Patong

[dogpoo]

Quote: "What sort of impression do tourists have of Thailand when they are dropped of in a war zone, yea the place looks like a worn torn city......"

That very thing echoed through my mind yesterday when there were huge swirls of dust blowing in the faces of tourists and locals alike because of the inept and inadequate building going on, not just the fiasco which is the Middle Road, but with lots of other building going on.

I wonder how many other tourists are thinking like this, especially when a friend told me he had overheard a holidaying Australian couple saying, "what the hell are we doing in a sh-t-hole like this?"

To compound matters, from my perspective anyway, it had been a couple of bad days, taking 25 min to travel 2 km along Nanai road was just one of the annoying aspects. If you add the fact that I had ventured out into Bangla Road the night before to catch up with a friend at his bar, however he wasn't there so I went walkabout. Tried the new Soi Eric and apart from the first three bars on the left-hand side going in, and the first two on the right, the rest of the place was pretty well dead. I stopped to have a beer with another friend at a bar and had to move on because the music was too loud and that seemed to be the main gripe of many of the farang bar owners, however the owner doesn't seem to want to know about it.

Was going to venture into Soi Gonzo, but didn't because it was empty, so went to a very quiet bar off a side road and had a drink there and at least it had his own music so you could have a conversation, which was a welcome break from the pounding music of other places.

Was eventually making my way back to the car, walking down the side of New Tiger, when a young lady called out to me as she knew me because she had worked at a friend's bar. I wasn't going to stop for a drink but I did, and also bought her one and for some reason I decided to check the bill, and was horrified to find a cost of 700 baht for the two drinks, plus a beer and a cocktail. Obviously wasn't right so I queried it and it was corrected with an explanation of sorry, the cashier is new.........yeah right.

And to top it off, the relatively quick access to Jungceylon (unless you want to go halfway round the island to get there) is via a mud road in which the mud can be knee deep in the worst conditions and it is rather like competing in a motocross race. It must be deep because I saw a small truck get stuck in it!!

Yes I am still here for those people that say why don't I move, and if it wasn't for the good friends and the girlfriend and her daughter, I could well be on my way, but I am hoping, hoping that it just cannot get any worse. The powers that be have spoilt this place through greed and ineptitude and it is such a shame because it could have been a retirement haven for a lot of expats, not to mention a quality place for high-end tourists.

It was a disgrace 4 years ago and now it is far worse, if you are waiting for it to improve be prepared for a very long wait!! The place is just nasty!!


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[LivinginKata]

@xylophone

You summed it all up very nicely.

Middle road has just been one big building site for the last 2 years.

Nanai Road is taking all the traffic diverted from midle road. It a challenge for me to venture to the north end of Patong.

The water quality at the beach is a disgrace. Patong just continues to slide down the path to ruin.

[Ping]

Of course, what they are doing to the third road is something that they should have had the foresight to do in the first place - making it a permanent structure that won't pothole and breakup every time there is a drop of rain. I understand the work is set to be completed somewhere around the middle of next year. In the meantime, it is an absolute debacle in Nanai during the peak (and often a mess off-peak as well) and oftentimes standstill on Ratuthit.

The third road will become the major thoroughfare and relieve a lot of pressure from these other two thoroughfares. To be fair, now that they have actually got into the project, I don't see much else that they could have done to avoid these temporary woes. No-one likes it, but the end result should contribute to vastly better traffic flow and will also ultimately accommodate the tunnel traffic.

[NamKangMan]

Quote: "What sort of impression do tourists have of Thailand when they are dropped of in a war zone, yea the place looks like a worn torn city......"

That very thing echoed through my mind yesterday when there were huge swirls of dust blowing in the faces of tourists and locals alike because of the inept and inadequate building going on, not just the fiasco which is the Middle Road, but with lots of other building going on.

I wonder how many other tourists are thinking like this, especially when a friend told me he had overheard a holidaying Australian couple saying, "what the hell are we doing in a sh-t-hole like this?"

To compound matters, from my perspective anyway, it had been a couple of bad days, taking 25 min to travel 2 km along Nanai road was just one of the annoying aspects. If you add the fact that I had ventured out into Bangla Road the night before to catch up with a friend at his bar, however he wasn't there so I went walkabout. Tried the new Soi Eric and apart from the first three bars on the left-hand side going in, and the first two on the right, the rest of the place was pretty well dead. I stopped to have a beer with another friend at a bar and had to move on because the music was too loud and that seemed to be the main gripe of many of the farang bar owners, however the owner doesn't seem to want to know about it.

Was going to venture into Soi Gonzo, but didn't because it was empty, so went to a very quiet bar off a side road and had a drink there and at least it had his own music so you could have a conversation, which was a welcome break from the pounding music of other places.

Was eventually making my way back to the car, walking down the side of New Tiger, when a young lady called out to me as she knew me because she had worked at a friend's bar. I wasn't going to stop for a drink but I did, and also bought her one and for some reason I decided to check the bill, and was horrified to find a cost of 700 baht for the two drinks, plus a beer and a cocktail. Obviously wasn't right so I queried it and it was corrected with an explanation of sorry, the cashier is new.........yeah right.

And to top it off, the relatively quick access to Jungceylon (unless you want to go halfway round the island to get there) is via a mud road in which the mud can be knee deep in the worst conditions and it is rather like competing in a motocross race. It must be deep because I saw a small truck get stuck in it!!

Yes I am still here for those people that say why don't I move, and if it wasn't for the good friends and the girlfriend and her daughter, I could well be on my way, but I am hoping, hoping that it just cannot get any worse. The powers that be have spoilt this place through greed and ineptitude and it is such a shame because it could have been a retirement haven for a lot of expats, not to mention a quality place for high-end tourists.

It was a disgrace 4 years ago and now it is far worse, if you are waiting for it to improve be prepared for a very long wait!! The place is just nasty!!

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Phuket will eventually become an island city, the way Pattaya became a city by the sea. Once Patong is concreted over, it will spread to other parts of the island until they are the same, and not one story buildings, they will be multi-story, so, high density and maximum use of the land.

Phuket is about MONEY, not sustainability and the environment.

Edited November 28, 2013 by NamKangMan

[xylophone]

Of course, what they are doing to the third road is something that they should have had the foresight to do in the first place - making it a permanent structure that won't pothole and breakup every time there is a drop of rain. I understand the work is set to be completed somewhere around the middle of next year. In the meantime, it is an absolute debacle in Nanai during the peak (and often a mess off-peak as well) and oftentimes standstill on Ratuthit.

The third road will become the major thoroughfare and relieve a lot of pressure from these other two thoroughfares. To be fair, now that they have actually got into the project, I don't see much else that they could have done to avoid these temporary woes. No-one likes it, but the end result should contribute to vastly better traffic flow and will also ultimately accommodate the tunnel traffic.

Quote: "making it a permanent structure that won't pothole and breakup every time there is a drop of rain....."

I'm not sure about that "Ping" because they are laying the new concrete on top of mud. There is no base material/foundation under the concrete so surely once the big trucks are pounding along the new concrete road it won't be long before the mud underneath sinks or shrinks and cracks will appear??

Now I'm not a construction engineer, so perhaps someone with knowledge in this field could throw some light on the subject............can concrete be laid on top of mud to form a serviceable road for the long-term?

[LivinginKata]

I think about a boom town/city in Spain called Torremolinos (Google it). 1965 was the start of the boom. I visited in the mid 80s. Over built, horrible high rises, poor quality tourists. In my view Patong has now arrived at that low point.

[hansgruber]

Third road is ridiculous. They built the buildings before the road and now the new road is higher that the shops and hotels.

That will be a new flood zone.

[LivinginKata]

Third road is ridiculous. They built the buildings before the road and now the new road is higher that the shops and hotels.

That will be a new flood zone.

Forward planning - not. Stupid planning - yes. No idea - yes. I look at that road with disbelief. We have some property at the bottom of Nanai 2 and the major storm water drain under the road had been blocked off by the property owner = first rain and all our homes were flooded quite significantly. And the tesibaan have the cheek to charge us property tax and 'water processing tax' to clean the storm water drainage from our homes.

[TaoNow]

It may be a coincidence, but the number and quality of posts on this community forum have declined as Patong has declined.

For example, several years ago there used to be female members of TV who posted here. Why have they disappeared?

Phuket can still provide what you are looking for if you make the effort -- but no beach will satisfy all comers.

If you want tranquility and seclusion, go to Mai Kao.

If you want surf and a clean beach go to Kata Noi.

If you want to admire the lovely sunrise, go to Saphan Hin.

And, of course, the sunset at Laem Phromthep, followed by seaside civility at Rawai are supreme.

Patong attracts the younger or 'devil-may-care' crowd who don't seem to mind the noises, smells or crowding.

That's why they keep coming after all, despite the transport difficulties.

Besides, Patong is still the only place on the island where you can sip a good margarita, admire the sunset and listen to live music for only 100 baht or so. And chat with talented artists and other open-minded folk who emjoy a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

[NamKangMan]

It may be a coincidence, but the number and quality of posts on this community forum have declined as Patong has declined.

For example, several years ago there used to be female members of TV who posted here. Why have they disappeared?

Phuket can still provide what you are looking for if you make the effort -- but no beach will satisfy all comers.

If you want tranquility and seclusion, go to Mai Kao.

If you want surf and a clean beach go to Kata Noi.

If you want to admire the lovely sunrise, go to Saphan Hin.

And, of course, the sunset at Laem Phromthep, followed by seaside civility at Rawai are supreme.

Patong attracts the younger or 'devil-may-care' crowd who don't seem to mind the noises, smells or crowding.

That's why they keep coming after all, despite the transport difficulties.

Besides, Patong is still the only place on the island where you can sip a good margarita, admire the sunset and listen to live music for only 100 baht or so. And chat with talented artists and other open-minded folk who emjoy a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

"That's why they keep coming after all, despite the transport difficulties."

"Besides, Patong is still the only place on the island where you can sip a good margarita, admire the sunset and listen to live music for only 100 baht or so." - ahhhhh, but the cost of getting there for that 100 baht cocktail on sunset and live music, and home again, is the hidden cost to a holiday here, and many are now well aware of it, so, I tend to disagree with you when you say, "despite the transport difficulties."

The traditional western market is definately now detouring Phuket, at a very fast rate, and in my opinion, the lack of transport is one of the main reasons why.

Many want to stay on a nice beach by day, and party by night. Getting between the two, regularly, with maybe some shopping/markets and exploring the island in between, can be the biggest cost of their holiday.

They may come here once and pay the high transport cost, but will they return and pay again? We are now seeing they are not.

NO - I am not trying to turn this into another "tuk-tuk thread." Bangla Road, Patong is Phuket's biggest tourist attraction. Many tourists want to eat, drink and party on Bangla Road - when they realise the cost to get there, and home, is more than their accommodation, IF they return to Phuket, many either stay walking distance to Bangla Road, or drive/ride drunk on a rental, hence, the terrible road fatality and injury statistics here.

A tourist is forced to chose between staying near a nice beach and get ripped off on transport to the nightlife, or staying near the nightlife, and getting ripped off on transport to go to a nice beach, OR, hire a vehicle, and due to parking, partying and scam issues, this isn't an option either.

We are seeing the results of having to make this choice - they are now going to another destination in Thailand, or a neighbouring country, where they have both a nice beach, nightlife, and affordable transport, to move all of them, as they chose.

Edited November 28, 2013 by NamKangMan

[robertthebruce]

It may be a coincidence, but the number and quality of posts on this community forum have declined as Patong has declined.

For example, several years ago there used to be female members of TV who posted here. Why have they disappeared?

Phuket can still provide what you are looking for if you make the effort -- but no beach will satisfy all comers.

If you want tranquility and seclusion, go to Mai Kao.

If you want surf and a clean beach go to Kata Noi.

If you want to admire the lovely sunrise, go to Saphan Hin.

And, of course, the sunset at Laem Phromthep, followed by seaside civility at Rawai are supreme.

Patong attracts the younger or 'devil-may-care' crowd who don't seem to mind the noises, smells or crowding.

That's why they keep coming after all, despite the transport difficulties.

Besides, Patong is still the only place on the island where you can sip a good margarita, admire the sunset and listen to live music for only 100 baht or so. And chat with talented artists and other open-minded folk who emjoy a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Cosmopolitan Atmosphere ??? Oh ok then...

[billythehat]

Of course, what they are doing to the third road is something that they should have had the foresight to do in the first place - making it a permanent structure that won't pothole and breakup every time there is a drop of rain. I understand the work is set to be completed somewhere around the middle of next year. In the meantime, it is an absolute debacle in Nanai during the peak (and often a mess off-peak as well) and oftentimes standstill on Ratuthit.

The third road will become the major thoroughfare and relieve a lot of pressure from these other two thoroughfares. To be fair, now that they have actually got into the project, I don't see much else that they could have done to avoid these temporary woes. No-one likes it, but the end result should contribute to vastly better traffic flow and will also ultimately accommodate the tunnel traffic.

Quote: "making it a permanent structure that won't pothole and breakup every time there is a drop of rain....."

I'm not sure about that "Ping" because they are laying the new concrete on top of mud. There is no base material/foundation under the concrete so surely once the big trucks are pounding along the new concrete road it won't be long before the mud underneath sinks or shrinks and cracks will appear??

Now I'm not a construction engineer, so perhaps someone with knowledge in this field could throw some light on the subject............can concrete be laid on top of mud to form a serviceable road for the long-term?

“Now I'm not a construction engineer, so perhaps someone with knowledge in this field could throw some light on the subject............can concrete be laid on top of mud to form a serviceable road for the long-term?”

Yes it can but with the proviso that the elements have been designed for the conditions. In areas of high water tables, poor drainage, etc, it is normal to see a typical spec of 150mm min thick well compacted crushed type 1 rock and, say, 200-300mm RC Slab as the running surface. Designed concrete mixes are available for placement in areas where water will be in contact with concrete structures, but whether this has been applied...your guess is as good as mine. Sub-soil drainage would also be a consideration as wet clay/sandy soils will also impose ground heave loads on the concrete structure. However, I note your mention of a lack of proper road base and so long-term serviceability will be limited. My 2 Baht’s worth is that the first failures will be due to piss-poor construction/design and incorrectly spec’d materials.

[Lokie]

Good to see at least they have now laid one side along the front of the boxing stadium, not so good that the Tuk Tuks have already now lined up and filled all along this side even though the rest of the road is a nightmare, they have parked themselves up and have prevented this side from being used, oh silly me, I am forgetting who owns Patong...