The death of Walking Street

[mercman24]

have you walked down Walking Street lately, could be any street in Calcutta, full of Indians, (didnt see one cowboy)

[The manic]

50 minutes ago, DJ54 said:

Uhhh their farangs to..... but I hear what you’re saying. Reminds me of a

co worker long ago on a sales trip asking did I see that colored guy? I said what color are you? .....he never made that incorrect statement again, call um like you see um

What colour was he? I don't understand your point.

[Destiny1990]

1 hour ago, The manic said:

Bar fines are too high. Some go go bars are asking over 1500 baht, some even 5000! The ST and LT rates have gone up and the quality of the girls and their service has gone down. However, some bars and go go bars are getting it right and they are always busy. The modern music being played is dreadful and low intelligence.  "Put  your f***ing hands up" is the dreadful refrain heard throughout Pattaya. Bars that play decent music are always busy. Go Go bars that give good service are also busy. The bars and go go bars that have no customers are badly run and don't understand the financial demographics or their potential customer base.

There is no prostitution at WS stop making things up!

[Naam]

1 hour ago, wwest5829 said:

10 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Walking Street was never fun or exciting. Not 5 years ago, not 15 years ago, not 35 years ago, never.

 

It has always been tacky and boring. But I agree that it has got worse as now it's tacky and boring and full of Chinese and Indians.

 

Allowing that some of us disagree. Loved it in 2009 and 2010 on my first visits to be introduced to Thailand. Revisited in 2011 after retiring here permanently. Yes, there were many reasons for retiring here but my first introductions were very positive....

loved it in 1979 and the 80s but haven't been there for ten years.

[camble]

Nobody goes to Walking Street anymore, it's too crowded.

 

[kingstonkid]

What is that song the times are a changing?

 

Let's face it walking street, Patpong and NANA are going through changes.

 

The owners know what they have and know people will pay the lease.

 

There are too many bars with the same same show.

 

Who wants to go to a bar and watch 25 girls stand on a stage and shift from right foot to left.

 

It is the same with the famous ping-pong shows.  It used to be that they were a novelty where they had girls that dance and the shows are times every 15 minutes or so.  

Maybe I am old school but the best thing that they could do is open bars with the N.A. strip club mentality.  

 

Imagine if one of the clubs changed to a burlesque or strip show and no the girls don't have to be nude there are ways around it.

 

Chinese tourists, for the most part, are groups that have every minute of the day planned.  They are also usually people from the same town so the last thing they are going to do is be seen going into a bar that has girls.

 

 

[DrTuner]

Before, the white man was looking at the attractions. 

 

Now, the white man is the attraction.

[Daveyh]

Yes, Walking Street is dying a death & prices are still rising. Thai logic again with prices as beer has not increased in price much over the years ......... try buying a beer in a small village shop it's "peanuts". Less tourists prices rise, but the numbers of Chinese & their Asians cousins will seal the "death throesl" of Walking Street. It's not fun there any longer ..... the mentality has changed completely .......... I just avoid the place now & have done for years. Soi Bukaow is fine for a night out ........ it's more of a fun place without Chinese..... fact. 

[Enoon]

4 hours ago, jamie2009 said:

I had to walk through Walking Street to go for a Boat  Trip during the the day, in general it was filthy and scruffy, the whole area needs cleaning up including the road surfaces covered in oil and grease.

 

It is a "Lady of The Night"......all such places are.

 

Best not seen at 10 in the morning, after work, without their makeup.

 

I wish it were my first evening there again.

 

 

[davidst01]

it went down hill when they knocked down the 'rolling live' bar and replaced it with an ugly looking nightclub that is dead empty on a sat night

[Antonymous]

4 hours ago, Thaidream said:

D.    The ubiquitous cell phone with the camera has taken all the real fun out of the bar because no one wants to see their picture on all the social media sites 'drunk and disorderly ' doing things that  are considered  risque. In addition- the girls are not interested in the punters when all they have to do is send a message to someone else to get attention or even money.

 

They're also too busy looking at their picture library which includes all the punters that have barfined them for the last 30 years as well as last night's somtam dinner.

IMHO- the cell phone was invented to use- as a phone-  if I want a videographer- I will hire one  and if I want to search the internet -I will purchase a laptop.. Turn the 'freaking' phones off and the bars might get some real customers.

I agree with all that you listed but it is your 'D' that really hits the mark IMO. As I wrote in another thread a while back concerning the changing nightlife scene in Bangkok:

 

"Relatively speaking the night scene today is bleached and ironed and countless iPhone cameras snapping inanely, leading to YouTube videos of everything under the sun as well as under the bed, take all the freewheeling joy out of any ‘public’ experience."

[Rimmer]

A personal attack has been removed

[Searat7]

A couple of restaurants I liked there disappeared....other than the expensive seafood restaurant(s) there is not much to offer.

[bartender100]

Still good for a night out for bar hopping then end up in Immsonia till 5am, but take lots of $$$, plenty of gogo still managed by westerner and catering for them on the side sois.

 

Secrets is a good chill out place doing late food

 

Years ago (20+) I would be there every night on WS, but not now. LK Metro much better

 

But no its not dying, the opposite to that, gets busier all the time just not as we knew it 

[The manic]

3 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

There is no prostitution at WS stop making things up!

I did not mention prostitution. 

[The manic]

14 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Walking Street was never fun or exciting. Not 5 years ago, not 15 years ago, not 35 years ago, never.

 

It has always been tacky and boring. But I agree that it has got worse as now it's tacky and boring and full of Chinese and Indians.

 

Far from being boring it has been a major attraction for decades. Where do you find interesting?

[KittenKong]

14 minutes ago, The manic said:

Far from being boring it has been a major attraction for decades. Where do you find interesting?

There are many popular attractions all over the world. Few if any interest me and most of them I wouldn't go to even if I was paid to.

 

Personally I always like somewhere quiet with a nice view, with as few people around as possible.

[persimmon]

Went into one newish gogo in Pattaya last year - the air con was turned up to arctic levels and the " music " if we can even call it that was aggressive hip-hop garbage so loud that even when I shouted directly into the ear of the dek serve they still could not hear me.They also had about 5 young Thai guys hanging around with nothing to do except prowl around and block the view of the stage whilst staring at customers waiting for them to finish their drinks so they could either sell them another or kick them out.Hard to believe how the owners could get it so wrong.

[AlexCanada]

Greed is the only thing killing Walking Street.  Prices are getting ridiculous .

[MyFriend You]

15 hours ago, Spidey said:

Businesses certainly have reacted to the change.

 

Customer numbers down, prices have risen exponentially.

 

Thai economics 101.

No customer, have to charge more...................

[khunPer]

16 hours ago, soistalker said:

It is definitely a lot less fun and exciting as it was 10~15 years ago.

And 15 years from now some folks will say the same about Walking Street, as it is today; things are changing, LoS is different from 15 years ago, and 15 years ago I heard people talking about LoS was not the same, as it was 15-years before 15 years ago...?

[NanLaew]

9 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Never been in the place, upstairs or downstairs. So from my point of view I've been extremely lucky.

You mean you missed the whole 1.15 AM lucky number contest?

 

You haven't really lived in Pattaya unless you've attended at least a couple of dozen of those. That was the mid-point of any well orchestrated night on the pish. If you hadn't grabbed a disco starlet before 2 AM, then you hung out with your boozy mates at Lucky Stars looking for a "you'll do me" consolation prize. If your net was still empty at 5 AM, it was 'home alone' time.

[NanLaew]

5 hours ago, Naam said:

loved it in 1979 and the 80s but haven't been there for ten years.

So you were bulletproof and invincible back then as well? I always knew you were a good egg.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

There are many popular attractions all over the world. Few if any interest me and most of them I wouldn't go to even if I was paid to.

 

Personally I always like somewhere quiet with a nice view, with as few people around as possible.

So how come you've parked you ass in Pattaya?

[Kadilo]

There are many popular attractions all over the world. Few if any interest me and most of them I wouldn't go to even if I was paid to.
 
Personally I always like somewhere quiet with a nice view, with as few people around as possible.

......well clearly Walking Street isn’t for you.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[BestB]

15 years ago there were few choices , now there are dozens.

 

15 years ago tony disco and lucifer were the only

clubs, tony disco Heineken was 240 baht .

 

bottle of vodka ftok

 memory 3500 plus ice and mixers, making total

about 4000

 

now you have lucifers, 808, red car, mixxx, ibar , insomnia , flexx and a few more.

 

vodka with mixers in

ibar is 1600 baht if you have members card.

 

ibar is now full

of Indian and Iranian with bottle of Sangsom which is around 600 baht 

 

small bars are dying, bigger clubs are prospering.

 

happy a go go has not been renovated for 15 years , how do they expect to compete with brand new go go’s

 

 

[Camelot]

12 hours ago, Henricus said:

Never come back as it was in 1979

I really miss the Big Tree and the shade it provided. Nothing justified its wilful destruction.

[lapd]

I was hearing the same "it's going downhill" BS back when I first started coming to Thailand many years ago.  Things are constantly changing but that old complaint is not one of them.  I think it's mostly the complainers themselves that change and cannot adapt.  They get old and the girls don't call them hansum man anymore.  So they blame the girls/bars/prices/chinese or whatever.  Prices have always been increasing since I started coming here.  So that's nothing new either.

[chicowoodduck]

20 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Walking Street was never fun or exciting. Not 5 years ago, not 15 years ago, not 35 years ago, never.

 

It has always been tacky and boring. But I agree that it has got worse as now it's tacky and boring and full of Chinese and Indians.

 

Agree 100%....never could understand the attraction?  Boring and a rip off from day one.....???

[lamyai3]

8 hours ago, Antonymous said:

I agree with all that you listed but it is your 'D' that really hits the mark IMO. As I wrote in another thread a while back concerning the changing nightlife scene in Bangkok:

 

"Relatively speaking the night scene today is bleached and ironed and countless iPhone cameras snapping inanely, leading to YouTube videos of everything under the sun as well as under the bed, take all the freewheeling joy out of any ‘public’ experience."

 

The gogo bars almost universally don't allow cameras.