PHUKET, say those who fail to look around them, has no culture. Today, not long after sunrise, Phuketwan encountered this string of small monks, making their way barefoot around the streets of Sam Kong in Phuket City.

Women and elderly men stopped to pray and make merit as the nine small monks passed. Where they had come from and where they were going, we don't know.

But such moments are always reassuring to those who believe Phuket essentially remains beautiful, physically and spiritually, in the face of all its challenges.