Phuket Needs More Malls

[huggybear]

Driving to the airport yesterday it dawned on me that Phuket is becoming Mall hel_l.

Lotus minimall in Rawai and on Chaofa East, the new big mall going in just past Chalong circle, that new Homeworks mall, a massive outlet mall going in at the end of the bypass........

Then the usual Jungceylon,Lotus, Central, Index, I mean, how many of these malls does Phuket need?

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit than deal with the big Tesco Lotus on a Saturday.

Why has Phuket fallen in love with the strip mall? When does it end?

[lujanit]

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit

then go see a dentist

[stevenl]

Totally agree with you (except for the dentist part).

[MyphuketLife]

Agree with you Tesco on a saturday or sunday is more painful than any visit to the dentist I have had.

I think you will see allot of big empty buildings soon. Look at the new homeworks one, the downstairs is almost empty....

[taxin]

I dont think there is enough of them. The more malls the merrier ! But I have to also agree, Tesco Lotus is he_l on earth, but I wouldnt really call that a mall.

I hear the next big mall will have a huge Toys R Us store, along with another Robinsons.

[MisterMan]

What is worst then the malls on Chaofa?

How about the new 3 story structure complete with escalators in KATA Beach just opposite Mom Tri's Oasis.

No idea what it will be as the area is small but I think it will be Kata's first mall.

If only any of these places sold anything of quality.

The mall will probably have an eye glass store, a few tailors, a star*ucks, and a bunch of Burmese/Nepalese selling the same crap.

[LivinginKata]

Good for car parking. I never go to Tesco at weekends. Makkro opens at 06.00, great for my early morning shopping. Can't wait for the new mall to open in Chalong. Will save on petrol.

[1000baht]

I completly agree with you, but its always nice to have those services when needed, though most of them sell the same stuff. i am a big fan of central and its Theatres. I cannot stand Tesco on a sat/sun. Its like taking your shopping cart to a destruction Derby.

[DavidHouston]

No one has mentioned the greatest mall of all: SuperCheap! If they don't have it, you likely don't need it. Of course sometimes parking is non-existent and there is no air-conditioning and the roof is make of heat-inducing tin; but, the prices are very reasonable and the selections large. One section is devoted to imported food, to boot.

I recommend SuperCheap very highly if you have not yet been there.

[huggybear]

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit

then go see a dentist

With that as post #10, do you view yourself as an intelligent person?

Next........................................

[logbags]

No one has mentioned the greatest mall of all: SuperCheap! If they don't have it, you likely don't need it. Of course sometimes parking is non-existent and there is no air-conditioning and the roof is make of heat-inducing tin; but, the prices are very reasonable and the selections large. One section is devoted to imported food, to boot.

I recommend SuperCheap very highly if you have not yet been there.

SuperCheap is the closest thing to a walk in sauna in Phuket, not recommended if you are a fat, sweaty farang. However the Moo Kata is great. That is the "all you can eat" buffet where you cook your own food at the table on the wok. At 120 baht a person it is the perfect place to go when its "your shout"

In Nakhon it is 89 baht per person so 25% cheaper. Still, aint complaining about 120 baht.........

[cotambear]

`Malls` ie Shopping Centres, are great. No trailing around 100 shops to get the things you need. No line of 100 shops blighting the scenery. Cheaper too.

The only small shops that are better are the ultra specialist eg leather repair, the computer shop with a resident geek that can take the time to listen to and fix your problem, that friendly little family cafe etc.

[Zpete]

No one has mentioned the greatest mall of all: SuperCheap! If they don't have it, you likely don't need it. Of course sometimes parking is non-existent and there is no air-conditioning and the roof is make of heat-inducing tin; but, the prices are very reasonable and the selections large. One section is devoted to imported food, to boot.

I recommend SuperCheap very highly if you have not yet been there.

SuperCheap is the closest thing to a walk in sauna in Phuket, not recommended if you are a fat, sweaty farang. However the Moo Kata is great. That is the "all you can eat" buffet where you cook your own food at the table on the wok. At 120 baht a person it is the perfect place to go when its "your shout"

In Nakhon it is 89 baht per person so 25% cheaper. Still, aint complaining about 120 baht.........

Not a newbie on Phuket, but where exactly is Super Cheap?

[steelepulse]

What about the new "factory outlet mall" going up on the bypass road towards the airport? Anyone know anything about that?

[thaigerd]

No one has mentioned the greatest mall of all: SuperCheap! If they don't have it, you likely don't need it. Of course sometimes parking is non-existent and there is no air-conditioning and the roof is make of heat-inducing tin; but, the prices are very reasonable and the selections large. One section is devoted to imported food, to boot.

I recommend SuperCheap very highly if you have not yet been there.

SuperCheap is the closest thing to a walk in sauna in Phuket, not recommended if you are a fat, sweaty farang. However the Moo Kata is great. That is the "all you can eat" buffet where you cook your own food at the table on the wok. At 120 baht a person it is the perfect place to go when its "your shout"

In Nakhon it is 89 baht per person so 25% cheaper. Still, aint complaining about 120 baht.........

Not a newbie on Phuket, but where exactly is Super Cheap?

Go down the bypass road, at the end you turn right as if going to Phuket Town, after a few miles on the right side, signs outside.

Gerd

[MisterMan]

Plan a full day .. to walk around .. in amazement ... there is no running in and out of Super Cheap!

[Master Chief]

Also know as SuperHell

[lujanit]

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit

then go see a dentist

With that as post #10, do you view yourself as an intelligent person?

Next........................................

I guess in this forum the higher the post count = the greater the intelligence.

[fiddlehead]

You also didn't mention Makro. It is not so crowded though so we go there sometimes to pickup TP and rice in bulk and things like that.

I like SuperCheap and once in a while Big C (cause my kid loves the rides in the basement)

I find it a bit comical that malls seem to be really dying in the US and here they appear to be thriving. I guess it just takes time for people to realize that the small flea markets have better prices, can buy direct from the farmers which means fresher food and it is local, and show some culture.

The malls show culture too, but it is not Thai.

[huggybear]

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit

then go see a dentist

With that as post #10, do you view yourself as an intelligent person?

Next........................................

I guess in this forum the higher the post count = the greater the intelligence.

Not the point.

Actual input instead of just a smartass comment shows that the poster can think. Anybody can knock, for instance I could have done the same to you on a topic you started but declined and declined to post anything for I didn't feel I had any worthwhile input.

To Fiddlehead-I think that's where I was going with this topic, that in the U.S. you see the abandoned malls and I wonder how long it will be here in Phuket before the quantity of these places goes past the demand/need, the shine wears off and we see abandoned shells...............or more 7-11s I guess.....

[geriatrickid]

What about the new "factory outlet mall" going up on the bypass road towards the airport? Anyone know anything about that?

That's been going up since early 2008. I drove by it in November and said jeez no progress. Drove by it last week and said, jeez, no progress. Methinks, they will have no tenants. The traffic access will be a nightmare if it ever opens. It's bad as it is now, just imagine when all the cars slow to enter or try to exit.

Edited January 2, 2009 by geriatrickid

[steelepulse]

I agree, but when you look at the banners of who the tenants are supposesd to be, you would think that things would be moving a bit faster. There's a lot of int'l well known brands supposedly going in there.

[Kimera]

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit

then go see a dentist

With that as post #10, do you view yourself as an intelligent person?

Next........................................

Now now ! with 1200 posts over only one year, 3 plus a day ish and the odd poem maybe you should get out more

[choppychugger]

I can't stand these places, would rather see the dentisit

then go see a dentist

With that as post #10, do you view yourself as an intelligent person?

Next........................................

Now now ! with 1200 posts over only one year, 3 plus a day ish and the odd poem maybe you should get out more

[Wellington]

You also didn't mention Makro. It is not so crowded though so we go there sometimes to pickup TP and rice in bulk and things like that.

I like SuperCheap and once in a while Big C (cause my kid loves the rides in the basement)

I find it a bit comical that malls seem to be really dying in the US and here they appear to be thriving. I guess it just takes time for people to realize that the small flea markets have better prices, can buy direct from the farmers which means fresher food and it is local, and show some culture.

The malls show culture too, but it is not Thai.

Beware the big rats in Super Cheap; and watch for tears if you buy a big bag of rice;

Makro is better for quality,meat excellent ,and frozen fruit nice to make your own jam, raspberry and blackberry our favourites.

I heard there would soon be a bridge from Central to the new store over the road, maybe then the downstairs will fill up a bit.

And there is a rumour afoot that "Villa" are eyeing Phuket.

That will be good for the foodies and winies.

[Sir Burr]

And there is a rumour afoot that "Villa" are eyeing Phuket.

That will be good for the foodies and winies.

They have a place in the mall being built close to Chalong Circle on Chao Fah West Rd.

[ozymandious]

I personally don't mind the malls and her's why, let me take you back in time on the island before jungceylon, central, makro, big-c and Lotus. (running reverse chronologically)

all we had was subercheep on the island this is only about 7 years ago.

Prior to 1-stop-point-of-shops I had to go to the Da-lat for my veggies, super cheep for my dry goods, the deli in patong for my meats and cheeses and other imported foods and a bakery for my breads.

now stop and think about this for a moment, think about the TIME, petrol and the logistics involved trying to cover all these areas just to provision a house.

I for one enjoy the convenience of not having to spend an ENTIRE DAY scowering the island for food supplies. bring on more choice, bring on more variety

[LivinginKata]

And it's not just groceries.

I well remember 11 years ago furnishing & fitting out our first apartment building. We just could not find any furniture shops with what I considered suitable items for westerns, had to commission a cabinet maker to make all the bedroom furniture & fitted kitchen. Had to commission a ratan builder to make the sofa suite and kitchen table & chairs. Electrical goods like fridge, TV & air-cons were very expensive. Simple kitchen items like knives and tea spoons were hard to find. Bed covers were horrible.

These days we just roll into Tesco and buy all the kitchen accessories, bed covers in one stop shop. Buy TVs & Fridges in Makkro. Furnishings in a variety of big shops like Index/Koncept/Jasmine/Orange to suit any budget.

Give me the malls any day....

[Wellington]

And it's not just groceries.

I well remember 11 years ago furnishing & fitting out our first apartment building. We just could not find any furniture shops with what I considered suitable items for westerns, had to commission a cabinet maker to make all the bedroom furniture & fitted kitchen. Had to commission a ratan builder to make the sofa suite and kitchen table & chairs. Electrical goods like fridge, TV & air-cons were very expensive. Simple kitchen items like knives and tea spoons were hard to find. Bed covers were horrible.

These days we just roll into Tesco and buy all the kitchen accessories, bed covers in one stop shop. Buy TVs & Fridges in Makkro. Furnishings in a variety of big shops like Index/Koncept/Jasmine/Orange to suit any budget.

Give me the malls any day....

Glad to hear Villa is arriving, nice and close for us from Kata.

Any news on when that Mall is due to open?(Chalong Circle)

And don't forge

Malls as in Pall Mall,

not as in American football mauls!

[logbags]

When I first went to Phuket there was only 1 shop in Phuket town that you could get cheese or any other farang food. It was run by an old Chinese lady who had an abacus to add up on. Cheese was 54 baht for a small pack of slices.

In Krabi and Phang-nga there was mostly no made roads, no electricity and no fridges outside of town. Only one beer Singha which was shocking back then and had to be drunk with ice. I ended up drinking mekhong as singha was undrinkable until they changed the formula.

In Phang-nga and Krabi there was no farang food at all and no menu in English. You needed to cover your face with a bandana as the red dirt would get into everything. No power meant no fans, no aircon etc. In hot season it was oppressive.

On Samui everything was generators which shut down at 9pm when the whole island went black and deathly quiet, no fans and you had mosquito coils to save you from being eaten.

Patong had chronic black outs that lasted days at times and candles were normally used. I got food poisoning so many times and ended up in Hospital with gastro so count your blessing with Carrefour and Central.

The walled off developments and resorts hogging all the nice beach area bothers me more than malls. Before Club Med, Kata beach was perfect and secluded as there was no raod from Patong then. Club Med ruined Kata and another resort virtually stole Kata Noi.

I stayed at Nai Harn beach in 1985 and it was 80 baht a night for a Bungalow just below where the Yacht club is now. It was so nice and pristine but there was no shops, no bars and just a few restaurants on the beach with a few wooden bungalows which were kicked out when the Yacht club was built.

Rawai was a fishing village, nothing there at all and very backward like Bang Tao and Cherng Talay. Locals in thatched roof houses and just jungle everywhere. From Chalong to Rawai was jungle.

Bangla nightlife finished at Jims Bar next door to Kangaroo Bar Jim and Andrew built in '83, Lyndon from UK had West Beach Cafe on the corner of beach road and Bangla and Swedish Eddie had Viking bars. Every Aussie or Pom knew everybody else and the square heads all stuck together. Brian came when the first boom started in bars in late '85.

Fantasy divers had an old schooner and it flipped over in the bay. Wrecked their business for a while.

Best supermarket in Patong was run by old ex US navy officer who visited Patong in 1945 during the war on his ship. His partner was Thai army colonel who was an old friend. Both great guys.

Sweetland was the other one run by Chinese family who still own half of Patong and is still on beach road near Safari hotel. They have a huge compound near the temple where they have a travel agency as well. Been in Patong a long time.

The development in Patong has been astronomical when I write this all out.......

Malls are at least generally located away from the beach fronts, they are the least of Phukets worries at present.