Patong - The Wake

[Prometheus33]

14 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I have said the same in many posts in the previous "Patong is dead" thread – – no it isn't dead, however it is struggling.

 

Despite the fact that it is struggling and there are some fairly obvious signs around, for the average everyday holidaymaker, they probably wouldn't notice any difference. They might not look down the back of the two Tiger establishments to see the empty bars, they won't know that where now there is nothing, there used to be thriving Sois and they certainly won't know that there are condos/apartments/houses which have been for sale here for years.

 

I doubt if they would even venture to look at the  Phanason, Ace, Dinso unfinished/derelict condominium projects, not to mention several other unfinished buildings around the place......... this because they are here with one thing in mind, and that's to enjoy their holiday, not to analyse the state of play here, so to speak.

 

They also won't know about the reduction in business over previous years (yes I know it's now low season, but that's a comparison to other low seasons) because these things are just not advertised.

 

No it's not dead, and as I have often said, it will be alive for many years to come, but in what state that will be, well that's anyone's guess, however a few of my recent posts do give a clue as to where I think this place is heading.

Agreed, Xylophone .. the truth is , I presume, you have been in Phuket for some time now and so can analyze the "Phuket - story" far better .. 

 I can see that you have great affection for Phuket / Patong and really want this fine holiday-destination to pick itself up one more time  .......  recapture its past glory .. Perhaps it will !! 

[xylophone]

22 minutes ago, Prometheus33 said:

Agreed, Xylophone .. the truth is , I presume, you have been in Phuket for some time now and so can analyze the "Phuket - story" far better .. 

 I can see that you have great affection for Phuket / Patong and really want this fine holiday-destination to pick itself up one more time  .......  recapture its past glory .. Perhaps it will !! 

Have been living here for about 11 years now and first holidayed here in early 2004 and I have often said that my biggest disappointment is in the fact that Patong hasn't become the place that it could/aspire to be.

 

Instead greed and corruption have got it in a stranglehold  and all the while those people can extract money from it any way they can, it will not improve. A look at the infrastructure.....defined as "the basic physical systems of a business or nation; transportation, communication, sewage, water and electric systems"  will give you a clue, then the unfinished and poorly finished  buildings..........etc etc.

 

Add to that the blatant corruption which sees many small businesses having to pay tea money and you can BEGIN to see why I post like I do, this esp as I decided to make it my retirement home.

 

Disappointed but stay positive through having friends and "family" here as well as trying to enjoy myself (internet, wine, cooking, small jobs for folk and so on). Also have put down some roots and really don't want to move again at my time of life!!!!!

[GiantFan]

Moving back to what I miss, Rang Rak pub over the hill in Kathu near to what is now Tiger Kingdom.  Around 2006 or so.  Great place to stop after golf waiting for the traffic to clear going back to Patong.  Lots of Kathu regulars.  Food OK.  Peter sold it and it was never the same.  Several iterations since and all failed.

[Prometheus33]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

Have been living here for about 11 years now and first holidayed here in early 2004 and I have often said that my biggest disappointment is in the fact that Patong hasn't become the place that it could/aspire to be.

 

Instead greed and corruption have got it in a stranglehold  and all the while those people can extract money from it any way they can, it will not improve. A look at the infrastructure.....defined as "the basic physical systems of a business or nation; transportation, communication, sewage, water and electric systems"  will give you a clue, then the unfinished and poorly finished  buildings..........etc etc.

 

Add to that the blatant corruption which sees many small businesses having to pay tea money and you can BEGIN to see why I post like I do, this esp as I decided to make it my retirement home.

 

Disappointed but stay positive through having friends and "family" here as well as trying to enjoy myself (internet, wine, cooking, small jobs for folk and so on). Also have put down some roots and really don't want to move again at my time of life!!!!!

I see that Xylophone, you have quite a "stake" but a little optimism wouldn't hurt .. To tell the truth I can understand just how terrible it feels when you see a place you have become part of, tied a cord to go under.. The pain, anguish and the emptiness within is almost terrifying .. Yes, I can relate .. My "wonderful place in the sun" went under (in different circumstances of course) ...... and with it my marriage and business ....... Yours is still there and probably can be salvaged .. 

You know what ?! I was going to purchase a holiday property in Phuket .. You have given me  reasons to re-think real hard about it .. 

[phuketrichard]

the problem that i see ( since 1985)  is they just keep building and building, yet tourism has not increased at the same pace;

10 years ago 3 rd was empty and  the area at the end of 3rd road on the right, before u head up the hill to Karon was empty, 20 years ago there was no 3rd road!! 

now look at it

 

You can get rooms in the off season now less than 5-10 years ago..

Last year i tried to find the house i lived in off Nai Na road and couldn't   its all gh's/ apts now

 

They had a chance after the tsunami to really make Patong a world class resort but...greed and such got in the way

 

Edited June 29, 2017 by phuketrichard

[KarenBravo]

Patong Resort tower was the signal.

When the law stated that a building at that distance from the beach could not build higher than a coconut palm tree, and yet, it so blatantly got built, it spawned the joke that Patong had the tallest coconut trees in the world.

 

It also showed land owners that rules were now considered "flexible". And thus the start (in earnest) of converting what was a virtual paradise into what it is today.

 

[xylophone]

19 hours ago, Prometheus33 said:

I see that Xylophone, you have quite a "stake" but a little optimism wouldn't hurt .. To tell the truth I can understand just how terrible it feels when you see a place you have become part of, tied a cord to go under.. The pain, anguish and the emptiness within is almost terrifying .. Yes, I can relate .. My "wonderful place in the sun" went under (in different circumstances of course) ...... and with it my marriage and business ....... Yours is still there and probably can be salvaged .. 

You know what ?! I was going to purchase a holiday property in Phuket .. You have given me  reasons to re-think real hard about it .. 

I suppose you could look at it that way, that I do have a "stake" in the place, however I am happy enough to live here because of the other reasons I mentioned and it does have a certain allure for someone like me because the place feels "alive" and there is always somewhere to go, someone to meet and something to do.

 

Having said that I wouldn't go anywhere near describing my circumstances along the lines of, "The pain, anguish and the emptiness within is almost terrifying"  because that simply isn't the case, just disappointed as I said before.

 

On the subject of the place feeling alive, well I went out last night for only the second time in as many months and Bangla Road was alive as were many of the large bars with bands in. However not the case with many of the smaller bars and if I had to draw some sort of comparison to what this place was like when I first came here, I would say that in those days the bars were full up with middle-aged and older men (sometimes called bar mongers) and they were spending well.

 

Fast forward to last night and Bangla definitely was a venue for the younger set and I have mentioned that in many posts similar to this, because the lively bars with bands in and the disco's are very busy. As has been said by many posters, the demographics have changed, but the bars have stayed exactly as they were when the older set came prowling looking for company for the night or the week and things just aren't the same any more so they are struggling.

 

I did see a party of about 20 younger Chinese in Smiley bar and they were enjoying themselves and they seem to be spending okay, this in contrast to four Russian folk who bought a couple of large beers from the 7-Eleven across the road and tried to get into Smiley bar to drink them and listen to the music...........not on and the manager told them so. As it happens I have only seen this three times at this bar and every time it's been with a small party of Russians (maybe we are not getting the wealthy Russians here!!!!)

 

I noted the comments from the owner of the bar when the party of Chinese had left because the bar staff had to go out onto the pavement and sweep up all of the mess which they had left (cigarette butts, wrappers etc and most annoyingly wads of chewing gum) – – "they are dirty buggers and I wonder if they are like it back in their own country?"

 

Now contrast that to the previous week when I was just sitting at a friend's bar people watching in Bangla and what was very obvious was the amount of small family-type parties of folk from what looked liked to be India, Pakistan and the Middle East and of course they were going nowhere near the bars.

 

We know Patong is not dead and as long as it is a drawcard for the younger set, it never will be, but the influx of wealthy tourists which this place was at one time hoping to attract will certainly be looking elsewhere when they see the state of much of Patong, or perhaps when they smell the sewers after some rain and sun!

 

You say that you were thinking of buying a holiday property in Phuket, well only you can make that decision and it should certainly be made on your criteria and what you see and feel regarding the place, rather than what I do, or others for that matter.

 

Finally, so sorry to hear about your marriage and business (and place in the sun) going under and I hope you have recovered somewhat from these events.

[madmax2]

On 6/29/2017 at 9:56 AM, KarenBravo said:

Patong Resort tower was the signal.

When the law stated that a building at that distance from the beach could not build higher than a coconut palm tree, and yet, it so blatantly got built, it spawned the joke that Patong had the tallest coconut trees in the world.

 

It also showed land owners that rules were now considered "flexible". And thus the start (in earnest) of converting what was a virtual paradise into what it is today.

 

Is that the tall white building i call the leaning tower of pizza, many years ago it was pointed out to me by a local that looking at it from the southern point of Patong bay its at a slant, Either that or all the other building around it are at a angle

When i came here for a holiday in 1995 i think it was, the street touts were handing out pamphlets offering units/ flats/ apartments or maybe called townhouses now from 260K baht purchase price  

[LivinginKata]

10 minutes ago, madmax2 said:

Is that the tall white building i call the leaning tower of pizza, many years ago it was pointed out to me by a local that looking at it from the southern point of Patong bay its at a slant, Either that or all the other building around it are at a angle

When i came here for a holiday in 1995 i think it was, the street touts were handing out pamphlets offering units/ flats/ apartments or maybe called townhouses now from 260K baht purchase price  

 

We always called it the black tower as there never were any lights on in the condo units at night.  Quite a troubled management situation. Yes a timeshare outfit had an big office one of the upper floors but they disappeared years ago. 

[Prometheus33]

Xylophone , I think I am beginning to see just what worries you about Phuket (and Patong).. You have seen this place in its glory , lived here and been a part of that celebration.. Now you see it fading , or you think its fading .. You look and can no longer find those "traits" which enamoured you to Patong in the first place .. even little things, which will not, is not, visible to me or numerous others like me ..
You see, development is such a crazy thing and the end purpose of every "development" is always "profit" (Money or equivalent, if you will) .. Nothing else !!
So, this had to happen and you will find this being repeated everywhere in the world .. I am quite certain that land prices in Patong must have spiralled in the past few years....... The consequences are simple economics .. The "quaint little place", that little house with a pretty little garden , the small cafe with a huge open area out front .. they were all bulldozed to make way for a High rise Apartment block or an hotel or a mall .. This , of course, paves way for greed and more greed and this is where we lose the perspective .. Profit or plunder ?! Because to profit from a venture is fine but to Plunder , isn't !! I think this is what bothers one .. You are with the change, but qualitative changes and alternatives ..
The place will survive and you will have many wonderful memories yet , just you wait !!
Don't worry too much ..
the Chinese tourists and the "not wealthy" Russians , even Indians (like yours truly) or Mideasterners will keep flocking and then be gone ..
Oh, haha, I survived the "disaster" alright, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this now or contemplating the purchase of a holiday home in Patong .......... that ordeal I count as .. "knowledge" !!
Cheers !!



Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Patong2]

It's not so much that some of us want it back the way it was, that's not realistic or desirable.

It is just that many things have gone that we did enjoy.

 

We used to walk from along north along Ratuchit Rd, past Soi Sai Nam Yen and on the right, where the Novotel now stands, we used to watch and photograph the Water Buffalo's there. Amazing animals. Then walk up to the corner where was one of the old fashioned wind up petrol pumps with a glass to show the quantity and stuck into a 44 gallon drum, which was amazing to us.

 

On a wet day we just stayed in our little bungalow and waited for the hundreds of toads to come out and croak and leap all over the place.

It was so humid, the primitive air con couldn't cope, so it was too hot for a <deleted> so we'd sit under the verandah and read and marvel at the delights of a tropical garden and the life in it.

 

Now on a wet day we wander down, or drive 200m to Jung Ceylon's underground carpark and go up to Coffee Club or a restaurant and marvel at the multitude of tourists, their behaviour, attractiveness and whether they know that T shirt they are wearing is saying <deleted> me or something equally as offensive.

 

I'd rather have the old days but hey! the now days are pretty damn good too.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Patong2

[xylophone]

12 hours ago, Prometheus33 said:

Xylophone , I think I am beginning to see just what worries you about Phuket (and Patong).. You have seen this place in its glory , lived here and been a part of that celebration.. Now you see it fading , or you think its fading .. You look and can no longer find those "traits" which enamoured you to Patong in the first place .. even little things, which will not, is not, visible to me or numerous others like me ..
You see, development is such a crazy thing and the end purpose of every "development" is always "profit" (Money or equivalent, if you will) .. Nothing else !!
So, this had to happen and you will find this being repeated everywhere in the world .. I am quite certain that land prices in Patong must have spiralled in the past few years....... The consequences are simple economics .. The "quaint little place", that little house with a pretty little garden , the small cafe with a huge open area out front .. they were all bulldozed to make way for a High rise Apartment block or an hotel or a mall .. This , of course, paves way for greed and more greed and this is where we lose the perspective .. Profit or plunder ?! Because to profit from a venture is fine but to Plunder , isn't !! I think this is what bothers one .. You are with the change, but qualitative changes and alternatives ..
The place will survive and you will have many wonderful memories yet , just you wait !!
Don't worry too much ..
the Chinese tourists and the "not wealthy" Russians , even Indians (like yours truly) or Mideasterners will keep flocking and then be gone ..
Oh, haha, I survived the "disaster" alright, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this now or contemplating the purchase of a holiday home in Patong .......... that ordeal I count as .. "knowledge" !!
Cheers !!



Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

You are making too much of my posts.

 

Simple really........greed and corruption have resulted in poor infrastructure, overbuilding, lack of a "tourist vision" and scams. 

 

I am aware that other places in the world change, as change is the only constant, but it's how they change and here it hasn't been for the better. Having said that I will reiterate what Patong2 has said inasmuch as the now days are pretty good, that's one reason why I stay.

[xylophone]

On ‎29‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 9:56 AM, KarenBravo said:

Patong Resort tower was the signal.

When the law stated that a building at that distance from the beach could not build higher than a coconut palm tree, and yet, it so blatantly got built, it spawned the joke that Patong had the tallest coconut trees in the world.

 

It also showed land owners that rules were now considered "flexible". And thus the start (in earnest) of converting what was a virtual paradise into what it is today.

 

And everywhere you look you can still see examples of this, along the Kalim road and up on Hasip-pee road.

 

In addition the building continues unabated despite empty condos and apartments, empty shophouses, and small hotels and guesthouses empty or for rent/lease.

 

In another thread I commented on the fact that a small hotel (not in Nanai) in Patong was advertising rooms for 5000 baht a month and I thought this was probably down to desperation and lack of customers, although there were a few posters who thought that a small hotel could exist/run on that income from four customers (20,000 baht) but I doubted it. That small hotel is now up for rent/lease.

 

Projects are still being started and this quite amazes me. Not only me, however it would appear that the former Central Bank governor, Prasarn has stated that Thailand should be wary of a property bubble (or words to that effect). Perhaps he should come to Patong and have a look around!

 

Went to visit a friend of mine the other day in a small soi where he has a two-storey two double bedroom house, solidly built about 2004 and he will be putting it up for sale shortly, however he is not sure that he will be able to sell it because in his small soi there are currently around 15 of these houses for sale, with some of them having been for sale for over seven years.

 

If the sale price of these properties were in sync with the amount which were on the market, there may well be some bargains around, but there again the normal supply and demand equations don't seem to work here.

 

 

[KarenBravo]

What is frustrating is that the local government doesn't strictly enforce the building of houses above the 80 mtr contour, yet, when someone actually wants to do something useful.....say, complete the two kilometres of missing road on the Chalong to Nanai road, the forestry department says no, as building a road above the 80 mtr mark is against the law.

All the while, studiously ignoring the fact that much of the West coast road that connects the beaches is well over the 80 mtr level.

 

I mean........really. What chance that anything good will get done.

 

I listen to 89.5FM when I'm out in the garden. One of the Ads is about a crowd-funding program to buy a proper beach-cleaning machine. It's all done by foreigners.

This has to go to crowd-funding? Every Or Bor Tor with beaches under their administration, should have bought these machines decades ago. Shame on them.

[Patong2]

Wandering around last night in Patong and earlier in the week and there are noticeably more tourists.

There are more women wearing  headscarves than there was and we were wondering if there are more incoming tourists due to the end of Ramadan? Also the odd one in full burqa.

Do Muslims tend to stay home in that period?

Nice to see more people here, they are needed.

[kevozman1]

On 6/28/2017 at 4:52 AM, xylophone said:

Perhaps that is the case and I've not really noticed it, however a few times of late I have witnessed something I have never witnessed here before..............

 

I meet friends in a local Starbucks quite a few times a week, so you could say I'm a regular visitor and have been since it first opened and there follows just a few things, which for me epitomises the depths to which we have sunk here.

 

A Chinese guy with his wife sitting in Starbucks clipping his toenails (and the skin off his feet) and they were flying all over the floor and the table. I was mortified as was the manager of Starbucks and promptly told him to stop, whilst the shop girls swept up the clippings from the floor. By the look on his face he thought it was a perfectly normal thing to do.

 

An Indian guy sitting on an armchair in Starbucks, with his shoes off and his dirty feet resting on the table. I stood over him and suggested that it wasn't good manners to put one's feet on the table, especially as other people had to eat from those very tables, so he reluctantly took them off. Again, it seemed like the norm for him.

 

If you want to see mess, then look at the places where a Chinese family have been drinking and eating. For at least 75% of the time there will be food and drink on the floor, not to mention wrappers and other rubbish and the lovely Thai staff are always having to clean up after Chinese families have been there and indeed all of these girls who speak a little English say to me, "China, I don't like".

 

As if to add insult to injury these Chinese families have no control over their children and let them run around the place shouting and screaming as they see fit and on at least a couple of occasions I have stood over the family and asked them to quieten down, telling them it is a restaurant/coffee shop, not a playground. They have no respect for other people's comfort or well-being.

 

At the back of Jungceylon, a Chinese woman decided to let her child defecate on the area which has seats in it (where people could sit and relax), when there were toilets no more than 100 m away.

 

These are instances that I have witnessed in one particular place in Patong, so lord knows what is happening in other areas and for me this is a sure sign that this place is on the slide with regards to its tourists and the quality thereof.

 

 

Painting quite a picture there lol...

[bimbob]

Best memories, or at least a couple that is most prominent

 

In year 2000 I was in Thailand for the first time, staying at Patong Resort. I was amazed by the enormous lobby with pleasant air condition and staff opening the door. It looked very classy and still does in my opinion, even if they don't open the door for you any more. I was even more amazed when I found out that staff in the establishment next door (with some local knowledge I am sure you know which I am hinting at) had the same logo on their t-shirts as the people serving breakfast.

 

My first Tom Yum rivals this memory as number one, I had it at Charlies Biergarden. I ate everything with great pleasure and pain, it was really spicy. I later found out it is better not to eat everything. I miss the Biergarden and have somehow made Savoey my lunch place now, location is great still but it lacks the charm, why did they have to make it so big?

 

I'm not missing the sewage smell in Bangla road, granted it is still there but I think it was much worse before.

[NamKangMan]

On 28/06/2017 at 6:23 PM, Prometheus33 said:

Neither Patong nor Phuket has failed .. both are alive and doing well ...... Perhaps one can say that it isn't doing as well as it used to. That's  for sure .. have you taken a look at the world economy recently ?! .. Most people can't afford a decent holiday because they simply do not earn enough these days !! Tourism in Patong / Phuket has taken a hit same as other tourist spots at other places .. 

I was in Patong recently (@ the Burasari) and enjoyed my stay  .. as did my son and his fiancee ( she flew Prague Moscow Phuket , I mention this because the focal point of her / their holiday was Phuket / Patong not Bangkok or elsewhere ) , both have just completed their MBA and I dare say very discerning travellers !! They spent 15  days in Patong and 6 days in  Kata and say they will be back  again .. When young people feel a place is worth going back to, well, I reckon there is hope yet !! 

 

 I find your post very contradictory. 

 

"Neither Patong nor Phuket has failed .. both are alive and doing well"  - by tourist numbers, or revenue????  One doesn't mean much, with out the other. 

 

"Perhaps one can say that it isn't doing as well as it used to. That's  for sure" - but you just said, "both are alive and doing well."  Ok, so, some are still making some money here, but not as much as before.  Have you considered that is now an economic trend on Phuket????  How low will that trend go?

 

"Most people can't afford a decent holiday because they simply do not earn enough these days !!" - but the cheap Chinese, Indians and Russians are coming here, in record numbers.  They represent the majority of tourist to Phuket now.  They can afford a holiday here, they just can't afford to spend anything when they get here. 

 

"Tourism in Patong / Phuket has taken a hit same as other tourist spots at other places .." - but the tourist numbers are up, so "the hit" you are talking about must be baht.  Right?

 

"I was in Patong recently (@ the Burasari) and enjoyed my stay" - so, do you holiday here, or do you live here?

 

"I dare say very discerning travellers" - where else have they been in South East Asia?  What do they have to compare Phuket to, for this region?

 

"When young people feel a place is worth going back to, well, I reckon there is hope yet !!" - a lot of the western market returned her for holidays.  Where are they now????  How long before your son and finance shun Phuket, as many others have in recent times?

Edited July 7, 2017 by NamKangMan

[Yahooka]

What were your favourite sights in the old Patong? Bangla Road pre-year2000, Gonzo Bar,the group of bars(and small disco) in Soi Sunset,Firehouse a go-go and the thai resturant next door,Rock Hard  was still great,Didi`s, the clear(compared to nowadays) water on Patong beach.............and many,many more ......aaaah memories .

 

[KarenBravo]

The huge tamarind tree in Soi Bangla that was beside the Expat Bar and stretched over the road to the Kangaroo Bar.

[phuketrichard]

Pre 2000   Titanic disco...  after we closed and sold the license... Shark club till the police shut it down in 2002

Expat Bar late at night

Doolies

 

 

[Ron19]

A flame post has been deleted

[xylophone]

I was about to reply to a couple of other posts, but I see they have been removed!

 

I will tread lightly here for fear of upsetting anybody, however surely TV members can post about the place as they see it these days, whether it be good or bad because there are many on this thread who think that Patong is going downhill or is not as it could be/should be, whereas there are others who think that everything is fine and surely that's the right of everybody here, to post as they see things.

 

I really don't have any time for those who post things like, "if you don't like it here go home", or "what are you doing staying here if it is so bad" etc etc.

 

This brings me onto a rather humorous post from "Old croc" I think it was when he was using the analogy of his dog with regards to another poster (not that I thought it was called for you understand, but it was humorous) however it was more than matched by the reply from NKM and I had to have a chuckle over both of them.

 

Staying with the dog analogy, I suppose that folks who live here and "criticise" the place could be likened somewhat to somebody who describes his dog thus, "he's an ugly dog, full of fleas and smells, but I love him".

 

I'm not saying that Patong is that bad, but I'm sure you get my drift.......those who criticise the place still love it for one reason(s) or another. 

 

PS. This is NOT aimed at the mods.

Edited July 13, 2017 by xylophone

[DrDave]

Getting back to best memories... I used to hang out almost exclusively in the old Coyote Bar in Soi Seadragon. That was well before Seadragon was remodeled/renovated. Coyote was a tiny, single bay bar with a live band every night. Generally packed during high season (which means they probably had 15-20 patrons), and it seemed to do a reasonable business during low season. It was owned by Freddie, a Norwegian, who ran it along with his girlfriend Ae. After being away from Phuket for some time, my wife and I returned to Soi Seadragon one night to find Coyote closed, and a memorial to Ae setup outside, as she had passed. I don't think Coyote every opened again, and I never heard what the situation was regarding Freddie, Ae and Coyote. 

[xylophone]

10 hours ago, DrDave said:

Getting back to best memories... I used to hang out almost exclusively in the old Coyote Bar in Soi Seadragon. That was well before Seadragon was remodeled/renovated. Coyote was a tiny, single bay bar with a live band every night. Generally packed during high season (which means they probably had 15-20 patrons), and it seemed to do a reasonable business during low season. It was owned by Freddie, a Norwegian, who ran it along with his girlfriend Ae. After being away from Phuket for some time, my wife and I returned to Soi Seadragon one night to find Coyote closed, and a memorial to Ae setup outside, as she had passed. I don't think Coyote every opened again, and I never heard what the situation was regarding Freddie, Ae and Coyote. 

I remember it DrDave and I went there a few times and thought how small it was to have a live band playing, however business did drop off quite markedly. Now whether that was a result of his wife's passing or not I don't know, but I did see Freddie around once or twice after it closed (he was friendly with a mate of mine, more than me).

 

All that seems so long ago now and I can't really recall what the old Sea Dragon looked like (prob too much red wine and a few too many boozy nights!).

[steelepulse]

Always liked Flash for their shows after putting in a couple hours at Rock Hard and Rock Country.  After that Shark before going up the hill to Chairat's place. Non typical nights included U2 and spending time with Didi before he got "Das Boot" from bangla.

 

 

[xylophone]

On 6/25/2017 at 5:25 PM, Monkeyrobot said:

Full of Chinese, one of them walked up to me and started taking a photo of the shrimp yellow curry I was eating, strange people and the tuk tuk drivers don't like them either, they really haggle on the price, 

Well the Chinese were supposed to be the saviours of the place, so much so that we wouldn't be in the mourning period (Wake) for very long, although some of us long-timers had a different viewpoint!

 

So I thought I'd post a few interesting snippets of info on that: – just a few days ago I was talking to the GM of Big C and we were talking about the Chinese influx and I mentioned that in the early days there used to be rows and rows of dried seaweed packets all over the place, but I hadn't seen them so prevalent of late. To which he replied that I was quite right and they had to scale back the amount of packets of seaweed they were ordering because the demand had dropped off??

 

And this is an excerpt from the South China Morning Post so perhaps we are experiencing some of this...........

 

What Chinese Tourists Want.

Chinese tourists, whose voracious shopping for everything from milk powder to rice cookers and toilet seat covers have disrupted supplies all over the world and made substantial boosts to economies, are shifting gears. They're increasingly travelling for the experience, not for shopping.

 

Shopping dropped to third place as the motivation for China's 122 million outbound tourists last year. In 2015, shopping was the second-highest motivation, the report said.

 

Chinese travellers are spending less, and budgeting less on overseas shopping, as the advent of online shopping on platforms like Alibaba Group Holdings' Tmall Marketplace have brought Macy's to China.

 

Shopping dropped to third place as the motivation for China's 122 million outbound tourists last year, behind sightseeing, recreation and entertainment, according to a survey of 2,000 respondents………….

 

Still, there are tourists who travel to shop, known as "intent shoppers," but they come from the lower income brackets, compared with more affluent travellers who already have everything and are seeking the joy of seeing and experiencing new places, the report said.
 

From what I've seen here I would say that these Chinese tourists do seem to come from the "lower income brackets", not only judging by the way they dress and look, but by their manners, or should I say lack of. Of the many dozens of Thai shop-workers and service folk I have spoken to here, not one has a good word to say about them and many of them outright hate them.

 

Jumping around here, but I notice that there are some signs advertising Chinese food outside of the small metal shipping-container-type stall at the back of Jungceylon and it looks to have had a change of ownership with a few Chinese folk milling around it. 

 

What started off to be an outlet selling "fries and sausages" which was sold after doing not much business at all, then taken over and started up as "Patty Moos Authentic Fast Food (established 2016)" now seems to have changed ownership and menu, and the only thing that hasn't changed is the fact that customers are scarce. Maybe bowls of cheap noodles will entice some Chinese clientele, but then again not much profit in that when one has to rent space in an expensive shopping centre.

 

So if a lot of the Chinese spend on travel finds its way back to China as many people have said, then the only thing left for the likes of Patong is the spend on shopping and other experiences, and if the shopping is in decline and the other experiences are not as good as they could be, then a few rich connected folk here will be happy, but IMO a lot of the smaller businesses will continue to struggle.

 

The place still has potential and even if it has a seedy side with Bangla Road and environs.....(doesn't every city or major tourist drawcard) then there is so much more that could be done to make it a desirable location rather than a place attracting the lo-so folk and bogans.

[grumpyoldman]

Ya, showed up somewhere 92-93. Took a flat on Bangla,,,, Nordic Bungalow, my room shared a wall with the then Hard Rock on Bangla. No worries could keep the beat with lass of the night ha,ha,ha.

 

Later years, the Shark club, then to Safari,, damn if the sun of the morning at that point wasn't a nuisance...sheilas dou jour sleep till 3 do it all over again. Rock on, ain't what it was but no where is.

 

[sekmet]

I don't know which Tiger you speak of but the one that burned down, prior heaved with bars and patrons. Since the rebuil6, practically empty.

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[xylophone]

4 hours ago, sekmet said:

I don't know which Tiger you speak of but the one that burned down, prior heaved with bars and patrons. Since the rebuil6, practically empty.

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Don't know whose post you are referring to, but I know them now as "resurrected Tiger" (rose up from the ashes of the burnt down place) and "New Tiger"cos it was built from new AND you are right, there are so many empty bars in the resurrected place.

 

Having said that a lot closed in New Tiger after the initial "rush" and quite a few have been replaced with pool tables. Even in the high season the customer numbers were down for most of the bars..........not surprising with bar fines at 1500 baht and lady drinks between 220 and 250 baht.

 

Times they are a-changing!