Lamai So Quiet!

[daytripper]

having been here same time last year, ive really noticed a lack of people.. in lamai and chaweng. better for the falang, cheaper beer and accomodation! many bargains to be had. 60bt allday and night beer wasnt found here last year!!

why is it tho, that if you want to party the night away in lamai, you have to wait till 3am onwards for the club/s to fill??? in chaweng you can party from 11.30pm and not have to sit around in dead beer bars wiating till 3am for abit of atmosphere!

maybe its due to my original point of lack of people?? but 3am when the bars shut suddenly the girls come alive!

still love samui.. not koncking it, just find lamai nightlife alittle strange!!

[Boater]

its been dropping the last 4 years......

its called over supply for the demand

[game4shame]

why is it tho, that if you want to party the night away in lamai, you have to wait till 3am onwards for the club/s to fill??? in chaweng you can party from 11.30pm and not have to sit around in dead beer bars wiating till 3am for abit of atmosphere!

maybe its due to my original point of lack of people?? but 3am when the bars shut suddenly the girls come alive!

quite simple - the majority of the girls you see in the clubs after 3am are bargirls. they haven't had any luck at their bar so move onto the clubs after the bar shuts in hope of landing a punter.

in chaweng you've got more of the backpacker crowd who are out and about earlier but lamai is mainly mongers and BG's. before the bars are shut the mongers and BG's are in the beer bars - after they shut they're in fusion/seed/supersub etc.

that coupled with the fact that october is not renowned for being a busy month and global economic problems aren't exactly helping.

[ESB7]

Too many bars and not enough visitors to go around......how many new bars have opened in the past 2 years, maybe 30 or so....and as yet more guys meet their partners in bars so will anoher 30 in the next few years.

[daytripper]

why is it tho, that if you want to party the night away in lamai, you have to wait till 3am onwards for the club/s to fill??? in chaweng you can party from 11.30pm and not have to sit around in dead beer bars wiating till 3am for abit of atmosphere!

maybe its due to my original point of lack of people?? but 3am when the bars shut suddenly the girls come alive!

quite simple - the majority of the girls you see in the clubs after 3am are bargirls. they haven't had any luck at their bar so move onto the clubs after the bar shuts in hope of landing a punter.

in chaweng you've got more of the backpacker crowd who are out and about earlier but lamai is mainly mongers and BG's. before the bars are shut the mongers and BG's are in the beer bars - after they shut they're in fusion/seed/supersub etc.

that coupled with the fact that october is not renowned for being a busy month and global economic problems aren't exactly helping.

i find it hard to go out at say 7pm and drink till 3am when the clubs get going and the best atmosphere is to be had... especially when MOST beer bars are empty, blasting out ridiculously loud music and you have a bar girl asking for 'lady drink' before you have even found your seat!!!

ive found myself not going out till 11pm... this is no good for the local bar owners who will only get a few drinks from me before heading to the club atmosphere! and dare i say it 'freelance' girls {or bar girls who are yet to be fined!}

im not a cheap charlie, just want abit of atmosphere and banter when i go out for a few drinks with the lads and the girls! anyone reccommend a few decent bars in lamai to try that i may not have found ????

[brzy]

Lamai suffers from lack of real bars and variation of music. The hipbar plays electro/house music all night, a few mates often drink there.

[Samuian]

lean back, relax and enjoy all the comforts and discounts!

It was in the making for a long time and still some think there are

hoards of tourists just waiting to get money to come here - wishful thinking!

enjoy the serenity, the peace and the calmness!

[stevehaigh]

there's an old Beach Boys song about California with a lyric about 2 girls for every boy (which isn't true BTW). in Samui and KPN bars its more like 100 girls for every boy.

[Samuian]

there's an old Beach Boys song about California with a lyric about 2 girls for every boy (which isn't true BTW). in Samui and KPN bars its more like 100 girls for every boy.

Only one to be seen sporting a "Happy Hour" or "Hot Sale", "Special offer" or "pay one, take 2" sign yet ...

Edited October 19, 2009 by Samuian

[LaoPo]

having been here same time last year, ive really noticed a lack of people.. in lamai and chaweng. better for the falang, cheaper beer and accomodation! many bargains to be had. 60bt allday and night beer wasnt found here last year!!

why is it tho, that if you want to party the night away in lamai, you have to wait till 3am onwards for the club/s to fill??? in chaweng you can party from 11.30pm and not have to sit around in dead beer bars wiating till 3am for abit of atmosphere!

maybe its due to my original point of lack of people?? but 3am when the bars shut suddenly the girls come alive!

still love samui.. not koncking it, just find lamai nightlife alittle strange!!

The world-scene of going out has changed in the past 30 years or so.

When I first visited Thailand there was an evening/night clock: at 12.00 MIDNIGHT sharp ALL bars, clubs and other venture closed. ALL of them, including in Pattaya, Pat Pong/BKK, Phuket etc.

I have to say that the boozing started earlier, around 5.00/6.00PM but it's strange to notice that even in those days there were 24 hours in a day

In a way, most people liked the system because everyone went to bed early and the day "started" also earlier with more daylight hours in a day for the ones that slept during normal sleeping hours.

Nowadays a lot of tourists sleep deep into daytime and go to the beaches far after lunchtime.

Everything shifted, also in the West, but the # of hours in a day/night staid the same, worldwide I heard.

What a world

LaoPo

[kosh]

why is it tho, that if you want to party the night away in lamai, you have to wait till 3am onwards for the club/s to fill??? in chaweng you can party from 11.30pm and not have to sit around in dead beer bars wiating till 3am for abit of atmosphere!

When I first visited Thailand there was an evening/night clock: at 12.00 MIDNIGHT sharp ALL bars, clubs and other venture closed. ALL of them, including in Pattaya, Pat Pong/BKK, Phuket etc.

I have to say that the boozing started earlier, around 5.00/6.00PM but it's strange to notice that even in those days there were 24 hours in a day

Well, probably midnight is a bit early but closing empty bar at 3am does not make any sense at all.

And in the morning in low season (now 10 months a year...) is difficult to find an open bar at 11 am for breakfast.

I like Lamai but it is not getting better, apart Tesco.....

The time zone used in Thailand also is not helping, down at 6 am is useless, better move one hour later like Malesia, so un hour more sun in the evening...

[PoorSucker]

When I first came to Samui, Lamai was the "hipp" place to stay.

Now I just call it a bad imitation of Pattaya.

[keepsamuiclean]

P.S.: At least we have government water in north of Lamai - do not know how it is in the centre which you are rightly or wrongly comparing with Pattaya what I do not know.

You are cordially invited to have a shower here with government water if the water supply in south Chaweng does not come back....

[Chayaphum]

P.S.: At least we have government water in north of Lamai - do not know how it is in the centre which you are rightly or wrongly comparing with Pattaya what I do not know. You are cordially invited to have a shower here with government water if the water supply in south Chaweng does not come back....

yes of course, and that's why is "Lamai So Quiet" because we have government water.

Thanks for this information.

Chayaphum

[game4shame]

Yes Game4shame, I understand what you mean

apologies - I was at work and my internet connection kept cutting out just as I was submitting my post! just realised it's shown half a dozen or so entries of the same half finished post!! I had finished the post before I submitted it so god knows how they appeared like that.

anyway here's what I was trying to say:

why is it tho, that if you want to party the night away in lamai, you have to wait till 3am onwards for the club/s to fill??? in chaweng you can party from 11.30pm and not have to sit around in dead beer bars wiating till 3am for abit of atmosphere!

maybe its due to my original point of lack of people?? but 3am when the bars shut suddenly the girls come alive!

quite simple - the majority of the girls you see in the clubs after 3am are bargirls. they haven't had any luck at their bar so move onto the clubs after the bar shuts in hope of landing a punter.

in chaweng you've got more of the backpacker crowd who are out and about earlier but lamai is mainly mongers and BG's. before the bars are shut the mongers and BG's are in the beer bars - after they shut they're in fusion/seed/supersub etc.

that coupled with the fact that october is not renowned for being a busy month and global economic problems aren't exactly helping.

i find it hard to go out at say 7pm and drink till 3am when the clubs get going and the best atmosphere is to be had... especially when MOST beer bars are empty, blasting out ridiculously loud music and you have a bar girl asking for 'lady drink' before you have even found your seat!!!

ive found myself not going out till 11pm... this is no good for the local bar owners who will only get a few drinks from me before heading to the club atmosphere! and dare i say it 'freelance' girls {or bar girls who are yet to be fined!}

im not a cheap charlie, just want abit of atmosphere and banter when i go out for a few drinks with the lads and the girls! anyone reccommend a few decent bars in lamai to try that i may not have found ????

tbh I can't think of any pre-3am bars that stand out anymore. as mentioned previously, too many bars offering the same 5hite - nothing outstanding.

lamai has been dead for years - not just the amount of punters but the atmosphere in general is a bit bland these days.

lamai was pretty happening when I first came in 2003 - now it's like a ghost town, which is a shame because samui, and in particular lamai, was the first place in thailand that I really got hooked on (no pun intended).

I do, and probably always will, love samui but lamai and to a certain extent chaweng, is in desperate need of an atmosphere injection.

on my last visit to lamai in july I noticed some of the beer bars across from shamrock were being renovated. I think the majority of older bars in lamai could do with an upgrade - some of them are really grotty and whilst I'm sure the average monger is not too bothered about the state of the bar (providing it contains sufficient tart-age), it doesn't help to attract returning punters to the area.

[Eric1949]

Not into beer bars myself. The 'outback' is a good water hole, good food and friendly staff, ideal for the family.

[daytripper]

quite simple - the majority of the girls you see in the clubs after 3am are bargirls. they haven't had any luck at their bar so move onto the clubs after the bar shuts in hope of landing a punter.

in chaweng you've got more of the backpacker crowd who are out and about earlier but lamai is mainly mongers and BG's. before the bars are shut the mongers and BG's are in the beer bars - after they shut they're in fusion/seed/supersub etc.

that coupled with the fact that october is not renowned for being a busy month and global economic problems aren't exactly helping.

i find it hard to go out at say 7pm and drink till 3am when the clubs get going and the best atmosphere is to be had... especially when MOST beer bars are empty, blasting out ridiculously loud music and you have a bar girl asking for 'lady drink' before you have even found your seat!!!

ive found myself not going out till 11pm... this is no good for the local bar owners who will only get a few drinks from me before heading to the club atmosphere! and dare i say it 'freelance' girls {or bar girls who are yet to be fined!}

im not a cheap charlie, just want abit of atmosphere and banter when i go out for a few drinks with the lads and the girls! anyone reccommend a few decent bars in lamai to try that i may not have found ????

tbh I can't think of any pre-3am bars that stand out anymore. as mentioned previously, too many bars offering the same 5hite - nothing outstanding.

lamai has been dead for years - not just the amount of punters but the atmosphere in general is a bit bland these days.

lamai was pretty happening when I first came in 2003 - now it's like a ghost town, which is a shame because samui, and in particular lamai, was the first place in thailand that I really got hooked on (no pun intended).

I do, and probably always will, love samui but lamai and to a certain extent chaweng, is in desperate need of an atmosphere injection.

on my last visit to lamai in july I noticed some of the beer bars across from shamrock were being renovated. I think the majority of older bars in lamai could do with an upgrade - some of them are really grotty and whilst I'm sure the average monger is not too bothered about the state of the bar (providing it contains sufficient tart-age), it doesn't help to attract returning punters to the area.

yeah the ones across from shamrock are done now.. all bright lights and loud music (from each bar.. why not just have 1 sound system for the lot? works in pattaya) but NO PUNTERS as far as ive seen!

the outback is a good sports bar, and the grub is pretty good to be fair.. had a look around last night, definately over kill as far as bars go.. same same springs to mind.. and as mentioned not much quality about!

found myself in dragon bar, my 90bt san mig was turned into a 100 bt drink when i tipped them the 10 1bt coins they gave me as change!

[game4shame]

yeah the ones across from shamrock are done now.. all bright lights and loud music (from each bar.. why not just have 1 sound system for the lot? works in pattaya) but NO PUNTERS as far as ive seen!

common occurrence in lamai these days I'm afraid.

the outback is a good sports bar, and the grub is pretty good to be fair..

I must admit, they do a mean fry-up in the outback bar. it's also a decent late afternoon/early evening people-watching spot for a few beers, usually a happy hour too. but later on it's a bit bland as there's no real musical atmosphere created, just background music drowned out by conversation.

the billabong bar that used to be outside mcdonalds was a prime afternoon drinking spot with decent tunes but unforunately it was closed down.

had a look around last night, definately over kill as far as bars go.. same same springs to mind.. and as mentioned not much quality about!

unfortunately, I have to agree. plenty of bars/BG's but the quality is lacking.

found myself in dragon bar, my 90bt san mig was turned into a 100 bt drink when i tipped them the 10 1bt coins they gave me as change!

dragon bar falls into the 'older bar requiring upgrade' category.

it's actually not too bad for an atmosphere and the BG's are reasonable enough for lamai standards (lamai standards = way below bkk for example) but it's still just a beer bar and tbh a bit dingy.

something I'm not too sure about is the cliques that seem to develop with some of the long-term expats in lamai - most of them are nice enough people but lamai is not owned by anyone so shouldn't be made to feel like that.

[kosh]

Judging by the number of forum posts per day Samui must be really dead.

[PoorSucker]

Judging by the number of forum posts per day Samui must be really dead.

[carmine]

I think we can clear up this topic by agreeing that Lamai is very quiet because it's low season, and it will stay this way until December 20th. No suprises, as it's the same every year. No one coming here on holiday should expect anything except perhaps some heavy bouts of rain over the next few weeks. The only suprise would be if somewhere on the island was actually busy at this time of year.

[Prasert]

Cheer up!

High season will start soon on Samui!

(...after all the taxi drivers start using their meters)

[kosh]

Judging by the number of forum posts per day Samui must be really dead.

Still waiting for a shower? Windguru says tomorrow you can have it outside ...

[kosh]

I think we can clear up this topic by agreeing that Lamai is very quiet because it's low season, and it will stay this way until December 20th. No suprises, as it's the same every year. No one coming here on holiday should expect anything except perhaps some heavy bouts of rain over the next few weeks. The only suprise would be if somewhere on the island was actually busy at this time of year.

The real question is how quiet Lamai will be after 10 jan...

Oil is going up, all airline are technically broken, in europe every day a factory close down....

[samuibeachcomber]

I think we can clear up this topic by agreeing that Lamai is very quiet because it's low season, and it will stay this way until December 20th. No suprises, as it's the same every year. No one coming here on holiday should expect anything except perhaps some heavy bouts of rain over the next few weeks. The only suprise would be if somewhere on the island was actually busy at this time of year.

too true.the really indicator will be dec/jan.here's hoping for everyone that people will still come for a holiday.

[ESB7]

I lived in Lamai a few years ago for almost 2 years, it was the first place in Thailand that captured my heart but went back last month for the first time in a few years and left after a few days...its a dump, full of empty girlie bars charging extorniate money for a drink...even a few people that I thought were genuine are now trying to rip people off as things are that desperate...the good times wont be coming Dec 20th or Jan 10th......remember, it was only after the Tsunami it really took off...it just aint gonna happen.

[Rooo]

I thought a lot of people were genuine too. As the saying goes, only time will tell & it does

[Boater]

remember, it was only after the Tsunami it really took off...it just aint gonna happen.

i think thats where it went wrong, the place was packed, but only for that reason...

[smallprawn]

Lamai suffers from lack of real bars and variation of music. The hipbar plays electro/house music all night, a few mates often drink there.

Very true what you say about variation. Bars seem to stick to certain formula and just repeat, seems very one dimensional. So many bars that look identical, playing harsh music that could make your ears bleed with the same number of semi naked girls with the same patter. Always a market for it but Lamai is nearing saturation point.

After my first year in Samui my family came to visit. Two brothers, two sisters father and his wife. While my brothers loved it, my sisters kept asking where they could go just to meet people that didnt have working girls being bought by older tourists. They got board after week one and spent several evenings just staying in their hotel (sisters havnt been back, no pleasing some people ) My Dad loved the beaches and food but on leaving said he felt Samui was a beautiful island through the day but a bit of a flesh market with little to do in the evening. He thought it would be a great place for a stag do, wouldnt be back with the wife but could see why I liked it . My brothers loved it and have returned every year since . (they are not coming this year sighting money reasons, want to try somewhere different, both now have girlfriends and say they dont think its a good idea to bring them to Lamai?).

I have always loved Samui and Lamai and I still do but cant help feeling there is a real lack of variety, depth of choice or even quality when it comes to the bar scene. As others have pointed out, it is no shock to see bars quiet at this time of year. Its rainy season, its been a tough year for most people all over the world, exchange rate isnt the best for many but I have little doubt people will return in December and Lamai will always attract supporters of what it has to offer. But if Lamai aims to attract new/repeat visitors, it really dose need to evolve with regards to evening entertainment and choice on offer for women aswell as men, older aswell as younger.

That said Im sure things will pick up again soon.

[dessirreea]

it is beacuse the thai charge is so much that it is so quiet. good for them. finally they see what happen when they piss off the tourist too much. i think it is good morning call . i hope they see it too. too many times has thai boys taken money from me for no good reason or for lying. and i hope they see that this is what happen. everyone go to bali instead.