1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

Hua Hin is a very decent town, pleasant people, some bars, good food, beaches are not great, but they're okay. There are some very nice resorts, and it's a fun place to hang out. I like the ex-pat population there. Older, and more affluent.

 

Cha-am on the other hand is just awful, there's just nothing there. It reminds me of Coney Island or Kuta in Bali. Yikes. 

I mentioned Rayong. My wife said it would be good to go there because she'd heard good things, the choices were Koh Samet, Ko Chang or Rayong and guess what she chose! I was persuaded because the hotel we liked has a branch in Chiang Mai which is a center of fine dining. First afternoon there we went to the restaurant and when the food arrived it was decidedly off, so we sent it back. Five minutes later, a deposition of white jacketed, white hatted kitchen staff marched up to our table...."we cook food you, our food OK, you eat". I mean really! The trip went down hill from there, and after the first day we caught covid. Now when somebody mentions Rayong my eyes roll back in my head and I start to froth at the mouth.

THis further suggests that the current government is mismanaging tourism's recovery across the country. 

THe new visa exempt and visa deals are leading to high concentrations of tourists in a few tourism hotspots. THis means that the benefits to the nation are regional and for the few, there will be further increased damage to the very environment that Thailand sells to tourists and some areas damaged by Covid are not seeing the benefits.

4 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

I mentioned Rayong. My wife said it would be good to go there because she'd heard good things, the choices were Koh Samet, Ko Chang or Rayong and guess what she chose! I was persuaded because the hotel we liked has a branch in Chiang Mai which is a center of fine dining. First afternoon there we went to the restaurant and when the food arrived it was decidedly off, so we sent it back. Five minutes later, a deposition of white jacketed, white hatted kitchen staff marched up to our table...."we cook food you, our food OK, you eat". I mean really! The trip went down hill from there, and after the first day we caught covid. Now when somebody mentions Rayong my eyes roll back in my head and I start to froth at the mouth.

That's funny yeah, there's a certain subset of people who are incapable of looking within for the source of the problem, and simply cannot handle criticism. They cannot take responsibility for their own actions and admit that they might have made an error or created a problem. It is likely an indication of extremely low self-esteem, and the inability to ever establish personal self confidence. It is a blight on the land. 

22 hours ago, shdmn said:

I thought it was pretty nice when I went there last year.  Only went for a day trip but I plan to spend a few nights there this year.  Beach is underrated imo so no idea what you are going on about.  Probably little or night life to speak of but I am not interested in that anyways.

Not a bar, girlie guy, happily married and travelled around Thailand extensively, Cha-am area and beach are second rate. 

Sussssh won't someone think of the tourism (c) Thailand 2024

No one here to dispute that. 

On 7/16/2024 at 1:31 PM, Elkski said:

My best beach experiences were on Surfside near Freeport Texas summer of 83.   I had a carefree intern engineering job at DOW.   Most of the beach was a driving beach.  People took BBQ grills, shade, beer, food, etc.  You could cruise the beach or walk.  There were no vendors.  Lots of bathing beauties to talk to.  Unforgettable smells of chicken being slow cooked on a simple smoker for 2-3 hours.  I actually have one of those brands now.    

Whats this got to do with this thread ????

On 7/16/2024 at 2:22 PM, khaowong1 said:

Why is it, almost anything a person says damages Thailand's reputation ?

Because most are Paranoid now Kaowong. Tourists numbers down Air Asia asking for help because the Chinese are not coming ( TAT quoting millions turning up this year when the official figures are way below what they told us ) Complain and your arrested for spreading fake news and damaging the Tourism industry.

Rayong is surrounded by the Thai petrochemical industry. THe air is polluted, the sea is polluted and even the soil is polluted. Very few foeigners it is used by Thai people working of the industrial estates in th region. Only Samet gets foreigners.

On 7/17/2024 at 4:25 PM, spidermike007 said:

Hua Hin is a very decent town, pleasant people, some bars, good food, beaches are not great, but they're okay. There are some very nice resorts, and it's a fun place to hang out. I like the ex-pat population there. Older, and more affluent.

Each to their own.

With the Thai economy and over 2,000 factories closing in the past year..is it any wonder. The nightlife for foreigners of the bus stop Soi is looking very tired with girls that have been working there for 20 or more years. I like it but it's not what.people really want. Bit like going back in time

If you have not been in Hua Hin or Cha Am during the year, you might get the impression that on some days the beaches are empty. They are not.  Because the  beaches are so long, they can handle large amounts of people without crowding. Cha Am skews to an older foreign demographic. The condo towers are chock full of them. They are not beach sitters and learnt a long time ago that sitting in the sun all day gives you skin cancer and makes you into a wrinkled chunk of shoe leather.  Hua Hin is busy. Go out at night and the fish restaurant strip is  busy, even in low season. It's a golf town and the golf courses are filled with UK, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese golfers. There are sections of the beach where the windsurfers are like an infestation of gnats.  What has changed is that short term visitors are not  spending time in the malls and going to the low value tourist sites like they used to. There is no need. They are out walking, cycling, doing day trips outside of the town. People are far more active than ever before.  

On 7/22/2024 at 4:04 AM, baansgr said:

With the Thai economy and over 2,000 factories closing in the past year..is it any wonder. The nightlife for foreigners of the bus stop Soi is looking very tired with girls that have been working there for 20 or more years. I like it but it's not what.people really want. Bit like going back in time

n 2021, the average number of factory closures per month stood at 57. The average increased to 83 per month in 2022 and surged to 159 per month in the second half of 2023. "From 2023 through the first quarter of 2024, about 1,700 factories closed, affecting roughly 42,000 workers,"

On 7/16/2024 at 11:11 AM, Will B Good said:

If these reports were true it would make visiting much more appealing.

Not for Thai and Chinese. Remember, they like crowds and noise. Deserted quiet places are feared and often viewed as bad luck and haunted.

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

Not for Thai and Chinese. Remember, they like crowds and noise. Deserted quiet places are feared and often viewed as bad luck and haunted.

you sound like a farang visiting an empty bar.

47 minutes ago, watchcat said:

you sound like a farang visiting an empty bar.

I love dark empty bars & houses.

1 minute ago, JimTripper said:

I love dark empty bars & houses.

 

So do I, and empty beaches.

17 minutes ago, watchcat said:

So do I, and empty beaches.

I don't see a lot of those around here. Good luck.

7 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

I don't see a lot of those around here. Good luck.

 

They had in Koh Lanta (Krabi) 10 yrears ago, during low season, that was of course with another PM.

Hopefully the Cha Am beach is cleaner then the main Hua Hin beach area behind the Hilton with horse poo and stray dogs all over and bad smell that can get overpowering.