simcity

you did not get a lot of reply .

here is mine , not worth a lot i suppose !

china town is the wholesaler for many gimmick good ! last time i went there i saw bags and bags of plastic rubber band ! it is in a very crower soi bit like the souk in morocco , you will need more info to get there !

Thaipauly you doing really good !!

do not find a excuse to start again .

Massive margin in coffee.

gross margin 75%-

franchises also seem to have better resale and the banks will lend on the better ones for fitout

Snoop it was a pastry and cafe shop in my time .

Now everyone and his dog opening cafe place in Melbourne ( well they done that the last 6 years ) !

i was selling 7*3 kilo bags of cafe from this place a week when i use to have it ! at 125 cup par kilo , it show the volume was ok !

Sure i will have a espresso machine, but not looking at a high turnover! And i do not think a cafe franchise in some part of Melbourne will be successful .

Really, do those coffee franchises actually work that well ?? Location I presume same as anything.

SC, not sure of the vineyard, probably at some stage. I nearly bought a house one street behind Acland st, would have been a great reno project, but came to Los instead.

Come on, free dinners maybe for a couple of nights a year forever, in return for a booming successfull idea. I deserve much more. Its not like I live there or anything and would be in the place every night !!!!

The angle I am talking I think would be a huge hit in that location, even have a name for it if you want, but that will definitely cost you free meals forever and in writing.

Once I went to a place in bay street or clarendon street , someone have a freehold vacant shops and want some advice , opposite was a Vietnam corner café business , she told me it was very busy !

Not sure if it is the same !

I am glad you did not got the toorak or south yarra restaurants :

i use to have a place in toorak too i lost a fair bit of money with it , i use to have a restaurant in Southgate and make a lot with it , location and what people are asking make the difference !

I do not know if you know St Kilda , but it is abound with flats an accommodation , peoples who feel they want to live and go out .

Most of the places in St Kilda I really feel want to charge to much ! I use to have a flat in the george’s hotel and getting take away in St Kilda was ridiculous , complicated and expensive !

Many nice places not expensive and busy, are not in a high profile street, because the rent is to high at the beginning!

A new place opens in a low rent area, everyone work hard and the place became a real success and boom!

I have the chance to have a top premise and position, bought it nearly 15 year ago , with a low mortgage on it ! i can start and look at doing something different , getting out the usual ! If success can be seeing in a not distance future !

Some of you guys has give me some ideas and I thank you for that! Am just testing the water to see if I could make a go with it! The tenant are putting pressure for me to sell and I do not want to now, because the price not to my expectation.

He thinks I can not get back into it, after 9 years and empty it of all the expensive bakery equipments that was inside!

no idea about franchises

If you do it and it works, you owe me free dinners for life when I am in Melbourne....lucky for you that will not be very often.

N&M

Who are you ? I forgot already LOL

For life ( pen py my dy ) , one free dinner ( pen py dy )!

Thank you I will check the place when I go back, i make a note of it .

do you know the takeaway next to the vineyard in st kilda? Opposite the toilet block ? Grovenor street I think ?

Did you try it ? was really busy when I have my place there ..

Thank you for your long post! I am sleeping on it!

The place has been licensed for ever; I open it with a license in 1987 .

When you have a license you keep it! But no need to sell too much from it! Perhaps law has change on that.

If you do an order from the counter and paid upon ordering, I like these ideas a lot, same with coupons, but that make a lot of movement into the place, find a table and stand up again, and I am sure some people will be upset with it .

Perhaps something to see if you get to busy! All entry same price / all main course same price!

The place is small about 10 tables inside and 5 tables outside!

I will need to put as inland table with fix stools in the middle to save space and one bench in the back!

The place is in a very busy area, with most of the local do not own a car! I will look at delivery and take away at the same time.

I just went to the restaurant next door my place ( bangkok ) and got not the bottle of water , but a plastic jug , toilette roll on a plastic cover for napkin ( can I go that far ? ) lol

Whale and spice do not do very well , they did close for few weeks and reopen ! perhaps they would like to get out ?

I use nicorette for few months , after I got hook on it ! need willpower two times then , but done the trick.

One to get reed of the cigarette and one of the nicorette .

Miller I live in this area, I think the road is full of government businesses or university supplies / insurance companies! I feel it will be hard to get into it!

I am not sure what type of business you looking at!

I saw some vacant shops in Thanon Samsen and thanon chakrabongsee !

Good luck !

Thank to Grant & Saed

Yes Mighty , I like you post I think in the same direction , local first with good value and simple approach ! I am fully license but will not carry a big range , perhaps a menu of Thai beers ! your ideas of water dispenser, it remind me at the restaurant I have next door with : the water jug on the table , and just bring a glass full of ice cube !

Yes customer everyday, when it rain or shy , became a second kitchen to them !

It is all ready open kitchen, perhaps going back to Formica table and plastic table clothes, and stool?

No clutter as mentioned

The restaurant next door of my place in Bangkok , have pencil and menu sheet on table , and the customer mark what he want as ordering ? is that sound good or bad to you ? But off course if you feel a customer bit lost you will take his order! more for the usual who know the place .

Neeranam , I do not have enough space for stall , if it was a commercial place in a shopping center I will think that is great !

I think one very busy place are the one close to the winery restaurant St Kilda, they doing take away and eat in .

For decoration , I have to be careful regarding religion , I think to use Buddha theme to make a financial exploitation is a nono , Thai students will not appreciated !

On hotel near chiangmai was built with a Buddha structure and got a lot of negative review !

Perhaps I live religion out !

Thank for the impute

Curt

the place can seat 32 inside and few outside , i can not turn it as a mini food court

Studmonster

Thank, all ready have the larb and gapraw dishes on the menu

N&M

my place is in st kilda , i need to stay evasive at this stage ! the tenant still there,

it is in acland street .

i have been out the market for over 9 years , because I came to live in Thailand .

the few nice Thai places i use to know were in commercial road , bridge road , victoria street .

please tell me what place you like , yimthai in victoria street use to be really good and popular ! looking at bit at this format .

Any catching ideas .

I am due to go back to Melbourne ( Australia ) to reopen a business !

I am the landlord and the tenant did not commit to the lease.

I use to run this location a successful café shop before, but I am not interested to start again the same type of business!

What I am looking is a Thai café / restaurant open 7 days from lunch to dinner .

It is in a busy area , and my aimed is to look first after the local and second after the tourists !

I will get Thai personnel as chef , I will sponsor him , already done the exercise with pastry chef long time ago !

Now I feel like a sucker. But it will be great if you guys can given me some impute , I want casual and simple , between a Thai place with plastic stool but smart at the same time ! get the oversea students and locals at first !

I think BOI is helping Thai restaurants oversea with ideas , will contact them later .

Place is not big enough for some floor show .

If you have some catching idée please post them ?

Thank

stop 6-7 months ago !

http://www.quitnow.info.au/

To reply to your post :

I know a young Australia teacher here , he move here for gay life too .

His salary is bit more of 35000 and he work for extra on Friday night .

He has a non money boy boyfriend, well bit rocky at this stage !

This guy, have a special degree for children, and not so many have it here .

You can have many screw here, difficult to look for a love relationship.

35000 is bit low, and surely very low for a nice apartment and nice life ! but slowly you can get better job .

What I am worry is no money is save every month , and one day you will be hit with the reality !

Perhaps came here for new experience for 1-2 years, enjoy your time , and learn some more skills ? but for a carrier I will not do the move .

As a travel agent in the US for over 15 years, I have some thoughts about this episode. "Caveat Emptor"...Let the buyer beware. If a deal sounds too good then it probably is. Before purchasing any tickets, the purchaser should check the reliability of the vendor, call the airlines directly and verify. I am living in the US with my Thai wife and have plans to retire to Phuket and set up an internet shop where I can book tickets online for consumers who come to the shop. Incidents like this give farangs a bad reputation with the Thai. "One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel". This is not a world where one can trust blindly and we must always verify before we make a critical mistake like this. 50,00 Bt does seem a small bail to me also.

From one of the guy who has been con , yes he did book the ticket and give booking number to customer ! then after the transfer done , he cancelled the ticket ...

one of the raison he give at the end , was a spelling mistake need to be correct !

the con gay in question want to both embassy to ut a plaint ! ( english and thai )

the guy have a home page and was resisted for travel agency .

few weeks ago a guy from gay.com was con by john , i have seeing him ( john ) advert a lot his business in the gay chat and few guys was done by him !

at first as mention he did feel his contract for good reputation !

the last two week he was in singapore !

my guess , he will not be back in thailand .

you can use many atm ! look for the logo .

the exchange rate is not to good , but if i use my gold visa from australia they charge me 3% cost for withdraw or purchase .

ayutiya bank have amex logo .

last time i use my amex at a hotel i got 25 % off my bill for food ! lol

my australian visa charge me 3% for transaction ATM or purchase !

i got a car accident and i saw flash light of my life , did escape with nothing ! decide to call quite in the rat race ! sold the business , keep the freehold and the investment and retired in Thailand !

i was 39 .. did not miss my old life ! that was 8 years ago !

I did go to kow samui twice, as with phuket I did not like the mafia and scavenger there .

Same as phuket I will not return !

PS I am sure many people in Bangkok feel like me, and Phuket did miss to have the presence support after the tsunami..

Significant drop in tourist numbers

THAI cancels direct flights

The murder of Welsh tourist Katherine Horton on Thailand's holiday island of Koh Samui has led to a significant drop in the number of foreign tourists, including Australians, to the province.

Two Thai fishermen have already been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of the 21-year-old British backpacker on New Year's Day.

The tourist island was shocked by the murder of Horton, whose body was found in the ocean after she was last seen strolling alone on a beach on the evening of January 1.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, visitor numbers to the southern province of Surat Thani, which includes Koh Samui, fell by 30 per cent in the first month of 2006.

Spokesman Pramote Spyen said it was obvious Horton's murder had affected tourism, even though two men had been quickly arrested, tried and sentenced.

Australian visitor numbers had been affected, dropping an estimated 10 per cent, but British tourist numbers were the worst hit, he said.

A third of the expected visitors to Koh Samui and nearby island Koh Pha-ngan had cancelled high-season trips to the islands, he said.

Australians are estimated to spend about $A250 a day each on holidays in Thailand and on that basis the islands had already lost millions of dollars so far this year, the spokesman said.

Police said they were introducing stricter safety measures on Koh Samui and neighbouring islands to protect tourists.

This included assigning English-speaking officers to warn foreigners against going to what he described as "risky places".

Meanwhile, falling tourist numbers have prompted Thai International to cancel direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to the southern resort town of Phuket from February 1.

Tourism companies are to ask the airline to reconsider its decision.

--AAP 2006-01-30

Don't even think about anything to do with airports, IMO.

Areas like that are the domain of the connected; there is money to be made from captive audiences.

Very true. The rent being asked is for the new airport is high.

2,000 Baht a sq.m. per month for key money payable in advance for 5 years.

900 Baht a sq.m. per month base rent

25% of your gross sales with a guarantee minimum of 9,000 Baht a sq.m. per month.

Hence if you are looking at 92 sq.m. you need to pay

11,040,000 in key money( Gift) plus a minimum of 910,800 in rent per month.

If you are doing sales of 5 million you are paying 1,516,800 in rent per month ( which includes the pro rata key money per month of 2,000 Baht per sq.m.) which is 30% of your gross sales.

This is why the selling price of goods has to be higher at the airport than anywhere else in Thailand otherwise the vendor will lose money.

www.sunbeltasia.com

sunbeltasian , my friend working for kingpower and he told me at the new airport 30 % of gross sales .

big NONO about bying anything at the dutyfree then ..

Peter careful using visa withdraw on ATM , they give a better exchange rates but hit you with 3 % cost , same as purchases !

Amex is better but the echange rates not so high.

now i am doing transfer from OZ to Thailand .

in your situation i will go with exchanging AU dollar at the thailand bank !

or perhaps traveler cheque ?

yes , ok this way , will ask some thai friends thank