Business from disaster or the fish-based success of a Thai restaurant (4 photos)

In early November, the Tha Chin River in Thailand overflowed its banks, and for many residents along the river, it was a tragedy. Typhoons and floods claimed lives. But for one inexpensive local restaurant, it was the best event in history.





Actually, it's a cheap restaurant with plastic furniture.

The thing is, a restaurant called Pa Jit, about 30 km from Bangkok, was perfectly flooded – the water stopped at about knee-deep. Meaning, you can sit on a chair and be dry, but still have your feet in the water. And since the river has been standing like this for 11 days, all sorts of fish have long since arrived to feed! Visitors can dangle their legs among the school of fish or toss them food from their plates. These aren't store-bought fish, but wild ones, so no one will blame you for throwing them bread or spicy meat, like people do in private fish restaurants.



And the fish aren't small; they can bite.

Waiters scurry between tables in high waders. After all, wading knee-deep in murky river water all day can quickly make you sick. The thing is, Pa Jit has been operating in Nakhon Pathom Province for over 30 years. Its longtime owner nearly lost her mind when it first flooded four years ago. The river had never flooded so much before; she'd lived peacefully for 26 years!





The question of whether they serve fried river fish here remains... open.

She thought there wouldn't be any customers, that she'd eat up the money she'd saved, and then there wouldn't be any money to dry it and repair it. But when one person posted online about fish swimming between the tables, everyone wanted to see for themselves, even though access by water was difficult. She said the floods had benefited her business: profits doubled from about 10,000 baht to about 20,000 baht per day.



Some beach restaurants tried to operate a "sit in the water" system, but high tides and wet pants drove away customers.

Flooding is expected in Pa Jit for several more weeks, as high tides and the end of the monsoon season have kept water levels high for several years. While the flood brought sudden wealth to the restaurant, it devastated many other parts of Thailand, ruining already impoverished residents. So someone's momentary beauty is actually a neighbor's tragedy.