Pattaya: The New Walking Street - so much more than just cable burying, says mayor

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[kingstonkid]

10 hours ago, pattayadude said:

put a roof over the WS and you block the air flow for sure, causing temps to rise and causing the sounds bounce off of the roof, echo and amplify to intolerable levels ..it is so damn hot and humid many nights as it is, open air..can you imagine it covered?? what are they gonna do, put a giant air-con to cool it? gimme a break!

Consider that people said the same thing about Fremont. You are also thinking that everything is going to stay the same.  Last I heard they are going to make it family friendly so I think. That the bars and girls will be moved.

As to air circulation fans and open areas might work.

 

Again it worked in Vegas, what you are basically building is a shopping mall.  How do they keep the people Cool

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, redwood1 said:

 

I am not sure why you keep defending the KSR disaster.......Please at least educate yourself by doing a YouTube search for Khao San road videos....Only videos posted in the last month...........

"Why I keep defending it"??  I made one post on it just to say you can't say the road improvement wrecked it when it has been wrecked by Covid just like all other tourist areas of the country.

 

Quote

Ok we all know about covid...And I would not expect to see much action on KSR...But what has happened there goes way way beyond covid...KSR has been laid to waste ........Lovely metal posts lining the street,gives the place kind of a modern art prison feel......And the Nordic Fir trees, well that's a big ???

"Laid to waste".  You really do like to make ridiculous over-exaggerations don't you.  "Modern art prison".  They are poles that keep the cars off the pedestrian areas.  How can that "lay waste" to everything else there?  It's just a silly thing to say.

I haven't been there since they did the "upgrades" - it's too far away and I never really liked KSR.   So do I like them or not?  No idea.  They might be an improvement, they might not, I don't know.  You've obviously been there to be so outraged by it so please tell.  Once tourism comes back (whenever that will be) I suspect KSR will be busy again unless there are tourism forums saying to boycott it due to poles to keep cars out and some fir trees.  Outrageous!!

[Leaver]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

Again it worked in Vegas,

 

Slight difference in infrastructure, don't you think? 

 

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

You are also thinking that everything is going to stay the same.

 

I don't think it will stay the same.  I have said in the past, I would not be surprised if many gogo's on Walking Street become Chinese karaoke bars. 

 

There's been some threads about casinos / gambling in Thailand recently, and some posters, myself included, have commented on Sihanoukville.

 

The Chinese very well may change Walking Street in a similar way, without casinos.

 

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Last I heard they are going to make it family friendly so I think. That the bars and girls will be moved.

 

Question is, will families, or regular tourists, pay over 160 baht a beer, in any establishment in Walking Street?  

 

[oznomad]

27 minutes ago, Leaver said:

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Again it worked in Vegas,

 

Slight difference in infrastructure, don't you think? 

 

Yes, but surely Thailand's better infrastructure would lead to a better roof?

 

If they could make a roof like Fremont it would be a winner.

[Leaver]

57 minutes ago, oznomad said:

 

Yes, but surely Thailand's better infrastructure would lead to a better roof?

 

If they could make a roof like Fremont it would be a winner.

 

Walking Street could go through the roof.  ????

 

Seriously, who's the target market? 

 

Keep it for the sex tourists, and why would they pay Walking Street prices when they can go to LK Metro, which was happing pre covid. 

 

Change it for families, and is mom or dad going to pay 160 baht or more for a drink? 

 

The Thai landlords still want their big rent, roof, or no roof.  So which market is going to continue to go to Walking Street and float the businesses there, regardless of a roof?   

[Bangkocker]

On 2/13/2021 at 5:22 PM, Orton Rd said:

They need to bury the sex trade as well

Let's keep the sex trade and bury you instead.

[jacko45k]

7 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Again it worked in Vegas, what you are basically building is a shopping mall.  How do they keep the people Cool

Not sure what Vegas has got to do with it..... and Pattaya already got plenty of empty Malls.... If they are serious about bringing Walking street up to date, they need a good idea. Opening up one side to the sea might be a start. 

[silicastorm]

On 2/14/2021 at 2:16 AM, kingstonkid said:

I think that they are planning a Fremont Street experience on a smaller scale

Fremont_Street_Experience_FB.0.webp 68.18 kB · 9 downloads

Kingstonkid, that actually makes sense if they are going to copy something from another place. Looks great if they have the budget. They should have budget after all these years of gold in their pockets.

[Henryford]

They put a roof on the Jomtien Complex easy enough. Not quite the same as Vegas but great when it rains.

[pattayadude]

17 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

LOL. Walking street didn't exist as it is till the 90s, NOT the 70s. I was at the opening.

 

Doesn't matter if they tart it up or not. The destruction tarting up of Khao San Rd has been a failure, from what I've read.

 

 

LOL more..I was there Feb 1990 for my 21st bday. the street was booming with bars named "baby  go go". It didn't look like it just opened. No idea what  you're talking about?

 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by pattayadude

[Huckenfell]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:22 PM, Orton Rd said:

They need to bury the sex trade as well

What do you think got Pattaya noticed in the beginning.

[kingstonkid]

17 hours ago, Leaver said:

 

Slight difference in infrastructure, don't you think? 

 

 

I don't think it will stay the same.  I have said in the past, I would not be surprised if many gogo's on Walking Street become Chinese karaoke bars. 

 

There's been some threads about casinos / gambling in Thailand recently, and some posters, myself included, have commented on Sihanoukville.

 

The Chinese very well may change Walking Street in a similar way, without casinos.

 

 

Question is, will families, or regular tourists, pay over 160 baht a beer, in any establishment in Walking Street?  

 

First I am not sure pattaya will be all that Chinese but you could be right.  Karaoke would be a non starter for me.

 

I am thinking open the water side and upgrade the rest of it.

 

Families don't go there for beer they go for family entertainment.

 

The rest of Pattaya can feed the horny beer drinkers.

 

The money is there and we know Thai people like neon

[redwood1]

Again now that the monorail to Bali Hi has been scraped, most of the Bali Hi makeover plans are now pointless....I would would say there is no chance of walking street getting a roof....

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/15/2021 at 9:54 PM, chang1 said:

What is the point of joining airports with high speed trains? Much more sense to join the places that people want to travel between. 

Why not join the 2 Bangkok main train stations to the monorail in Pattaya via Swampy? U-Tapao could then be closed as it would be redundant. 

Before corona Swampy apparently couldn't handle the air traffic it was getting which is why they opened Don Mueang again to civilian planes. I agree that the high speed rail doesn't need to go to U Tapao as that's mainly for Pattaya bound tourists, but it should go north to Ayutthaya and Sukothai, two major tourist destinations, though.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:17 PM, pattayadude said:

LOL more..I was there Feb 1990 for my 21st bday. the street was booming with bars named "baby  go go". It didn't look like it just opened. No idea what  you're talking about?

 

 

I never said there weren't bars on the street, but it was just an ordinary road before they paved it and closed it to traffic at night, which is when it became "WALKING street" One couldn't walk in the middle of the road before it was closed to traffic.

I also spent some time in the bars there before it became WALKING street. Your own photo proves my point as it's obviously an ordinary road with a white line down the middle. No walking except on the pavements.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/15/2021 at 10:46 PM, josephbloggs said:

"From what I've read" - you forgot to add "on TVF".

 

So repaving the road and pavements and adding bollards to stop encroachment by cars has destroyed KSR has it?  You do realise that that work was done during Covid when there are no tourists and we are still under Covid and there are still no tourists.  Would love the see the article you read that said the repaving has destroyed it.

Problem with TVF naysayers is they listen to all the other TVF naysayers, and most of the TVF naysayers have no first hand experience of what they are naysaying.  Perfect case in point.

555555555555555555

I made ZERO mention of the bollards. KSR was destroyed because the money men kicked the cheap hotels out so they could put in fancy night clubs that appealed to a different clientele than the bagpackers that made it famous. It became a street for trendy Thais more than farang bagpackers, IN MY OPINION.

[elgenon]

On 2/14/2021 at 7:59 PM, pattayadude said:

they are "cleaning-up=modernizing" the 80s look of it.burying cables and maybe mandating bars to modernize, refurbish their interiors. I'm in my 50s and I naturally want things to stay the same as they were in 70s and 80s, it's nostalgic for me but the world moves on, changes. The likes and demands of the new generation are different than ours. they watch their phone more than they watch the street or passers-by.Maybe they drink less, don't smoke as much, don't talk to each other for hours like we do and don't necessarily enjoy pole dancing as they are used to meeting women on their phone and there are more women online now than ever to meet this demand. The street really needs a face lift. its dirty, uneven and messy.It's a disaster from 70s. If this works, fine.if it doesn't, the street will get older and eventually will go in the "garbage heap of history" at the end of this decade

 

Thanks. My main point was what will they offer that is so special to Pattaya as to make hordes of tourists choose it?

[thaibeachlovers]

6 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Thanks. My main point was what will they offer that is so special to Pattaya as to make hordes of tourists choose it?

Perhaps they know something about casinos that the rest of us don't.

Other than casinos I can't see anything about Pattaya to make it an attractive tourist destination for farangs.

[elgenon]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Perhaps they know something about casinos that the rest of us don't.

Other than casinos I can't see anything about Pattaya to make it an attractive tourist destination for farangs.

If they do casinos i would think they would need to be big, luxurious things. Not a corner in Walking street.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, redwood1 said:

Again now that the monorail to Bali Hi has been scraped, most of the Bali Hi makeover plans are now pointless....I would would say there is no chance of walking street getting a roof....

I wasn't aware till I read that that it had been scrapped but I always thought it was a crazy and un necessary project.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, elgenon said:

If they do casinos i would think they would need to be big, luxurious things. Not a corner in Walking street.

They could demolish little Arabia and build one there.

[thaibeachlovers]

7 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Perhaps they know something about casinos that the rest of us don't.

Other than casinos I can't see anything about Pattaya to make it an attractive tourist destination for farangs.

I just saw this https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1206447-more-calls-for-government-to-legalise-gambling-in-thailand/

 

[elgenon]

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I wasn't aware till I read that that it had been scrapped but I always thought it was a crazy and un necessary project.

Yes, it made no sense to me. i couldn't figure out who the patrons would be.

 

Definitely not the bucks up tourists they covet.

[Thecritic]

On 2/13/2021 at 5:17 PM, rooster59 said:

Pattaya: The New Walking Street - so much more than just cable burying, says mayor

 

Image: Sophon Cable TV

 

An upbeat Mayor Sontaya Khunpluem in Pattaya has said that the work being done on Walking Street is so much more than just cable burying. 

 

He's going to transform the street into something "suay ngaam" (beautiful) that the resort can be proud of.

 

While he stopped just short of calling it the eighth wonder of the modern world he was buoyant with optimism.

 

The road surface was going to be completely renewed, he said and that included the drain and pipe covers. 

 

No stone would be left unturned (well, you know what we mean) to upgrade the ENTIRE length of the street.

 

Not just that.

 

A study is being done to install a domed roof over the street that will keep everyone dry and enable all sorts of activities to happen there.

 

All that is missing are the tourists, and those will be back later in the year in their familiar droves. 

 

For now the mayor encouraged visitors to take pictures of the street as it looks at the moment.

 

Then come back at the end of the year and take some more.

 

The before and afters will really show what he's talking about!

 

Mayor Sontaya was talking to Sophon Cable TV who published pictures of him giving a thumbs up by a large hole with brightly clad ladies on the left and officials in more somber tones on the right. 

 

Critics online - especially expats in Pattaya on Thaivisa - have expressed a degree of skepticism about the plans.

 

One or two even unkindly liked the mayor's efforts to putting lipstick on a pig.

 

Just you wait!

 

Source: Sophon Cable TV

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-02-13

 

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I hope we see some cables being burried in bangkok as well and some city lights lit up feels like the town is under blackout specially sukhumvit the most porsche area feels like a dark room 

[Leaver]

On 2/16/2021 at 4:25 PM, kingstonkid said:

First I am not sure pattaya will be all that Chinese but you could be right. 

 

The Chinese made up the majority of tourist stats to Thailand, pre covid, for the last few seasons.

 

On 2/16/2021 at 4:25 PM, kingstonkid said:

Karaoke would be a non starter for me.

 

They would not be targeting the western market.  In fact, westerners would be made to feel unwelcome.

 

On 2/16/2021 at 4:25 PM, kingstonkid said:

I am thinking open the water side and upgrade the rest of it.

 

Families don't go there for beer they go for family entertainment.

 

Sure, but will they spend as much on a day at the water slide than beer drinking monger on a night out?

 

On 2/16/2021 at 4:25 PM, kingstonkid said:

The rest of Pattaya can feed the horny beer drinkers.

 

It's what made Pattaya famous, and many Thai's rich.  Did you notice after they changed the dynamic here, the tourist numbers were up, but the revenue was down and places were closing?

 

On 2/16/2021 at 4:25 PM, kingstonkid said:

The money is there and we know Thai people like neon

 

Sangsom on the sand doesn't keep the neon on.      

[hansnl]

On 2/13/2021 at 5:22 PM, Orton Rd said:

They need to bury the sex trade as well

Yes, definitely.

All profit needs to go directly to the big fish, all those Isan boys & girls cream off too much really.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, hansnl said:

Yes, definitely.

All profit needs to go directly to the big fish, all those Isan boys & girls cream off too much really.

Indeed. It's probably the only occupation in LOS in which money goes direct to poor people.

 

Always amuses me that some posters live in LOS and denigrate the sex industry, which is enormous in the Thai scene, but apparently actually believe it's only a farang thing.

Given some of the few alternatives for uneducated girls is a sweat shop, rice farming or working as a maid, they also want Thai girls to do work they'd never do themselves, for a pittance. That's not very nice at all.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:23 AM, kingstonkid said:

Last I heard they are going to make it family friendly so I think. That the bars and girls will be moved.

Wonder what they think is going to be in all the buildings then? Can only support so many restaurants, t shirt shops, and foot massage places, and the rest of Pattaya is chocka with them.

[redwood1]

21 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Wonder what they think is going to be in all the buildings then? Can only support so many restaurants, t shirt shops, and foot massage places, and the rest of Pattaya is chocka with them.

I think another mall is in order......