for a great 2010.

The restaurants can be found on the coast road above Kata Noi, between Kata and Nai Harn. After Beach: tel. 081 8943750, 089 5947475. Baan Chom View: tel. 087 6280126, 087 6278368.


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