Patong is dead.

[xylophone]

18 hours ago, Thomas Hannah said:

He is right 5000 a month is fine for low season.Only 4 rooms.No sky tv.No need of staff.20000 is better than nothing.Like many places.

Sure it is better than nothing, but it means this establishment is running at a loss and quite a substantial one at that when you take into account the key money spread over the period of the lease, plus the monthly rent to the landlord (total in the vicinity of 60k plus??) and of course the cost of elect, water and poss tea money.

 

This of course means the owner has no income (only debt) and has to eat into his other resources, if indeed he has any, in order to live.

 

Really can't see this working in any way, shape or form given what is happening here at the moment, or for the past few years for that matter.

[simon43]

It could have up to 15 rooms and the rest would still be rented out on a daily  basis..

 

Wishful thinking. In reality, you'll have maybe 4 rooms rented and the rest sitting empty, such is the typical occupancy rate of guesthouses in Patong and Phuket Island.  So you'll have the additional costs to maintain these empty rooms.

 

 

[fatdrunkandstupid]

4 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Don't agree. There is no product that has a shorter shelf-life than accommodation. If a room stays empty, you can never get that time back. Better to get something; anything rather than nothing. Wear and tear over a few nights is negligible.

That's because you have never owned a hotel.

 

It's simple math.

 

If the variable costs arising out of renting a room are greater than the price point to which you have to discount to sell it, then it is better to leave it empty.

 

Google break even point.

 

It's not just about the cost of cleaning the room.

 

In one of my high end properties in another country, I have had to deal with children's footprints on the ceiling, bubblegum in the carpet, cigarette burns in the expensive bed sheets in a non smoking room, the TV constantly reprogrammed by kids.

 

The more you discount your rooms, the more trash you attract as customers and the damage to your property increases exponentially.

 

I would also observe here that the guests in the cheapest rooms also require the most attention from reception and other staff.

 

However, I must concede that there is, perhaps, something that I have overlooked.

 

The guests in most budget rooms in Patong are already of the lowest common denominator.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2017 by fatdrunkandstupid

[Thomas Hannah]

4 hours ago, xylophone said:

Sure it is better than nothing, but it means this establishment is running at a loss and quite a substantial one at that when you take into account the key money spread over the period of the lease, plus the monthly rent to the landlord (total in the vicinity of 60k plus??) and of course the cost of elect, water and poss tea money.

 

This of course means the owner has no income (only debt) and has to eat into his other resources, if indeed he has any, in order to live.

 

Really can't see this working in any way, shape or form given what is happening here at the moment, or for the past few years for that matter.

I dont understand your numbers,Refering to a 4 bedroom place.Nobody in there right mind would concider taking a 4 room place on that was 60.ooo a month plus.Have seen many idiots over the years.with big idea,s.Telling me the owners before had no idea how to make it work.Seems there are more of them.

 

[NamKangMan]

7 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Don't agree. There is no product that has a shorter shelf-life than accommodation. If a room stays empty, you can never get that time back. Better to get something; anything rather than nothing. Wear and tear over a few nights is negligible.

 

I take your point KB, but at what price point, per night, does the leaseholder not even bother anymore? 

 

I mean, would you work long hours for a few hundred baht a day, if you are lucky?

 

I suggest this is what we are seeing a lot of now, leaseholders simply walking away.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2017 by NamKangMan

[simon43]

I mean, would you work long hours for a few hundred baht a day, if you are lucky?

 

But.. but .. I'm living the dream in Phuket!

[fatdrunkandstupid]

38 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

But.. but .. I'm living the dream in Phuket!

And money aside, what of the opportunity cost of being tied to the property...

[NamKangMan]

12 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

But.. but .. I'm living the dream in Phuket!

 

 

Yeah, a wet dream. 

[xylophone]

14 hours ago, Thomas Hannah said:

I dont understand your numbers,Refering to a 4 bedroom place.Nobody in there right mind would concider taking a 4 room place on that was 60.ooo a month plus.Have seen many idiots over the years.with big idea,s.Telling me the owners before had no idea how to make it work.Seems there are more of them.

 

I am not referring to a four-bedroom place and never have been, nor have others on here. Read the following

 

My post: – "also saw a new low with a guesthouse offering a room for 5000 baht a month, but who can live running a business on 167 Baht a night".

 

Post in response, "if a guesthouse can fill just four rooms for 5000 baht a month that is quite a good earner for the low season".

 

The guesthouse I saw was approximately 12 bedrooms or thereabouts and even the responder said that if the guesthouse could fill "just four rooms............."  suggesting that they were more rooms to fill, so everyone except you was working on this principle.

 

Not hard to understand because I really don't know of any four-bedroom guesthouses here and have never seen any in my over 10 years of living here.

 

So perhaps get some facts right before calling other folks posting on this, idiots.

[sekmet]

I am not referring to a four-bedroom place and never have been, nor have others on here. Read the following
 
My post: – "also saw a new low with a guesthouse offering a room for 5000 baht a month, but who can live running a business on 167 Baht a night".
 
Post in response, "if a guesthouse can fill just four rooms for 5000 baht a month that is quite a good earner for the low season".
 
The guesthouse I saw was approximately 12 bedrooms or thereabouts and even the responder said that if the guesthouse could fill "just four rooms............."  suggesting that they were more rooms to fill, so everyone except you was working on this principle.
 
Not hard to understand because I really don't know of any four-bedroom guesthouses here and have never seen any in my over 10 years of living here.
 
So perhaps get some facts right before calling other folks posting on this, idiots.

I think Sundowners in soi paradise has about four guest rooms

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[NamKangMan]

 

A lot of these small guest houses do not have a lift, which makes it difficult for them to rent out rooms on the 4th and 5th floors, so they can find themselves with only 4 rooms that are being rented on the 2nd and 3rd floor. 

 

In many cases, the leaseholder lives on the top floor, and sometimes offers staff a room on the top floor as well. 

[madmax2]

20 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Wishful thinking. In reality, you'll have maybe 4 rooms rented and the rest sitting empty, such is the typical occupancy rate of guesthouses in Patong and Phuket Island.  So you'll have the additional costs to maintain these empty rooms.

 

 

A guesthouse in a good local does get regular customers all the year round, if they give good service and rely on word of mouth for repeat business, best advertising in the world is your own happy customers in any business

A guesthouse located in a rubber plantation in Nakon Nowhere does not, especially if it only has a limited amount of rooms and a lot of competition for the same type of customers 

Edited June 7, 2017 by madmax2

[fatdrunkandstupid]

44 minutes ago, madmax2 said:

A guesthouse in a good local does get regular customers all the year round, if they give good service and rely on word of mouth for repeat business, best advertising in the world is your own happy customers in any business

A guesthouse located in a rubber plantation in Nakon Nowhere does not, especially if it only has a limited amount of rooms and a lot of competition for the same type of customers 

Word of mouth is, undoubtedly, the most effective form of advertising.

 

However, other than a relationship with a prostitute, what on offer nowadays in Patong would generate the desire for a return visit?

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2017 by fatdrunkandstupid

[NamKangMan]

1 hour ago, madmax2 said:

A guesthouse in a good local does get regular customers all the year round, if they give good service and rely on word of mouth for repeat business, best advertising in the world is your own happy customers in any business

A guesthouse located in a rubber plantation in Nakon Nowhere does not, especially if it only has a limited amount of rooms and a lot of competition for the same type of customers 

 

"best advertising in the world is your own happy customers in any business" - I agree. 

 

The question is, how many tourists return home and tell of their "happy" holiday on Phuket these days?

 

There is a reason why the western tourist market is declining here. 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2017 by NamKangMan

[chrisandsu]

22 minutes ago, fatdrunkandstupid said:

Word of mouth is, undoubtedly, the most effective form of advertising.

 

However, other than a relationship with a prostitute, what on offer nowadays in Patong would generate the desire for a return visit?

 

 

 

The Jon may marry the prostitute Buys her a car a house and convinces himself she loves him ... that's at least 4 trips ?

[fatdrunkandstupid]

10 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

The Jon may marry the prostitute Buys her a car a house and convinces himself she loves him ... that's at least 4 trips ?

No it is at least 6 trips.  You are forgetting the two trips required to organize, and then check the results of, the DNA test.

[chrisandsu]

8 minutes ago, fatdrunkandstupid said:

No it is at least 6 trips.  You are forgetting the two trips required to organize, and then check the results of, the DNA test.

? could squeeze another trip out of the sick buffalo 

[madmax2]

1 hour ago, fatdrunkandstupid said:

Word of mouth is, undoubtedly, the most effective form of advertising.

 

However, other than a relationship with a prostitute, what on offer nowadays in Patong would generate the desire for a return visit?

 

 

 

You must be joking or posting from Timbukto

No one i know personally has a ex prostitute as a partner or wife, plenty of really nice Thai women around even on Phuket who have not been or ever will be on the game, how many men would marry a prostitute in their home country, even if they could get one that is less than half their age which is very unlikely 

 

What keeps people in Phuket apart from the sexpats is, excellent year round climate, facilities and infrastructure, which includes shopping, reasonably priced restaurants, entertainment, good hospitals, and a central location for travelling anywhere, we can get flights to anywhere in the world from our local airport

Phuket is our home and i love living here, we have our holidays elsewhere and are always happy to return after them to our home in Phuket, like a lot of other people we know who have no complaints about their lifestyle and the cost of living here, we and no one we know live in Patong and never will

 

A few friends go to a bar on the odd occasion but the majority never or very rarely do

I stopped going to bars?pubs in Australia many years ago.except on the odd occasion with family and friends for a get together, prefer a restaurant with mixed company, and a lot less BS which the average bar/hotel/pub is full of 

Edited June 7, 2017 by madmax2

[Thomas Hannah]

3 hours ago, xylophone said:

I am not referring to a four-bedroom place and never have been, nor have others on here. Read the following

 

My post: – "also saw a new low with a guesthouse offering a room for 5000 baht a month, but who can live running a business on 167 Baht a night".

 

Post in response, "if a guesthouse can fill just four rooms for 5000 baht a month that is quite a good earner for the low season".

 

The guesthouse I saw was approximately 12 bedrooms or thereabouts and even the responder said that if the guesthouse could fill "just four rooms............."  suggesting that they were more rooms to fill, so everyone except you was working on this principle.

 

Not hard to understand because I really don't know of any four-bedroom guesthouses here and have never seen any in my over 10 years of living here.

 

So perhaps get some facts right before calling other folks posting on this, idiots.

Guest house.Seen thousands over the years in thailand with 6 rooms or less.Normaly over a bar or restaurant.Only seen the one post.So yes was working on the guest house not Hotel.And they are idiots with big idea,s.Seen hundreds of them that have lost everything in 12 months or less.Heard it all.Bragging how they will make it work.and the last owner had no idea.they are the idiots that i was talking about.

[xylophone]

37 minutes ago, Thomas Hannah said:

Guest house.Seen thousands over the years in thailand with 6 rooms or less.Normaly over a bar or restaurant.Only seen the one post.So yes was working on the guest house not Hotel.And they are idiots with big idea,s.Seen hundreds of them that have lost everything in 12 months or less.Heard it all.Bragging how they will make it work.and the last owner had no idea.they are the idiots that i was talking about.

Not seen any with 4 bedrooms, but have seen a few bars with rooms to let above them, granted that. Even my mates place here which was very small and predominantly a bar, had six rooms to let and even then he had to walk away from it.

 

I was referring to the guesthouse I saw and others like it and if one follows that train of reasoning, then 60k all up (plus variables) is an average type of cost, so in that case I agree with you that it is likely that they will/can lose everything, esp if they are only bringing in 20k for the most part of the year.

 

I think the general consensus of opinion here is that the days of these sort of establishments making any money are long gone or fast disappearing. 

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, sekmet said:

 

I think Sundowners in soi paradise has about four guest rooms

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
 

 

They used to have seven rooms, but perhaps that has changed now?

 

If it had only four then that would be an exception.

[xylophone]

On 6/7/2017 at 1:04 PM, madmax2 said:

we and no one we know live in Patong and never will

I have just caught on to that as I missed it at the first reading, so obviously you live outside of Patong and enjoy doing so and more power to your elbow if you do.

 

I have often said that for me Patong is "Paradise lost" from what I thought it was going to turn out like when I first visited in 2004, as things, IMO, have gone downhill in most respects, however I have made friends here and have Thai family and have gotten used to the idiosyncrasies of the place to a certain extent (that's not to say that I like them particularly), so it's quite likely that I'll be here for some time yet, although I do explore other areas in case I need a bolthole.

[madmax2]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

I have just caught on to that as I missed it at the first reading, so obviously you live outside of Patong and enjoy doing so and more power to your elbow if you do.

 

I have often said that for me Patong is "Paradise lost" from what I thought it was going to turn out like when I first visited in 2004, as things, IMO, have gone downhill in most respects, however I have made friends here and have Thai family and have gotten used to the idiosyncrasies of the place to a certain extent (that's not to say that I like them particularly), so it's quite likely that I'll be here for some time yet, although I do explore other areas in case I need a bolthole.

Bolted a long time ago , first to Kathu then Kata/ karon, then chalong and finally bought and settled in rawai after looking at houses all over the Island, best choice we ever made

Properties over priced here at present like everywhere else in Phuket but a few genuine sellers are dropping their prices up to 40% to get a sale, the same as in other areas, a lot are sacking their agents and selling themselves if they live here and have the time, i would if i wanted to sell but that is never going to happen, happy living where we are

Edited June 8, 2017 by madmax2

[xylophone]

Patong is dead, or as I have said a few times it is definitely struggling although it will more than likely carry on as a party place for the lo-rent, bogans and Chinese, whereas it could have become the Puerto Banus or Juan Les Pins of Phuket and possibly Thailand.

 

Away from the thread for a while (and a particularly vindictive poster) and whilst lying in a hospital bed getting a once-daily IV infusion, I got to thinking a little bit about the Patong of a few years back and these were the days when owning a good bar was profitable and the party life seemed as if it would go on for ever, so let me tell you a story about a friend of mine who owned a bar here…………

 

Terry owned the Euro Bar, which was one of the most successful bars in Soi Eric and he had owned it since early 2000 although I got to know him from 2006 onwards.

 

He was a large man with a big heart and a huge character, but unfortunately was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, so latterly was just about wheelchair-bound. He had run a successful nightclub in London and certainly had the gift of the gab when it came to talking to customers and getting them to visit his bar. And visit they did, time after time, year after year and bringing along friends and spreading the word, so he never had a problem filling the place.

 

Not only that he was well-known and had friends who would drop by, including the Taipan mob who would spend a small fortune in record time and then move on, other bar owners and friends and so on.

 

Being the sort of guy he was Terry reciprocated and would often visit other bar owners and I can tell you that trying to get him and his wheelchair down the ramp into what was then Soi Crocodile was fraught with danger, this especially as he weighed 120 kg, the wheelchair was rickety and the place was absolutely jam-packed with punters!

 

Soi Easy was much better because there was quite a large ramp going up into those bars and he/we would call into have a drink at Capt Kirk’s bar. Soi Gonzo was easy and this place was never packed, but Terry liked to go there because he liked to drink with two middle-aged Thai sisters who owned a bar there called, Duck Tonight, this especially as one of them was a little sweet on him.

 

There were many more bars that we would visit and I would help him at the bar and wheel him around probably four or five nights a week and in 2007/8/9 the place was still humming and in Soi Eric they used to put tables and chairs down the middle of the soi and these would also be absolutely packed full of punters.

 

The GFC hadn’t really hit home (in some places) at that time because the financial chicanery dreamt up by Shonky Wall Street whizzkids and aided by rating agencies in the form of CDOs had yet to spread to the far corners, although a slowdown was noticeable.

 

Never mind, Terry ran a good bar and made profit, yes profit was there to be made and Terry would make over 1 million baht a year in pure profit and I can tell you the financials behind it.

 

The key money was 2.4 million baht for three years (800k per annum) and the rent was 35K per month. On top of that he rented a house for his bar girls and that set him back 17k per month and he paid two full-time staff. Out of his takings he also financed his living, car expenses and everything else needed to exist here quite comfortably.

 

He showed me his books and he was meticulous in keeping account and he worked out exactly what he needed to take on a daily basis in order to cover all of his expenses and he was making on average about 1.2 million baht a year in profit (it varied a little if my memory serves me correct, but it was always over 1 million baht).

 

He often urged me to get a bar because as he used to say, “it will be a good little earner” however I didn’t like the idea of being tied to a booze establishment and I had noticed a slight slowdown, and anyway it wasn’t the sort of life I wanted.

 

Eventually of course the slowdown came and there were a few bars empty in Soi Eric, with one bar owner topping himself due to lack of finances amongst other things and the tables and chairs in the middle of the soi were no longer needed because there was no-one to fill them.

 

In the end he wanted to sell his bar because his health was deteriorating and he was not reaching his takings targets. With the help of his Thai wife, I sold the bar for him, or at least the remaining one year of the lease for 800k and he was happy with that.

 

It wasn’t long after that that the poor guy died as a result of cirrhosis of the liver and he left a big hole in quite a few people’s lives because he was just one lovely man.

 

So, there were times here when owning a bar was profitable and the crowds would flock in, but the GFC and changing demographics (probably influenced by the GFC) changed, but Patong stayed the same in some respects, yet has gone downhill in many others.

 

 

[KarenBravo]

You must have also known Nicke at Margharita Bar in Soi Easy, too. Sadly he died in a motorbike accident.

He also had a successful business with regulars goming back year after year, all aided by his own forum web-site phuket-info.com.

I believe towards the end, he was trying to sell the bar as it just wasn't profitable as it used to be, mainly because of a huge hike in key money and rent.

I didn't know him very well, but, he seemed like a decent bloke who ran a very tight ship.

[chrisandsu]

I think the nightlife for everywhere is changing . Pubs and dive bars are closing all the time in the west . Are nightclubs doing better ? Also apps like tinder are cutting out the middle man . I'm in my 30s and hope and pray technology takes a bit of a dive and we start to become more social again . This world is becoming a very lonely place .

 

[fatdrunkandstupid]

51 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Patong is dead, or as I have said a few times it is definitely struggling although it will more than likely carry on as a party place for the lo-rent, bogans and Chinese, whereas it could have become the Puerto Banus or Juan Les Pins of Phuket and possibly Thailand.

 

Away from the thread for a while (and a particularly vindictive poster) and whilst lying in a hospital bed getting a once-daily IV infusion, I got to thinking a little bit about the Patong of a few years back and these were the days when owning a good bar was profitable and the party life seemed as if it would go on for ever, so let me tell you a story about a friend of mine who owned a bar here…………

 

Terry owned the Euro Bar, which was one of the most successful bars in Soi Eric and he had owned it since early 2000 although I got to know him from 2006 onwards.

 

He was a large man with a big heart and a huge character, but unfortunately was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, so latterly was just about wheelchair-bound. He had run a successful nightclub in London and certainly had the gift of the gab when it came to talking to customers and getting them to visit his bar. And visit they did, time after time, year after year and bringing along friends and spreading the word, so he never had a problem filling the place.

 

Not only that he was well-known and had friends who would drop by, including the Taipan mob who would spend a small fortune in record time and then move on, other bar owners and friends and so on.

 

Being the sort of guy he was Terry reciprocated and would often visit other bar owners and I can tell you that trying to get him and his wheelchair down the ramp into what was then Soi Crocodile was fraught with danger, this especially as he weighed 120 kg, the wheelchair was rickety and the place was absolutely jam-packed with punters!

 

Soi Easy was much better because there was quite a large ramp going up into those bars and he/we would call into have a drink at Capt Kirk’s bar. Soi Gonzo was easy and this place was never packed, but Terry liked to go there because he liked to drink with two middle-aged Thai sisters who owned a bar there called, Duck Tonight, this especially as one of them was a little sweet on him.

 

There were many more bars that we would visit and I would help him at the bar and wheel him around probably four or five nights a week and in 2007/8/9 the place was still humming and in Soi Eric they used to put tables and chairs down the middle of the soi and these would also be absolutely packed full of punters.

 

The GFC hadn’t really hit home (in some places) at that time because the financial chicanery dreamt up by Shonky Wall Street whizzkids and aided by rating agencies in the form of CDOs had yet to spread to the far corners, although a slowdown was noticeable.

 

Never mind, Terry ran a good bar and made profit, yes profit was there to be made and Terry would make over 1 million baht a year in pure profit and I can tell you the financials behind it.

 

The key money was 2.4 million baht for three years (800k per annum) and the rent was 35K per month. On top of that he rented a house for his bar girls and that set him back 17k per month and he paid two full-time staff. Out of his takings he also financed his living, car expenses and everything else needed to exist here quite comfortably.

 

He showed me his books and he was meticulous in keeping account and he worked out exactly what he needed to take on a daily basis in order to cover all of his expenses and he was making on average about 1.2 million baht a year in profit (it varied a little if my memory serves me correct, but it was always over 1 million baht).

 

He often urged me to get a bar because as he used to say, “it will be a good little earner” however I didn’t like the idea of being tied to a booze establishment and I had noticed a slight slowdown, and anyway it wasn’t the sort of life I wanted.

 

Eventually of course the slowdown came and there were a few bars empty in Soi Eric, with one bar owner topping himself due to lack of finances amongst other things and the tables and chairs in the middle of the soi were no longer needed because there was no-one to fill them.

 

In the end he wanted to sell his bar because his health was deteriorating and he was not reaching his takings targets. With the help of his Thai wife, I sold the bar for him, or at least the remaining one year of the lease for 800k and he was happy with that.

 

It wasn’t long after that that the poor guy died as a result of cirrhosis of the liver and he left a big hole in quite a few people’s lives because he was just one lovely man.

 

So, there were times here when owning a bar was profitable and the crowds would flock in, but the GFC and changing demographics (probably influenced by the GFC) changed, but Patong stayed the same in some respects, yet has gone downhill in many others.

 

 

I have got a story, post GFC, French guy recently divorced from a wife from one of the richest families in Paris, brother manager at HSBC.  Stunning, very young, but slightly overcooked, Isaan Teerak.  Spoke no Thai. Bought both of the bars at the end of Soi Katoey.  That is the very last ones on both the left and right hand sides before the cabaret.  2.5 m key money for each.  Horrid little bars with the chairs and tables cemented into place.  Virtually zero walk through traffic at the end of the soi.  I forget the monthly rent he was paying but I recall circa 30K on each bar.  Correct me if I am wrong on that.  Couldn't get any staff to work the bar on the northern side of the soi and after a month of not trading (due to a clause in the lease) he forfeited his key money and the landlord took back possession.  Young Teerak struggled on managing the other bar with a few of her friends as staff.  Those girls lost interest because no customers and so he struggled on with just the Teerak.  Meanwhile his brother sold his apartment in Paris and used the money to buy a block of land on the hill to build a villa duplex.  The guy was trying to manage this, two bars, and a 12 year old girlfriend.  Young girl left him because he didn't have enough cash flow to pay her "salary".  Then there was no one to manage the remaining bar and so he lost the key money on that as well.

 

Last time I met him he was in a bit of a state...just lost a fortune on key money and outgoings......hot young (ex) girlfriend just hooked up with one of his previous customers in the bar...and he was trying to rectify the dodgy work of the Thais that installed the kitchen in one of the duplexes...and had almost cut several of his fingers off with a power saw...micro surgery...multiple stitches and all bandaged up.

 

Observing this, and a very similar example (but in Chalong pier road) made me realize that post divorce many western men are suffering from a form of psychosis, a mental illness that significantly impedes their judgment and rationality.  The bar girls are experts at sniffing out guys, fresh off the plane, suffering from this illness.

[xylophone]

31 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

You must have also known Nicke at Margharita Bar in Soi Easy, too. Sadly he died in a motorbike accident.

He also had a successful business with regulars goming back year after year, all aided by his own forum web-site phuket-info.com.

I believe towards the end, he was trying to sell the bar as it just wasn't profitable as it used to be, mainly because of a huge hike in key money and rent.

I didn't know him very well, but, he seemed like a decent bloke who ran a very tight ship.

Hi KB, I think you may be referring to Nicke (a Scandinavian, Norwegian I think) who had the Mai Thai bar in Soi Eric, and yes it was a successful business with many regulars coming back year after year and of course assisted by his website.

 

He also used to make up one of his own concoctions which consisted of the old "Victory V" lozenges dissolved in some sort of cheap vodka and that was "nice" in a strange sort of way!

 

He was a decent bloke as you say however declining trade and the fact that his wife left him really impacted upon him badly.

 

 

[beechbum]

53 minutes ago, fatdrunkandstupid said:

I have got a story, post GFC, French guy recently divorced from a wife from one of the richest families in Paris.

And he's worried about baht 2.5m and some condo's...

 

[LivinginKata]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

Hi KB, I think you may be referring to Nicke (a Scandinavian, Norwegian I think) who had the Mai Thai bar in Soi Eric, and yes it was a successful business with many regulars coming back year after year and of course assisted by his website.

 

He also used to make up one of his own concoctions which consisted of the old "Victory V" lozenges dissolved in some sort of cheap vodka and that was "nice" in a strange sort of way!

 

He was a decent bloke as you say however declining trade and the fact that his wife left him really impacted upon him badly.

 

 

 

He was Swedish - Niklas “Nicke” Kring

 

I met him when he first arrived in Phuket maybe about 15 years ago, he rented a Honda bike from my wife, we talked a bit and ended up registering his company and obtaining his work permit.

 

He was a very nice guy. We lost contact with him once his bar business took off.  RIP Nicke ...

Edited June 9, 2017 by LivinginKata
typo