Hua Hin Market Village To Open In February?

[PeaceBlondie]

The construction walls on Petchakasem have gone down, and a big billboard is counting down the days to open (as of Feb. 4, 15 days). On the north part of Petchakasem Road, across from the Esso/Tesco Express store, a sign says HomePro opens on February 18.

Anybody care to start a lottery on when these places really open?

Who has news that isn't just rumors or speculation? I don't.

The sooner the better, as long as they're truly ready for business when they open the doors, and as long as they pay for traffic police outside during business hours.

[taxexile]

the last thing hua hin needs is a superstore complex like the one about to open.

but its "progress" i suppose and cannot be stopped.

shopping for stuff in hua hin is quite an enjoyable experience at the moment , what with the wet markets , the two small but well stocked supermarkets , the greengrocers and the falang butchers shop.

you sort of build up relationships with all the various shopkeepers , and although it may be time consuming and a bit more expensive , it is certainly more enjoyable than wearily trundling around a place like tescos and having to face sullen and bored checkout staff at the end of it.

i hope the small local shops dont suffer too much . tescos and the other huge supermarket chains have destroyed the british high street , all the traditional family run food shops have gone under , and now that tescos etc. (in the uk) do booze and pharmacies and clothes , other smaller businesses are fighting for their lives.

it cant be a good thing.

thankfully i live on the other side of the town and wont have to fight the inevitable traffic jams to get into town.

[PeaceBlondie]

Good points, taxexile. But I question whether Hua Hin has "two small but well stocked supermarkets." I shop for 20 or more cans of diet soda pop each time (Have bought as many as 60 liters at a time, from none other than Tesco), and the supermarket on the west side of the tracks doesn't seem to stock diet soda, and the one downtown usually has 5 to 15 in the cooler. My nearest mom and pop store has 50 to 100. The downtown market is terribly overcrowded during high season, not well stocked, and tattered if not unsightly. Not to mention parking problems.

I hope no good small stores go out of business, but I won't mourn the passing of the one downtown.

You've got a point about traffic on the south side. Like I said, I hope they have traffic control.

Agreed, you develop friendships at small stores. The two supermarkets, however, are not personal.

[taxexile]

have you tried the supermarket on the corner of phetkasem and soi 50 , north side of town , west side of phetkasem , chatty staff , easy to park and usually well stocked ,

[PeaceBlondie]

Hey, taxexile, that shows you that Hua Hin's not the tiny village that many people think it is. I'm way south of soi 104, and to me, soi 50 is way north of downtown. You're glad you won't have to fight traffic down by the new Market Village. Gee, maybe we live at opposite ends of a megalopolis after all.

My convenience store owner really appreciates my business (I'm buying 24 cans of soda pop now, by the 'pack' and I bring her small coins for change). And she's expanding into twice the space, next door. Meanwhile, the staff at 7-11 barely know me, although I stop by there almost as often, and buy half as much.