Patong - The Wake

[ChasingTheSun]

11 hours ago, xylophone said:

Yes I like the low season here with fewer tourists about...........but thinking about the potential influx of cheap Indians means that the queue of the cheap, loud, ignorant, spit/crap anywhere Chinese at the likes of No.6 (as have witnessed over the past few days, and forever) could well be supplemented by queues of cheap, smelly, four-to-a-beer Indians.

 

Not something to look forward to for what was touted as the "Jewell of the Andaman".

I’m not so sure that Indians will be able to magically & quickly fill the big gap of recently declining chinese numbers.

 

TAT may wish for this to happen, but its highly unlikely.

 

that being said, we may be consciously noticing the Indians more just because there are less chinese crowding the scenery. Sort of creates an illusion of greater indian numbers:

 

i have noticed what seems like more aussies the last several weeks, but maybe thats just my mind playing tricks on me as well.

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

that being said, we may be consciously noticing the Indians more just because there are less chinese crowding the scenery. Sort of creates an illusion of greater indian numbers:

On my once weekly visit to a bar here, the bar owner friend, looking out on Bangla, stated, "it looks more like Bombay than Bangla lately".........this as many Indian groups filed past over 2 hours or so.

 

Prior to that, many more little groups had walked past the little Italian restaurant in which I was eating, and in particular one extremely huge, tall and sweaty specimen who was so fat he could not walk, only shuffle........I bet they didn't get asked if they wanted a suit though!!

 

High end tourists indeed.......yeah right!

 

PS. Aussies..........I have also noticed a few more Aussie families around, so possibly not your mind playing tricks. "Winter" in Oz, low season here and cheap flights could be helping this.

Edited July 14, 2019 by xylophone

[xylophone]

12 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

I’m not so sure that Indians will be able to magically & quickly fill the big gap of recently declining chinese numbers.

Sorry to have to report that just today I saw that very event taking place in Big C and I almost wept out loud.

 

Armageddon has arrived in the shape of droves of Indians, mostly males I have to say, and outnumbering the Chinese, and some holding hands like they seem to love to do, and I thought I would look into the shopping trolleys and and baskets of these so-called "high spending Indian tourists" to see if the rumours were true!

 

While the Chinese baskets have always been full of cheap dried seaweed, fruit and stuff, the Indian baskets were full of sweets believe it or not, packets and packets of sweets (do they not have them in India?) along with the occasional packet of biscuits or an occasional cheap T shirt.

 

So if TAT and the overlords of Phuket thought they were going to rack up some income/profit from these visitors, they will be sadly disappointed, especially if they see them walking around at night, doing stuff-all spending, other than sharing the same bottle of beer.

 

Pitiful, sad and so disappointing what this place looks like becoming.

[ChasingTheSun]

12 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Sorry to have to report that just today I saw that very event taking place in Big C and I almost wept out loud.

 

Armageddon has arrived in the shape of droves of Indians, mostly males I have to say, and outnumbering the Chinese, and some holding hands like they seem to love to do, and I thought I would look into the shopping trolleys and and baskets of these so-called "high spending Indian tourists" to see if the rumours were true!

 

While the Chinese baskets have always been full of cheap dried seaweed, fruit and stuff, the Indian baskets were full of sweets believe it or not, packets and packets of sweets (do they not have them in India?) along with the occasional packet of biscuits or an occasional cheap T shirt.

 

So if TAT and the overlords of Phuket thought they were going to rack up some income/profit from these visitors, they will be sadly disappointed, especially if they see them walking around at night, doing stuff-all spending, other than sharing the same bottle of beer.

 

Pitiful, sad and so disappointing what this place looks like becoming.

Well, i suppose the ladyboys working in patong will be very pleased with a big upswing in demand for their services.

 

In my part of the woods(kamala), i have noticed a decline in chinese, but no increase in Indians so far.

 

 

[xylophone]

15 minutes ago, ChasingTheSun said:

In my part of the woods(kamala), i have noticed a decline in chinese, but no increase in Indians so far.

Fingers crossed CTS!!!!!

[xylophone]

Bouncing around the place a bit on this post, but so many "bits and bobs" to write about, so that's the way it is!

 

As others have said on this and other threads, the place is quiet at the moment, although occasionally for some reason a "747 load" of Chinese or Indians descend upon Big C to do their penny-pinching purchases, and then they are noticeable by their absence for quite a while, quite thankfully.

 

I did visit Patong Central two days ago and had a look around on all of the floors and the place was all but deserted, apart from a group of Chinese who had decided to make the seats in front of the water fountain/feature (outside of the basement entrance) their base for a rest, and something to eat!! Have to wonder as to why this place was ever built in the first place?

 

With the place being so quiet, I have seen rooms advertised in Patong for 250 baht per night, which is the lowest I can ever recall, and this with a few more small shops/businesses closing up doesn't make for good reading. On that subject, the little shop/business/whatever it's going to be, opposite the junction of Banzaan and Nanai has now got some tables and chairs in it, but progress is slow, as is the case with the new cafe which has opened up a few doors down, called 5 5 5. Maybe they're waiting for an upturn before they open, in which case it could be a long wait.

 

The cheap Chinese and Indians are living up to their reputation with groups of them trying to negotiate massages down from the published price and one particular group of Chinese were so insistent upon a discount that the owner of the massage place said they could have a discount but they would not get a full hour massage, either 30 minutes or 45 minutes, depending upon what price they wanted to pay, which I thought was a reasonable compromise, and especially in times when business is so scarce.

 

I had to smile to myself at the insistence of an Indian guy at one particular massage parlour, which was mostly staffed by ladyboys, in beating down the price to 200 baht, but if he was expecting any sort of activity outside of the normal massage, such as a happy ending, he will have been sadly mistaken to find that this was not included in the discounted price!

 

I do feel sorry for the owners of the little restaurant which sprung up in place of the "Quenchers" restaurant before they moved, because they have redecorated it and it looks immaculate along with its tables and chairs, with white tablecloths and little vases with a flower on the table, yet on just about every occasion I've been past it has been devoid of customers – – such a shame for the new owners I would think.

 

Don's BBQ must be feeling the pinch, and just last night when I went past there was nobody in it apart from two of the staff playing pool, whereas a little further down the road, it was good to see Da Moreno restaurant about three quarters full.

 

I did venture into Bangla last night and the restaurants in Soi Patong Beach were sparsely populated and even my favourite Italian restaurant had no more than 10 people in it most of the evening, whereas the restaurant opposite had only one couple dining and a couple of restaurants a little further up had a similar experience. However it appears that the Italian holidays in August will bring new custom to at least two Italian restaurants I know, and probably many more, and one owner I spoke to is pretty certain that his August will be a good one – – I hope so because he runs a good restaurant.

 

Was with a friend and he wanted to go into Soi Sea Dragon, and especially one of the go-go's as he had been in another country where such things were forbidden, so to get out and about amongst the girls and go-go's was his aim for the evening, and it was with this in mind that he decided we should stop at a little bar in Sea Dragon, this after dragging ourselves away from the many other spare girls at the bars who were grabbing at us trying to get us into their bar for a drink, because we were a rarity that night in this particular Soi.

 

Now I'm not keen on sitting at a bar trying to make small talk with a girl who cannot understand 99% of what I am trying to say, and whose main objective is to put her hand on the inside of your leg and at the same time ask for a drink, so that's why I really don't visit these places, but I did so to appease my friend and two attractive girls decided to attach themselves to us, and after some persuasion we did buy them each a drink.

 

Tried to get to understand what they were all about, but it is very difficult, however couple of things did come to light, and even though one of them was only 25 and very attractive I must say, she already had three kids back home in Buriram, as did the other one who was 32 and what I did ascertain was that they decided to come here to Patong because they had a cousin who was here and said that it was a good place to be, so I asked where her cousin was now, and she replied that she had left to go to another country with a farang she met here!

 

We moved on from there and went to Suzie Wong's which wasn't too crowded, and provided the eye candy for my friend to get back into what he called the "real world", whereupon I commented that this certainly wasn't the "real world" however it was just that he had been out of it for a while and had forgotten what Patong was all about.

 

Bangla Road itself was patchy, with Monsoon bar bursting at the seams, whereas New York was fairly crowded and as was Red Hot when I first arrived there to sing a few songs, which I did, and was followed onto the stage by an older guy who decided to have a turn on the drums (that's what I like about this band, they will allow one to sing or play an instrument with them) and I have to say he was bloody fantastic and got a rousing ovation when he stepped down. So after that I went up to congratulate him and to tell him that I thought his drumming was fantastic and it turns out that he is a Kiwi and used to live here, but now spends more time back in NZ, with occasional visits back here, and he was domiciled on Auckland's North Shore, just minutes away from where I lived!! Small world.

 

He was obviously a very proud Kiwi and was also proud of the fact that I got up and belted out a few numbers, which he seemed to like very much, and commented on the range of my voice, especially for my age, and I did remind him that it wouldn't be the case the next morning, because as an untrained singer, I did tend to put undue strain on my vocal chords and was always a bit hoarse the next day.

 

Shortly after that another Kiwi turned up with a small entourage of "different" looking people and I got a big hug from him, but not from the huge and tall black "bodyguard-like" guy who was accompanying him, and dressed in what looked like some battle fatigues (beret included and reminded me of the rogue/rebel armies back in the days of the Congo conflict).

 

Quiet times in Patong and tough times for many smaller businesses, and that even goes for some of the top-class hotels here where one of my friends tells me they have about a 50% occupancy rate, which is quite low for such a prestigious place.

 

In summary, still very patchy, with more shops closed than at the last time of writing, and more stories of hardship from the small business owners, as well as a few others higher up the chain.
 

[xylophone]

On 7/24/2019 at 4:18 PM, xylophone said:

In summary, still very patchy, with more shops closed than at the last time of writing, and more stories of hardship from the small business owners, as well as a few others higher up the chain.

Well according to an article I read somewhere today, and I think it was from some sort of tourism body or perhaps even hotel body, things are looking up for the coming months as regards tourists and hotel bookings, yet there is still a great deal of scepticism about this particular article, so time will tell.

 

On many posts here about Patong, I have often said that I feel sorry for some of the small business owners here in regard to the situation they now find themselves in, however there is another side to this story and it basically goes something like this: – "they didn't do their homework, they did no research, they have no business experience and they just picked up the cheapest place they could possibly find hoping for business to call in and see them!"

 

And of course there are those people that shouldn't be in business because they don't have a clue about anything to do with business and customers, and indeed any sort customer care/satisfaction which can lead to repeat business.

 

I experienced that again today (as I have a few times in the past) and it really does annoy me when a shopkeeper/owner tries to way over charge me for something and then justifies it by saying, "you have big money" – – no thought about whether the price he is asking is relative to the service he offers, just that I have a lot of money (according to him) so I should pay a lot more.

 

I will quote the exact case: – my computer chair has a couple of small extending metal arms on it and these are covered by what looks like leather, but is in fact some sort of PVC, and this PVC is starting to peel off and is making a bit of a mess, so I unbolted these two small arms and took them along to a leather repair shop which I have used a few times in the past.

 

Now this would entail a couple of pieces of black leather approximately 4 inches wide and 7 inches long, which could be glued over the existing arms and glued/joined up underneath.

 

I was anticipating to a 300 baht per arm and when the guy said it would cost 1500 baht I told him absolutely no way and that it was far too expensive and we stood there arguing about the price for some time and he eventually said 1000 baht, which for me was still far too much, but I had unbolted the arms, had them with me and didn't want to drive off looking for somewhere else to try and fix them, so I agreed to this extortionate price – – but with the proviso, that if he decided to go ahead and charge me 1000 baht when I picked them up, then that would be the last time he ever saw any custom from me, and he has had some in the past from both myself and friends.

 

And of course the fact that he said that, "you have big money" really got my goat. So he may well profit from this little transaction, but he has lost any ongoing business and I will purposely find somewhere else to get this sort of work done in future, even if it means hunting around a little.

 

Reminds me of a bar that a group of friends and I went to a few years ago and I wanted to change 1000 baht and when the final bill and the change came back, it wasn't there and the bar manager insisted that I had given her 100 baht, when in fact a couple of the bar staff that were sitting next to us tried to argue that they had seen me place a 1000 baht note, but were hurriedly shut up by the manager.

 

Not much you can do about this sort of thing, so I vowed there and then never to go back to that bar and never to take any friends to it (and told the manager that) and I never did, so over the years they have lost many thousands of baht of business, all for the sake of a little greed.

 

A very good friend of mine here just a few months ago was absolutely stunned when a girl he had known for quite a few years, and who had worked in two or three bars he frequented, deliberately overcharged him by including a couple of extra drinks on the bill at her bar, and this when he especially went along to see her and to buy her a couple of drinks!

 

He hasn't been back since.

 

Short-term thinking, or shall I say no real thinking at, all but ensures that custom will be lost, and one of the hardest things to do is get a new customer, so it stands to reason that these are rare commodity and should be treated with respect and everything should be done to try and keep them, but no.........for many small business owners here, it's the baht they can get here and now which supersedes everything else, with no thinking about the future.
 

[LivinginKata]

37 minutes ago, xylophone said:

<snip>

Short-term thinking, or shall I say no real thinking at, all but ensures that custom will be lost, and one of the hardest things to do is get a new customer, so it stands to reason that these are rare commodity and should be treated with respect and everything should be done to try and keep them, but no.........for many small business owners here, it's the baht they can get here and now which supersedes everything else, with no thinking about the future.
 

 

You sum it up so well. I have frequented many smaller eateries over 2 decades. I don't spent big money as I don't eat or drink so much. But I am respectful to staff and tip well. Lost count of the establishments that have treated me badly and I don't go back. They all lost a lot of money over the long term. 

 

I assume they think another customer will be getting off the next plane and spend all his/her holiday money at their eatery/bar ...   

Edited August 1, 2019 by LivinginKata

[RedCardinal]

On 8/1/2019 at 7:05 PM, LivinginKata said:

I assume they think another customer will be getting off the next plane and spend all his/her holiday money at their eatery/bar ...   

Quite possible this assumption is starting to lose its lustre given how bad things are trending the last few seasons? 

 

I think many more are waking up to reality now.  Some may not accept that reality, but certainly feels like more people accept that things are economically quite dire now for Thailand's once popular tourist destinations.

[xylophone]

9 minutes ago, RedCardinal said:

Quite possible this assumption is starting to lose its lustre given how bad things are trending the last few seasons? 

 

I think many more are waking up to reality now.  Some may not accept that reality, but certainly feels like more people accept that things are economically quite dire now for Thailand's once popular tourist destinations.

Well I would like think that is the case, however judging by my experience with the guy who was going to fix my chair arms, I don't think it has sunk in yet?

 

However, perhaps there is some hope on the horizon, because I have noticed that several massage parlours/establishments have dropped their prices, and for that to happen, they would have to really be feeling the pinch, because there hasn't been a great deal of margin in that type of business for some time now.

 

Maybe it's a case of "too little too late"? And when you throw in the very poor exchange rate available, it sort of exacerbates the problem.

[fforest1]

On 8/1/2019 at 6:38 PM, xylophone said:

 

 

Short-term thinking, or shall I say no real thinking at, all but ensures that custom will be lost, and one of the hardest things to do is get a new customer, so it stands to reason that these are rare commodity and should be treated with respect and everything should be done to try and keep them, but no.........for many small business owners here, it's the baht they can get here and now which supersedes everything else, with no thinking about the future.
 

Well Phuket has a very bad reputation with expats all over Thailand as a place where rip offs and over charging are epidemic..

Phuket has had this reputation for a loooong time..

 

Pattaya may be a dump in a lot of ways but rip offs and overcharging just dont happen much here....I have only had the  you only gave me a 100 bill scam pulled on me a grand total of once ever....You just dont hear expats complain much at all in Pattaya about being over charged or scammed...

 

I think if you live in Phuket you just got to accept thats just the way quite a few Thais seem to roll there....And this is the exact reason loads of Tourist and expats avoid Phuket......

 

Phuket may put Pattaya to shame in the beauty department....But let me tell you the 10 baht baht bus rides makes up it....lol

Edited August 10, 2019 by fforest1

[emptypockets]

On ‎7‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 6:32 PM, xylophone said:

Fingers crossed CTS!!!!!

Why...are just simply a racist?

[Olmate]

3 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Well Phuket has a very bad reputation with expats all over Thailand as a place where rip offs and over charging are epidemic..

Phuket has had this reputation for a loooong time..

 

Pattaya may be a dump in a lot of ways but rip offs and overcharging just dont happen much here....I have only had the  you only gave me a 100 bill scam pulled on me a grand total of once ever....You just dont hear expats complain much at all in Pattaya about being over charged or scammed...

 

I think if you live in Phuket you just got to accept thats just the way quite a few Thais seem to roll there....And this is the exact reason loads of Tourist and expats avoid Phuket......

 

Phuket may put Pattaya to shame in the beauty department....But let me tell you the 10 baht baht bus rides makes up it....lol

If 10 baht bus is all your worried about, stick to Pattaya! However a regular bus from Patong to Phuket Town is just 20 baht and similar service operates from Phuket Town to most of the island. Minivan to airport just 180 baht ,hows Pattaya go in that department? If your an expat in Phuket you won,t be ripped off, if you do your a sucker! 

[pagallim]

5 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Well Phuket has a very bad reputation with expats all over Thailand as a place where rip offs and over charging are epidemic..

Phuket has had this reputation for a loooong time..

 

Pattaya may be a dump in a lot of ways but rip offs and overcharging just dont happen much here....I have only had the  you only gave me a 100 bill scam pulled on me a grand total of once ever....You just dont hear expats complain much at all in Pattaya about being over charged or scammed...

 

I think if you live in Phuket you just got to accept thats just the way quite a few Thais seem to roll there....And this is the exact reason loads of Tourist and expats avoid Phuket......

 

Phuket may put Pattaya to shame in the beauty department....But let me tell you the 10 baht baht bus rides makes up it....lol

Whilst not disputing your comment re bad reputation with expats all over Thailand, you need to keep in mind that as non Phuket resident expats, when they visit here they're just another tourist.   You will rarely hear Phuket resident expats complain about transport or rip offs as when you live here most expats avoid the tourist areas like the plague, and as such costs of day to day living are comparable with anywhere else in Thailand, with the bonus of stunning scenery, clean air, and a range of shopping or service options you won't find anywhere else outside Bangkok.

[xylophone]

8 hours ago, emptypockets said:

Why...are just simply a racist?

No.........simply do not like the way they behave!!!!!

[phuketrichard]

Quote

However a regular bus from Patong to Phuket Town is just 20 baht and similar service operates from Phuket Town to most of the island.

Not sure when was the last time you took the bus but, it hasn't been 20 baht for decades. its 50 baht from phuket town to all the beaches.

BUT we do have the smart bus to the airport and drive thru service for 90 day and tm30 reports>

I'll take phuket beaches to anything that pattaya has to offer.

 

One thing many seem to forget,  Pattaya is a small city in thailand with lots of bars and other activites

Phuket is a beautiful province with many fine beaches, accommodations, great, golfing food, sea sports, ( diving, fishing, kayaking),  international schools, ( great for raising a family)  etc etc 

 

Phuket is NOT just Patong

Edited August 11, 2019 by phuketrichard

[Olmate]

10 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

Not sure when was the last time you took the bus but, it hasn't been 20 baht for decades. its 50 baht from phuket town to all the beaches.

BUT we do have the smart bus to the airport and drive thru service for 90 day and tm30 reports>

I'll take phuket beaches to anything that pattaya has to offer.

 

One thing many seem to forget,  Pattaya is a small city in thailand with lots of bars and other activites

Phuket is a beautiful province with many fine beaches, accommodations, great, golfing food, sea sports, ( diving, fishing, kayaking),  international schools, ( great for raising a family)  etc etc 

 

Phuket is NOT just Patong

Oops, it’s 30 baht from Patong, checked this morning.Not that it means much. I’ve att. a shot of timetable for others info particularly other expats who may be planning a change from dead ordinary to great !

[phuketrichard]

I wonder how old that is?  As the sign in the back of the bus for phuket-kamala in thai an english states 50 baht an thats what i paid and i know the bus drivers.

[Olmate]

15 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

I wonder how old that is?  As the sign in the back of the bus for phuket-kamala in thai an english states 50 baht an thats what i paid and i know the bus drivers.

Don’t know, gf went Patong to town last week,30bht.phuket Kamala bit further I guess

Edited August 12, 2019 by Olmate

[DrDave]

19 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

I wonder how old that is?  As the sign in the back of the bus for phuket-kamala in thai an english states 50 baht an thats what i paid and i know the bus drivers.

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall some time ago the fare depended upon the type of bus, with the old, crappy blue buses being a little cheaper than the slightly newer, slightly less crappy blue and chrome buses.

[Shot]

Phuket Town - Patong 30/student 15

Phuket Town - Kamala 50/student 20

 

The rates haven't changed in the last year.

[Olmate]

1 hour ago, DrDave said:

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall some time ago the fare depended upon the type of bus, with the old, crappy blue buses being a little cheaper than the slightly newer, slightly less crappy blue and chrome buses.

Yep your wrong

[phuketrichard]

2 hours ago, DrDave said:

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall some time ago the fare depended upon the type of bus, with the old, crappy blue buses being a little cheaper than the slightly newer, slightly less crappy blue and chrome buses.

one i took was the old style, ( the ONLY kind that runs between kamala and Phuket town) not the enclosed bus which seem to run between Patong and Phuket
PS: last year kamala-phuket was 40 baht

Edited August 13, 2019 by phuketrichard

[xylophone]

Don't know that I've seen anywhere else in the world where small businesses start up and fail in quick succession and just lately around my area, it seems to have gotten worse, if that's at all possible, and it's puzzling why this happens........and of course there are the great mysteries of the world which I will get on to, especially those seen here in Patong.

 

The small roller blind bar near my place has closed yet again. So it has been opened, then closed, then reopened by the same owner, then closed and on-sold and now closed by the last and newest owner, and was it a surprise? Not to those with half an ounce of common sense because the bar would only accommodate about six farangs at best, and the pool table took up about 50% of the available space!

 

Further along Nanai Road and at the place where soi Banzaan intersects, a new eating place has opened which calls itself, "Up to You" and purports to be an Italian salad and panino? bar – – so will the idea stay fresh enough to attract customers in the place which is very difficult to get to, or will it wilt through lack of custom?

 

Short way away is the newly opened cafe/bar called "555" and I wonder whether this place will have the last laugh or not as regards its longevity.

 

Will the "Backside Bistro" the able to get away from pricing its food at the bottom end of the scale, or have the cheek to move upmarket, this especially in this extremely low season?

 

Will the "Longtime Bar" live up to its name or is it just providing a watering hole for the three or four resident girls regularly on duty?

 

Did the new bar which has replaced" Burger Me", "Amigos", "Nanai Sports Bar" and others ever anticipate the place being a magnet for local drinkers or will it continue in the same vein as its predecessors?

 

And I wonder if Don is worried about the fact that his bar/eating establishment only really has a few people in it on the Saturday and Sunday barbecue nights?

 

Other places along Nanai are also struggling although I would imagine a few of the low-budget guesthouses do have some occupants as I regularly see small gangs of cheap Chinese traipsing along the road, and have on two occasions over the past week almost ploughed into them in my car, as they like to walk two, three or four abreast, seemingly oblivious to the traffic or the fact that the road is very narrow.

 

In the same vein, I did "screech" to a halt on my Honda Click the other day (a couple of times actually) when small parties of them decided to walk straight into the road near Jungceylon, without looking and I was tempted to knock one over to teach them a lesson, but was more worried about damage to my bike than I was to them, so managed to brake just in time.

 

So the great mysteries I need someone to unravel for me are: –

 

Why do so many of the Chinese one encounters here have very little in the way of road sense?

 

Why do they have to shout when they talk, even more so when they are in a small place like a cafe or restaurant?

 

And if the Indian tourists are supposedly going to be the saviours of this place, why do they share one bottle of beer and also try to share one woman, whilst at the same time forgetting to spend any money on soap and deodorant?
 

[hansgruber]

3 hours ago, xylophone said:

Don't know that I've seen anywhere else in the world where small businesses start up and fail in quick succession and just lately around my area, it seems to have gotten worse, if that's at all possible, and it's puzzling why this happens........and of course there are the great mysteries of the world which I will get on to, especially those seen here in Patong.

 

The small roller blind bar near my place has closed yet again. So it has been opened, then closed, then reopened by the same owner, then closed and on-sold and now closed by the last and newest owner, and was it a surprise? Not to those with half an ounce of common sense because the bar would only accommodate about six farangs at best, and the pool table took up about 50% of the available space!

 

Further along Nanai Road and at the place where soi Banzaan intersects, a new eating place has opened which calls itself, "Up to You" and purports to be an Italian salad and panino? bar – – so will the idea stay fresh enough to attract customers in the place which is very difficult to get to, or will it wilt through lack of custom?

 

Short way away is the newly opened cafe/bar called "555" and I wonder whether this place will have the last laugh or not as regards its longevity.

 

Will the "Backside Bistro" the able to get away from pricing its food at the bottom end of the scale, or have the cheek to move upmarket, this especially in this extremely low season?

 

Will the "Longtime Bar" live up to its name or is it just providing a watering hole for the three or four resident girls regularly on duty?

 

Did the new bar which has replaced" Burger Me", "Amigos", "Nanai Sports Bar" and others ever anticipate the place being a magnet for local drinkers or will it continue in the same vein as its predecessors?

 

And I wonder if Don is worried about the fact that his bar/eating establishment only really has a few people in it on the Saturday and Sunday barbecue nights?

 

Other places along Nanai are also struggling although I would imagine a few of the low-budget guesthouses do have some occupants as I regularly see small gangs of cheap Chinese traipsing along the road, and have on two occasions over the past week almost ploughed into them in my car, as they like to walk two, three or four abreast, seemingly oblivious to the traffic or the fact that the road is very narrow.

 

In the same vein, I did "screech" to a halt on my Honda Click the other day (a couple of times actually) when small parties of them decided to walk straight into the road near Jungceylon, without looking and I was tempted to knock one over to teach them a lesson, but was more worried about damage to my bike than I was to them, so managed to brake just in time.

 

So the great mysteries I need someone to unravel for me are: –

 

Why do so many of the Chinese one encounters here have very little in the way of road sense?

 

Why do they have to shout when they talk, even more so when they are in a small place like a cafe or restaurant?

 

And if the Indian tourists are supposedly going to be the saviours of this place, why do they share one bottle of beer and also try to share one woman, whilst at the same time forgetting to spend any money on soap and deodorant?
 

Soap and deodorant got me good. Lol

I was just Central and got a good whiff of a group I was walking behind. It was a Body odour cloud that I almost succumbed to. 

Deodorant must be against their religion or something. 

[LivinginKata]

Another excellent report xyl. Maybe you don't venture much down south end of Nanai but that bar/eatery way south end has finally closed after about 3 years. Being gutted out now. Looked a nice place. Wrong location. 

 

 

[Kopitiam]

1 hour ago, hansgruber said:

Soap and deodorant got me good. Lol

I was just Central and got a good whiff of a group I was walking behind. It was a Body odour cloud that I almost succumbed to. 

Deodorant must be against their religion or something. 

If you have lived in China, you will know why.  Near misses are a daily occurrence on Chinese roads, especially in the cities due to the huge population.  Same with talking aloud, if you don't shout, you will not be heard.  Just like rushing for food at a buffet.  If you are too slow, there will not be any food left to eat.

[xylophone]

28 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

Another excellent report xyl. Maybe you don't venture much down south end of Nanai but that bar/eatery way south end has finally closed after about 3 years. Being gutted out now. Looked a nice place. Wrong location. 

 

 

Funny you should mention that Lik because just the other week I was driving past when the old place had been all but pulled down, and I spied a farang sitting on a deckchair on the concrete slab, drinking a beer, so I stopped to talk to him.

 

He is opening a new bar and I think the name of it is on a poster he has hanging around it somewhere, however he also told me that he had bought the shop next door to it and it was now a motorcycle rental place and he had bought another little shop just along from that, but I've no idea what it was going to be.

 

He was European of some description (can't remember if he said he was from Italy or Belgium?) And he seemed upbeat about what he was doing, however I had to have my doubts because he was spending quite a bit of money on those places and that area has been dead for years now – – so why would you do that??

 

I didn't see a Thai lady in attendance anywhere, but there has to be a story there somewhere because no one in their right mind would buy/rent a bar and two shops in that place!!

 

[Lashay]

5 hours ago, xylophone said:

Will the "Backside Bistro" the able to get away from pricing its food at the bottom end of the scale, or have the cheek to move upmarket, this especially in this extremely low season?

Backside Bistro has new place at entrance of Central (coming from Bangla). While not expensive, it's not as cheap as Nanai either. Basically a "burger joint" with standard prices

[Old Croc]

This site has bus information and is fairly up to date - April 2019.

It has information on the Smart bus as well as the Blue and Pink buses.

It states prices for the Blue as 30-50 baht. The Pink bus, which goes around the city, is just 5 baht.

 

https://www.phuket101.net/how-to-ride-phuket-bus/