‘It’s like a graveyard’: Thailand’s famous Khaosan Road is struggling despite return of tourists

[NativeBob]

3 hours ago, newnative said:

Another poorly written, misleading headline. The tourists have not returned.  

Her skills as a reporter are severely over-rated. probably another type of hi-so thai-went-to-white-world and return "sofistickated" speaka inglish snob.

Besides: Graveyard? <deleted>?

Kaosarn was a sh*thole ever since 1994: dirty, filthy, full of STV sex-workers, drugs peddlers, fake-whatever-merchants and wrong place to go unless you're an adventurous type who "like to live risky" with platinum AmEx and Golden VISA up his pocket.

No offence, I loved that place, spent weekends, got tattoo done there and some fancy leakage from pipihos, great one-week-friends, vitamin H mixed with baking powder or chalk, wondering at night between small sois toward river <deleted> and stoned, English football fans chase over the street. If it was fun and adventurous back than, well I'd say it was bat<deleted> crazy, dumb and very irresponsible. 

Marco Polo was a hotel of choice. THB250/night I reckon? [new picture, not 1996]

[MrJ2U]

"It’s like a graveyard’: Thailand’s famous Khaosan Road is struggling despite return of tourists".

 

it was dead before the Pandemic.

 

The death knell was the complete transformation by Prayut to clean it up and "sanitize" the " "messy" look.

 

That fun hippy vibe,cheap drinks, and backpackers paradise turned into any street USA.

 

Boring!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by MrJ2U

[Pravda]

Marco Polio

[kevin612]

This Macdonald will return to Normal once entertainment reopen. Now still lack of tourists.

[Stargeezr]

I seen KSR once during the day, back a lot of years ago. I was staying close to Nana Plaza at

Dynasty, and liked that area much better.  I have better memories from the other hot spots

like Pat Pong,  Soi  Cowboy, and Nana Plaza, as well as the noisy place near the tracks that

is long gone. Oh the memories, of days gone past.  My flavor is now restaurant/pubs and

quieter bars.  Makes me wonder what Thailand will look like by next November 2022.

  Geezer

[DaLa]

15 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

is Suzy Pub still alive and kicking? I miss that place ????

Sorry, can't tell you. I'd already started on Sukhumvit at 4 pm and have no idea which bars I ended up in on Khoasan road. Some bars were packed and others only had a handful of customers but my investigative abilities were severely 'Leo'd'.  I'll remain compos mentis next time and let you know.

[mtls2005]

Looks like it was crazy last night? So many "restaurants".

 

Go to the 1:28 mark

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwV0P6co_s&t=5299s

 

 

Friday night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX2yHmycQT4

 

 

[Gsxrnz]

20 hours ago, Chad3000 said:

It's often forgotten that along with these bankruptcies and broken businesses there are people becoming fabulously wealthy.

 

Biding their time. They will move in and start new businesses on top of the carnage of decent, hard working folk. IMO this is the future.

Too True.  Rumor has it that you can pick up a sizable gogo bar in Patts WS for the price of a 3rd grade Rolex knockoff. 

 

Did a potential cashflow forecast on the back of my ciggy packet and concluded the knockoff Rolex was a better investment.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Gsxrnz

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Looks like it was crazy last night? So many "restaurants".

 

Go to the 1:28 mark

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwV0P6co_s&t=5299s

 

 

Friday night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX2yHmycQT4

 

 

KSR is deader than dead during the days and weeknights...Because some uni kids hang out there for a few hours on the weekend nights will not bring KSR back.....

 

The KSR experience was a massive (backpack,er,budget traveler ) success 24/7/365 for over 40 years.....

 

Its new name should be Uni kids on the weekend road not KSR.. 

Edited November 14, 2021 by redwood1

[Lemsta69]

4 hours ago, DaLa said:

Sorry, can't tell you. I'd already started on Sukhumvit at 4 pm and have no idea which bars I ended up in on Khoasan road. Some bars were packed and others only had a handful of customers but my investigative abilities were severely 'Leo'd'.  I'll remain compos mentis next time and let you know.

nice field report mate, glad to hear that at least one TVFer is having fun ????

[JensenZ]

22 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Not sure if you know but there's this thing called Covid 19 here and it's been mostly closed since. A number of the agogos are refurbishing for when it eventually reopens, yes authorities have been rubbish at completing the road surface that's just typical though. Lots of YouTube videos on the subject, of course the negative doomsters just say it's dead but often they are always negative, a sad way to live

Thanks for reminding me about Covid 19 - I forgot, though for some reason I'm always wearing a mask and now I know why.

 

I don't need to rely on YouTubers to show me Walking Street. It's near my home and I ride up it most days.

 

Most places have been closed and most of these will never reopen... so eventually some businesses will return, but at what level?

 

My prophesied demise of Walking Street is not negative doomsaying. There was no need for the phychological profiling. I'm not sad or happy about how things are on Walking Street. It is what it is and people can make predictions without being sad. Maybe you are the one living a sad life because Walking Street used to be your source of happiness. 

 

What's wrong with it being replaced with a nice shopping mall and hotel? Would that make you sad?

[JensenZ]

22 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Good idea.....We sure would not want people to have to walk all the way from walking street to Royal Garden to find a mall...Another mall is desperately needed...

A beach front mall and hotel would be a great addition. Stop living in the past. Competition is what makes cities better. You can find another small fishing village that is not developed yet. They won't be hard to find in Thailand.

[scubascuba3]

37 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

 

 

What's wrong with it being replaced with a nice shopping mall and hotel? Would that make you sad?

That's ridiculous, no imagination at all. Pattaya needs another empty hotel and mall 555

[JensenZ]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

That's ridiculous, no imagination at all. Pattaya needs another empty hotel and mall 555

5555555 to you!

 

It's a subjective matter. What I consider "ridiculous" is thinking that a decrepit, dirty old street lined with decrepit old building, which many people would consider a "dive", is what Pattaya needs. This is the extent of your imagination?

 

So rather than insulting each other for our personal tastes, just be civil, hold the laughter and sarcasm and just agree we have different preferences.

[freedomnow]

It was purposefully decimated prior to that in the last few years to deter

backpackers which were - along with 60s GIs, - the founding 'get the word out on Thailand' viral meme groups right at the start of Thailand's popularity.

 

If they could (current rulers) they'd level Walking Street and Patpong/Nana as well or sanitise/pivot all businesses by not renewing licenses on the back of the 'covid pause' at the very least.

 

The formula seems to be - add their language to the signages...take the money from whichever wave is coming, then stake them in the neck if they try to get too comfortable or dirty up the ways of the country.

[GrandPapillon]

why would anyone go to Pattaya for another shopping mall with boring [deleted] to buy???

[redwood1]

5 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

why would anyone go to Pattaya for another shopping mall with boring cr*p to buy???

In case no one has noticed Pattaya already has 4 shopping malls on beach road...

 

#1. The Bay

#2 Central Festival

#3 Mikes

#4 Royal Garden

 

Knock walking street down for another mall......Yawn

[thaibeachlovers]

On 11/13/2021 at 7:11 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Without backpackers it will lack atmosphere. It was always a ball ache to get there, nowhere near sky train, maybe that's changed I haven't been for a while, but it was only good because of backpackers

???? If I remember correctly, one of the airport bus routes went down the main road just a hop step and jump from KSR.

[thaibeachlovers]

16 hours ago, JensenZ said:

5555555 to you!

 

It's a subjective matter. What I consider "ridiculous" is thinking that a decrepit, dirty old street lined with decrepit old building, which many people would consider a "dive", is what Pattaya needs. This is the extent of your imagination?

 

So rather than insulting each other for our personal tastes, just be civil, hold the laughter and sarcasm and just agree we have different preferences.

I fail to see why anyone that doesn't like what Pattaya was should want to change it, when there are hundreds of miles of coastline where a "better" city could be built specifically for mall and hotel lovers.

Your "decrepit, dirty old street lined with decrepit old building" is paradise on earth for the millions of farangs that have passed through it.

Pattaya isn't broken, so no need to change it. Just needs the corona thing to end to get back to biz.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, JensenZ said:

What's wrong with it being replaced with a nice shopping mall and hotel? Would that make you sad?

If you don't know why that is wrong, why are you "apparently" living in Pattaya? Do you enjoy being offended every time you walk down the street?

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, JensenZ said:

A beach front mall and hotel would be a great addition. Stop living in the past. Competition is what makes cities better. You can find another small fishing village that is not developed yet. They won't be hard to find in Thailand.

I have a better suggestion. Why don't YOU find another small fishing village that is not developed yet to put a load of hotels and malls on and leave Pattaya for those that like it the way it was pre corona?

The world seems full of people that want to take something that was built to satisfy a certain demographic, and use that fame to make it into something else that they can profit from, rather than start from scratch. City Hall is IMO full of those people trying to cash in on the reputation by destroying what created the reputation, just as the greedies ruined most of the decent beaches in Thailand to cash in on the flashpacker trendies.

[scubascuba3]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I have a better suggestion. Why don't YOU find another small fishing village that is not developed yet to put a load of hotels and malls on and leave Pattaya for those that like it the way it was pre corona?

The world seems full of people that want to take something that was built to satisfy a certain demographic, and use that fame to make it into something else that they can profit from, rather than start from scratch. City Hall is IMO full of those people trying to cash in on the reputation by destroying what created the reputation, just as the greedies ruined most of the decent beaches in Thailand to cash in on the flashpacker trendies.

Very true, it doesn't make much sense to change it to something not in demand, but thai logic often doesn't make sense. Them killing Khaosan should be a good reminder to them to leave well alone

[KarenBravo]

All the bars and restaurants on the seaward side of Walking Street are illegal. All built on government land.

The government and the Poobahs that run Pattaya have been trying to evict the tenants and demolish all the buildings for over thirty years now, yet they seem to survive.

[freedomnow]

On 11/13/2021 at 4:51 AM, jvs said:

Bangkok will never be Singapore.

The closest it will get is the Mexican version of Singapore.