This place is becoming like a ghost town

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, fangless said:

It is important when you are pretending to be factual!

Credibility is all, after all!

I was just pointing out that all the photo's were not taken in the same area and they were taken from numerous areas all over town , the exact  place isnt really important .

[CorpusChristie]

[fangless]

4 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

I was just pointing out that all the photo's were not taken in the same area and they were taken from numerous areas all over town , the exact  place isnt really important .

 

36 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Many of the shops have "For sale/Rent" stuck to them .

The photos are from Tapae gate area , walk around the moat to Kad San kaew (the long way) up to Nimman then up to the ring road by the airport, which is from the central area to the outskirts of the city

Sorry but the above comment is very precise.  

All you had to say was that they were between Changklan and etc. etc would have been OK.  But you went for the tourist areas!

I suggest you stick to facts or we will assume you are full of BS

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, fangless said:

 

Sorry but the above comment is very precise.  

All you had to say was that they were between Changklan and etc. etc would have been OK.  But you went for the tourist areas!

I suggest you stick to facts or we will assume you are full of BS

Honesty, you can walk along the route that I stated and you can see the actual buildings still there , if you want the exact location of any of the photos, let me know which one and I will tell you, if I get around to it, I may even post all the exact locations tomorrow .

  If you are accusing me of B.S , go to the stated location and see for yourself .

This photo was taken up by the airport , by wing 41 or whatever its called 

 

 

[fangless]

5 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

If you are accusing me of B.S , go to the stated location and see for yourself .

I have been there and proved you were wrong! 

I have already told you of at least one location that is BS.  Enough said.

You have now proved that I have no more reason to trust anything else you ever post, End of discussion

[CorpusChristie]

2 hours ago, fangless said:

I have been there and proved you were wrong! 

I have already told you of at least one location that is BS.  Enough said.

You have now proved that I have no more reason to trust anything else you ever post, End of discussion

Bye

[worldfun]

Nimman was lately catering virtually exclusively to chinese/koreans including ofcuz the tour groups. You'll never se thais in all the fake markets, 'butique' malls & all the other useless shops. Won't be missed one bit but kad suan kaew seem to have slightly more life than it's dead usual last few years. New cinema was opened, more expected but still have the ghost mall feeling at times ????

 

Yes for sure the folding business, jobs, etc is real and present be it beach resorts or cities like CM. Thais indeed keep some bars alive where usually expats/tourists would pre kovid be mainstays!

But bars seem surefire places to get infected. Not a mask in sight anywhere where alcohol is served & social distancing? ????????
Good luck

[worldfun]

3 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

Yes, it is a downward spiral How will it end? I suspect with most of the people stuck in a subsistence farming economy perhaps able to get the occasional days work for B300. Those with a stable income will be reduced to assorted government employees, health care workers, teachers, policemen, civil servants and employees of the big companies. New normal is a sort of C21 feudalism.

 

I live in a rural community 30 km from Chiang Rai. On the edge of the village is a crossroads. Every day dozens gather at the crossroads, hoping to be picked for a days casual work. Perhaps 50% are picked. The rest are left. That is the reality of what " new normal" means. It is not sustainable, and the population will only stand it for so long!

 

We are heading into a society utterly divided into haves and have nots. That is not sustainable. Unless this is addressed, and there is no sign of it, trouble is brewing.

You bet ! Students have shown their flag, hungry poor folks will join soon enough in much greater numbers! And this is not only in Thailand mind you. Just look to Germany for example. Lets see how the vocal Indonesians get on coming months without any tourist at all either as well as economy... 

 

Back in CM there was fire, then kovid & lets see whether fire or demos will be back first! So for ones living in CM 20 years did you notice about any fires this year not same same as the previous worst year of 2019 & before that ..... Well for sure I wont be around to breathe the 2021 'fresh air' thats a given. Many people / expats / tourist might he left never to return after a took intense smoky experience so a double whammy.

 

I'd say 50% dropoff in touristic/foreigners based business is a better guess than 10% while ofcuz 90% is just pure BS!!
Oddly my building is almost always near full which is having a mix of daily/weekly/monthly rentals 95% thais ????

[sammieuk1]

It's a monumental cluster_ escalated by a bunch woeful inept unelected generals for their own ends simple as that????️ ????  

[Captain Monday]

How is Kad rincome night market doing?

 

[lordblackader]

Anyone who thinks Chiang Mai is a ghost town clearly never gets out past the Superhighway. Yes -the old city and Nimman has been hit hard but once you get past the tourist traps life is completely back to normal with traffic to match.

[CorpusChristie]

23 minutes ago, lordblackader said:

Anyone who thinks Chiang Mai is a ghost town clearly never gets out past the Superhighway. Yes -the old city and Nimman has been hit hard but once you get past the tourist traps life is completely back to normal with traffic to match.

I will take a look, can you recommend some areas that are "back to normal" ?

[CorpusChristie]

5 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

How is Kad rincome night market doing?

 

Pretty much derelict 

[clokwise]

15 hours ago, rumak said:

Very misleading post.

One other thing that keeping foreigners out has impacted is the large number of rentals (condos, houses, serviced apts, etc) that are obviously without customers. 

Agreed, and traffic in Chiang Mai in the late afternoon is as bad as it ever was.

 

I don't frequent the tourist areas and consequently in my daily routine I see almost zero evidence of any crisis whatsoever. I would tend to agree with others that there were simply too many hotels, trinket shops, and massage shops to begin with. Culling these weak and thin-margin businesses will give opportunities for new types of business in the future. The fallout of the lockdown will ultimately prove to be mostly positive IMO, though it may take months or years.

Before we built our apartment building 10 years ago we considered either going for a local-style studio apartment exclusively for locals, or well appointed 1 and 2 bedroom units catering to foreigners and locals. We went with local-style and have had 100% occupancy from day one, even throughout the lockdown, in fact we always have a long waiting list. Also, foreigners are explicitly not allowed to rent there, we don't need the hassles. We net several hundred thousand baht per month and it's proven to be a very stable source of income. It was a huge investment upfront, does not make big bucks like a hotel or condo, but it has a very long tail and requires very little effort to keep it going. I'm more than happy with that.

I'd never want to run a bar or guest house nor any tourism related business, the stress would kill me. It's a huge risk to stake the failure or success of your business on tourism when the local market is not seasonal and demand is always growing.
 

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, clokwise said:

Agreed, and traffic in Chiang Mai in the late afternoon is as bad as it ever was.

 

 

How do you explain the traffic free roads during "rush hour" outside Kad San Kaew and going all the way back to Maya shopping center and beyond  ?

   Pre Covid , that would have taken about an hour to drive through due to the traffic jams, these days, the road is empty .

 

[clokwise]

18 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

How do you explain the traffic free roads during "rush hour" outside Kad San Kaew and going all the way back to Maya shopping center and beyond  ?

   Pre Covid , that would have taken about an hour to drive through due to the traffic jams, these days, the road is empty .

 

 

I don't understand why you keep doubling down when pretty much everyone else is pointing out the opposite. You are cherry picking your data and you obviously never venture far from the tourist areas in the main part of town. I won't dispute shops are indeed closed in record numbers and traffic levels are down in certain areas, but Chiang Mai is no way a ghost town if you actually live in the outskirts like most of us. In fact it's bustling. If you're bored because there's nothing open, then I'd suggest you move out of the city.

Also, I have a another suggestion for you. Come drive your car along Maejo Road or Hangdong Road in late afternoon next week and take a few photos for us. While you're out, stop at some of the bars and restaurants around those areas, hope you can get a table because they're quite often packed.
 

Edited August 30, 2020 by clokwise
grandma

[geriatrickid]

16 hours ago, fangless said:

You mean apart from any customers for most businesses surely.

A crass and insensitive statement!  Go make that statement to any Thai tourist related business owner and their extended family and let us know when your hospital visiting times are.

Most businesses outside of the tourism sector  do have customers. The city's 128,000+ registered residents are still there and they require the same services and products as they did pre Covid19 . IMO many of the operations which closed down were in financial trouble  before Covid19 and to be blunt, good riddance to some of them. Their business practices left alot to be desired. I have some choice words to offer to the restaurants that charged high prices for poor quality food, and the hotels  which charged me a premium price for a not so premium room. Now that the market  is in a period of retrenchment, do not expect me to shed a tear for some of these merchants.

  Are you aware that some sectors of Thailand are booming and will be  reporting windfall profits this year? Examples are the medical supplies  and food export sectors. There is a worldwide shortage of gloves, gowns and masks and Thailand's products are in demand. The disruption to China's supply chain opened markets for Thai manufactured appliances and Thais financial services/processing sector kept operating. We will be entering a period of global food shortage and Thailand is well positioned to sell its products at premium prices.  Yes, some people have suffered, no one mentions the people who are doing quite well.  People who  have the needed job skills, or products, and who have managed their finances will be sailing through this crisis.

Edited August 30, 2020 by geriatrickid

[lopburi3]

11 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

There is a worldwide shortage of gloves, gowns and masks and Thailand's products are in demand.

Not sure where you are buying these Thai products but the masks I just bought are made in China.  Thailand is drooping even in rice exports.  Even Thai made radios are more often Chinese knockoffs (been there) and real Chinese brand Retekess V-115 far better. 

Sure there are always those that make a fortune on others misery - but this will not be most people.  What Thailand has done well is limit the number of deaths due to Covid - now if they could only do the same for traffic deaths.  

[rumak]

1 hour ago, clokwise said:

does not make big bucks like a hotel or condo, but it has a very long tail and requires very little effort to keep it going. I'm more than happy with that.

You made a very good choice,  congrats.    We've had full occupancy for 12 years ......... but too many houses

being built has probably put an end to that.   Fortunately i bought very cheap .  I would build a local style apt. as well now ,  but getting too old for that.    I do have one of the quietest places to pontificate from  ????  ,  almost right in the middle of this bustling ghost town. 

[rumak]

1 hour ago, clokwise said:

I don't understand why you keep doubling down when pretty much everyone else is pointing out the opposite.

obviously you do not know who this poster is..... or his previous aliases.    If you did you would probably just pass by on his posts.   his modus operandi is to get into arguments.   

[CorpusChristie]

1 hour ago, clokwise said:

 

Also, I have a another suggestion for you. Come drive your car along Maejo Road or Hangdong Road in late afternoon next week and take a few photos for us. While you're out, stop at some of the bars and restaurants around those areas, hope you can get a table because they're quite often packed.
 

OK, I'll do that next week sometime , I will make myself a packed lunch before I go , as I may not be able to get a seat in all the fully packed restaurants there .

  Shall I start a new thread or post the photos in here ?

[clokwise]

52 minutes ago, rumak said:

obviously you do not know who this poster is..... or his previous aliases.    If you did you would probably just pass by on his posts.   his modus operandi is to get into arguments.   

aha, that makes sense then. I have no idea who he is but it does seem he has a lot of free time on his hands to walk around the old town and take photos and argue here, perhaps he's upset that his favorite bar isn't still open...

[brommers]

My favourite bar reopened immediately after lockdown ended. That is over 2 months ago and its total cumulative revenue in this period is still less than its takings in a single high season weekend. Consequently out of 18 staff it now has 3. And what pray is the government doing to assist such businesses. Flat nothing.

[metisdead]

A post trolling about the tourist sex trade and a reply has been removed.

 

 

[CorpusChristie]

27 minutes ago, brommers said:

My favourite bar reopened immediately after lockdown ended. That is over 2 months ago and its total cumulative revenue in this period is still less than its takings in a single high season weekend. Consequently out of 18 staff it now has 3. And what pray is the government doing to assist such businesses. Flat nothing.

Is the bar still able to survive on its current income or are they looking at further cost cutting measures, or even closure ?

Edited August 30, 2020 by CorpusChristie

[Captain Monday]

3 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

How do you explain the traffic free roads during "rush hour" outside Kad San Kaew and going all the way back to Maya shopping center and beyond  ?

   Pre Covid , that would have taken about an hour to drive through due to the traffic jams, these days, the road is empty .

 

Minus the tourist coaches,  endless songthaews, and grab cars, what is left ?

Many now have no income and have one back to their province

Six months forbidden, I would have spent almost half of the time in town.

Without tourism foreign and domestic, and weekenders from BKK

Chiang Mai is NOT a big crowded city. 

 

Are the public AC busses still running?

[connda]

And all the while Thai elites from various ministries are telling the commoners that unemployment is in the low teens and the Thailand economy is rebounding.  And the main-stream media outlets publish their pronouncement with excitement and fanfare - Everything is just great!!!  The SET is breaking records!!! The rich are getting richer.  Time to celebrate!!!

Then you walk the street and see with your own eyes the economic devastation. 

In my lifetime I experienced that over and over again.  Politicians though the mass-media tell you one thing; your own eyes tell you something 180 degrees different.  Then when you voice those differences you are attacked and labelled some pejorative such as a 'wing-nut conspiracy theorist and an overall general nut-job." 
And that's how you marginalize facts kids. 

[bkk6060]

Good post and photos by the OP.  I recently spent over a week in CM.

Played golf a few times got home around 10 am then what? Walk the mall.

And everyday I was there I never saw the sun once as it was cloudy and rainy.

The place was a Chinese mecca now total deadsville.

There are some pretty places in the mountains but you go and look at it for 10 minutes and leave.

The coffee culture is very good so drink a cup then..?

I think if I was 80 years old I could settle there but sorry, just not enough going on.  And it seems there are more people actually outside the night bazaar area and old city then in those places now.   Nimman a few Thais drinking coffee.

But, It will come back when the Chinese come back who knows when that will be.

 

[CorpusChristie]

31 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

 

Are the public AC busses still running?

No, the new AC blue buses are not running .

I have just noticed this bus .

I have no idea where the location of it going is

(I know , terrible English )

I'm going to go and get on it and see where its going 

[connda]

18 hours ago, elliss said:

Much the same ,  every where , in the Kingdom ...

   Tourism / aka  the sex trade , is finished. RIP .

The sex trade is far from finished as the majority of that trade caters to Thais.
Those who don't understand that are either tourists or 'long-stay' farangs who don't get out into the Thai community much.