Out with the backpackers in with the Chinese - Khao San Road makeover continues

[Redline]

11 minutes ago, Traubert said:

It wouldn't be impossible to pick up some tourist basics in two days.

 

There's no gender, no tenses and hardly any grammar in Mandarin. Get a little useful vocabulary and the numbers and you'll do ok.

I'll have to check it out~it looks difficult

 

[kohmakmaxx]

It is just sad, kaosarn was the place to go on a time nobody have a phone in the pocket it was the center for information and meeting people, backpackers make it world famous...... 

[sawadee1947]

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The continuation of the decline of Western tourism. Thailand made a decision long ago, to avoid pursuing the highest quality of tourist around. They are now courting low baht, low quality, for the sake of the annual total numbers of arrivals. Really, really dumb policy. Brain dead planning, by total incompetents. Nearly everyone I speak with, anywhere in the country, who is in the tourism industry says the same thing. They are suffering, this new group of tourists just does not spend much (unless you are 7/11, a fruit vendor, or sell baseball caps), and contribute very little to the local economy.

 

This lack of Western tourists, is a major disaster for the nation, and only a matter of time before this manifests itself on alot of levels. In addition, with so many ex-pets leaving, who contribute enormously to the local economy, one can only hope (with such mindless policy), that the baht eventually drops significantly. One would presume that will eventually happen. 

There was a time Majorca decided to go the same way. Flight Incl accomodation full board for 99 pounds/week.

Took more than 30 years to attract quality tourists again. 

Wonder how long it takes Thailand? 

I reckon tourists will vote with their feet and visit Vietnam and Burma with it's wonderful beaches and islands still to come. ????

[Leatherneck]

9 hours ago, JimmyTheMook said:

 

Vietnan, Laos and few other places are the new wanderlust destinations - TH is just so old hat.

Won't be for much longer in Vietnam IMHO. The Chinese are already there in droves with more coming all the time. Also buying up property using Vietnamese front people. Da Nang and HoI An are the worst.  Many, if not most, Vietnamese in general dislike, if not outright hate, the Chinese but money talks and the government is always careful not to upset the Big Dragon to the north. Of course the Russians totally dominate Nha Trang and Mui Ne and have so for many years, but Nha Trang has also become a Chinese tourist destination spot. One saving grace is that most Vietnamese, especially young Vietnamese, like Westerners and Western culture...and young people enjoy learning English and other languages. 

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, Too young to be old said:

I think it was American servicemen from the airforce bases and those on R & R, re. the Vietnam War, before them, them were no bars.

It was the hippies that found the islands to the south. Probably the wise draft dodgers. The servicemen stayed in Bangkok and Pattaya, I think.

[Neeranam]

13 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

 

I reckon tourists will vote with their feet and visit Vietnam and Burma with it's wonderful beaches and islands still to come. ????

Nah, the food is awful. 

[Isaanbiker]

Gone are the days of banana pancakes and fake student cards - here are the days of vendors greeting tourists with a hearty "Ni Hao Ma".

 

What happened to the good old "short time for ha reu with a stunner?" 

 

 

[Isaanbiker]

13 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Nah, the food is awful. 

Don't they have Mama soup?

[lespaulTV]

Smelly vs Noisy... 

[Tropposurfer]

It’s all good man ... won’t take long to realise how preferred European tourists were against this new mod and how we Euros will be again.

 

 

[chama]

10 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

With lots of Chinese , the street will be used as a toilet soon

It's only a question of time before the locals are complaining about squatting Chinese soiling their streets. But in the end it always goes back to who dumps the most Bhat into the economy and it is likely that the Chinese are the more affluent of the current visitors. Too bad that the option of improving the tourist experience for all prospective visitors can't be considered.  

[whitemouse]

4 hours ago, maddox41 said:

Funny that I was just thinking of going to Vietnam for a holiday. Its the new hot-spot. 

Just don't know where to visit!!! 

Hanoi or Saigon or I can't remember the name of the place that's like there Riveria South of Saigon?? Any ideas people... 

But yep Koh San is the new jin place to be pissing in the street the 500 b a night hotel and the free plane ticket. 

Thais never learn this place is going to hell in a handbag  day by day. 

 

 

By Riviera you probably mean Vung Tau, it is 2hr drive, south of Saigon (HCMC). It is not Riviera, exactly, more like a small town with a clean beach, very nice, can get boring though.

 

Da Nang is ok, very clean, 1Mil city exactly half way from North to South, not much nightlife. City of Nha Trang, half way between Da Nang and Saigon is a good bet, livelier than Da Nang and Vung Tau, not as loud as downtown District 1 in Saigon. Closest to major sea side resort Vietnam has and favorite of Russian tourists during winter months. 

 

If Saigon was beach side city it would be perfect! 

 

Da Nang, Nha Trang, Saigon all direct flights from BKK and DMK, one way 2000-3000 THB, easy online 3 months multi entry visa, no TM30, TM40, TM3000. 

/end off topic/

[paul1804]

How short sighted this is, nearly every country around the globe is making an attempt to educate its citizens in basic english, the majority of Chinese travellers know basic english so why doesn't Thai tourism further educate their people in the same for the benefit of the average person. Sure teach the the basic intro Ni Hao Ma to Thai vendors but let it stop there. Statistics show that the Chinese will find another country destination in the near future and Ni Hao Ma will be long forgotten. Nothing against Chinese tourists but let common sense prevail.  

[Howiehotspur]

We will all need to speak Chinese within 30 years I reckon ( wouldn’t affect me I doubt , as I’ll be gone ) but I’ve told my two daughters they’d need to learn it .. they are taking over everywhere in the world . Thailand will soon be swallowed up , and it looks like they are going down without a fight  ... 

[Caine]

Chinese dirtiest race of people on the planet, Thailand your welcome to them gobbing all over your country. You’re being left behind by the likes of Vietnam, Laos and others 

[Sydebolle]

Many backpackers in the early 80s became the quality tourists in the 90s; it is a fact that backpackers are discoverers. Samui, Koh Chang and Koh Samet were put on the map in the 80s by no-frills backpacking tourists.

The quality tourism of China still heads to Europe at an x-fold price per day for quality tourism; Thailand is left with the breadcrumbs which now are popping up on Khao Sarn Road. 

[Happy Grumpy]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

the government has started to teach traders to speak Chinese

including 'Please madam, go sh!t in a bathroom'. 

[sunnyboy2018]

12 hours ago, ezzra said:

Way to go Thailand, this country tourism was built on backpackers, you owe your reputation to those carefree guys and girls over that the years have spread the good words about visiting Thailand and now being shunt and discarded lie a used tissue in favor of the chinese... 

Thus it ever was. Thailand, India, Ibiza, et al were opened up by the hippies in pursuit of drugs, then came the backpakers and ravers. I lived on the KSR when there were no hotels at all. Does anybody remember the Pro Guest House? In those days the KSR was like the wild west, with narcotics on sale, tough boxing gyms, all night bars with saloon type mass brawls. Then it went sift and middle class, wealthy back packer. In the old days only two hotels in the whole of Banglampoo, the Vengtai and one near Sanam Luang. The street behind KSR was mainly hairdressers and beauticians who closed Wednesdays, Wednesday being an unlucky day to cut hair so they partied on Chivas and Thai food. I had a great time with them. 30 years ago. The other side of town Song Nam Dupli used to be popular in those days. I wonder where the backpakers will go now.

[apalink_thailand]

12 hours ago, mercman24 said:

learn some Hindu while your at  it, for when the *quality* Indians arrive????

They won't go there. No prostitutes willing to accept a six for the price of one deal. 

[alt]

7 hours ago, HeyHeyHey said:

A young backpacker today = big spending family tourists in 5+ years

This! 

 

When my GF and I first went to SE Asia in 2010, we had a budget of about 6,000 EUR for 3 months.

 

Our next trip to Myanmar / Thailand in December... our J Class flights are 5000 EUR alone.

 

Go figure. I had planned to always come back to Thailand every year, however this will be our 8th (I think) trip. On our last trip, I said 'never again', but here we are. I really suspect that this will be our last time to Thailand (although may use BKK as a layover hub)

[samsensam]

this is a very lacklustre piece of writing, ok, some street vendors have been offered chinese lessons but no other facts, evidence or analysis is offered to support the headline.

 

Gone are the days of banana pancakes and fake student cards  this quite simply not true, as the 'writer' would know if they had bothered to do any real research.

[sawadee1947]

5 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Nah, the food is awful. 

Really? Because it was a former British Colony??? ????????????

[sunnyboy2018]

14 hours ago, Moti24 said:

In 2 days!  Yes, right!

 

A lot of school students study English for years, and still have trouble constructing a sentence properly.  The street traders are still a product of the Thai education system, so somebody please explain how they are suddenly going to aquire language learning skills.

Thai traders speak effective english. Some around Pattaya speak Chinese and plenty speak russian.

[sunnyboy2018]

7 hours ago, Traubert said:

It wouldn't be impossible to pick up some tourist basics in two days.

 

There's no gender, no tenses and hardly any grammar in Mandarin. Get a little useful vocabulary and the numbers and you'll do ok.

The Chinese use google translate.

[sunnyboy2018]

6 hours ago, Neeranam said:

It was the hippies that found the islands to the south. Probably the wise draft dodgers. The servicemen stayed in Bangkok and Pattaya, I think.

Correct.  See my other long post. 

[sunnyboy2018]

6 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Nah, the food is awful. 

Food in Vietnam is fantastic.

[sunnyboy2018]

14 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I spent many happy months staying in KSR in 1992, apart from when I went to Sanam Luang to find it surrounded by tanks.

 

It was very rare to see a Thai person there, that wasn't working. 

 

Sadly the Thais startled moving in, especially at Songkran, getting very aggressive and anti farang. Then the Thai night clubs came. I went back to meet a cousin in 2000 and was shocked at the way the Thai staff in restaurants tales about the guests, using obscenities, calling then dogs etc.

 

Gone are the days when you could sit and watch a movie free, and also watch the Israelis share a 10 baht bottle of water between 5 of them.

 

Sad, as it was the adventurous back packers that found Thailand in the 60s, whereas now it's middle aged men coming to meet their tee rak that they met on thailustline, and retired accountants and Scandanavian seamen.

 

Personally, I find many Chinese rude, and all thanks to western counties not understanding the consequences of globalization.

Do you remembr, The Hello Bar AKA The Hell bar, and the Pro Guest House?

[sunnyboy2018]

13 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

"this country tourism was built on backpackers"

Any proof for that?  

It was on the hippy trail from the 60s onwards. The proof is my memory. But they were hippies looking for good drugs rather than wet backpackers. They also opened up Ibiza, Afghanistan,  Pakistan, India and other places as well as the Thai Islands. 

[Los Luver]

I recall I read somewhere: the backpackers were begging in the streets of ASIAN....Well Chinese are lot better substitutes......at least Trump thinks so.......money my friends money........

Edited August 6, 2019 by Los Luver

[champers]

Just spent a couple of days near KSR and had a night at a bar there. There were mostly young Western tourists, a few oldies (like me) and a few groups of young Chinese (mostly girls). When the trio played an Ed Sheeran song, a table of 4 Chinese hotties next to us practically wet themselves with excitement and sang along in perfect English. 

I understand that stalls will be back to back down the centre of KSR and it will be free of traffic. New paving will be installed. Sounds OK to me.

No need for Thai ladies to learn Mandarin to snare a Chinese beau. In Pattaya they bill and coo in English and the young Chinese lads are taking the prime lookers too.

Never mind the us v them rubbish. Let's all party together.