It's Getting Worse...More Shops Closing Down

polpott · September 20, 2020

25 minutes ago, Leaver said:

Did you buy anything?

I visited Central last week. Several decent restaurants on 5th/6th floor. Bought 2 pairs of shorts from Uniqlo (wife bought much more) and a cigarette lighter from a bric-a-brac stall. Usually visit once per month.

Edited September 20, 2020 by polpott

Leaver · September 20, 2020

8 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Pools and opulence. I suspect they need not venture and all is brought to them. Was having a look at The Amari only on Friday.

No doubt there are nice hotels and resorts here, but step outside them and what awaits you?

There's nothing in Pattaya City to attract high end tourists. Certainly not the beach.

AbeNormal · September 20, 2020

21 hours ago, BigStar said:

I noticed that, too.???? Funny, TAT: TVF has recently stopped denying the existence of domestic tourism

no one denies the existence of DT, your reference weekend was a long bank holiday granted as replacement for the non event songkran, it was a one off, to use that a marker for general domestic tourism is misguided

This country like most others around the world are in deep s--t, Thailand does not escape that with a four day weekend every 6 months

The big difference between Thailand and the UK for example, the UK has supported businesses and employees at huge cost, they also have welfare systems in place that have been supporting people for decades, Thailand has none of these, if people can't work or businesses are in trouble they fail, that has ramifications across this nation, people going hungry, defaulting loans, failing banks, the Thai government have done little to stop the slide into oblivion

Wongkitlo · September 20, 2020

3 hours ago, BigStar said:

FINALLY, someone noticed. Congrats. Now I suggest you do your part to help. Me, I'm at least handing out tips like never before, and they're appreciated, too. Funny, I've noticed a quiet gathering, with some attempt to be discreet, of waitresses nearby my table in one of the restos where I stop by once a week or so--I dare not say "favorite," or the troll will put it on the list--when they notice I'm getting ready to leave. I love this country.???? But I do feel sorry for them. Big place, no customers.

I must have misunderstood your post. I thought you were saying there wasn't trouble coming in a big way.

Wongkitlo · September 20, 2020

48 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

for your hands or your ~~<deleted>~~ nether regions?

????

Japanese style automatic toilets. Push the button for warm or cold then air dry. Even can control which way the dry goes. ????

AlfHuy · September 20, 2020

On 9/10/2020 at 6:44 PM, petermik said:

And I spend 85k/month so there.........

And if Sizzlers want me to wear a mask and put gloves on I,ll stay in the Michelin starred "tin cup"....

Mask

Gloves

Condom

Plastic shoe cover

You never know.

AlfHuy · September 20, 2020

On 9/11/2020 at 6:12 PM, BritManToo said:

I eat in most nights of the week due to cost, quantity, and quality.

Can't say I've eaten in many restaurants where I left feeling 'that was really good'.

Usually the portion is too small, the food isn't hot enough, or it took too long to serve.

I never encounter any of those problems when I cook it myself.

Just had fried chicken breast and chips cooked in my air fryer ..... about 25bht for the food, and another 56bht for 2 wine coolers. Can hardly move now, and that was with my 8 year son old eating off my plate as well.

that is cheap.

I never buy a chicken breast so cheap.

BritManToo · September 20, 2020

2 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

that is cheap.

I never buy a chicken breast so cheap.

35bht for 2 chicken breasts in Tesco Lotus.

tgw · September 20, 2020

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

35bht for 2 chicken breasts in Tesco Lotus.

I like most parts of the chicken, but not the breasts. too dry and bland.

CorpusChristie · September 20, 2020

2 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

that is cheap.

I never buy a chicken breast so cheap.

The cheap chicken usual has the texture of cheese, doe to the water injections

Golden Triangle · September 20, 2020

On a more selfish note, the lack of tourists has produced some great bargains to be had, a well established restaurant in the city is offering 4 courses of high quality food & unlimited wine for 690 baht per head, in years past, no matter how much I wanted to try the place I probably would have to wait for a really special occasion, so for me it's a win win, I will be going again soon, the service, food, value for money & overall ambience is outstanding.

polpott · September 20, 2020

2 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

On a more selfish note, the lack of tourists has produced some great bargains to be had, a well established restaurant in the city is offering 4 courses of high quality food & unlimited wine for 690 baht per head, in years past, no matter how much I wanted to try the place I probably would have to wait for a really special occasion, so for me it's a win win, I will be going again soon, the service, food, value for money & overall ambience is outstanding.

Name that restaurant. Please.

Eindhoven · September 20, 2020

7 minutes ago, polpott said:

Name that restaurant. Please.

https://restaurant-in-pattaya.com/schlemmer-menu

prk888 · September 20, 2020

Casa Pascal ? If so you need to book as great value friends tell me

jacko45k · September 20, 2020

13 hours ago, Leaver said:

No doubt there are nice hotels and resorts here, but step outside them and what awaits you?

There's nothing in Pattaya City to attract high end tourists. Certainly not the beach.

As I stated, high end hotels are certainly an attraction, people like to get away and a drive from Din Daeng to Thonglor isn't getting away for the weekend. And why do you think high end tourists don't like to let their kids run around on the beach and play on the sand? Now they can park their Mercs nearby.... someone will push the motorbikes out of the way.

AlfHuy · September 21, 2020

15 hours ago, polpott said:

Name that restaurant. Please.

7-11 Prime

BigStar · September 21, 2020

21 hours ago, AbeNormal said:

no one denies the existence of DT

You must be new here. I could give you countless references stretching back 10 years, but members will find it "inflammatory" and report me if I quote their old posts that make them look stupid.

DT was in fact once not just ignored, and now denigrated, but downright inconceivable. Hence one our greatest classical TVF Economists, also the discoverer of the critical Stalls Of Doom Indicator (stalls in front, or back, of a mall signal its imminent bankruptcy), prophesied doom from the start in 2009 of CentralFestival:

Central World is going to fail, just like The Avenues. Anyone stupid enough to build a place that charges Bangkok prices in a small tourist resort town deserves to go bankrupt.

The peanut gallery all promptly chanted their blessings and sneered at the high priced goods on offer no one would buy. True, the mongers wouldn't and couldn't--the only possible tourists! Who did? Thai and other international tourists. As that's impossible, TAT: TVF refuses even today to see any shoppers in CentralFestival, T21, or in any Thai shopping mall--they're invisible--and came up with money laundering and aircon as explanation. ???? You can show a pic of a crowded mall and the response will be, "I don't see any farang." It's in fact empty.

21 hours ago, AbeNormal said:

your reference weekend was a long bank holiday granted as replacement for the non event songkran, it was a one off, to use that a marker for general domestic tourism is misguided

This country like most others around the world are in deep s--t, Thailand does not escape that with a four day weekend every 6 months

Try to argue ethically. I didn't use any one holiday weekend as a reference. There have in fact been several successful (in the relative sense) holiday weekends recently bringing in Thai tourists. Recently, but of course many more pre-COVID. Plus, a lot of domestic tourists come in on ordinary weekends. Now you may wish to check your calendar and find out whether Loy Kratong, Christmas, and New Year holidays will come sooner than 6 months from now.

Again, you must be new or failed to notice that domestic tourism has been a growing part of the Pattaya economy starting maybe 10 years ago. It was partly owing to the traffic jams generated by DT that an extra lane was added to Beach Rd.

And you've erected the usual straw man argument and of course a silly exaggeration. Nobody said or has made even the slightest implication that DT will fully compensate for the lack of international tourism. Not only does everyone (oh, including Thais) know it, everyone has always known. Hence some Authority comes up with a new plan weekly for getting international tourists back. Now that's SO disappointing that we're just gon' have to ignore the fact and repeat the obvious daily here as if it's some new & brilliant revelation for the stupid Thais.

Edited September 21, 2020 by BigStar

BritManToo · September 21, 2020

Just now, BigStar said:

The peanut gallery all promptly chanted their blessings and sneered at the high priced goods on offer no one would buy. True, the mongers wouldn't and couldn't--the only possible tourists! Who did? Thai and other international tourists. As that's impossible, TAT: TVF refuses even today to see any shoppers in CentralFestival, T21, or in any Thai shopping mall--they're invisible--and came up with money laundering and aircon as explanation. ???? You can show a pic of a crowded mall and the response will be, "I don't see any farang." It's in fact empty.

There are clearly some Malls, Opticians, restaurants and bars that appear to have incomes other than from real customers.

polpott · September 21, 2020

19 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Now that's SO disappointing that we're just gon' have to ignore the fact and repeat the obvious daily here as if it's some new & brilliant revelation for the stupid Thais.

What is genuinely disappointing is that DT's will fail to rescue even one business in Pattaya. A drop in the ocean compared to the big picture.

morrobay · September 21, 2020

23 hours ago, Leaver said:

No doubt there are nice hotels and resorts here, but step outside them and what awaits you?

There's nothing in Pattaya City to attract high end tourists. Certainly not the beach.

What awaits you ? Maybe another new construction project like this new one right on top of a fairly newly completed (well done) sidewalk.

Dolphin-Dusit curve. Not really conducive to walking out and shopping in the surroundings

Henryford · September 22, 2020

16 hours ago, morrobay said:

What awaits you ? Maybe another new construction project like this new one right on top of a fairly newly completed (well done) sidewalk.

Dolphin-Dusit curve. Not really conducive to walking out and shopping in the surroundings

The amazing thing i've noticed about public works in Pattaya they will start a project, create chaos and then just leave it for weeks or months. Why not finish one part before starting the next !!

jacko45k · September 22, 2020

48 minutes ago, Henryford said:

The amazing thing i've noticed about public works in Pattaya they will start a project, create chaos and then just leave it for weeks or months. Why not finish one part before starting the next !!

Only got one set of tools, the smashing it up and breaking ones.

BigStar · September 22, 2020

19 hours ago, polpott said:

What is genuinely disappointing is that DT's will fail to rescue even one business in Pattaya. A drop in the ocean compared to the big picture.

Not even just one little ol' noodle street vendor????? OK, got that out of the way. While our doomsters are on a roll here, let's move on to the bleached ruins, the rubble, the starved, rotting corpses being eaten by dogs and rats, the jungle reclaiming the area. We want the real porn now.

polpott · September 22, 2020

1 minute ago, BigStar said:

Not even just one little ol' noodle street vendor????? OK, got that out of the way. While our doomsters are on a roll here, let's move on to the bleached ruins, the rubble, the starved, rotting corpses being eaten by dogs and rats, the jungle reclaiming the area. We want the real porn now.

Its too easy for some people to identify the rest of Thailand with Central Pattaya. I live 2 miles from the centre and the noodle vendors are doing just fine here. Know one girl who previously worked in a bar and has now opened a barbecue stall close to my home. She's making a better living now than she did before Covid. She regrets not having done it years ago.

You need to get out more.

BigStar · September 22, 2020

17 hours ago, morrobay said:

What awaits you ? Maybe another new construction project like this new one right on top of a fairly newly completed (well done) sidewalk.

Or (cough) maybe not. Suddenly I'm hearing Annie Hall, "La-di-da, la-di-da, la-la." Thais are SO used to a bit of disorganization, as anyone knows who lives here. It's our fussy farang old ladies who're always clutching their pearls.

Dusit's been doing pretty well. In fact I was surprised at how many cars were in the parking lot during a weekday last week.

BigStar · September 22, 2020

3 minutes ago, polpott said:

I live 2 miles from the centre and the noodle vendors are doing just fine here. Know one girl who previously worked in a bar and has now opened a barbecue stall close to my home.

Yes, but you're not Prophesyin' about "close to home," but rather Pattaya. Focus, man. Where's the porn?

4 minutes ago, polpott said:

You need to get out more.

Well, now, we had a news article about a noodle shop in Pattaya doing well with domestic tourists after the lockdown ended. It was greeted with the usual chorus of sneers. Your breakthrough is to move beyond the brilliant "it's not going to save Pattaya," i.e., the beer bars, to "it's gon' close, too."

Now what you could do to distinguish yourself from yer ordinary generic doomster is specify the date by which ALL the businesses will be closed. Usually a doom prediction is open-ended, leaving our poor members to worry daily about the Tunnel Flood or the the collapse of Central, into perpetuity. The suffering! Part of the fun. Let's hear the date, now that's it's sure thing.????

polpott · September 22, 2020

11 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Yes, but you're not Prophesyin' about "close to home," but rather Pattaya. Focus, man. Where's the porn?

Well, now, we had a news article about a noodle shop in Pattaya doing well with domestic tourists after the lockdown ended. It was greeted with the usual chorus of sneers. Your breakthrough is to move beyond the brilliant "it's not going to save Pattaya," i.e., the beer bars, to "it's gon' close, too."

Now what you could do to distinguish yourself from yer ordinary generic doomster is specify the date by which ALL the businesses will be closed. Usually a doom prediction is open-ended, leaving our poor members to worry daily about the Tunnel Flood or the the collapse of Central, into perpetuity. The suffering! Part of the fun. Let's hear the date, now that's it's sure thing.????

November 13th, 2020. Friday the 13th.

Susco · September 22, 2020

27 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Now what you could do to distinguish yourself from yer ordinary generic doomster is specify the date by which ALL the businesses will be closed

Since it is clear that the majority of posters on this forum do not share your rose-coloured views, how about you specify the date by which ALL businesses will be up and running again, and earning lots of profits?

27 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Usually a doom prediction is open-ended, leaving our poor members to worry daily about the Tunnel Flood or the the collapse of Central, into perpetuity.

Still flogging that dead sixpack horse?

Edited September 22, 2020 by Susco

Wongkitlo · September 22, 2020

1 hour ago, polpott said:

Its too easy for some people to identify the rest of Thailand with Central Pattaya. I live 2 miles from the centre and the noodle vendors are doing just fine here. Know one girl who previously worked in a bar and has now opened a barbecue stall close to my home. She's making a better living now than she did before Covid. She regrets not having done it years ago.

You need to get out more.

You only need to go down the soi beside Big C Central Rd to see it is all deserted. If you go to Big C on a weekend it is easy to park, used to drive around looking. I live 10km out. Many have lost their jobs or having their businesses affected as they work in tourism in Pattaya.