Pattaya is dead

[tropo]

Hardly any International tourists at Big C (Central Center) late yesterday afternoon. Some areas were totally deserted and the only place I saw people was at the discount courtyard downstairs. I really wonder how this place is going to make it through another year. I suspect some retailers are lucky to sell an item per day. Central Festival Mall was no busier that you see it mid-year. Traffic was unusually light all around the Pattaya tourist zone other than buses clogging up Pratunmak Road near the hill. Now, at the mid-January point, I can confidently say that Pattaya is dead as far as International tourists are concerned.

[Bernard Flint]

So Pattaya is getting much beter then????

[tropo]

So Pattaya is getting much beter then????

Yes!

What's the worst that can happen? Unprofitable businesses close down and we have less shops, restaurants and bars.

Edited January 12, 2016 by tropo

[lovelomsak]

Lets just hope the unemployed go back to the village and donot stay and become thieves and murderers.

Edited January 12, 2016 by lovelomsak

[Jip99]

Lets just hope the unemployed go back to the village and donot stay and become thieves and murderers.

They are probably happier drunk and bored in Pattaya, than drunk and bored in the village.

[thaibeachlovers]

So Pattaya is getting much beter then????

Yes!

What's the worst that can happen? Unprofitable businesses close down and we have less shops, restaurants and bars.

less shops, restaurants and bars

Yes, yes ,yes

I dream of a Pattaya like it was way back when I first arrived. No doubt many on here would say it was "dead" back then, as hardly any condos, no horrid high rise in front of the lookout, no decrepit marina, no broken parking building on the Bali Hi park ( actually no Bali Hi at all ), no Central/ Hilton ( hurrah ), a pleasant walkway with shade and seats, half the present day traffic, the only malls were Central near Soi 1, Mikes and Royal Garden, which had movies at 50 baht.

Restaurants were dirt cheap, hotels were 300 baht, and Walking Street was just a street.

As they had just sorted out the sewage, no smells.

Beach Rd was basically a barbeer/ gogo strip from Central Rd to what is now Walking Street- no flash hotels and no condos.

Paradise.

[tropo]

So Pattaya is getting much beter then????

Yes!

What's the worst that can happen? Unprofitable businesses close down and we have less shops, restaurants and bars.

less shops, restaurants and bars

Yes, yes ,yes

I dream of a Pattaya like it was way back when I first arrived. No doubt many on here would say it was "dead" back then, as hardly any condos, no horrid high rise in front of the lookout, no decrepit marina, no broken parking building on the Bali Hi park ( actually no Bali Hi at all ), no Central/ Hilton ( hurrah ), a pleasant walkway with shade and seats, half the present day traffic, the only malls were Central near Soi 1, Mikes and Royal Garden, which had movies at 50 baht.

Restaurants were dirt cheap, hotels were 300 baht, and Walking Street was just a street.

As they had just sorted out the sewage, no smells.

Beach Rd was basically a barbeer/ gogo strip from Central Rd to what is now Walking Street- no flash hotels and no condos.

Paradise.

I know you don't like Central Festival Mall, but despite dropping tourist numbers to the area, it's not going anywhere. It will stand the test of time. I was up in Bangkok at Central World a few days ago, and it also didn't seem busy and even quieter than Central Mall in Pattaya, but it's also there to stay. I just don't know how some of the shops manage to survive year after year. Zen and Paragon Department stores are a mystery to me - how do these overpriced stores stay afloat. No one seems to be buying anything and they have hundreds of staff just standing there doing nothing. Other shops at Siam Paragon were totally deserted - on the weekend even.

Edited January 12, 2016 by tropo

[TheCruncher]

So Pattaya is getting much beter then????

Yes!

What's the worst that can happen? Unprofitable businesses close down and we have less shops, restaurants and bars.

less shops, restaurants and bars

Yes, yes ,yes

I dream of a Pattaya like it was way back when I first arrived. No doubt many on here would say it was "dead" back then, as hardly any condos, no horrid high rise in front of the lookout, no decrepit marina, no broken parking building on the Bali Hi park ( actually no Bali Hi at all ), no Central/ Hilton ( hurrah ), a pleasant walkway with shade and seats, half the present day traffic, the only malls were Central near Soi 1, Mikes and Royal Garden, which had movies at 50 baht.

Restaurants were dirt cheap, hotels were 300 baht, and Walking Street was just a street.

As they had just sorted out the sewage, no smells.

Beach Rd was basically a barbeer/ gogo strip from Central Rd to what is now Walking Street- no flash hotels and no condos.

Paradise.

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

Where Central is now was a beer bar complex, which was not busy anyway, and the only other complex I recall that isn't there anymore are the Scandinavian bars where Hooters is now, so also nothing most of us will miss.

[onemorechang]

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

[Bear78]

Russians and scandinavians will, and they are already beginning to be heavy damaged a low oil price. The new generation of people from GB and Irl are no longer traveling to pattaya...They are interested beaches etc.. but is expected to turn new retirees .. if global fin.system no collapse until 10 years

And china can really hurt the economy of thailand.

In july 2015, one day i was at maya beach, there were hundreds of people from asia ,japan korea, middle east,india... For Europeans, I had to look in the crowd..!

[TheCruncher]

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

There is a second one, that I assume is also still there, but it is between soi 7 and 8.

So yes I'm pretty sure that there has always been only 1 between where Central now is and Walking street.

Edited January 12, 2016 by TheCruncher

[thaiduncankk]

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

You're right there is a second one, that I assume is also still there, between soi 7 and 8.

Worldwide, years ago it was gstrings.

There was another one by soi 4 or 5 in a small bar complex (Susies, I think), but I am sure it was restricted to Japanese customers.

[thaibeachlovers]

So Pattaya is getting much beter then????

Yes!

What's the worst that can happen? Unprofitable businesses close down and we have less shops, restaurants and bars.

less shops, restaurants and bars

Yes, yes ,yes

I dream of a Pattaya like it was way back when I first arrived. No doubt many on here would say it was "dead" back then, as hardly any condos, no horrid high rise in front of the lookout, no decrepit marina, no broken parking building on the Bali Hi park ( actually no Bali Hi at all ), no Central/ Hilton ( hurrah ), a pleasant walkway with shade and seats, half the present day traffic, the only malls were Central near Soi 1, Mikes and Royal Garden, which had movies at 50 baht.

Restaurants were dirt cheap, hotels were 300 baht, and Walking Street was just a street.

As they had just sorted out the sewage, no smells.

Beach Rd was basically a barbeer/ gogo strip from Central Rd to what is now Walking Street- no flash hotels and no condos.

Paradise.

I know you don't like Central Festival Mall, but despite dropping tourist numbers to the area, it's not going anywhere. It will stand the test of time. I was up in Bangkok at Central World a few days ago, and it also didn't seem busy and even quieter than Central Mall in Pattaya, but it's also there to stay. I just don't know how some of the shops manage to survive year after year. Zen and Paragon Department stores are a mystery to me - how do these overpriced stores stay afloat. No one seems to be buying anything and they have hundreds of staff just standing there doing nothing. Other shops at Siam Paragon were totally deserted - on the weekend even.

You obviously haven't read all my posts over many threads , but never mind. I LOVE Central malls - most excellent places for burdwatching. I'd be happy with it in Naklua, I'd be delighted with it in Jomptien, I'd even be ecstatic about it in Sri Ratcha if they built that jolly old monorail they keep muttering about. Even if they built it on Sukhumvit I'd be OK with it. No, it's just being built on Beach Rd that I don't like. It was built in an attempt to appeal to a different demographic of tourist, but all that has happened is that the new tourists never came and the mongers left- lose lose for Pattaya, or rather the people that work there.

[thaibeachlovers]

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

LOL. You beat me to it while I was formulating a suitable reply.

[thaibeachlovers]

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

There is a second one, that I assume is also still there, but it is between soi 7 and 8.

So yes I'm pretty sure that there has always been only 1 between where Central now is and Walking street.

I'm pretty sure I said Central ROAD, not Central FESTIVAL.

[TheCruncher]

The only gogo that has ever been on beach road is still there.

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

There is a second one, that I assume is also still there, but it is between soi 7 and 8.

So yes I'm pretty sure that there has always been only 1 between where Central now is and Walking street.

I'm pretty sure I said Central ROAD, not Central FESTIVAL.

Ok, you win, there were always only 2 gogo's and they are still there. Hey wait, that mean you lose.

[thaibeachlovers]

You sure about that or are you just guessing ?

There is a second one, that I assume is also still there, but it is between soi 7 and 8.

So yes I'm pretty sure that there has always been only 1 between where Central now is and Walking street.

I'm pretty sure I said Central ROAD, not Central FESTIVAL.

Ok, you win, there were always only 2 gogo's and they are still there. Hey wait, that mean you lose.

I said "Beach Rd was basically a barbeer/ gogo strip from Central Rd to what is now Walking Street- no flash hotels and no condos."

Where do I say that the gogos have gone?

Many of the barbeers between Soi 8 and Yamato have gone though. Central and probably the condo next to it saw a lot of them off, at both ends.

quote removed to allow reply.

[TheCruncher]

There is a second one, that I assume is also still there, but it is between soi 7 and 8.

So yes I'm pretty sure that there has always been only 1 between where Central now is and Walking street.

I'm pretty sure I said Central ROAD, not Central FESTIVAL.

Ok, you win, there were always only 2 gogo's and they are still there. Hey wait, that mean you lose.

I said "Beach Rd was basically a barbeer/ gogo strip from Central Rd to what is now Walking Street- no flash hotels and no condos."

Where do I say that the gogos have gone?

Many of the barbeers between Soi 8 and Yamato have gone though. Central and probably the condo next to it saw a lot of them off, at both ends.

quote removed to allow reply.

As I said, 2 beer bar complexes have been removed. The always empty Soi 9 complex and the Scandinavian complex of 5 or so bars, that catered mainly to Scandinavians.

At the same time there have been other bars added between Soi Yamoto and Walking street.

As I said in another thread already, you're getting boring with you're never ending whore mongering I hate Pattaya sermon , and I'm sure a few other posters agree with me.

Edited January 12, 2016 by TheCruncher

[loppylugs1]

Pattaya dead? its buggered,those buses packed with <deleted> are severely limited,and even then barely filled,those huge entertainment centres used by them ill used,just a huge overbuild that will never be filled,Pattaya will never go back to what made it so popular,its finished,slowly shutting up shop. just over two weeks since the highest point on the calendar for tourists flopped,and now a bring out your dead feeling exists

[striderman]

the 9th parachute platform that vanished from the bay in mid september is now back on station as of a couple of days ago to help cope with the early morning chinese tour groups. unless u are out early or have a view of the bay the numbers involved will be missed by most falang visitors but it is a huge daily business, peak hours 07 25 to 11 30.

they simply do other things to western tourists

[tropo]

You obviously haven't read all my posts over many threads , but never mind. I LOVE Central malls - most excellent places for burdwatching. I'd be happy with it in Naklua, I'd be delighted with it in Jomptien, I'd even be ecstatic about it in Sri Ratcha if they built that jolly old monorail they keep muttering about. Even if they built it on Sukhumvit I'd be OK with it. No, it's just being built on Beach Rd that I don't like. It was built in an attempt to appeal to a different demographic of tourist, but all that has happened is that the new tourists never came and the mongers left- lose lose for Pattaya, or rather the people that work there.

Yes, you are absolutely correct - I don't follow you around from thread to thread and reply based on what you think I should have read in other threads. I haven't even read all your posts here. I make my replies based on what is said in the post I'm replying to, but never mind...

My comment about you not liking Central Festival was about Central Festival in Pattaya, not Central Malls in general. You made that quite clear in a number of previous posts that I DID read.

Personally I much prefer Central Festival than Central World.

[newnative]

Uhh, the 'new tourists' have arrived, Thaibeachlovers. But these 'new tourists' may not be hanging out where you are. Just back from Central Festival this evening and it was packed. All the restaurants doing a good business and lots of people on all floors. Even Central dept. store was busy. And, yes, Festival is in the exact right place for a tourist beach town. Ding ding--you build where the people are--especially if most are here without cars. Every morning there are at least 40 tour buses parked on the big Chang empty lot 2 doors down from Hard Rock Hotel. Sometimes there are 60 or more. They've left the tourists off for island trips, parasailing, snorkeling, etc. They may not be your traditional tourist but they are definitely contributing to the economy.

[onemorechang]

Uhh, the 'new tourists' have arrived, Thaibeachlovers. But these 'new tourists' may not be hanging out where you are. Just back from Central Festival this evening and it was packed. All the restaurants doing a good business and lots of people on all floors. Even Central dept. store was busy. And, yes, Festival is in the exact right place for a tourist beach town. Ding ding--you build where the people are--especially if most are here without cars. Every morning there are at least 40 tour buses parked on the big Chang empty lot 2 doors down from Hard Rock Hotel. Sometimes there are 60 or more. They've left the tourists off for island trips, parasailing, snorkeling, etc. They may not be your traditional tourist but they are definitely contributing to the economy.

People are fickle and some nationalities are also.

what would happen if one group went else where in a few years time ?

[newnative]

That seems to be happening right now with the Western tourists. Possibly fewer of them so the market adjusts. Some of the bars catering to them may close. Supply and demand. Meanwhile, new businesses opening to cater to the new tourists and what their wants are. But, everybody, no matter what nationality, seems to like going to a mall like Festival and walking around, having dinner, do a little shopping, and all the time people watching and being seen. I don't see the Chinese market dwindling any time soon. There's billions of Chinese ready to take maybe their first vacation to a foreign country and the majority are just a fairly short plane ride away.

[TheCruncher]

That seems to be happening right now with the Western tourists. Possibly fewer of them so the market adjusts. Some of the bars catering to them may close. Supply and demand. Meanwhile, new businesses opening to cater to the new tourists and what their wants are. But, everybody, no matter what nationality, seems to like going to a mall like Festival and walking around, having dinner, do a little shopping, and all the time people watching and being seen. I don't see the Chinese market dwindling any time soon. There's billions of Chinese ready to take maybe their first vacation to a foreign country and the majority are just a fairly short plane ride away.

With the current ongoing in the Chinese stock market and the currency devaluations, I wouldn't bet too much on the Chinese, because I think they are heading the same way as the Russians.

And for those that want to claim that the Russians haven't left yet, go have a look in Hua Yai where hundreds of Pegas buses are parked indefinitely.

[newnative]

Yes, I claim the Russians are still here but the ones I see are on their own and not in tour groups. They are renting condos or staying at condos they own and are here for more than a short period. The numbers are down but I see quite a few around in central Pattaya and south Jomtien.

[thaibeachlovers]

You obviously haven't read all my posts over many threads , but never mind. I LOVE Central malls - most excellent places for burdwatching. I'd be happy with it in Naklua, I'd be delighted with it in Jomptien, I'd even be ecstatic about it in Sri Ratcha if they built that jolly old monorail they keep muttering about. Even if they built it on Sukhumvit I'd be OK with it. No, it's just being built on Beach Rd that I don't like. It was built in an attempt to appeal to a different demographic of tourist, but all that has happened is that the new tourists never came and the mongers left- lose lose for Pattaya, or rather the people that work there.

Yes, you are absolutely correct - I don't follow you around from thread to thread and reply based on what you think I should have read in other threads. I haven't even read all your posts here. I make my replies based on what is said in the post I'm replying to, but never mind...

My comment about you not liking Central Festival was about Central Festival in Pattaya, not Central Malls in general. You made that quite clear in a number of previous posts that I DID read.

Personally I much prefer Central Festival than Central World.

Not sure if you are deliberately misinterpreting what I say or not, but...........

I didn't expect you to follow me around reading what I say. I only made the comment as I have only said I want Central Festival to be elsewhere, not that I dislike/ hate it itself. If I did that I wouldn't go in it, but I do. If it wasn't where it is, I'd go to use it somewhere else.

Agree it's better than Central World, but I'm sure you do know that Central World wasn't always a Central, and was built to be the premier mall in Bkk for the elites.

To the guy that constantly complains that my posts are boring- solution simple, put me on ignore and you never need to read anything I write again. Perhaps that is too easy though .

[tropo]

You obviously haven't read all my posts over many threads , but never mind. I LOVE Central malls - most excellent places for burdwatching. I'd be happy with it in Naklua, I'd be delighted with it in Jomptien, I'd even be ecstatic about it in Sri Ratcha if they built that jolly old monorail they keep muttering about. Even if they built it on Sukhumvit I'd be OK with it. No, it's just being built on Beach Rd that I don't like. It was built in an attempt to appeal to a different demographic of tourist, but all that has happened is that the new tourists never came and the mongers left- lose lose for Pattaya, or rather the people that work there.

Yes, you are absolutely correct - I don't follow you around from thread to thread and reply based on what you think I should have read in other threads. I haven't even read all your posts here. I make my replies based on what is said in the post I'm replying to, but never mind...

My comment about you not liking Central Festival was about Central Festival in Pattaya, not Central Malls in general. You made that quite clear in a number of previous posts that I DID read.

Personally I much prefer Central Festival than Central World.

Not sure if you are deliberately misinterpreting what I say or not, but...........

I didn't expect you to follow me around reading what I say. I only made the comment as I have only said I want Central Festival to be elsewhere, not that I dislike/ hate it itself. If I did that I wouldn't go in it, but I do. If it wasn't where it is, I'd go to use it somewhere else.

Agree it's better than Central World, but I'm sure you do know that Central World wasn't always a Central, and was built to be the premier mall in Bkk for the elites.

To the guy that constantly complains that my posts are boring- solution simple, put me on ignore and you never need to read anything I write again. Perhaps that is too easy though .

If you're complaining about another poster, please do it in a separate reply to him. I have no issue with your postings.

I do think you're going on about the location of Central far too much though. You have repeated that enough times for me to remember well your feelings about the location. The developers of a major hotel/mall complex are after return on investment, they are not part of a city's future expansion plans. You may be aware too that whenever there are special events, these are usually located at the center of beach road, right in front of Central Mall. They couldn't have found a better location. Before Central Mall opened, business was too focused on the southern end of Beach Road near Walking Street and the area where the mall is now was a back water. Now it's one of the main areas of the city.

[thaibeachlovers]

You obviously haven't read all my posts over many threads , but never mind. I LOVE Central malls - most excellent places for burdwatching. I'd be happy with it in Naklua, I'd be delighted with it in Jomptien, I'd even be ecstatic about it in Sri Ratcha if they built that jolly old monorail they keep muttering about. Even if they built it on Sukhumvit I'd be OK with it. No, it's just being built on Beach Rd that I don't like. It was built in an attempt to appeal to a different demographic of tourist, but all that has happened is that the new tourists never came and the mongers left- lose lose for Pattaya, or rather the people that work there.

Yes, you are absolutely correct - I don't follow you around from thread to thread and reply based on what you think I should have read in other threads. I haven't even read all your posts here. I make my replies based on what is said in the post I'm replying to, but never mind...

My comment about you not liking Central Festival was about Central Festival in Pattaya, not Central Malls in general. You made that quite clear in a number of previous posts that I DID read.

Personally I much prefer Central Festival than Central World.

Not sure if you are deliberately misinterpreting what I say or not, but...........

I didn't expect you to follow me around reading what I say. I only made the comment as I have only said I want Central Festival to be elsewhere, not that I dislike/ hate it itself. If I did that I wouldn't go in it, but I do. If it wasn't where it is, I'd go to use it somewhere else.

Agree it's better than Central World, but I'm sure you do know that Central World wasn't always a Central, and was built to be the premier mall in Bkk for the elites.

To the guy that constantly complains that my posts are boring- solution simple, put me on ignore and you never need to read anything I write again. Perhaps that is too easy though .

If you're complaining about another poster, please do it in a separate reply to him. I have no issue with your postings.

I do think you're going on about the location of Central far too much though. You have repeated that enough times for me to remember well your feelings about the location. The developers of a major hotel/mall complex are after return on investment, they are not part of a city's future expansion plans. You may be aware too that whenever there are special events, these are usually located at the center of beach road, right in front of Central Mall. They couldn't have found a better location. Before Central Mall opened, business was too focused on the southern end of Beach Road near Walking Street and the area where the mall is now was a back water. Now it's one of the main areas of the city.

Apologies about including reference to a different poster in reply to you, but TV is now so slow here, that it would take over 5 minutes to reply to you and then wait for the page to load again so I could reply to him, so just trying to save a few minutes of my life for something more interesting than waiting for TV's software to process every change I make.

As for return on investment, the non food shops don't seem to be doing too well on that. Loads of people looking and eating, but sod all buying the overpriced clothes on display.

You may be aware too that whenever there are special events, these are usually located at the center of beach road, right in front of Central Mall.

Hmmmmm. They have been having special events ( that I attended in person ) in that area since long before Central was a glimmer in a property developer's eye. Perhaps that was why they built it there, rather than elsewhere.

Edited January 12, 2016 by thaibeachlovers

[onemorechang]

Worldwide, years ago it was gstrings.

There was another one by soi 4 or 5 in a small bar complex (Susies, I think), but I am sure it was restricted to Japanese customers.

Missed this one .

Yes your right that was the third one, (pretty sure it was a gogo)

i can remember the name

It was all blacked out windows and had some sign on the door with Japanese customers only ( or something like that on it )

Remember walking up to it and having a look.

that would have been around 97-99 ish.

Edited January 12, 2016 by onemorechang