If you think pattaya is dead now .. check out this

[shdmn]

8 minutes ago, RoadWarrior371 said:

Pattaya is growing even outside the tourist areas.  Who cares if the Brits ever come back.

People who own british pubs...lol.  Seems like there are a few here who have some sort of business interest that caters to them the way some are acting like it's the end of the world.

[Centra]

Been coming to Pattaya for 16 years in March and Sept. Know many bar owners and expats and they were telling us how bad it was before we got here. What has got us is the vibe is gone, walking around between 11 pm and 1 am and its like going out at 8 pm. Girls use to call out or try and drag you into a bar when it was quite (low season) and its just flat. What got me was crossing 2nd road at 1 pm and not a car moving, I had time to pull my camera out take a photo one way then the other and back the other way again, I have crossed that road all hours of the day and night properly a 1000 times and never has it been empty.

Haven't been to walking street yet but between Central road (pattaya klang) and Tukcom (south Pattaya rd) hardly any Indians (seen more in the past) have seen some Chinese mostly in 2 and 4s one group trying to get the yellow and blue taxi's on beach rd to turn the meter on they tried 3 before I got them a baht bus 200 baht (taxi asking 500 baht). Having just done 3 days in Bali 5 in Malaysia and 7 in Vietnam the taxi systems are more even in pricing.

 

Over the last couple of years people that we travel with aren't coming (cost or no work) people we use to met up with from lots of different countries are now only coming once a year or every 2nd year. We are now limiting our time 10 days down from 30 as we are getting more value for our money in other Asian countries.

There is a photo at Kiss food with a row of high chairs, this has been a big turn off for me over the last couple of years catering for kids. And Thai's bring there kids to work from 7-11 to Go Go's. and cleaners Hotels letting kids run around hotels while there working. Where they pulled the 7-11 down at the corner of soi Bouhkoa and soi Lengkee the workers dress appropriately most had safety gear and there was a woman (well dressed) standing in the middle with a baby on hip looked like she was visiting her boy freind. First few years visiting  Pattaya never saw a Thai kid.

[jonwilly]

"It was 28THB to the UKP when I travelled to Thailand in '84. Not a biggie IMHO. Markets go up and down."

 

I have been told that back in  82 before the Falklands War the pound was down to B22.

For many years the pound was B38, I can swear to that. 

In 98 I received B85 to the pound and I was told by friends in business, in BKK, that the pound went over B100 to one pound.

The forecast at the start does not say if it assumes the UK will be in or out of EU and makes no reason why the baht should stay a strong currency, it seems to assume a strong reliable Thai government and as anyone who has experience of Thailand will know that is one hell of an assumption.

 

john

[55Jay]

Several years old but interesting.

 

Quote

Is it possible to predict currency exchange rates with machine learning techniques?

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Hi_is_it_possible_to_predict_currency_rate_for_instance_GPB_USD_in_Forex_with_machine_learning_technique_which_algorithm_will_be_a_good_choice

 

 

 

 

[shackleton]

52 minutes ago, Leaver said:

What time frame do you put on that?

Well its taken 3 years so far and nothing achieved 

if Boris can get get Brexit done October 31st 2019

its proberly going to take minimum 2 years  for things to 

Improve 

I am trying to put a positive spin on this for the future 

 

[Dexlowe]

1 hour ago, JamJar said:

91. You need to eat more oily fish. Your memory seems to be going too ????

It hit 96, then briefly flirted with 97, I recall very clearly. I had been getting 18-20 to the NZ dollar - it rose to 36. (For those of us working here at the time, it was devastating - our companies suffered badly, staff laid off, salaries slashed, and so on.)

 

I have a fishing rod for sale, if you're interested. It only catches oily fish. ????

[brokenbone]

2 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Yes, the number of expats in all of Thailand is around 70,000.  Tourism brings in 30 million + people every year.  Estimates from TAT say 12-20% of GDP is from tourism. 

Expats contribution to GDP is negligible, not even close to 1%

Money spent by tourists is exponentially higher than any expat group/nationality.  

not sure what you are saying, but an expat living here sure as hell spend more then a tourist per person,

its on the scale of 800.000 baht vs 8.000 baht per year,

since the expat lives here year after year while the tourist may never come back or only once every few years

[yodsak]

1 hour ago, JamJar said:

States 88 there. But we were getting 91 on the ground.

Who was giving ฿3 more than the interbank rate? 

[Liverpudlian]

Well it gives the road sweepers a rest from sweeping broken dreams off the streets.

[Beggar]

For sure many people might have thought that Pattaya will die after the US army left after the war. But it just continued to grow. I am more worried about the Brits in Pattaya than about Pattaya. But even if the last Brit left this place - Pattaya will be still here and I guess continue to grow. 

[Ron jeremy]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

The worlds ugliest men will continue to flood in unless they pull something with a pulse back home which is unlikely. 

Classic <deleted> post, I've gone thru  2 boxes of tissue laughing. 

Couldnt be more true!

[yogi100]

3 hours ago, newnative said:

     Nice to start the day with a joke.  '...the final nail in Pattaya's coffin'.  55555.  No coffin that I can see--let alone any nails in it.  Quite laughable that you think Pattaya's robust growth these past years has been because of British tourists and now that the Pound is sinking Pattaya will, too.

     In reality, the growth continues.  Several new, large condo projects have been announced to join those already under construction.  Amari's all-suites hotel addition is done and the new Ozo Hotel next door is nearing completion.  Several hotels are remodeling and adding features--such as A-01 on Beach Road.  The city itself is finally doing some infrastructure work.

     Recently I mentioned that in Wong Amat near Cape Dara an old low-rise resort on a large tract of land has been bulldozed and cleared.  Drove by yesterday and saw construction fences going up and a sign announcing 'Grande Centre Point 2.  From the photo it's a large high-rise hotel resort project.  I guess Grande Centre Point at T21 is doing so well--even though Pattaya is apparently near death--that another hotel is on the way.  If posters can tear themselves away from Soi 6 and Walking Street they'll see there's a lot positive going on.  

There might be some fancy Amari and Ozo hotels and various condo blocks being built but who is going to pay good money to stay in them, they won't be cheap. And who is going to pay to fly thousands of miles and sometimes half the way around the world to get there.

 

These projects must have been started some time ago before the GBP and other currencies went down the gurgler.

 

Ex pats and holiday makers of all nationalities are considering going elsewhere in the future and as word gets around about how expensive Pattaya has become others will do likewise.

 

Pattaya is hardly the sort of place that's going to attract the Monte Carlo crowd is it.

 

Especially when they start hearing about strict visa requirements  and respectable holiday makers getting refused entry at the airport.

 

Two things have always attracted people tp Pattaya and one of them is value for money. As the other attraction gets more expensive which it is doing what will Westerners, not just the British want to go there for. 

 

It's unlikely to be for the crystal clear sea or the pristine beach.

 

Of my friends one regular visitor has decided to forego his regular November trip and an ex pat chum is currently in Vietnam checking it out.

[yogi100]

3 hours ago, Ron jeremy said:

The expat community in pattaya,( not all) tend to be getting on in age, and I really don't see them spending vast amounts. Basically surviving.  The new tourist demographic is changing, squeezing out these people won't change much. Contrary to the people on this forum thinking that the western expats rule pattaya will have a rude awakining. The little people are slowly taking over. 

Best learn some Mandarin, swaheely, and sharpen up on your chop stick skills.

A lot of Western expats have wives, girl friends and other loved ones so a lot of unseen cash filters through the system into the hands of Thai families. A falang husband is seen as a ticket to a life on Easy Street for a family in all parts of Thailand.

 

With a falang in the fold they can buy the houses, cars, land, tractors and motor bikes that they could hitherto only dream about.

 

The Thai tourist agencies never mention this because those families are of no consequence to the tour and hotel operators.

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Yes, the number of expats in all of Thailand is around 70,000.  Tourism brings in 30 million + people every year.  Estimates from TAT say 12-20% of GDP is from tourism. 

Expats contribution to GDP is negligible, not even close to 1%

Money spent by tourists is exponentially higher than any expat group/nationality.  

Enormously higher!

 

 

[scorecard]

7 minutes ago, yogi100 said:

A lot of Western expats have wives, girl friends and other loved ones so a lot of unseen cash filters through the system into the hands of Thai families. A falang husband is seen as a ticket to a life on Easy Street for a family in all parts of Thailand.

 

With a falang in the fold they can buy the houses, cars, land, tractors and motor bikes that they could hitherto only dream about.

 

The Thai tourist agencies never mention this because those families are of no consequence to the tour and hotel operators.

Why would they be?

 

[yogi100]

2 hours ago, MJKT2014 said:

It was 28THB to the UKP when I travelled to Thailand in '84. Not a biggie IMHO. Markets go up and down.

I was there in '84 and we were getting 32 for our quid. I remember that distinctly because it was my first ever trip to the LOS.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, newnative said:

     Nice to start the day with a joke.  '...the final nail in Pattaya's coffin'.  55555.  No coffin that I can see--let alone any nails in it.  Quite laughable that you think Pattaya's robust growth these past years has been because of British tourists and now that the Pound is sinking Pattaya will, too.

     In reality, the growth continues.  Several new, large condo projects have been announced to join those already under construction.  Amari's all-suites hotel addition is done and the new Ozo Hotel next door is nearing completion.  Several hotels are remodeling and adding features--such as A-01 on Beach Road.  The city itself is finally doing some infrastructure work.

     Recently I mentioned that in Wong Amat near Cape Dara an old low-rise resort on a large tract of land has been bulldozed and cleared.  Drove by yesterday and saw construction fences going up and a sign announcing 'Grande Centre Point 2.  From the photo it's a large high-rise hotel resort project.  I guess Grande Centre Point at T21 is doing so well--even though Pattaya is apparently near death--that another hotel is on the way.  If posters can tear themselves away from Soi 6 and Walking Street they'll see there's a lot positive going on.  

One man's positive is another's naysaying. (If condos and big buildings signify progress, heck, off to Singapore or Hong Kong). And actually, that is where we are heading, aspirations, Savile Row suits and mucky underwear. 

[yogi100]

2 hours ago, Leaver said:

And how much was accommodation and F&B back in 1984????

And how much was a Briton getting paid for weeks work then. 

I was on about 120 quid.

[Chelseafan]

I take these forecasts with a pinch of salt.

 

This was posted on this very forum in June and had the Baht opening at 36.022 tomorrow (1st Oct) and whilst not radically off it's impossible to predict with any kind of certainty due to evolving global events.

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Chelseafan

[jacko45k]

And Aug 2023, back up to 52.00!

Edited September 30, 2019 by jacko45k

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, shdmn said:

People who own british pubs...lol.  Seems like there are a few here who have some sort of business interest that caters to them the way some are acting like it's the end of the world.

I know two established British pubs that have thrown in the towel this year.

The Butchers Arms Soi Buhkaow.

The Pig and Whistle Soi 7.

 

And one recently opened venture that's folded.

The Queens Arms. Soi Buhkaow

 

That's just the ones I'm aware of. There are also bars closed or with For Sale signs up all over the place.

 

Maybe things aren't really that bad and it's just that the owners have reacted 'like it's the end of the world'.

[madmen]

10 minutes ago, yogi100 said:

I know two established British pubs that have thrown in the towel this year.

The Butchers Arms Soi Buhkaow.

The Pig and Whistle Soi 7.

 

And one recently opened venture that's folded.

The Queens Arms. Soi Buhkaow

 

That's just the ones I'm aware of. There are also bars closed or with For Sale signs up all over the place.

 

Maybe things aren't really that bad and it's just that the owners have reacted 'like it's the end of the world'.

How can they survive when selling pints for 150 when all around them Thai bars selling tallies for 70 baht 24/7

[kevinmartyn]

It's amazing that people have hung the UK already. It will come back

[kevinmartyn]

Since 1999 until now the value of the GBP has gone down by 66%

[CGW]

4 minutes ago, kevinmartyn said:

Since 1999 until now the value of the GBP has gone down by 66%

& the "value" of the Thai baht has gone up by?

The USD is down against the Baht and up against the British pound 

With the right numbers and abject thinking you can manipulate at will! 

[Chelseafan]

1 hour ago, yogi100 said:

I was there in '84 and we were getting 32 for our quid. I remember that distinctly because it was my first ever trip to the LOS.

The difference though is that your pound in 1984 went a lot further than it does today.

How much were you paying for a beer or for a barfine, 30baht and 1000LT I suspect.

 

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Why would they be?

 

It's obvious why.

 

Admittedly they are of no consequence to the Thai tour and hotel operators if that's what you are referring to but they are of considerable consequence to those Thai families who benefit from a falang husband's money.

 

While a falang ex pat does not put any money into the likes the Amari, Marriott or Hilton hotel chains his wife's family usually are very glad that Lek or Noi or whatever their daughter's name is managed to snare him.

 

His being in the family often allows them to afford the things in life that they would otherwise have to go without.

 

I for one would sooner see a Thai family benefit from our presence than I would some huge international business consortium.

 

 

[Chelseafan]

5 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Yes, the number of expats in all of Thailand is around 70,000.  Tourism brings in 30 million + people every year.  Estimates from TAT say 12-20% of GDP is from tourism. 

Expats contribution to GDP is negligible, not even close to 1%

Money spent by tourists is exponentially higher than any expat group/nationality.  

There are roughly 500,000 to 1 million expats living in Thailand.

[yogi100]

23 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

The difference though is that your pound in 1984 went a lot further than it does today.

How much were you paying for a beer or for a barfine, 30baht and 1000LT I suspect.

 

Beers were from 30 (Singha) - 45 (Kloster) depending on the venue.

 

You're way off with the 1,000 baht barfines which were only 100 - 150 and the girl wanted 300 - 500 for herself. Even today only GGBs expect 1000 baht for a barfine.

 

There was no such arrangement as LT nor ST unless you yourself dispensed with the girls company before she had to go to work. It was a foregone conclusion that she'd stay with you till well into the next day.

 

It was a great holiday but much too expensive for us to even consider going back. I finally returned in 1999 to 62 baht to the GBP and that was marvelous.

 

I first encountered the mention of a ST in about 2001 from a girl in Classroom Agogo in Pattayaland. Since then IMO the attitude of the girls has slowly but surely worsened as their income has doubtlessly improved.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by yogi100

[Beggar]

5 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

There are roughly 500,000 to 1 million expats living in Thailand.

Often blocking valuable accommodation space that could be used for tourists that spend a lot. Perhaps it is seen here like this and so nobody is interested in even more expats? There is a ministry for tourists. But I don't know if there is one caring for us expats too. We are no tourists and often don't behave like them. We have different needs.