Patong is dead.

[LivinginKata]

Driving down Rat-u-Thid Road yesterday, I noticed that the Deli is up for sale!

That was once a Patong icon where you could get just about everything, however over the years its position has been diminished by the fact that Carrefour and latterly Big C stocked a far greater range of "delicatessen" type items, and restaurants/stores like Wine Connection also stock a limited range of "deli" type foods. Plus of course plenty of other places to buy wine from and to be honest, the owner didn't keep good stock control on some of the wines and they could be well past their use by date however to be fair to him, he would change the wine if you took it back.

I am surprised the Deli lasted this long. I seem to remember it was up for sale quite a few years ago.

Back in the day it was really the only place for farangs to shop for home type food in Patong. Carrefour opening signaled the death of the Deli. I gave up shopping in the Deli due to the one way traffic system as I had to drive all the way round town only to find no nearby car parking space. Not been there for at least 3 years.

[xylophone]

Driving down Rat-u-Thid Road yesterday, I noticed that the Deli is up for sale!

That was once a Patong icon where you could get just about everything, however over the years its position has been diminished by the fact that Carrefour and latterly Big C stocked a far greater range of "delicatessen" type items, and restaurants/stores like Wine Connection also stock a limited range of "deli" type foods. Plus of course plenty of other places to buy wine from and to be honest, the owner didn't keep good stock control on some of the wines and they could be well past their use by date however to be fair to him, he would change the wine if you took it back.

I am surprised the Deli lasted this long. I seem to remember it was up for sale quite a few years ago.

Back in the day it was really the only place for farangs to shop for home type food in Patong. Carrefour opening signaled the death of the Deli. I gave up shopping in the Deli due to the one way traffic system as I had to drive all the way round town only to find no nearby car parking space. Not been there for at least 3 years.

Yes, I agree with all you said, and although I stopped using it on a regular basis, I did occasionally pop in there to pick up things like herbs and spices which you could buy "loose".

He did have the space/shop/area next door to the Deli for sale for some time, however don't remember the actual shop being for sale, there again I could be wrong.

About four or five years ago I helped him with a large wine sale, designing and getting the window signage put together as well as flyers, and sampled some of the older wines he had there because I suspected some of them were off, and sure enough quite a few were, and those that had just a couple of years of life left were reduced quite markedly.

The idea was to clear out some of the older wines and also to restrict some of the wines that he seemed to be ordering, because they weren't of good quality and I think the distributors were pulling a fast one on him sometimes, because the wines they sent were often "borderline". Imagine my surprise when we had cleared out quite a bit of stock and quite a few more cases of wine were delivered, and this was a wine which I had recommended he didn't stock any more because again it was "borderline".

It turns out that the distributors were contacting members of his staff suggesting that more wine should be ordered and delivering it, really without his knowledge, so stock control was just about non-existent and of course they were offloading marginal wines.

So I have a bit of history with it and I know the owner quite well, and he is a nice guy, so really a shame to see it go, but it didn't move with the times and that and other things conspired to consign it to the annals of history by all accounts.

[SooKee]

Problem with Nanai for me is that I never found anywhere on it relaxing to go. Eat or drink. Too much noise from the road that almost everywhere fronts on to and is normally open to. Noise ranged generally from being a real nuisance to completely unbearable.

Sent using Tapatalk

[phuketlive]

Xylophone, the thing being built in front of soi nanai6 will be a seafood restaurant, supposed to be outdoor and indoor.

It's taking for ever to do it, they spend a lot of money on it but well, it's tiger group, they have money to spend...

Like the bar downstairs at chang residence, next to it, they renovated it completely but nobody there either.

Edited January 7, 2016 by phuketlive

[DrDave]

Xylophone, the thing being built in front of soi nanai6 will be a seafood restaurant, supposed to be outdoor and indoor.

It's taking for ever to do it, they spend a lot of money on it but well, it's tiger group, they have money to spend...

Like the bar downstairs at chang residence, next to it, they renovated it completely but nobody there either.

Thanks for the update on that place. I was wondering about it too.

I assumed it was owned by the Tiger Group, as they used to keep their water trucks parked there.

I think its been over a year in the making, and if I'm not mistaken, they've had what appears to be a big salt water aquarium toward the front for quite some time now, even through all of the on again, off again construction.

[DrDave]

<snip>

In some respects Patong is dead and another respects it is dying, so rather than keep along this morbid path, what would you do now in order to save it from its impending death. Consider it a brainstorming type exercise where any suggestions are welcome.........doesn't have to be a multi-page essay as a few well-intentioned bullet points would suffice.

I'll take a stab at this, although I don't think I'm offering up any truly unique ideas.

Firstly, Patong (and Phuket in general) really needs to decide what they want to be, and who their target market is. We keep hearing about "quality" tourists (or whatever the term dejour is), but Patong in particular doesn't seem to be doing anything to attract this demographic.

In order to attract quality tourists, a quality experience must be delivered. Look around the globe at destinations that do attract "quality tourists", and you'll see clean cities, green areas, some sort of zoning regulations for aesthetics, clear footpaths, reasonable transportation options and so on. Patong has none of these. I'm really afraid that from a physical point of view, Patong will never have any of these without a complete teardown and makeover. While there are a few major hotels that have really tried to provide outdoor aesthetics (Merlin, Holiday Inn, Novotel come to mind), the fact remains that Patong's roads are all a jumble of unrestrained construction utilizing every square centimeter of space with little regard for aesthetics.

In my opinion, Patong has been allowed to slide down the tubes for too long, almost to the point of no return. Certainly building Patong up to a world class destination would be an insurmountable task. I think the best we can hope for is to be a mid-sized beach town with unique nightlife and Asian flavor.

Unfortunately, many tourists who visit once vow to never come back. I think that these are the people that Patong needs to focus on. They came here for a reason, with a certain set of expectations, but were disappointed. Why were they disappointed, and what can be done to remedy that?

So here's my list of things that could be done to alleviate some of the disappointment experienced by visitors. Nothing very new here, but I think that most of these points contribute to visitor disappointment and the subsequent downturn in non-package tourist numbers. I realize that most of these changes can only happen in some sort of dreamworld where local officials are incorruptible.

Things to consider for the convenience and safety of visitors

- Re-establish sun loungers and vendors on the beach, under a tightly enforced set of rules regarding official permits, location and pricing. A proper balance between "natural beach" and tourist needs can be attained if properly managed.

- If jet skis and parasails cannot be eliminated, move them to two limited areas of operation, at the extreme northern and southern ends of the beach. If there truly is demand, as they say, customers won't mind walking to these two areas in order to partake in those activities.

- Ban motorbikes from the beachside footpath.

- Enforce traffic laws regarding pedestrian crossings. Station police near crosswalks and issue citations to violators for a period of time until drivers understand that they must stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk.

- Do not allow the car & motorbike rental guys to monopolize all of the beachfront parking, leaving no place for visitors to park. I've noticed that some of these people now consider these parking spaces to be their exclusive rent-free place of business, leaving their rental vehicles parked there all night.

- Organize the tuk tuks so that they're not taking up the entire eastern side of the beach road (all day), and Rat-U-Thit road (at night). Establish a few tuk tuk pickup points, and an offsite holding area with a queuing system so that the entire road isn't lined with tuk tuks waiting for marks customers. I'm sure people wouldn't mind walking 100-200 meters or so to a pickup point in order to get a tuk tuk. While we're at it, limit the number of tuk tuks permitted/licensed to operate within the city limits. The glut of tuk tuks only serves to raise the fare as each driver has fewer fares, so the "association" raises the fares to compensate.

- Reverse the one-way traffic system, or limit it to the beach road (which is too narrow for two-way traffic with slow-moving vehicles).

- Establish a low-cost bus/songtaew route directly connecting the major west coast beaches (Kata - Karon - Patong - Kamala - Surin).

[phuketlive]

All what you ask would be nice but it's not possible as everything is controlled by local mafia, so much money at stake that it will not change tomorrow....

Edited January 7, 2016 by phuketlive

[LivinginKata]

^

Many of your points have half-heartedly been tried. But it all comes back to the general lawless nature of Patong and Thailand in general. Money will always make the rules (or scams) and the authorities are always happy to get their money on a regular basis. There was always the hope that the army would clean it up, and on the demise of the last Patong mayor, even after the tsunami the vehicle rental were banished from the beach front parking.

But the money rules again and the merrygoround keeps spinning.

There is no hope - it's all DOOMED, Doomed ....

[KarenBravo]

Maybe that's what a terminally optimistic news blogger finally realised.

[NamKangMan]

<snip>

In some respects Patong is dead and another respects it is dying, so rather than keep along this morbid path, what would you do now in order to save it from its impending death. Consider it a brainstorming type exercise where any suggestions are welcome.........doesn't have to be a multi-page essay as a few well-intentioned bullet points would suffice.

I'll take a stab at this, although I don't think I'm offering up any truly unique ideas.

Firstly, Patong (and Phuket in general) really needs to decide what they want to be, and who their target market is. We keep hearing about "quality" tourists (or whatever the term dejour is), but Patong in particular doesn't seem to be doing anything to attract this demographic.

In order to attract quality tourists, a quality experience must be delivered. Look around the globe at destinations that do attract "quality tourists", and you'll see clean cities, green areas, some sort of zoning regulations for aesthetics, clear footpaths, reasonable transportation options and so on. Patong has none of these. I'm really afraid that from a physical point of view, Patong will never have any of these without a complete teardown and makeover. While there are a few major hotels that have really tried to provide outdoor aesthetics (Merlin, Holiday Inn, Novotel come to mind), the fact remains that Patong's roads are all a jumble of unrestrained construction utilizing every square centimeter of space with little regard for aesthetics.

In my opinion, Patong has been allowed to slide down the tubes for too long, almost to the point of no return. Certainly building Patong up to a world class destination would be an insurmountable task. I think the best we can hope for is to be a mid-sized beach town with unique nightlife and Asian flavor.

Unfortunately, many tourists who visit once vow to never come back. I think that these are the people that Patong needs to focus on. They came here for a reason, with a certain set of expectations, but were disappointed. Why were they disappointed, and what can be done to remedy that?

So here's my list of things that could be done to alleviate some of the disappointment experienced by visitors. Nothing very new here, but I think that most of these points contribute to visitor disappointment and the subsequent downturn in non-package tourist numbers. I realize that most of these changes can only happen in some sort of dreamworld where local officials are incorruptible.

Things to consider for the convenience and safety of visitors

- Re-establish sun loungers and vendors on the beach, under a tightly enforced set of rules regarding official permits, location and pricing. A proper balance between "natural beach" and tourist needs can be attained if properly managed.

- If jet skis and parasails cannot be eliminated, move them to two limited areas of operation, at the extreme northern and southern ends of the beach. If there truly is demand, as they say, customers won't mind walking to these two areas in order to partake in those activities.

- Ban motorbikes from the beachside footpath.

- Enforce traffic laws regarding pedestrian crossings. Station police near crosswalks and issue citations to violators for a period of time until drivers understand that they must stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk.

- Do not allow the car & motorbike rental guys to monopolize all of the beachfront parking, leaving no place for visitors to park. I've noticed that some of these people now consider these parking spaces to be their exclusive rent-free place of business, leaving their rental vehicles parked there all night.

- Organize the tuk tuks so that they're not taking up the entire eastern side of the beach road (all day), and Rat-U-Thit road (at night). Establish a few tuk tuk pickup points, and an offsite holding area with a queuing system so that the entire road isn't lined with tuk tuks waiting for marks customers. I'm sure people wouldn't mind walking 100-200 meters or so to a pickup point in order to get a tuk tuk. While we're at it, limit the number of tuk tuks permitted/licensed to operate within the city limits. The glut of tuk tuks only serves to raise the fare as each driver has fewer fares, so the "association" raises the fares to compensate.

- Reverse the one-way traffic system, or limit it to the beach road (which is too narrow for two-way traffic with slow-moving vehicles).

- Establish a low-cost bus/songtaew route directly connecting the major west coast beaches (Kata - Karon - Patong - Kamala - Surin).

"- Establish a low-cost bus/songtaew route directly connecting the major west coast beaches (Kata - Karon - Patong - Kamala - Surin)." - I would also add that this service then connects with circulating baht buses at each beach town.

Of course, this is the most obvious and immediate service Phuket needs, and I am sure those in power here know it.

Overnight benefits would be: less traffic, less driving / riding whilst intoxicated, more parking, less noise and air pollution, less accidents - injuries and death, more freedom of movement for tourists allowing exploration at their leisure, tourist money spread wider across the island allowing for more viable businesses, flat fares- no haggling - no assaults and negative publicity, less crime - pick pocketing and robberies, and in general, a more pleasant holiday for tourists and safer roads for all.

If nothing else changed on Phuket, except for this service, it would still go a long way to luring back the western market.

However, as LIK mentioned, and have said before, Phuket's last chance was the coup and the Thai Military. They will not even touch this issue, and whilst I do not agree Phuket is "doomed" I do think the Phuket economy will experience a recession, bordering on a depression, in the future.

Edited January 8, 2016 by NamKangMan

[xylophone]

Problem with Nanai for me is that I never found anywhere on it relaxing to go. Eat or drink. Too much noise from the road that almost everywhere fronts on to and is normally open to. Noise ranged generally from being a real nuisance to completely unbearable.

Sent using Tapatalk

True enough PoP although a few years ago one could sit in a place like The Beachouse and enjoy some food and a drink, or the original Offshore Bar, but the increase in noise, traffic and pollution have taken their toll.

Nothing much worth visiting here now except perhaps for Don's BBQ to eat and watch some football once in a while.

[jimbo34]

Some very interesting posts, and some excellent ideas from Dr Dave.

Unfortunately, nobody, not even the military seem capable of addressing all the issues. So Patong will look less and less attractive to the prosperous westerners that used to proliferate. Sure, some of us will do ok ( i am a barowner on Soi Bangla) but the "easy" days are gone, and the town is becoming less and less attractive, even to me. I've been here 10 years and used to mingle with the large expat population. They all seem to have slowly disappeared, especially the aussies. I anticipate being here another couple of years, if my business can survive, and then i too will be gone.

It's just so frustrating to see the domination of the tuk-tuk mob, the lawless behaviour by the inhabitants, the rubbish, the over-development, the scams, and the ever-rising tide of budget tourists. The shine has gone off the place. Such a shame.

But is Patong dead? No, it's just in decay. The do-nothing, lets-form-a committee, line-my-pockets-through-procurement-of-useless-street-furniture, hapless and hopeless administrations get to you in the end. I shall be looking out for a better place to spend the autumn of my days.

[AJBangkok]

I'll throw in stop people setting up stalls and selling things on the sidewalks.

Setup tuk tuk and taxi stands where there is no negotiation its just next cab off the rank and big signs showing "zones" of patong with published fares.

[DrDave]

<snip>

But is Patong dead? No, it's just in decay. The do-nothing, lets-form-a committee, line-my-pockets-through-procurement-of-useless-street-furniture, hapless and hopeless administrations get to you in the end. I shall be looking out for a better place to spend the autumn of my days.

The current, and past two administrative heads of Patong have been major players in the local business community, owning or controlling many of Patong's tourism and infrastructure businesses.

My only hope is that these people will ultimately experience a severe financial undoing as a result of catering to personal interests when the chickens come home to roost.

[jamie obda]

~ snip ~

In some respects Patong is dead and another respects it is dying, so rather than keep along this morbid path, what would you do now in order to save it from its impending death. Consider it a brainstorming type exercise where any suggestions are welcome.........doesn't have to be a multi-page essay as a few well-intentioned bullet points would suffice.

I still come to Phuket annually, but don't spend much time in Patong. I have an old friend/ex-pat in Chalong, and rather like the "slowness" of that area - although as of later there has been considerable build up.

1. Kick the vendors off the sidewalk. Most of the time you cannot walk on the sidewalk due to vendors.

2. Place as many trash receptacles as possible and teach people to use them

3. Kick the touts off Bangla. There have been nights when they comprise nearly 20% of the people

4. Baht bus, or straighten out the tuk-tuks

5. Hire street performers on Bangla, maybe something more creative than Cowboy Clown or Bamboo Dancing guy

6. Clean up the overhead wires and cables

7. A proper sewage and sanitation system

8. A long shot, but possibly ripping out one of lesser used sois on Bangla and putting in some sort of Cirque de Soleil

show

I guess after reading all these comments and traveling to Phuket for some time, it may well be that patong is not so much dying but changing, and inevitably so. The demographics are changing perhaps intentionally (TAT) but the purveyors perhaps not so much and there really isn't any blame to be assigned here. Who could have known the standard bearing Western tourist would dissipate only to be replaced by the Koreans, and then the Russians and then the Chinese? With an imminent crash of the CNY, who will be next? And what does Patong want to be? Does it want to be Maui, Recife, or Lang Kawai?

[sebastion]

As a hotel GM in the Karon area i can say its been a very slim high season.

Service charge is down 60% and staff are leaving in droves in hope of something better and the ones that remaining are very worried as they see a drop in take home between 6-7k baht per month compared to high seasons of past.

Yes the occupancy is the same but less cash being spent all round.

The years of free spending Europeans and Australians have been replaced with package deal tours groups from China and Ukraine with meals included so there is no extras being sold e.g F&B, room service.

I'll be ok because my salary is fixed but i do feel for the hotel staff as they are really feeling the pinch.

I'm not sure what the future holds for the hotel industry in Phuket but it's looking bleak as hotels are slashing room rates to compete with one another which in turn brings more masses of tour groups with even less to spend. Viscious cycle.

There is also a seedy element (some would call it mafia) within the big tour operators that request rates to be lowered or they take the masses somewhere else that's willing to drop the rates. Most can't afford to refuse.

TAT are only interested in arrivals and don't care about the plight of the hotel industry in Phuket and TAT's budget is mostly used on low end markets to prop up arrivals numbers.

It's really sad state of affairs.

[LivinginKata]

2. Place as many trash receptacles as possible and teach people to use them

The number of few trash bins we used to have now disappeared to bomb threat risk.

6. Clean up the overhead wires and cables

Done along Karon beach road. Now scheduled along Patong beach road.

7. A proper sewage and sanitation system

Far far too late to do that now. Would need a complete rebuild of Patong - not such a bad idea ...

Edited January 11, 2016 by LivinginKata

[sebastion]

Just to give my last post some credibility.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?/topic/885648-TAT-sets-sights-on-Vietnamese,-Indonesian-tourists

Marketing in other 3rd world countries that will provide TAT with numbers and more mass tourists for the tour operators to reap huge sums of money.

TAT have given up on Europe,U.S and Australia because they in turn have given up on Thailand.

[Jimi007]

Just to give my last post some credibility.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?/topic/885648-TAT-sets-sights-on-Vietnamese,-Indonesian-tourists

Marketing in other 3rd world countries that will provide TAT with numbers and more mass tourists for the tour operators to reap huge sums of money.

TAT have given up on Europe,U.S and Australia because they in turn have given up on Thailand.

The Chinese will be the next to give up on Thailand with their current economic situation and so many deaths and accidents on their tours here, it would seem. The Russian numbers are way lower too. Have the power's that be, finally killed the golden goose?

Now they're marketing to Indonesia and Vietnam. So much for the big spending ("quality") tourists!

[LivinginKata]

<snip>

Now they're marketing to Indonesia and Vietnam. So much for the big spending ("quality") tourists!

That just shows how far down market Phuket has come ...

[KarenBravo]

I heard that the TAT road-show was trying to woo the Kazakhs....

[NamKangMan]

Air Asia had a Phuket - Ho Chi Minh City - Phuket route a while back.

They cancelled the route, probably due to the lack of Vietnamese coming to Phuket, and also this route not being popular with visa runners out of Phuket.

The Air Asia flights were direct flights, and at the right price, so it wasn't the cost of flying here.

Phuket hasn't made any improvements since this route was cancelled, so I would be interested to know why the TAT think they can lure the Vietnamese market here now, especially when Vietnam has nice beach areas, with better facilities, and is considerably cheaper for food, beverage and accommodation.

I think it's just more BS from the TAT.

[DrDave]

Strolling the entire length of Patong Beach yesterday, I noticed a big change in the demographic.

The beach was the most crowded it's been this season, and it was nearly all Western tourists. Hardly any Chinese in sight, which is a big change from last month. Jet ski customers seemed to be all Western, and the Parasail guys were actually well-behaved, dropping their customers in the water as opposed to claiming huge landing zones on the beach.

Although the Chinese stock market and Yuan have tanked the past few days, its way to early for this to have an effect on the demographics. My guess is that because we're still in Peak Season (where hotel rates are the highest of the year), we have many more cashed-up Westerners here than low budget Chinese. No doubt the Cheap Chens will be returning after peak season and into low season.

[GiantFan]

Strolling the entire length of Patong Beach yesterday, I noticed a big change in the demographic.

The beach was the most crowded it's been this season, and it was nearly all Western tourists. Hardly any Chinese in sight, which is a big change from last month. Jet ski customers seemed to be all Western, and the Parasail guys were actually well-behaved, dropping their customers in the water as opposed to claiming huge landing zones on the beach.

Although the Chinese stock market and Yuan have tanked the past few days, its way to early for this to have an effect on the demographics. My guess is that because we're still in Peak Season (where hotel rates are the highest of the year), we have many more cashed-up Westerners here than low budget Chinese. No doubt the Cheap Chens will be returning after peak season and into low season.

Chinese New Year 3 weeks away. Also, maybe flying back home on Sunday to be in work on Monday.

[Jimi007]

Strolling the entire length of Patong Beach yesterday, I noticed a big change in the demographic.

The beach was the most crowded it's been this season, and it was nearly all Western tourists. Hardly any Chinese in sight, which is a big change from last month. Jet ski customers seemed to be all Western, and the Parasail guys were actually well-behaved, dropping their customers in the water as opposed to claiming huge landing zones on the beach.

Although the Chinese stock market and Yuan have tanked the past few days, its way to early for this to have an effect on the demographics. My guess is that because we're still in Peak Season (where hotel rates are the highest of the year), we have many more cashed-up Westerners here than low budget Chinese. No doubt the Cheap Chens will be returning after peak season and into low season.

Chinese New Year 3 weeks away. Also, maybe flying back home on Sunday to be in work on Monday.

You had me worried for a minute! We are leaving 02/02. We'll be back at our other house before the 8th! Last time I flew on Chinese NY, I ended up on the tarmac in Hong Kong for about 8 hours and missed my connection in Taipei due to fog! I never want to do that again!

[GiantFan]

Strolling the entire length of Patong Beach yesterday, I noticed a big change in the demographic.

The beach was the most crowded it's been this season, and it was nearly all Western tourists. Hardly any Chinese in sight, which is a big change from last month. Jet ski customers seemed to be all Western, and the Parasail guys were actually well-behaved, dropping their customers in the water as opposed to claiming huge landing zones on the beach.

Although the Chinese stock market and Yuan have tanked the past few days, its way to early for this to have an effect on the demographics. My guess is that because we're still in Peak Season (where hotel rates are the highest of the year), we have many more cashed-up Westerners here than low budget Chinese. No doubt the Cheap Chens will be returning after peak season and into low season.

Chinese New Year 3 weeks away. Also, maybe flying back home on Sunday to be in work on Monday.

You had me worried for a minute! We are leaving 02/02. We'll be back at our other house before the 8th! Last time I flew on Chinese NY, I ended up on the tarmac in Hong Kong for about 8 hours and missed my connection in Taipei due to fog! I never want to do that again!

Mayhem will probably start on Feb. 6, so no prob.

[arunsakda]

Staying away from Thailand (Chiang Mai) until last week of Feb. Had my fill of "Holidays" and surging masses of inconsiderate tourists.

Sent via a series of tubes

[Felt 35]

~ snip ~

In some respects Patong is dead and another respects it is dying, so rather than keep along this morbid path, what would you do now in order to save it from its impending death. Consider it a brainstorming type exercise where any suggestions are welcome.........doesn't have to be a multi-page essay as a few well-intentioned bullet points would suffice.

I still come to Phuket annually, but don't spend much time in Patong. I have an old friend/ex-pat in Chalong, and rather like the "slowness" of that area - although as of later there has been considerable build up.

1. Kick the vendors off the sidewalk. Most of the time you cannot walk on the sidewalk due to vendors.

2. Place as many trash receptacles as possible and teach people to use them

3. Kick the touts off Bangla. There have been nights when they comprise nearly 20% of the people

4. Baht bus, or straighten out the tuk-tuks

5. Hire street performers on Bangla, maybe something more creative than Cowboy Clown or Bamboo Dancing guy

6. Clean up the overhead wires and cables

7. A proper sewage and sanitation system

8. A long shot, but possibly ripping out one of lesser used sois on Bangla and putting in some sort of Cirque de Soleil

show

I guess after reading all these comments and traveling to Phuket for some time, it may well be that patong is not so much dying but changing, and inevitably so. The demographics are changing perhaps intentionally (TAT) but the purveyors perhaps not so much and there really isn't any blame to be assigned here. Who could have known the standard bearing Western tourist would dissipate only to be replaced by the Koreans, and then the Russians and then the Chinese? With an imminent crash of the CNY, who will be next? And what does Patong want to be? Does it want to be Maui, Recife, or Lang Kawai?

No need for brainstorming....Patong have been and will be as the local inhabitants make it to be.

[subterminalvelocity]

~ snip ~

In some respects Patong is dead and another respects it is dying, so rather than keep along this morbid path, what would you do now in order to save it from its impending death. Consider it a brainstorming type exercise where any suggestions are welcome.........doesn't have to be a multi-page essay as a few well-intentioned bullet points would suffice.

I still come to Phuket annually, but don't spend much time in Patong. I have an old friend/ex-pat in Chalong, and rather like the "slowness" of that area - although as of later there has been considerable build up.

1. Kick the vendors off the sidewalk. Most of the time you cannot walk on the sidewalk due to vendors.

2. Place as many trash receptacles as possible and teach people to use them

3. Kick the touts off Bangla. There have been nights when they comprise nearly 20% of the people

4. Baht bus, or straighten out the tuk-tuks

5. Hire street performers on Bangla, maybe something more creative than Cowboy Clown or Bamboo Dancing guy

6. Clean up the overhead wires and cables

7. A proper sewage and sanitation system

8. A long shot, but possibly ripping out one of lesser used sois on Bangla and putting in some sort of Cirque de Soleil

show

I guess after reading all these comments and traveling to Phuket for some time, it may well be that patong is not so much dying but changing, and inevitably so. The demographics are changing perhaps intentionally (TAT) but the purveyors perhaps not so much and there really isn't any blame to be assigned here. Who could have known the standard bearing Western tourist would dissipate only to be replaced by the Koreans, and then the Russians and then the Chinese? With an imminent crash of the CNY, who will be next? And what does Patong want to be? Does it want to be Maui, Recife, or Lang Kawai?

No need for brainstorming....Patong have been and will be as the local inhabitants make it to be.

A sewer

[SooKee]

~ snip ~

3. Kick the touts off Bangla. There have been nights when they comprise nearly 20% of the people

The touts that really annoy me are the bunch of drones that stand almost shoulder to shoulder in a line down the beach road end of Bangla, often so bad that people have to walk around and squeeze between them. The other touts get to be a grind after a while but at least can be largely ignored, along with the tailors and their fake Aussie accents, but those tw**s are really irritating!!