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

[BigStar]

41 minutes ago, Susco said:

how about you specify the date by which ALL businesses will be up and running again, and earning lots of profits?

Sadly, I'm one of the very few who lacks the innate precognitive abilities and weighty economic qualifications of our TVF Doomsters. So I myself never get to enjoy the prophesyin' and pompous exaggeration that so impresses here. Must confine myself to having a few laughs, sorry.

 

50 minutes ago, Susco said:

Still flogging that dead sixpack horse?

Still good, that's the thing about open-ended prophecies.

[polpott]

6 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Sadly, I'm one of the very few who lacks the innate precognitive abilities and weighty economic qualifications of our TVF Doomsters. So I myself never get to enjoy the prophesyin' and pompous exaggeration that so impresses here. Must confine myself to having a few laughs, sorry.

Well, being a prophet of some repute myself (Nostrodamus eat your heart out) I can tell you that all businesses will be up and running and back in profit on Christmas Day 2021.

[spidermike007]

Pictures taken on Samui recently. The island is absolutely devastated. And it seems to be getting worse, according to friends who live there. And was also in Pattaya. A very sorry state of affairs there too. The army need to develop some courage. Very unmanly behavior from them. Alot of hungry people, and they are doing less than zero about it. Shame on them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[redwood1]

5 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Pictures taken on Samui recently. The island is absolutely devastated. And it seems to be getting worse, according to friends who live there. And was also in Pattaya. A very sorry state of affairs there too. The army need to develop some courage. Very unmanly behavior from them. Alot of hungry people, and they are doing less than zero about it. Shame on them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These businesses not only supported the owner but also the owners family.....The kids the grandparents the employees and their families....Were talking huge numbers of Thais whos rice bowl is now empty....

[spidermike007]

4 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

These businesses not only supported the owner but also the owners family.....The kids the grandparents the employees and their families....Were talking huge numbers of Thais whos rice bowl is now empty....

No question about that. The $100 billion (yes, about 3.3 trillion baht!) Thailand takes in from tourism annually reverberates out in countless ways. Even the rural folks benefit. And how about us ex-pats? Alot of the nicer homes in the poorer farming areas were built with money from us. Alot of trucks, cars and income is from expats. Countless business employing many. To say tourism, and the income ex-pats bring in is insignificant, is a blatant misunderstanding of Thai economics. Thousands of hotels, restaurants, countless airlines and many tour companies, also benefit.

 

The future looks bleak here, economically, for the Thai people. The army is really, really blowing it. It will take years for Thailand to pull itself out of this hole, and even then, will tourists return? Some will. My guess is that in our lifetimes, Thailand will never see even half of the numbers it did last year. 

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, polpott said:

November 13th, 2020. Friday the 13th.

Wonderful! We gon' call that Pattaya Doomster Ascension Day, awaited more than 20 years, long before TV even started.

 

Now we need a member of our Pattaya Proctological Photography Club (PPPC) to ride around and live stream the TOTAL DESERTION. Say at 12:00 PM, doomsters can all get nekkid, grab a few cans of Chang, put a bottle of massage oil beside their keyboards, access the Live Doom Stream and Ascend together.

 

Let's start working on setting that up. 

 

Yet the awkward question then arises, Is there life after the Ascension? We talkin' the end of the Pattaya forum, man. No more playing the scary music and issuing even portentous Pronouncements. Wot?

 

I suppose we can keep going by documenting the awesome progress of the ruination, as we're enjoying to a lesser extent now. In this the PPPC will be invaluable.

 

So maybe just one thread with weekly pics of bleached ruins getting more bleached, rubble then more rubble, the progressive decay of the starved, rotting corpses partly eaten by dogs and rats, the spread of jungle reclaiming the area. In that we can indulge the usual schadenfreude in repeating all the reasons that righteous destruction rained down on the wicked, stupid Thais. Jet ski scams, dual pricing, no smiles, expensive bar fines, cold soggy chips, promenade rebuild, rude waitress, no lying permitted about the income, Chinese, blah blah. Kind of like we always did in our annual Dead Pattaya threads at high & low seasons.

 

That should give us something more to look forward to, the Afterlife so to speak. There's, uh, hope.

 

Now back to regular programming until The Day.

Edited September 22, 2020 by BigStar

[polpott]

1 minute ago, BigStar said:

Wonderful! We gon' call that Pattaya Doomster Ascension Day, awaited more than 20 years, long before TV even started.

 

Now we need a member of our Pattaya Proctological Photography Club (PPPC) to ride around and live stream the TOTAL DESERTION. Say at 12:00 PM, doomsters can all get nekkid, grab a few cans of Chang, put a bottle of massage oil beside their keyboards, access the Live Doom Stream and Ascend together.

 

Let's start working on setting that up. 

 

Yet the awkward question then arises, Is there life after the Ascension? We talkin' the end of the Pattaya forum, man. No more playing the scary music and issuing even portentous Pronouncements. Wot?

 

I suppose we can keep going by documenting the awesome progress of the ruination, as we're enjoying to a lesser extent now. In this the PPPC will be invaluable.

 

So maybe just one thread with weekly pics of bleached ruins getting more bleached, rubble then more rubble, the progressive decay of the starved, rotting corpses partly eaten by dogs and rats, the spread of jungle reclaiming the area. As we do so, we can indulge in repeating all the reasons that righteous destruction rained down on the wicked, stupid Thais. Jet ski scams, dual pricing, no smiles, expensive bar fines, cold soggy chips, promenade rebuild, rude waitress, no lying permitted about the income, Chinese, blah blah.

 

That should give us something more to look forward to, the Afterlife so to speak. There's, uh, hope.

 

Now back to regular programming until The Day.

Presumably you didn't read my second prophecy regarding "the second coming". You're taking my prophecies out of context.

[redwood1]

3 minutes ago, BigStar said:

Wonderful! We gon' call that Pattaya Doomster Ascension Day, awaited more than 20 years, long before TV even started.

 

Now we need a member of our Pattaya Proctological Photography Club (PPPC) to ride around and live stream the TOTAL DESERTION. Say at 12:00 PM, doomsters can all get nekkid, grab a few cans of Chang, put a bottle of massage oil beside their keyboards, access the Live Doom Stream and Ascend together.

 

Let's start working on setting that up. 

 

Yet the awkward question then arises, Is there life after the Ascension? We talkin' the end of the Pattaya forum, man. No more playing the scary music and issuing even portentous Pronouncements. Wot?

 

I suppose we can keep going by documenting the awesome progress of the ruination, as we're enjoying to a lesser extent now. In this the PPPC will be invaluable.

 

So maybe just one thread with weekly pics of bleached ruins getting more bleached, rubble then more rubble, the progressive decay of the starved, rotting corpses partly eaten by dogs and rats, the spread of jungle reclaiming the area. As we do so, we can indulge in repeating all the reasons that righteous destruction rained down on the wicked, stupid Thais. Jet ski scams, dual pricing, no smiles, expensive bar fines, cold soggy chips, promenade rebuild, rude waitress, no lying permitted about the income, Chinese, blah blah.

 

That should give us something more to look forward to, the Afterlife so to speak. There's, uh, hope.

 

Now back to regular programming until The Day.

Joe Star give it a rest....

[Pattaya Spotter]

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The future looks bleak here, economically, for the Thai people. The army is really, really blowing it. It will take years for Thailand to pull itself out of this hole, and even then, will tourists return? Some will. My guess is that in our lifetimes, Thailand will never see even half of the numbers it did last year.

While I wholeheartedly agree with you about the current economic disaster for any Thais associated with the tourism industry and the secondary affects therefrom, I think you may be a bit too pessimistic about the future when international travel returns to normal following the widespread adoption of successful vaccine. Many restos, hotels, and tourist related business will close permanently but most should make it through. Once vaccination starts in earnest, within 3-5 years the numbers should be back to pre-covid levels. This is just my best guess/opinion.

[jacko45k]

45 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

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. 

Soi Yume... I drive down it on occasion. Never seen it deserted, It is a shortcut through to Big-CX and Klang and into town. Big-CX carpark was always undersized, didn't stop them selling off spaces to various market stalls... a few of those have gone. I live about 10km out of town too, it is a bit quieter but things are close to normal.

[spidermike007]

5 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

While I wholeheartedly agree with you about the current economic disaster for any Thais associated with the tourism industry and the secondary affects therefrom, I think you may be a bit too pessimistic about the future when international travel returns to normal following the widespread adoption of successful vaccine. Many restos, hotels, and tourist related business will close permanently but most should make it through. Once vaccination starts in earnest, within 3-5 years the numbers should be back to pre-covid levels. This is just my best guess/opinion.

 

Never gonna happen. And the tourists they do attract will be lower to middle income Indians and Chinese, primarily. Thailand just cannot attract higher end tourists anymore. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels. More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity. Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax. Instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

Quantity over quality is never a good thing, unless you are selling one dollar items at a swap meet. It just lowers the quality of the experience for all. This is an emergency situation. It needs to be dealt with, and it needs a high degree of intelligence and competence. Not something Prayuth or Pipat possess. Someone else needs to handle this, and it needs to be handled yesterday! The tourism industry was already  teetering on the edge of a tragic drop before Covid. Unless you buy the fake numbers the administration was putting out. And it has already been devastated by this highly destructive administration. Covid was devastating, but the delays in re-opening will be worse. It could crush millions of families dependent on tourism. Who can trust the Thai authorities, and what they say? Why trust them? What have they done to earn that trust?

You know what they say about putting all of your eggs in one basket? I have been warning of the dangers of becoming too dependent on China for years. Now, after you have made your bed, you get to sleep in it. You have alienated all tourists but Indians and Chinese.

Westerners are not coming here anymore for a dozen very good reasons. You insulted us. You demeaned us. You accused us of being evil, and you accused us of being criminals. You mounted campaigns touting us as bad for the nation. You demonstrated deplorable amounts of racism and xenophobia, and fear of the outside world. And now you want us to come back? Really? How soon you forget. Sorry, but we have not forgotten what was done and said. What we have forgotten is the nation named Thailand. There are too many alternatives now, and they are not only trying harder, they actually have competent people in charge! Surprise!

Sorry to say, but the high spending tourists are lost for good. They WILL NOT come back to Thailand, for a dozen different reasons. And places like Pattaya, Phuket and Samui will continue to go downhill. So, the goons at the TAT continue to pursue ever higher numbers, regardless of the noxious air, unbelievable congestion on the roads, and woeful service at the airports, that this policy only exacerbates.
 

[Pattaya Spotter]

34 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Never gonna happen. And the tourists they do attract will be lower to middle income Indians and Chinese, primarily. Thailand just cannot attract higher end tourists anymore. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels. More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity. Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax. Instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

Quantity over quality is never a good thing, unless you are selling one dollar items at a swap meet. It just lowers the quality of the experience for all. This is an emergency situation. It needs to be dealt with, and it needs a high degree of intelligence and competence. Not something Prayuth or Pipat possess. Someone else needs to handle this, and it needs to be handled yesterday! The tourism industry was already  teetering on the edge of a tragic drop before Covid. Unless you buy the fake numbers the administration was putting out. And it has already been devastated by this highly destructive administration. Covid was devastating, but the delays in re-opening will be worse. It could crush millions of families dependent on tourism. Who can trust the Thai authorities, and what they say? Why trust them? What have they done to earn that trust?

You know what they say about putting all of your eggs in one basket? I have been warning of the dangers of becoming too dependent on China for years. Now, after you have made your bed, you get to sleep in it. You have alienated all tourists but Indians and Chinese.

Westerners are not coming here anymore for a dozen very good reasons. You insulted us. You demeaned us. You accused us of being evil, and you accused us of being criminals. You mounted campaigns touting us as bad for the nation. You demonstrated deplorable amounts of racism and xenophobia, and fear of the outside world. And now you want us to come back? Really? How soon you forget. Sorry, but we have not forgotten what was done and said. What we have forgotten is the nation named Thailand. There are too many alternatives now, and they are not only trying harder, they actually have competent people in charge! Surprise!

Sorry to say, but the high spending tourists are lost for good. They WILL NOT come back to Thailand, for a dozen different reasons. And places like Pattaya, Phuket and Samui will continue to go downhill. So, the goons at the TAT continue to pursue ever higher numbers, regardless of the noxious air, unbelievable congestion on the roads, and woeful service at the airports, that this policy only exacerbates.
 

Sorry...I thought I was going to engage in a rational discussion of Thailand/Pattaya travel post-Covid...I didn't realize I was replying to one of the "Thailand hates all foreigners and only Westerners are high quality tourists" TV members. Carry on.

[BigStar]

54 minutes ago, polpott said:

Presumably you didn't read my second prophecy regarding "the second coming". You're taking my prophecies out of context.

We got to wait on that second prophecy to see the results of the first. You see, no TVF Doomster prophecy has ever come true except in the sense of "a broken clock's right twice a day." Been a source of continual frustration, hence the need to issue new prophecies continually on the scattershot principle. And they get ever more strident, crying in the wilderness and all that. You can see an example above. 

 

In fact, a doomster prophecy is always such an excellent inverse indicator that yours probably means that some more businesses will open up on Nov. 13.

 

Meanwhile, Pattaya awaits. Cheers!

[Wongkitlo]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Soi Yume... I drive down it on occasion. Never seen it deserted, It is a shortcut through to Big-CX and Klang and into town. Big-CX carpark was always undersized, didn't stop them selling off spaces to various market stalls... a few of those have gone. I live about 10km out of town too, it is a bit quieter but things are close to normal.

Do you talk to  any Thais? The ones I talk to are complaining about overtime cut, wanting to sell land, no tenants in their houses. I am not an economist but even to a layman it is hard to understand how you think a large % of an economy can go missing and it will not filter through to the other parts. I walked through the soi and there only seem to be massage shops and win drivers with no customers.

[guzzi850m2]

I will get back to Pattaya next week, are currently in a quarantine hotel in greater BKK area.

 

I left Pattaya on the 13 March for work (scheduled for 2 month!) so I am looking forward to get home but the looking at the photos here, holy cow, looking bad.

 

From a certain newspaper we are not allowed to quote: Phuket's Governor says Phuket are in a coma and needs help now.

I doubt Pattaya are as bad but I will see for myself soon.

[Pattaya Spotter]

23 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

I will get back to Pattaya next week, are currently in a quarantine hotel in greater BKK area.

 

I left Pattaya on the 13 March for work (scheduled for 2 month!) so I am looking forward to get home but the looking at the photos here, holy cow, looking bad.

 

From a certain newspaper we are not allowed to quote: Phuket's Governor says Phuket are in a coma and needs help now.

I doubt Pattaya are as bad but I will see for myself soon.

As I've posted in this thread...it depends on where you live and where you like to eat and shop. I live in East Pattaya (non-tourist area) and more or less all the shops and restos are open (though you do see free food lines/handouts sometimes driving around the area. (And one of my regular restos, La Grotta, kudos to them, organized a free Thai food cook-up and giveaway for needy locals.) If you live in central Pattaya City, the larger chain supermarkets, hotels, malls, restos, and shops are open, with much reduced trade, but the main north-south arteries of Beach, Second, and Naklua roads are basically ghost towns...with 60-70% of businesses closed. You may appreciate the zero traffic (except for holiday weekends).

Edited September 22, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[guzzi850m2]

Thanks Pattaya Spotter,

 

I shall see for myself, I am very mobile and are all over the place, know the place as my back pocket after living here for many years.

 

My wife told me that many of our usual restaurants in Naklua are closed or only sometimes open.

 

In Denmark where I just spent a month waiting for a rep flight/sorting out the necessary paper work, everything was pretty normal, okay have to wear mask when using public transportation and that was that expect some tourist related businesses. Hotels in Copenhagen severely effected, many temporally closed but benefited me as I could get a room for app 1/3 of normal prices. 

[seasia]

1 hour ago, guzzi850m2 said:

I will get back to Pattaya next week, are currently in a quarantine hotel in greater BKK area.

 

I left Pattaya on the 13 March for work (scheduled for 2 month!) so I am looking forward to get home but the looking at the photos here, holy cow, looking bad.

 

From a certain newspaper we are not allowed to quote: Phuket's Governor says Phuket are in a coma and needs help now.

I doubt Pattaya are as bad but I will see for myself soon.

Hi

 

I live and mostly go out in naklua. That seems to be getting quieter and quieter.

On soi 27 where I guess number of bars is about 10 to 12.One closed end of last week, another is closing end of month.

The little bar I like to go in to was very quiet, couple of times I have been the only customer.That has been closed for 2 days now, unsure whether that is just temporary.

 

Grottino on soi 33 still open, another Italian restaurant fusillo on the main naklua road still open but there are quite a few places closed.The local Thais must be really struggling.

Some of them I feel somewhat sorry for.

 

There are however still enough places open for it not to be boring here though.

[Pattaya Spotter]

Upper Soi Diana (even though Diana Inn (or was it Lodge) is no more...

 

Ned Kelly bites the dust

 

Row of empty shop houses...any takers...probably cheap

 

No more tastes of Thailand at The Haven

 

A SURVIVOR...they've been down but not out...now open from 17:00-21:30.

[scubascuba3]

I hear at the Haven the landlord wouldn't drop the rent so it closed. 

 

I thought I saw Retox Soi honey closed today as I ride past but I may be wrong 

[Pattaya Spotter]

14 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I hear at the Haven the landlord wouldn't drop the rent so it closed. 

 

I thought I saw Retox Soi honey closed today as I ride past but I may be wrong 

Because zero rent is better than half-rent...and there are many others lined-up to take this space right?

Edited September 22, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Wongkitlo]

44 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I hear at the Haven the landlord wouldn't drop the rent so it closed. 

 

I thought I saw Retox Soi honey closed today as I ride past but I may be wrong 

I think Retox is closing on Tuesdays or one day a week at least.

[spidermike007]

The very definition of insanity, cowardice on the part of the army, timidity, and mindlessness. How to wreck a once great industry, that employed millions! Make the hurdles high enough, and reduce international tourism to a few thousand tourists per year. 

 

 

 

[Andy from Kent]

On 9/2/2020 at 9:35 AM, petermik said:

Keep them out I say....that,s why Patts is so good now,selfish attitude I know but it,s the truth

 

Yes, for sure that's not only selfish but it's also very unkind wishing  for all the  businesses in Pattaya and throughout thailand.

 

Greed and avarice are among the seven deadly sins you recall?

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Because zero rent is better than half-rent...and there are many others lined-up to take this space right?

Let's guess, I reckon ex Haven hotel/restaurant won't open again for at least 1 years time 

[blackcab]

An off topic post has been removed.

[topt]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

I thought I saw Retox Soi honey closed today as I ride past but I may be wrong

 

54 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

I think Retox is closing on Tuesdays or one day a week at least.

Has been like that for over a month - apparently picked Tuesdays as the quietest day.

[BigStar]

5 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Upper Soi Diana (even though Diana Inn (or was it Lodge) is no more...

Noticed some weeks ago that Natalie's Soul Bar had closed. I hope it'll someday reopen. Not well-known, but a rare little gem of bar with Northern Soul music.

[Wongkitlo]

3 hours ago, topt said:

 

Has been like that for over a month - apparently picked Tuesdays as the quietest day.

Stopped going to retox anyway. The bar where the road  curves on Soi Bukhao is more fun and much cheaper.

[topt]

16 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

Stopped going to retox anyway. The bar where the road  curves on Soi Bukhao is more fun and much cheaper.

Several curves in Soi Buakhao so not sure where you mean but anyway Retox is good for some things but "fun" and cheapness its not!