Just came from soi 8, looking very quiet over there. I think the gaggle of tourists

waiting for the airport to clear have departed and we're entering an uncertain time

where people are just going to be thin on the ground. not necessarily bad but slow.

AS of last Saturday

Jomtien complex at abt 8ish,very very quiet except the usual brisk business in Fantasy - cheap drinks.

9 ish steady crowd down LK Metro, Blu club pretty busy,Stags head doing fine and a few others

11 ish Soi Yamoto DEAD.

Midnight decent crowd down walking street but not a patch on previous Christmas's and just like a quiet season Saturday night.

Conclusion some bars doing a steady trade but I reckon an unusually large amount of bars will be out of business early 2009,also I think this will be the year that see's a lot of the more established bars finally shut the doors for good.

EPG.

AS of last Saturday

Jomtien complex at abt 8ish,very very quiet except the usual brisk business in Fantasy - cheap drinks.

9 ish steady crowd down LK Metro, Blu club pretty busy,Stags head doing fine and a few others

11 ish Soi Yamoto DEAD.

Midnight decent crowd down walking street but not a patch on previous Christmas's and just like a quiet season Saturday night.

Conclusion some bars doing a steady trade but I reckon an unusually large amount of bars will be out of business early 2009,also I think this will be the year that see's a lot of the more established bars finally shut the doors for good.

EPG.

Well summarized. I made a tour on Friday. The well known establishments (Bars, GoGos) seems to run ok, but what I assume is, that the average beer bars are the most suffering. Plenty of bars without or very few customers.

Yes, these High Season weekends nowadays look more like an average low season weekend a few years ago.

And as for the Russians - less than last year for sure and considering the current downfall of the Russian economy, the outlook is not too bright. Fortunately I am not depending on tourism income, but the whole scenario is scary and will impact everyone sooner or later (unless you are already well retired).

Cheers