Promenada, Not All Its Cracked Up To Be?

[harrry]

I would say that like Singapore the mall is now part of Thai culture. Popularised because of the climate and the changes of living habits from family houses to small rooms the mall is the place where thai people socialise. Coming to Thailand and not going to a mall is missing modern Thai Culture..

[Rasseru]

I'm neither impressed nor unimpressed, neither this nor that -- I'm not one who has strong feelings one way or another about shopping malls -- but for one point: absolutely delighted with the Uniqlo store! That there is now one in Chiangmai and that it is as good as it is.

[mania]

Dammit how does one embed a Youtube!

Turn off the BBCode mode

(light switch looking button in upper left of the reply window)

Then just paste the address in

This site is really screwed up lately for this, quoting & even replying/browsing

Edited July 25, 2013 by mania

[ogb]

When is the ice rink going to open?

[ogb]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

Edited July 25, 2013 by ogb

[Rinrada]

Looks good and pass it quite often but not checked it out yet.

Wife says wait until finished ..think she means covered car parking.

Been using Hang Dong Big C a lot recently since I like the Q-Sants at 25 Bt a bag and cant beat the cappuccino at 10 Bt a throw.(plus local Aeon)

Some good deals at Homepro and with PT max card can fill up just round corner with a final lookesee in global....need a mobile cement/concrete mixer so can get all the weekly messages done....in half a day.

Lets see....

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Thank you. It's clearly the most exciting thing going on in Chiang Mai today; actually I think there should be more topics to debate each specific aspect in a dedicated place.

For example on the architecture, I can confirm that there WILL of course be a roof over the connecting bridge and walkway between buildings A and B. This is clearly visible on the designs.

"Clearly the most exciting thing going on in Chiang Mai today."

or, if you prefer...

I love it when I hit that spot exactly in the middle, and half the people take it as written and the other half as sarcasm, indicating the opposite.

So I'm good with either response.

Edited July 25, 2013 by WinnieTheKhwai

[maanoi]

Looks good and pass it quite often but not checked it out yet.

Wife says wait until finished ..think she means covered car parking.

Been using Hang Dong Big C a lot recently since I like the Q-Sants at 25 Bt a bag and cant beat the cappuccino at 10 Bt a throw.(plus local Aeon)

Some good deals at Homepro and with PT max card can fill up just round corner with a final lookesee in global....need a mobile cement/concrete mixer so can get all the weekly messages done....in half a day.

Lets see....

It already has covered car parking in both buildings. There are no plans to cover the outdoor parking lot that you see from the road.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[AngelsLariat]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

[mania]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

Really?

I thought you were all joking about a ice rink.

I have never ice skated & would love to try it

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I thought you were all joking about a ice rink.

I have never ice skated & would love to try it

It's hard and slippery.

dfgjhjdsf

Bless you.

[maanoi]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

 

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

Olympic sized hahaha good one. More like kids playground sized

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[AngelsLariat]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

Really?

I thought you were all joking about a ice rink.

I have never ice skated & would love to try it

You'll be able to do that. The Thai National Ice Hockey team has the rink booked for Tuesdays & Thursdays but it will be open to the public the rest of the time.

[Tywais]

Really?

I thought you were all joking about a ice rink.

I have never ice skated & would love to try it

Tie a pillow on your butt and you're good to go.

[harrry]

Really?

I thought you were all joking about a ice rink.

I have never ice skated & would love to try it

Tie a pillow on your butt and you're good to go.

Need one in front too.....unless you wear one all the time.

[mic6ard]

They really need to fix the parking spaces. So far, IMOP, they only have the space of not even 1/2 of Airport plaza. Went there 3 times, found it really frustrating to find parking in an unyet finished mall. Can't imagine when it's 100% working.

They have free transportation to and from the city, but I live by the ring road, am NOT going to drive into town to ride the RED back out again.

[nikster]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

It's an odd decision to have this mall half-open as it is for 6 months. People will come to associate it with that. But I guess more promo when more things open will kind of fix this perception problem.

There's definitely a danger that the huge empty spaces everywhere in the mall will be filled with little stalls that then make everything look like a mess. But that's really up to the operators, they could also put a few nicely appointed shops there - think "outdoors" Cafe - and make it very nice. We'll see what they do. With the way the thing looks I'd think they have a better plan than either leave it empty or fill it with random stalls.

Didn't know about the ice rink - that's cool. Uniqlo, ice rink, theater, easy access, and the awesome children playing area they have - it's already open - should guarantee the success of the project.

Central Festival is going to be 2x the size - at the very least it's got 2x the budget (THB 6Bn vs 3Bn at Promenada). But Promenada doesn't need to compete with that, they only need to compete with Central Airport and those new smaller places. Not even going to mention KSK at this point.

Let's be happy that somebody is at least trying to do a new style mall like Promenada. I don't know anything like it in Thailand, to be honest. Even the latest malls in BKK follow the same old mall concept, the Central blueprint, multi level mall with maximum retail space and minimum public space. Promenada is quite different. Now please get it done in time. Those renderings above indicate they've got a ways to go still. The outside is basically a mess right now; what I find strange is that nobody seems to be working on it, either - hire more people?

I generally dislike malls - Promenada has the chance of being a place I'd actually like to go to. But I know my opinion doesn't matter, so I hope it catches on with Thais...

Edited July 27, 2013 by nikster

[anto]

I found it ok ,but prefer Airport plaza unless it improves .Airport plaza has far more eye candy for sure .

[whatsupdoc]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

It's an odd decision to have this mall half-open as it is for 6 months. People will come to associate it with that. But I guess more promo when more things open will kind of fix this perception problem.

There's definitely a danger that the huge empty spaces everywhere in the mall will be filled with little stalls that then make everything look like a mess. But that's really up to the operators, they could also put a few nicely appointed shops there - think "outdoors" Cafe - and make it very nice. We'll see what they do. With the way the thing looks I'd think they have a better plan than either leave it empty or fill it with random stalls.

Didn't know about the ice rink - that's cool. Uniqlo, ice rink, theater, easy access, and the awesome children playing area they have - it's already open - should guarantee the success of the project.

Central Festival is going to be 2x the size - at the very least it's got 2x the budget (THB 6Bn vs 3Bn at Promenada). But Promenada doesn't need to compete with that, they only need to compete with Central Airport and those new smaller places. Not even going to mention KSK at this point.

Let's be happy that somebody is at least trying to do a new style mall like Promenada. I don't know anything like it in Thailand, to be honest. Even the latest malls in BKK follow the same old mall concept, the Central blueprint, multi level mall with maximum retail space and minimum public space. Promenada is quite different. Now please get it done in time. Those renderings above indicate they've got a ways to go still. The outside is basically a mess right now; what I find strange is that nobody seems to be working on it, either - hire more people?

I generally dislike malls - Promenada has the chance of being a place I'd actually like to go to. But I know my opinion doesn't matter, so I hope it catches on with Thais...

I understood that Central Festival will have 5 (!) times the retail space of Promenada. Moreover, Central Festival wlll be a one-stop shopping center with all the well-known brand stores, a department store and supermarket. I have no doubt that Promenada (and later Maya) will have a hard time trying to compete with Central Festival.

Central Airport, and even Kad Suan Kaew, are also one-stop shopping centers. The fact that they are well established and have good locations will in my opinion ensure that they will be able to more or less continue business as usual. KSK could do well if it markets itself as the cheaper alternative to the others. It might be the place where people actually buy things in contrast to Promenada and Maya where the windowshoppers will go.

Time will tell.

[dave2]

re

There's definitely a danger that the huge empty spaces everywhere in the mall will be filled with little stalls that then make everything look like a mess.

like this ? ... nahhh they wouldnt

pic 1 ... the curve 21 dec 12

pic 2 ... the same area 3 july 13

dave2

[ogb]

Glitzy shopping malls do nothing for me, but I will visit Promenada just for the ice rink.

Of all the other malls, KSK is the only one that interests me because with its great location it has potential to be like Bangkok's MBK, which is still going strong despite lots of newer flashier establishments coming on the scene.

[mic6ard]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

It's an odd decision to have this mall half-open as it is for 6 months. People will come to associate it with that. But I guess more promo when more things open will kind of fix this perception problem.

There's definitely a danger that the huge empty spaces everywhere in the mall will be filled with little stalls that then make everything look like a mess. But that's really up to the operators, they could also put a few nicely appointed shops there - think "outdoors" Cafe - and make it very nice. We'll see what they do. With the way the thing looks I'd think they have a better plan than either leave it empty or fill it with random stalls.

Didn't know about the ice rink - that's cool. Uniqlo, ice rink, theater, easy access, and the awesome children playing area they have - it's already open - should guarantee the success of the project.

Central Festival is going to be 2x the size - at the very least it's got 2x the budget (THB 6Bn vs 3Bn at Promenada). But Promenada doesn't need to compete with that, they only need to compete with Central Airport and those new smaller places. Not even going to mention KSK at this point.

Let's be happy that somebody is at least trying to do a new style mall like Promenada. I don't know anything like it in Thailand, to be honest. Even the latest malls in BKK follow the same old mall concept, the Central blueprint, multi level mall with maximum retail space and minimum public space. Promenada is quite different. Now please get it done in time. Those renderings above indicate they've got a ways to go still. The outside is basically a mess right now; what I find strange is that nobody seems to be working on it, either - hire more people?

I generally dislike malls - Promenada has the chance of being a place I'd actually like to go to. But I know my opinion doesn't matter, so I hope it catches on with Thais...

"Promenada has the chance of being a place I'd actually like to go to" To do what?

My point is not to attack you or anything, but as of right now I'm having a hard time finding reason to go there.

Sure it has more open space ( I actually like that), but apart from that there is nothing to draw me there.

Probably mainly due to the severe lack of parking space.

[mania]

re

There's definitely a danger that the huge empty spaces everywhere in the mall will be filled with little stalls that then make everything look like a mess.

like this ? ... nahhh they wouldnt

pic 1 ... the curve 21 dec 12

pic 2 ... the same area 3 july 13

dave2

Too bad about The Curve

It was a small strip type for sure but already many of the main folks seem gone

S&P Bakery closed

Sestro I think is closed yet their stuff still there

The roti place in back I think is gone

Also as you show in your pics the sidewalks are now pretty full

Edited July 27, 2013 by mania

[KRS1]

Have the dimensions of the proposed ice rink been disclosed?

It will be an Olympic-sized hockey rink.

It's an odd decision to have this mall half-open as it is for 6 months. People will come to associate it with that. But I guess more promo when more things open will kind of fix this perception problem.

There's definitely a danger that the huge empty spaces everywhere in the mall will be filled with little stalls that then make everything look like a mess. But that's really up to the operators, they could also put a few nicely appointed shops there - think "outdoors" Cafe - and make it very nice. We'll see what they do. With the way the thing looks I'd think they have a better plan than either leave it empty or fill it with random stalls.

Didn't know about the ice rink - that's cool. Uniqlo, ice rink, theater, easy access, and the awesome children playing area they have - it's already open - should guarantee the success of the project.

Central Festival is going to be 2x the size - at the very least it's got 2x the budget (THB 6Bn vs 3Bn at Promenada). But Promenada doesn't need to compete with that, they only need to compete with Central Airport and those new smaller places. Not even going to mention KSK at this point.

Let's be happy that somebody is at least trying to do a new style mall like Promenada. I don't know anything like it in Thailand, to be honest. Even the latest malls in BKK follow the same old mall concept, the Central blueprint, multi level mall with maximum retail space and minimum public space. Promenada is quite different. Now please get it done in time. Those renderings above indicate they've got a ways to go still. The outside is basically a mess right now; what I find strange is that nobody seems to be working on it, either - hire more people?

I generally dislike malls - Promenada has the chance of being a place I'd actually like to go to. But I know my opinion doesn't matter, so I hope it catches on with Thais...

Promenade is the same concept as Major Cineplex. Some bigger than others.

[maanoi]

Does anyone know if The Wine Connection is open yet??

It is still not open. No idea why not. Seems all their gear is just sitting inside gathering dust

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[PoodMaiDai]

There is something VERY (I won't say wrong, as it's not really wrong... it's just) bizarre when one's enjoyment while living within an ancient culture in a country thousands of miles away from the ones we were born into is going to shopping malls. I understand the 'why' of it, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre. Even more so if you are going there with no plans of shopping! It's sort of like traveling to a foreign country then sitting and staring at your mobile phone while you're there.

Except Thailand is no longer an "ancient culture" and is in fact filled with shopping malls and all the modern conveniences that we all have at home.

Should we avoid them so we can all stay true to our "ancient Thai culture" roots that we never had in the first place and the Thais don't have either? Or should we just add it to the growing list of things to do after we're done pretending to be our version of what we think Thai people should be like?

If wanted to live in a bamboo walled shack with uneducated farmers who marry their cousins, I'd be doing so already. Instead, I live a comfortable life here. I didn't come here to live in poverty and pretend to be Thai.

Of course the same could be said about Japan. Why would you go to a place with such an ancient culture (a real culture) then waste your time in modern Tokyo?

[cmsally]

There is something VERY (I won't say wrong, as it's not really wrong... it's just) bizarre when one's enjoyment while living within an ancient culture in a country thousands of miles away from the ones we were born into is going to shopping malls. I understand the 'why' of it, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre. Even more so if you are going there with no plans of shopping! It's sort of like traveling to a foreign country then sitting and staring at your mobile phone while you're there.

Except Thailand is no longer an "ancient culture" and is in fact filled with shopping malls and all the modern conveniences that we all have at home.

Should we avoid them so we can all stay true to our "ancient Thai culture" roots that we never had in the first place and the Thais don't have either? Or should we just add it to the growing list of things to do after we're done pretending to be our version of what we think Thai people should be like?

If wanted to live in a bamboo walled shack with uneducated farmers who marry their cousins, I'd be doing so already. Instead, I live a comfortable life here. I didn't come here to live in poverty and pretend to be Thai.

Of course the same could be said about Japan. Why would you go to a place with such an ancient culture (a real culture) then waste your time in modern Tokyo?

The thing is why would someone choose to come and live here if its for a comfortable life filled with the things you have at home. It doesn't really make sense, in that case it would seem logical to stay at home.

It doesn't necessarily follow that stupid people live in bamboo houses and smart ones in concrete boxes - humanity isn't that neatly based on the 3 little piggies.

A lot of people came to Thailand to witness the ancient culture and huge ethnic diversity, that doesn't necessarily mean that they avoid malls. But at the end of the day, just what can these malls offer you. Seriously, can't think of a reason to spend more than 10 mins there.

Personally I find malls quite depressing places.

[AngelsLariat]

There is something VERY (I won't say wrong, as it's not really wrong... it's just) bizarre when one's enjoyment while living within an ancient culture in a country thousands of miles away from the ones we were born into is going to shopping malls. I understand the 'why' of it, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre. Even more so if you are going there with no plans of shopping! It's sort of like traveling to a foreign country then sitting and staring at your mobile phone while you're there.

Except Thailand is no longer an "ancient culture" and is in fact filled with shopping malls and all the modern conveniences that we all have at home.

Should we avoid them so we can all stay true to our "ancient Thai culture" roots that we never had in the first place and the Thais don't have either? Or should we just add it to the growing list of things to do after we're done pretending to be our version of what we think Thai people should be like?

If wanted to live in a bamboo walled shack with uneducated farmers who marry their cousins, I'd be doing so already. Instead, I live a comfortable life here. I didn't come here to live in poverty and pretend to be Thai.

Of course the same could be said about Japan. Why would you go to a place with such an ancient culture (a real culture) then waste your time in modern Tokyo?

The thing is why would someone choose to come and live here if its for a comfortable life filled with the things you have at home. It doesn't really make sense, in that case it would seem logical to stay at home.

It doesn't necessarily follow that stupid people live in bamboo houses and smart ones in concrete boxes - humanity isn't that neatly based on the 3 little piggies.

A lot of people came to Thailand to witness the ancient culture and huge ethnic diversity, that doesn't necessarily mean that they avoid malls. But at the end of the day, just what can these malls offer you. Seriously, can't think of a reason to spend more than 10 mins there.

Personally I find malls quite depressing places.

Re: "why would someone choose to come and live here if its for a comfortable life filled with the things you have at home", the most common reason is probably cost of living. And I'll bet that it makes little difference to most of them whether the "more Thai than though" brigade disapproves of their lifestyle. Your reasons for living in Thailand are not the only valid reasons.

Edited July 28, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[Trujillo]

I was shocked when I went there. Small bike parking area, with other "pockets" among the cars. All car parking full. Aside from unfinished, nothing looked architecturally interesting. Huge wasted space inside and populated with the usual mall shop suspects, none of which stand out.

You can only access the mall from one side of the road, so if you are coming from the ring road, you have to pass it, and make a U-turn under the first flyover and come back.

There is nothing in there (and what is coming) that makes it worth a visit when you have Airport Plaza and Kad Suan Kaew.

I assume the ice skating rink is a joke that people are taking seriously.

The whole thing is a joke.

[FolkGuitar]

There is something VERY (I won't say wrong, as it's not really wrong... it's just) bizarre when one's enjoyment while living within an ancient culture in a country thousands of miles away from the ones we were born into is going to shopping malls. I understand the 'why' of it, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre. Even more so if you are going there with no plans of shopping! It's sort of like traveling to a foreign country then sitting and staring at your mobile phone while you're there.

Except Thailand is no longer an "ancient culture" and is in fact filled with shopping malls and all the modern conveniences that we all have at home.

Should we avoid them so we can all stay true to our "ancient Thai culture" roots that we never had in the first place and the Thais don't have either? Or should we just add it to the growing list of things to do after we're done pretending to be our version of what we think Thai people should be like?

If wanted to live in a bamboo walled shack with uneducated farmers who marry their cousins, I'd be doing so already. Instead, I live a comfortable life here. I didn't come here to live in poverty and pretend to be Thai.

Of course the same could be said about Japan. Why would you go to a place with such an ancient culture (a real culture) then waste your time in modern Tokyo?

I don't believe anyone suggested avoiding shopping malls. I said "it's bizarre when one's enjoyment while living within an ancient culture in a country thousands of miles away from the ones we were born into is going to shopping malls." From where I'm sitting right now, looking out the window without moving my head I can see four different ancient temples. While Thailand certainly has modernized along with the rest of the world, Thai culture IS an ancient one when compared with my own, and perhaps yours too.

There is no need to live in a bamboo hut to experience Thai culture. Just spending a few hours at Doi Suthep will do it, or shopping at Wararote Market, buying flowers at Khontiem Market, buying food at Tannin Market. Granted, Tanning Market doesn't carry imported foods, and for that we do need to shop at Rimping or Kassem's store. I don't know about you, but I eat Thai food 98% of the week. Perhaps one or two meals a week might be a Duke's, Miguel's, or other 'ethnic' restaurants. My needs at Rimping are few and far between. I have a feeling we live very different lifestyles.

The food is one of the reasons I moved to Thailand. The people are another, the culture and the cost of living yet another. I didn't move here for the 'Mall Experience.' To me (and perhaps not you,) shopping malls are simply a convenience. They offer many shopping needs all under one roof. I'm glad that you can be entertained by them, but while I don't dislike them, if not too heretical I'd rather keep them just for shopping when needed.

EDIT: Living in Japan for 20+ years, I only went to Tokyo once, and that was for the airport... I preferred the culture found in Kyoto and Nara.

Edited July 28, 2013 by FolkGuitar