Patong is dead.

[xylophone]

Always good to get another perspective from simon43, especially as he runs a business here.

Something I didn't mention on my other post is when I was out the other evening I met several small groups of different nationalities, Russians, French, German and English and the majority of them said they were over here for the Songkran Festival and the water fights, and you should have seen their faces when I suggested that they would be lucky to get perhaps one and a half days of water fights before the whole thing was over! Seems like the water fights were a key reason for some of them being here, yet none seemed to be aware that in Patong they were over and done with in about a day.

On the subject of Songkran, although many locals will have headed home for the celebration, they are certainly being replaced by a few more tourists, much like the ones mentioned in the previous paragraph although not in huge numbers I must say, apart from the Chinese who were again being their usual rude and loud selves in Big C, whilst stocking up trolleys with dried seaweed, noodles (packets and packets of the things) and sweets. If this is any indication of the sort of diet they follow in China, we won't have to worry about being overrun with these folk in the future, because they will not live long lives!

Back in good old Nanai Road, the Tiger Group restaurant which has only seen a couple of open days, now seems to be "closed" again with the plastic fabric covering most of the restaurant, and a large banner hanging outside advertising for staff, and with something like 10 waitresses and 5 bar staff needed (along with many others), it seems to me like they've got delusions of grandeur. And quite why three very large stainless steel water tanks are sitting right in the middle of the restaurant and have been for a couple of days, is a mystery.

Further south along Nanai, the reopened the Italian restaurant (called Sutins, I think) in which I have only ever seen about six people in the many months it's been open, has closed. No surprise here and the premises/restaurant has a "For Lease" sign outside of it.

Next please......................

[bodunchar]

Patong is overpriced with dirty sea water like Pattaya and a bunch off Brits trying to sell you time share.

I know! I have never seen Russians and Aussies selling them!

Or French, or Fins, or Philippino or Spanish or Thai or Americans or Germans...

[bodunchar]

Phuket has climbed very high indeed, it must at least slow down for a while before it slips back down. No way it can climb higher until they learn how to create and enforce proper town and country planning laws.

The island is pristine, no need to preserve it.

I guess so long as the price of land continues to rise, nothing will change, the major landowners from BKK will stay landowners and wealthy.

Edited April 13, 2016 by bodunchar

[xylophone]

Patong is overpriced with dirty sea water like Pattaya and a bunch off Brits trying to sell you time share.

I know! I have never seen Russians and Aussies selling them!

Or French, or Fins, or Philippino or Spanish or Thai or Americans or Germans...

Well there are many folk here selling time share, fractional ownership and Property leases, including French, Thai, Swedes and a Belgian and a delightful Pinoy lady whom I haven't seen for some time now.

Edited April 13, 2016 by xylophone

[xylophone]

Well, if Patong is dead, not everyone knows about it by the sound of things!

Went out the other evening and it was just about the same as a few of my previous recent posts – – people around, demographics changed, spend down!!

However imagine my surprise when I parked my car in the car park which has an entrance off Rat-u-Thid Road, opposite the road that runs alongside Jungceylon, and on the top of which was built the complex of shops and things which are adjacent to the new Tiger (with many shops closed). It was once a large hotel which fronted Bangla, again alongside of new Tiger which had two entrances, one on Bangla and the other on Rat-u-Thid and this was demolished to make way for this little complex about five years ago?

Anyway the guy in the carpark told me that the carpark was closing on April 30 because it was going to be demolished as were all of the buildings above it because a new Central store was being built there???

I don't believe the place is big enough to have a Central complex like that which is in Phuket town, however it could well be be enough to house the Central Department store on its own.

Having said that, if indeed this is true, then the original complex which was built has been a complete waste of time and money. However it would seem that some people believe that there is enough money in Patong to support a store like that, and thinking about it, they could be right because the only thing that comes anywhere near that here is Robinsons, so competition may be healthy in this case, but to play devils advocate, spend is down all around, even in Jungceylon and the supermarket and there appears to be another shopping complex going up on the corner of Beach Road and Sawatdirak Road, so maybe the place is set to boom..........

[DrDave]

A rumor has been circulating for some time now that a new shopping center would be built on Bangla. The version I heard was that it would be built at the other (beach) end, where the land titles are in question.

I doubt that the area could support a Central department store, with Robinson's directly across the street. I really don't know how Robinson's in Jungceylon is able to stay afloat, as I never see anyone buying anything there. The Central Marketing Group however, is a huge conglomerate of retail outlets, so it might be possible that some of their specialty outlets, such as B2S, could be opened in a new mall in Patong.

The future for shopping in Phuket, though, seems to be in outlet malls. Places where there's a perception of bargains (which may be real or imagined) will attract foreign tourists, not local department stores whose prices are more often than not higher than "home".

[xylophone]

A rumor has been circulating for some time now that a new shopping center would be built on Bangla. The version I heard was that it would be built at the other (beach) end, where the land titles are in question.

I doubt that the area could support a Central department store, with Robinson's directly across the street. I really don't know how Robinson's in Jungceylon is able to stay afloat, as I never see anyone buying anything there. The Central Marketing Group however, is a huge conglomerate of retail outlets, so it might be possible that some of their specialty outlets, such as B2S, could be opened in a new mall in Patong.

The future for shopping in Phuket, though, seems to be in outlet malls. Places where there's a perception of bargains (which may be real or imagined) will attract foreign tourists, not local department stores whose prices are more often than not higher than "home".

Hi DrDave..........."outlet malls"? Not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean the large group of stores on the bypass road which hardly seem to have any customers or just shops in a shopping mall?

Agree as regards Robinsons as the place seems to have been suffering for a while now and the scaling down of the Electrical Dept seems to reflect this. Also fail to see how many of the shops in Jungceylon survive because they are NEVER busy!

As for the place I mentioned in my post, well the carpark signs are up and state that it is closing come April 30th and the young guy who can speak a little English def said "Central"...........smallish site for such a big organisation, but let's see what happens!!!

[madmitch]

Well, if Patong is dead, not everyone knows about it by the sound of things!

Went out the other evening and it was just about the same as a few of my previous recent posts – – people around, demographics changed, spend down!!

However imagine my surprise when I parked my car in the car park which has an entrance off Rat-u-Thid Road, opposite the road that runs alongside Jungceylon, and on the top of which was built the complex of shops and things which are adjacent to the new Tiger (with many shops closed). It was once a large hotel which fronted Bangla, again alongside of new Tiger which had two entrances, one on Bangla and the other on Rat-u-Thid and this was demolished to make way for this little complex about five years ago?

Anyway the guy in the carpark told me that the carpark was closing on April 30 because it was going to be demolished as were all of the buildings above it because a new Central store was being built there???

I don't believe the place is big enough to have a Central complex like that which is in Phuket town, however it could well be be enough to house the Central Department store on its own.

Having said that, if indeed this is true, then the original complex which was built has been a complete waste of time and money. However it would seem that some people believe that there is enough money in Patong to support a store like that, and thinking about it, they could be right because the only thing that comes anywhere near that here is Robinsons, so competition may be healthy in this case, but to play devils advocate, spend is down all around, even in Jungceylon and the supermarket and there appears to be another shopping complex going up on the corner of Beach Road and Sawatdirak Road, so maybe the place is set to boom..........

Robinsons is part of the Central Group so I'm not quite sure of their thinking here. If Central opens will they close Robinsons in Jungceylon? I know the Thai desire for monopolies but two department stores under the same ownership so close to each other would seem a little unnecessary. I could understand a TOPS opening there though.

[DrDave]

A rumor has been circulating for some time now that a new shopping center would be built on Bangla. The version I heard was that it would be built at the other (beach) end, where the land titles are in question.

I doubt that the area could support a Central department store, with Robinson's directly across the street. I really don't know how Robinson's in Jungceylon is able to stay afloat, as I never see anyone buying anything there. The Central Marketing Group however, is a huge conglomerate of retail outlets, so it might be possible that some of their specialty outlets, such as B2S, could be opened in a new mall in Patong.

The future for shopping in Phuket, though, seems to be in outlet malls. Places where there's a perception of bargains (which may be real or imagined) will attract foreign tourists, not local department stores whose prices are more often than not higher than "home".

Hi DrDave..........."outlet malls"? Not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean the large group of stores on the bypass road which hardly seem to have any customers or just shops in a shopping mall?

Agree as regards Robinsons as the place seems to have been suffering for a while now and the scaling down of the Electrical Dept seems to reflect this. Also fail to see how many of the shops in Jungceylon survive because they are NEVER busy!

As for the place I mentioned in my post, well the carpark signs are up and state that it is closing come April 30th and the young guy who can speak a little English def said "Central"...........smallish site for such a big organisation, but let's see what happens!!!

Maybe "Outlet Mall" was the wrong descriptor. What I was thinking is the type of shopping area where captive tour groups are dropped, and told that the shops offer deep discounts on Western and Thai products. I wasn't aware that the outlet mall on the Bypass road doesn't do much business (never been there myself!)

From what I've been seeing, most of the new construction for retail involves a location that lends itself to capturing tour groups and not letting them wander away (KingPower, the new outlet center on the road between Kathu and TescoLotus, Bukis next to Big C, and the numerous jewelry and latex outlets that have recently sprung up).

It also looks like plans for more traditional-style shopping centers around Phuket have been put aside. Maybe I just can't see it, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on the extension to Central to be built across the road. In addition, it appears that The Mall Group has scrapped their plans to build BluPearl, which was to be built on that huge tract of land near the southwest corner of Samkong junction, adjacent to Billion Plaza.

A shopping center on Bangla doesn't seem to fit the current mold of trying to capture, isolate and extract money from tour grou

ps. But as you say, the structure on Bangla is to be razed, so something will definitely be going up there. Central Group has a restaurant subsidiary (KFC, Mr Donut, Auntie Annes etc) as well as some specialty retail, like Zen and B2S - so maybe some of these would be a good fit. I really doubt that they'd put a Central Department store there due to the size of the location, and the fact that Central owns Robinsons Department store across the street at Jungceylon.

Another thing to consider is the fact that Bangla is closed to motor traffic after 6pm (in Bangla's current incarnation), and the only place to park with any real capacity is Jungceylon, so that may have an impact on the type of business that could occupy that space.

Edited April 26, 2016 by DrDave

[Old Croc]

However imagine my surprise when I parked my car in the car park which has an entrance off Rat-u-Thid Road, opposite the road that runs alongside Jungceylon, and on the top of which was built the complex of shops and things which are adjacent to the new Tiger (with many shops closed). It was once a large hotel which fronted Bangla, again alongside of new Tiger which had two entrances, one on Bangla and the other on Rat-u-Thid and this was demolished to make way for this little complex about five years ago?

Baan Sukhothai Resort.

Stayed there once, great location, nice place, but no customers. I had the pool to myself.

Demolished 2010-2011.

[LivinginKata]

However imagine my surprise when I parked my car in the car park which has an entrance off Rat-u-Thid Road, opposite the road that runs alongside Jungceylon, and on the top of which was built the complex of shops and things which are adjacent to the new Tiger (with many shops closed). It was once a large hotel which fronted Bangla, again alongside of new Tiger which had two entrances, one on Bangla and the other on Rat-u-Thid and this was demolished to make way for this little complex about five years ago?

Baan Sukhothai Resort.

Stayed there once, great location, nice place, but no customers. I had the pool to myself.

Demolished 2010-2011.

Remember it well ... more in the older Thai style tradition.

[KarenBravo]

I'm sure that place closed down before Shark Club was built, so, that would be around 2002?

[LivinginKata]

I'm sure that place closed down before Shark Club was built, so, that would be around 2002?

Don't think so. Shark Club was closed way before the Sukhothai closed and demolished. Pizza Hut was started before Sukhothai closed.

[Old Croc]

I'm sure that place closed down before Shark Club was built, so, that would be around 2002?

Don't think so. Shark Club was closed way before the Sukhothai closed and demolished. Pizza Hut was started before Sukhothai closed.

Just checked my old passports. I'm pretty sure I stayed there Dec 2003.

They had water gardens with thousands of koi. I remember being concerned about the fish ponds when the tsunami went up Bangla.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Old Croc

[LivinginKata]

I'm sure that place closed down before Shark Club was built, so, that would be around 2002?

Don't think so. Shark Club was closed way before the Sukhothai closed and demolished. Pizza Hut was started before Sukhothai closed.

Correction ... It's the Pizza Company ...

[LivinginKata]

Just do a Google Earth time search ... site was intact 3/10/2010 ... by 2/15/2011 all the back buildings gone, much contrauction on going.

Google Earth time bar is your friend.

[xylophone]

I'm sure that place closed down before Shark Club was built, so, that would be around 2002?

Don't think so. Shark Club was closed way before the Sukhothai closed and demolished. Pizza Hut was started before Sukhothai closed.

Just checked my old passports. I'm pretty sure I stayed there Dec 2003.

They had water gardens with thousands of koi. I remember being concerned about the fish ponds when the tsunami went up Bangla.

424.jpg

That's it........stayed there in early 2004 and it was looking very tired and dated then, but had a nice "tea shop" out front on Bangla.

[xylophone]

A rumor has been circulating for some time now that a new shopping center would be built on Bangla. The version I heard was that it would be built at the other (beach) end, where the land titles are in question.

I doubt that the area could support a Central department store, with Robinson's directly across the street. I really don't know how Robinson's in Jungceylon is able to stay afloat, as I never see anyone buying anything there. The Central Marketing Group however, is a huge conglomerate of retail outlets, so it might be possible that some of their specialty outlets, such as B2S, could be opened in a new mall in Patong.

The future for shopping in Phuket, though, seems to be in outlet malls. Places where there's a perception of bargains (which may be real or imagined) will attract foreign tourists, not local department stores whose prices are more often than not higher than "home".

Hi DrDave..........."outlet malls"? Not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean the large group of stores on the bypass road which hardly seem to have any customers or just shops in a shopping mall?

Agree as regards Robinsons as the place seems to have been suffering for a while now and the scaling down of the Electrical Dept seems to reflect this. Also fail to see how many of the shops in Jungceylon survive because they are NEVER busy!

As for the place I mentioned in my post, well the carpark signs are up and state that it is closing come April 30th and the young guy who can speak a little English def said "Central"...........smallish site for such a big organisation, but let's see what happens!!!

Maybe "Outlet Mall" was the wrong descriptor. What I was thinking is the type of shopping area where captive tour groups are dropped, and told that the shops offer deep discounts on Western and Thai products. I wasn't aware that the outlet mall on the Bypass road doesn't do much business (never been there myself!)

From what I've been seeing, most of the new construction for retail involves a location that lends itself to capturing tour groups and not letting them wander away (KingPower, the new outlet center on the road between Kathu and TescoLotus, Bukis next to Big C, and the numerous jewelry and latex outlets that have recently sprung up).

It also looks like plans for more traditional-style shopping centers around Phuket have been put aside. Maybe I just can't see it, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on the extension to Central to be built across the road. In addition, it appears that The Mall Group has scrapped their plans to build BluPearl, which was to be built on that huge tract of land near the southwest corner of Samkong junction, adjacent to Billion Plaza.

A shopping center on Bangla doesn't seem to fit the current mold of trying to capture, isolate and extract money from tour grou

ps. But as you say, the structure on Bangla is to be razed, so something will definitely be going up there. Central Group has a restaurant subsidiary (KFC, Mr Donut, Auntie Annes etc) as well as some specialty retail, like Zen and B2S - so maybe some of these would be a good fit. I really doubt that they'd put a Central Department store there due to the size of the location, and the fact that Central owns Robinsons Department store across the street at Jungceylon.

Another thing to consider is the fact that Bangla is closed to motor traffic after 6pm (in Bangla's current incarnation), and the only place to park with any real capacity is Jungceylon, so that may have an impact on the type of business that could occupy that space.

Just a thought (yes the occasional neuron does fire).........perhaps the car park guy said or meant "Centra (or Centara)" in which case the new building would be a hotel. Seems to make much more sense!!!

[LivinginKata]

That's it........stayed there in early 2004 and it was looking very tired and dated then, but had a nice "tea shop" out front on Bangla.

No doubt that it was looking very tired in the final years. But it for sure presented a very different style from the mayhem outside the front door on Bangla. I always thought it was a most odd, even bizzare, clash of cultures.

[schlog]

I would support when they build there a huge maze for the hordes of chinese tourists with direct exit in China.

Sad but good shark club times are long gone.

[Old Croc]

Just do a Google Earth time search ... site was intact 3/10/2010 ... by 2/15/2011 all the back buildings gone, much contrauction on going.

Google Earth time bar is your friend.

That's how I came up with the date I gave in post #1152.

[oldsailor35]

Even the TAT shouldn't be able to deny that tourism is down. Economical situation in Europe, Euro depreciating a lot, no more Russians. They're all complaining: taxi drivers, tour operators, you name it. Places where a room was hard to find last high season, you can have your pick now.

According to TAT tourism is up 15% surely no Thai would lie like that .

[sebastion]

Even the TAT shouldn't be able to deny that tourism is down. Economical situation in Europe, Euro depreciating a lot, no more Russians. They're all complaining: taxi drivers, tour operators, you name it. Places where a room was hard to find last high season, you can have your pick now.

According to TAT tourism is up 15% surely no Thai would lie like that .

They base that on arrival numbers which are mostly Chinese tour package tourists who spend no money.

Numbers up, spend way down.

[wellred]

What's killing patong (and phuket) is the stranglehold the taxi and Tuk Tuk operators have on the place. Nobody wants to spend their entire holiday locked in a radius of a comfortable walking distance. They get ripped of getting to and from the airport and the minute they want to get a little adventurous and go see something else outside walking distance they get ripped off again by the transportation cartel. Sure the beers and food within walking distance may be cheap but after a few days that becomes old and people want to enhance their travel experience. When they try they are ripped off. It doesn't make for a good holiday experience and foster repeat tourism.

Nail on the head. Best advice is to get a girl who has a motorbike.

[grumpyoldman]

That's it........stayed there in early 2004 and it was looking very tired and dated then, but had a nice "tea shop" out front on Bangla.

No doubt that it was looking very tired in the final years. But it for sure presented a very different style from the mayhem outside the front door on Bangla. I always thought it was a most odd, even bizzare, clash of cultures.

Clash of cultures was the first place I stayed in Phuket, on Bangla, Nordic bungalow. Where a mall is now, my room wall backed up to the Hard Rock, was a rockin for sure!

Down on the beach road was the Paradise bar, cheap beers and a great club sandwich, right on the road around where Coyote is now.

Dems were the days !

[LivinginKata]

Clash of cultures was the first place I stayed in Phuket, on Bangla, Nordic bungalow. Where a mall is now, my room wall backed up to the Hard Rock, was a rockin for sure!

Down on the beach road was the Paradise bar, cheap beers and a great club sandwich, right on the road around where Coyote is now.

Dems were the days !

Paradise Bar was way past now Coyote near the now Holiday Inn. Used to go there at sunset time in my first couple of months of moving to Phuket. Terrific beach bar, although on the other side of the main road from the sand, but felt like on the beach..

[Trujillo]

They get ripped of getting to and from the airport

Speaking of which, I am arriving soon and would like to know the costs of a meter taxi (fixed price, of course) to Patong.

[DrDave]

They get ripped of getting to and from the airport

Speaking of which, I am arriving soon and would like to know the costs of a meter taxi (fixed price, of course) to Patong.

The last couple of times I've used a meter taxi, the fare has worked out to be about the same as the flat rate green plate taxis. Anywhere between 600 and 800 baht to the southern end of Patong, including the airport surcharge. Maybe a little less to the central Patong hotels. The actual fare will depend on traffic and route taken. There's a lot of construction going on, and it's not uncommon for what used to be a 45 minute trip to now take almost 90 minutes at certain times of the day.

For the return, most of the flat rate taxis are now charging 800 baht from Patong.

[Trujillo]

Thanks. Sounds a bit like Samui. That distance in Bangkok with the meter would be just over 300 baht.

Oh well, too far to walk....

Thanks for the info.

[glassdude007]

Clash of cultures was the first place I stayed in Phuket, on Bangla, Nordic bungalow. Where a mall is now, my room wall backed up to the Hard Rock, was a rockin for sure!

Down on the beach road was the Paradise bar, cheap beers and a great club sandwich, right on the road around where Coyote is now.

Dems were the days !

Paradise Bar was way past now Coyote near the now Holiday Inn. Used to go there at sunset time in my first couple of months of moving to Phuket. Terrific beach bar, although on the other side of the main road from the sand, but felt like on the beach..

Stayed at the Paradise Bungalows (behind the bar) many times great place to chill out and enjoy beach life style with benifits ...them days are long gone sad to say....