Deserted Pattaya: One person's nighttime stroll shows desperate state of resort

[Pique Dard]

On 10/30/2020 at 3:20 AM, longball53098 said:

Pattaya was never a R&R center for US GI's

can you read? if yes, here is the answer!

 

R&R (military) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › R&R_(...

 R&R during the Vietnam War — R&R during the Vietnam War[edit]. All US military personnel serving in Vietnam during hostilities ...

 

History - Guesthouse Pattaya City

 

[ChipButty]

On 10/29/2020 at 7:33 PM, DrPhibes said:

Once you start a multi-year project you can't quit unless your broke.  You can only hope that by the time your done buyers will be available.

Once the clock is ticking you cant stop

[BigStar]

4 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

can you read? if yes, here is the answer!

 

R&R (military) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › R&R_(...

 R&R during the Vietnam War — R&R during the Vietnam War[edit]. All US military personnel serving in Vietnam during hostilities ...

 

History - Guesthouse Pattaya City

 

Unfortunately you can't believe everything you read, so that's not the answer, but a myth. You'll need to read previous posts here and here.

Edited November 3, 2020 by BigStar

[thaibeachlovers]

On 11/3/2020 at 2:13 PM, Pique Dard said:

can you read? if yes, here is the answer!

 

R&R (military) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › R&R_(...

 R&R during the Vietnam War — R&R during the Vietnam War[edit]. All US military personnel serving in Vietnam during hostilities ...

 

History - Guesthouse Pattaya City

 

From Guesthouse Pattaya City

"After the withdrawal of the Americans from Vietnam in the year 1975, Pattaya didn't go back to its old life as a fishermen's village, though. It had already established itself as a tourist magnet and became a metropolis. Not only foreigners came, but also visitors from Bangkok. This is still like that today. Especially on weekends, Pattaya and Jomtien are getting very busy because that is when loads of people are fleeing from Bangkok to visit the beaches of the resort"

The words tourist magnet- in 1975. should have alerted one to the article being a bit made up.

 

https://www.thailand-business-news.com/tourism/70078-how-thailand-became-a-tourist-hotspot-during-the-60s.html

All the while, Thailand’s capital Bangkok became a centre for air travel, as international airlines found it a convenient location to refuel.

It was here in Bangkok where many American soldiers headed for Rest and Recuperation, or ‘R and R’ days.

 

 

Note that NO mention is made of Pattaya

[BritManToo]

On 11/1/2020 at 2:03 PM, Leaver said:

Restaurants catering for westerners need western ingredients. 

Like what?

Just wondering.

[NanLaew]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:13 AM, Pique Dard said:

On 10/30/2020 at 9:20 AM, longball53098 said:

Pattaya was never a R&R center for US GI's

can you read? if yes, here is the answer!

 

R&R (military) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › R&R_(...

 R&R during the Vietnam War — R&R during the Vietnam War[edit]. All US military personnel serving in Vietnam during hostilities ...

 

History - Guesthouse Pattaya City

 

Can you follow a thread?

 

There's already been comments in this thread by people who were actually here and on the ground back in the early 1970's who say otherwise. In other threads on this matter, more veterans have confirmed that although thousands of America GI's spent their R&R in Bangkok, only a very small minority chose to make the (then) six hour trip to what was just a hot and sticky fishing village with hardly any electricity, little ice and probably no air conditioning. Even the guys serving at U-Tapao didn't have to come up to Pattaya.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Even the guys serving at U-Tapao didn't have to come up to Pattaya.

They had their own bar scene near the base, from people that were at U Tapao during the war. Don't expect a quote as I read it many years ago, but it makes sense. Why go all the way to Pattaya on the roads that would have existed back then. Plenty of beaches closer.

[thaibeachlovers]

Pattaya city arose basically from nothing in the 60s to a city in the 80s. Just goes to show how much money is in BGs, as without them it would not have happened, IMO.

Took 4 hours to get there from Bkk in the early 90s, so Bangkokians probably went to Hua Hin/ Cha Am for the beach back then.

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Like what?

Just wondering.

Potatoes....

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

18 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Like what?

Just wondering.

Potatoes....

 

They are grown here in Thailand.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

They are grown here in Thailand.

Yep,

I've a freezer full of chips from Makro, 99bht for 2Kg.

And even my local market stall sells potatoes for baking, 35bht/Kg.

 

[luckyluke]

Chicory

[Leaver]

On 11/4/2020 at 3:26 PM, BritManToo said:

Like what?

Just wondering.

Due to Pattaya having expats from all around the world, the list is endless.  

 

An example would be imported steak, rather than a tough piece of buffalo.  Pre covid, with western tourism, there were a lot of restaurants serving imported steaks.  This is where "economies of scale" come into it. 

 

Big demand.  Big supply.  Bulk purchasing power.  High availability.  Lower prices.  This is relevant for small, and larger establishments. 

 

The demand is not here now, nor is it coming back anytime soon, and that also applies to the supermarkets.

 

If we look at bread, that is, decent bread, it's not imported, it's baked here, but if the bakery is selling less, due to no tourists, then they will have to charge more per loaf to make ends meet.  That means higher prices for expats. 

 

If the bakery's turn over is down, but their expenses remain the same, the price of their bread must go up, or they go broke.  

 

For imported things, like steak, only buying a few kilos rather than a hundred kilos, will mean the steak is more expensive to purchase, which is passed onto the consumer, which means higher prices for expats.

 

As expats, we enjoy the variety and choice here, and competition for pricing, because of western tourists.  Without western tourists, things will be changing in the future for expats.         

[BritManToo]

37 minutes ago, Leaver said:

If we look at bread, that is, decent bread, it's not imported, it's baked here, but if the bakery is selling less, due to no tourists, then they will have to charge more per loaf to make ends meet. 

I make my own bread, bread flour is 32bht/Kg, was in 2009 and still is.

Australian steak is sold in Makro, although I don't eat steak so I don't care what price it is.

Edited November 7, 2020 by BritManToo

[Leaver]

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I make my own bread, bread flour is 32bht/Kg, was in 2009 and still is.

Australian steak is sold in Makro, although I don't eat steak so I don't care what price it is.

What about the bread maker?  ????

[kinyara]

I don't eat out that much but I follow that Pattaya Wine and Dine group and I continue to see good value deals from places like Beefeater and Patrick's Steakhouse for example. Indeed there seems to be many places offering great deals,  the Indian night at Robin Hood Tavern looks good,  Casa Pascal do a 4 course special with wine for 800 baht but advisable to book ahead. 

 

Supermarket wise I wonder who has bought the tonnes of imported NZ Tenderloin steak that has been flying out the freezers of Siambury's and Siam Expat foods. Excellent pricing. Bread wise I buy mine from another quality business, Baak Fabric the German baker, he hasn't increased his prices. 

 

I may be wrong but I've held the view from the outset that the well run businesses offering quality service, good value, and popular with resident expats will weather the storm. However I've yet to see anything to change my mind. 

 

 

 

[Leaver]

13 minutes ago, kinyara said:

Bread wise I buy mine from another quality business, Baak Fabric the German baker, he hasn't increased his prices. 

If the baker was to sell less bread, now during covid, and post covid, what do you think will happen?  

 

I doubt he can renegotiate his lease, so his overheads are the same.  He can either downsize the property  to decrease overheads and maintain profits, increase the price of his products, or close.  It's not like there are untapped markets here.  In the past we have seen businesses opt for the easy option of increasing prices, in the hope customers will remain loyal.  They don't, and the business closes.   

 

Pattaya has an ageing expat population, and I doubt the current expat population will be replaced by the next generation of expat retiree in the numbers they were in the past.  Then, there are exchange rate concerns and a higher cost of living here, unfriendly visa regulations, as well as competition from neighbouring countries for the tourist dollar, and expat retiree market.

 

It's in the interest of expats here to see Pattaya remains an attractive destination for western tourists, even if they are sex tourists.   

[kinyara]

I'm not that into hypotheticals like you as I don't see the point in spending too much time speculating about what may or may not happen, seems a pretty pointless exercise. If changes happen I just adapt to those changes, never found it a big deal. I just pointed out examples in the current market that are the opposite to the point you made. 

 

[Pique Dard]

On 11/3/2020 at 6:35 AM, BigStar said:

Unfortunately you can't believe everything you read

nobody asks you  to believe everything you read, sir! it seems to me you are out there writing just for the sake of accumulating posts here! pattaya was an r&r for american soldiers. this is well substantiated

[Leaver]

2 hours ago, kinyara said:

I'm not that into hypotheticals like you as I don't see the point in spending too much time speculating about what may or may not happen, seems a pretty pointless exercise. If changes happen I just adapt to those changes, never found it a big deal. I just pointed out examples in the current market that are the opposite to the point you made. 

 

Sure, it's a hypothetical, at this stage.

 

Next year will reveal the longer lasting effects of covid.   

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, Leaver said:

It's in the interest of expats here to see Pattaya remains an attractive destination for western tourists, even if they are sex tourists.   

I don't really care about tourists from any other country.

They provide nothing I want, and the business that cater to them produce nothing I can't make myself far cheaper.

And most of the Thais that served them weren't the nicest people in the Thai population.

[BigStar]

3 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

nobody asks you  to believe everything you read, sir!

If you don't expect what you wrote/copied to be believed, then why write/paste it here and suggest anyone should believe it?

 

3 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

pattaya was an r&r for american soldiers. this is well substantiated

Not in any meaningful sense. Merely repeating a myth doesn't substantiate the myth, you see. True, we often think it does around here.???? Feels so good, I guess.

Edited November 7, 2020 by BigStar

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, Leaver said:

Due to Pattaya having expats from all around the world, the list is endless.  

 

An example would be imported steak, rather than a tough piece of buffalo.  Pre covid, with western tourism, there were a lot of restaurants serving imported steaks.  This is where "economies of scale" come into it. 

 

Big demand.  Big supply.  Bulk purchasing power.  High availability.  Lower prices.  This is relevant for small, and larger establishments. 

 

The demand is not here now, nor is it coming back anytime soon, and that also applies to the supermarkets.

 

If we look at bread, that is, decent bread, it's not imported, it's baked here, but if the bakery is selling less, due to no tourists, then they will have to charge more per loaf to make ends meet.  That means higher prices for expats. 

 

If the bakery's turn over is down, but their expenses remain the same, the price of their bread must go up, or they go broke.  

 

For imported things, like steak, only buying a few kilos rather than a hundred kilos, will mean the steak is more expensive to purchase, which is passed onto the consumer, which means higher prices for expats.

 

As expats, we enjoy the variety and choice here, and competition for pricing, because of western tourists.  Without western tourists, things will be changing in the future for expats.         

Simple answer- don't eat beef, don't eat western food. Plenty of different sorts of Asian food in LOS to satisfy any taste.

[Olmate]

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Simple answer- don't eat beef, don't eat western food. Plenty of different sorts of Asian food in LOS to satisfy any taste.

Guess you have your Sunday lamb roast in the oven!????

[ChipButty]

For you guys who live in Pattaya I saw a YT video and on it the doing a walk about, For those of you who like a breakfast that Witherspoons doing a 99 Baht breakfast next week Im guessing

[daveAustin]

On 10/29/2020 at 1:31 PM, tpinvest said:

I first visited Thailand in December 1973 - happy days!!!- and it's been on a downhill slide ever since, so sad to reflect on it. Retirement plans cancelled when Farang status relegated from 2nd class to 3rd class.

They need to put 800,000  into our account as an inducement to put up with what they are doling out, not to confiscate our hard earned pension cash.

Not alone in these negative thoughts

Agree. Not a big fan but see a massive difference between the 90s and 2010s. IMO, especially with army running things, you will never see the Pattaya of old again. Game over.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Agree. Not a big fan but see a massive difference between the 90s and 2010s. IMO, especially with army running things, you will never see the Pattaya of old again. Game over.

IMO nothing to do with the "army", but because of the internet. Girls no longer have to endure endless hours of calling hansum man and pretending to be interested when some unattractive smelly farang tries to converse with them. No, IMO the attractive ones are on line now, ergo less attractive BGs, ergo less farangs trawling the bars, ergo less money for bars, ergo bar numbers decline, ergo Pattaya changes to a different demographic. Simple economics.

[Oldie]

47 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Agree. Not a big fan but see a massive difference between the 90s and 2010s. IMO, especially with army running things, you will never see the Pattaya of old again. Game over.

The army is very nightlife friendly. Only people that haven't seen what happened since the army took the power can say the opposite. Here in Pattaya are more bars than ever. Opening times were even extended by this government. There is still the urge of the tourism minister to extent them further so that the entertainment industry can earn more money. All this does not fit to the myth that the army does not like the "entertainment industry". People were surprised to see this development since this happened after a female tourism minister tried to reduce all this. Here a Reuters article that confirms this (there are endless other sources):

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-vice-idUSKCN0ZW16A

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by Oldie

[Rimmer]

Some off topic posts and replies removed, please stay on topic:

 

Deserted Pattaya: One person's nighttime stroll shows desperate state of resort

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, ChipButty said:

For you guys who live in Pattaya I saw a YT video and on it the doing a walk about, For those of you who like a breakfast that Witherspoons doing a 99 Baht breakfast next week Im guessing

Wanna Break? on Soi Yamato does a B95 "brekkie" daily. 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 1 sausage, beans, tomato, 2 toast (semi-whole wheat), and coffee/tea. It's pretty good, too. K. Wanna has also put in a small bar, reasonable prices, so's you can get drunk afterwards and then stagger into the So Nice go-go next door. Or you can sit outside and enjoy people watching, such as they are.

 

https://en-gb.facebook.com/wannabreakpattaya/