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Posted

A quick addition to a previous post..............

 

It looks as though La Drinkeria may have finally bitten the dust as it has been closed again I saw a large A4 size notice stuck on its window; the type that gets stuck on the windows of stores that don't pay their bills, for example, and it had an official stamp on it?

 

If it has closed, it wouldn't be a surprise to those of us who have lived here a while and who have knowledge of the comings and goings of small businesses here.

 

In my previous post I did mention that Green Mango looked to be open again, but maybe I was mistaken and that the current owner/landlord opened the place up for a good clean out, because it seems shuttered again today?

 

Still not too much going on in Jungceylon, and the "This is Siam" basement part of the place is pitifully bereft of tourist activity and I felt sorry for the benches full of massage ladies sitting outside of their respective parlours, waiting for a tourist to happen by.

 

Had to go past the food court to get to these and at 1:15 PM, there was no more than five people in the whole food court, when at one time it would be pretty well full.

 

And is this a sign of the times...............the large Coffee Club coffee shop/restaurant at the front of Jungceylon, facing Rat-u-Thit road, has stopped buying the Bangkok Post for the customers, and when I enquired about this, I was told that they had stopped buying them for all of their restaurants here??

 

I sincerely hope this isn't true because it was one of the draw-cards to be able to sit there and read the paper whilst enjoying the view as well as a few tasty morsels from the menu.

 

It looks like the bar area at the front of the Bella Cose guesthouse is almost finished and what I didn't realise was that this had been tried before in the past and failed – – that is leasing the bar area only, so it will be interesting to see how this one goes.

 

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Posted

The Green Mango is opposite Da Moreno?

 

I've enjoyed Da Moreno's pizzas for the last five years before they went down the pan this visit, and never saw more than one punter in Green Mango - invariably sniffing around the rather attractive bargirl.

Posted
10 hours ago, London Lowf said:

The Green Mango is opposite Da Moreno?

 

I've enjoyed Da Moreno's pizzas for the last five years before they went down the pan this visit, and never saw more than one punter in Green Mango - invariably sniffing around the rather attractive bargirl.

Da Moreno is still open, so do you mean that the quality has gone downhill?? Haven't had one for a while so hope that was just "blip" as ALMOST got one last night!!

Posted

By down the pan, I meant the quality!

 

One of the culinary highlights of my visits to Phuket was their rather pricey "Universalle" pizza but I had one in the beginning December and the toppings were very sparse. The cheese was virtually undetectable - I expect it to be "stringy" as you eat into it straight out of the oven, but not even close. Annoying as, even after a nine-month absense, I am recognised there.

 

I went back a week or so later in case it was just a "blip", but just the same so I won't be returning.

 

Same owner/manager, so I guess they are cost-cutting? Maybe you'll be luckier?

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Posted
16 minutes ago, Timbob said:

It's always nice reading your updates Xylophone. I've not posted much on this thread but back in April 2018 I posted this:

 

Well, here it is today:

 

swimmingpool20.jpg.409ccbcf40717f9c8792fca530cf4424.jpg

 

I was right that it's a swimming pool. This only became obvious a few months ago when they filled it with water. But I'm not quite sure what the building is for. My guess is a water park but what do you think? You can't see it in this photo but there's another structure to the right with stairs and a big slide down to the pool. I rarely see anyone working there these days, so I suppose they're run out of money.   

 

Well spotted Timbob, as I didn't even know it was there, despite being in that area many, many times!

 

Running out of money would be a good bet, or perhaps running out of water!! As we all know that Patong has millions of gallons of surplus water to splash around the place – – yeah right.

 

Talking of water parks, a friend has told me that the huge acreage of ground which has been cleared and can be seen between the road from Kathu going towards Central, and the almost parallel road running out of Kathu towards Tesco Lotus, is also going to be a waterpark?

 

However it is absolutely huge and would be more akin to a type of major DisneyWorld structure – – time will tell, unless anyone on the forums here knows exactly what it is?

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Posted
2 hours ago, Timbob said:

It's always nice reading your updates Xylophone. I've not posted much on this thread but back in April 2018 I posted this:

 

Well, here it is today:

 

swimmingpool20.jpg.409ccbcf40717f9c8792fca530cf4424.jpg

 

I was right that it's a swimming pool. This only became obvious a few months ago when they filled it with water. But I'm not quite sure what the building is for. My guess is a water park but what do you think? You can't see it in this photo but there's another structure to the right with stairs and a big slide down to the pool. I rarely see anyone working there these days, so I suppose they're run out of money.   

 

 

I see that structure as I drive along middle road in the day. Dead then. I always assumed it was some sort of night venue, bars and the like. Big pool. Interesting. 

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Posted
On 2/26/2020 at 3:13 PM, Lashay said:

Yeah it was meant to be a new night life area. Many bars owners i know had been approached to open there, all had no interest. Everyone remembers the Thai boxing stadium bar complex flop and that was when industry was doing a lot better.

Nice one. It's good to know.

 

Since it's not far from my balcony, I'm glad this 'night life area' project seems to have stalled. There are occasional events in the neighboring plot and the music can be VERY loud. 

Posted
19 hours ago, xylophone said:

Driving along Nanai Road couple of days ago and for no reason whatsoever, the title of a book came to mind, this when I saw about a dozen motorbikes or more driving south down Nanai, with no one on them wearing a crash helmet.

 

As I said, this was for no reason whatsoever, but the book title was, "A day no pigs would die" and I translated it in my mind to, "A day when no crash helmets would be worn". Luckily enough later I did see a few crash helmets being worn, but nowhere near enough, especially with the accident rate here, and of course it being the law.

 

However, just yesterday I drove back from Chalong in my car and at the small and strange roundabout at the south end of Nanai, where it joins the new middle road, plus the road going towards the beach, as well as the road south to Chalong, there were police checks on every corner and quite a number of motorbike riders had been pulled over – – not before time.

 

And later that day I was riding my bike in rat-u-thid road and I was pulled over by a policeman, at the top of Bangla, so I joined the queue of other riders, many without helmets, and I was told I could leave without having to produce any licence or whatever, but I did have my helmet on and was driving at a slow speed, so this was no surprise.

 

On to other things, and the new building at the intersection one above the Patong police station looks to be a hotel, although it is still being built, so it could be a block of apartments.

 

Either way, Patong needs either one like a Moose needs a hat rack!

 

Whilst this new building is going on, a hotel just off rat-u-thid road, which has about 30 rooms, is just about to close its doors because it has less than half a dozen customers in there at present, and this is high season, or so called.

 

Feedback from a contact in the wine trade is that some hotels are cutting back on their stocks of wine because of the downturn.

 

I was out on Wednesday evening to catch up with one of the posters on TV and it was a very pleasant evening, not that I stayed too long because I already had about a bottle of red wine and beer before he turned up, so I was mindful not to imbibe too much more.

 

So I headed home at about 12:15 AM and thought I would l go straight home, but as they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men"..........because I was stopped in my tracks by a Thai guy who used to be the door manager at Nidas  gogo, and he has got me so many times whilst I've been meandering my way up Bangla because he wanted to take me to a new club, and he pestered me so much (and to be honest I felt a little sorry for him) that I reluctantly followed him down the little dead-end soi which is next to New York bar.

 

He did say that the girls were beautiful and all that stuff, but it was a small place with four girls shuffling around hanging onto poles, and even the best looking one there would be in the very average category, so I was gone within about three or four minutes!

 

But what did surprise me was the state of that little Soi, which as I recall had a Mexican style restaurant in it at one time, along with a cheap hotel/hostel, along with a few other shops, and at the far end were the Bangla Suites, because now it looked almost derelict!

 

It is not a place I would normally visit, and it really did look the worse for wear, with empty shopfronts and nothing going for it at all.

 

I did succumb to temptation a little further up the road when I popped into Red Hot to listen to the band and was invited onto the stage to sing a few songs, which I always enjoy doing, and that the audience appreciates them, just makes my day, or should I say night/early morning!
 

The construction at the intersection near the police station is, as I’ve been told, is indeed another hotel, financed by a member (or two) of the Indian community 

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Posted
4 hours ago, bloodyholly said:

The construction at the intersection near the police station is, as I’ve been told, is indeed another hotel, financed by a member (or two) of the Indian community 

That would add up as a few months ago I saw 3 Indian guys on the patch of bare land, pointing here and there, so wondered if they were eyeing up a development?

Posted
On 3/2/2020 at 4:36 PM, xylophone said:

As the saying goes, I cannot make head nor tail of this place, this especially given the fact that another poster has suggested there is a hotel going up not far from the police station in Patong.

 

I say this because La Drinkeria has now got a huge SELL notice on the door, along with an accompanying telephone number, so as predicted, doomed to failure.

 

Also noticed another bar in Nanai which has a For Sale sign on it, and a small restaurant which also seems to have shut up shop.

 

And of course the smaller to mid hotels are struggling with low occupancy rates.

 

Regarding my first paragraph, I know of someone who has a small hotel (11 rooms) and who is trying to sell it for 34 million baht, but it's been on the market for a couple of years and no takers, so I ran this past a real estate agent friend of mine who specialises in hotels, and his comments were that the guy must be dreaming, or in cloud cuckoo land!!

 

I tried to do the numbers, but couldn't make them work, and I tried to inform the seller of my friends comments (respectfully so) and he seems to think that reducing it to 30 million baht might work!!!

 

Maybe I stay here because I do like living in "cloud cuckoo land"...............??

I can tell you without running to numbers, 30 mil for 11 rooms is overpriced by a factor of 10! 

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Posted
1 hour ago, eezergood said:

I can tell you without running to numbers, 30 mil for 11 rooms is overpriced by a factor of 10! 

$100,000 US? Better run them numbers then!

Posted
1 hour ago, madmitch said:

 

It seems to me that everyone overestimates the value of their businesses in Phuket whether they own or rent the premises. How many places have had the For Sale sign up for years?

 

There's a place near me been on the market for about five years with the owner wanting around 6 million baht for a rented business. During that time similar businesses have closed down as contracts have expired and can be picked up for a nominal sum, but they remain empty as no one is interested.

 

The real value of a business is what  someone is prepared to pay for it. In many cases around Phuket, especially right now, that amount is a big fat zero!

True MM and valid points all..........this is not only for businesses but for houses and condos too, although the occasional house will sell when the price paid is about half what the seller initially wanted (have seen that on a couple of occasions).

 

Having said that a few smaller businesses do get bought, but these are the ones which have failed time and time again, but are "re-incarnated" with high hopes, but which inevitably fail again. Recycling I suppose.

 

La Drinkeria was a prime example; the two roller-blind bars near me are another, and just out side of Starbucks in Jungceylon (middle road side) a new kiosk is being built in place of one which was demolished because the business failed, and that one was taken over from another business which also failed, but right next to this new one is another empty kiosk which failed because of.............lack of business!! 

 

And back to the hotel I originally posted about, it should be said that all of the rooms are large (40 sq m or so) and the hotel almost centrally placed, so a sort of boutique hotel if you like........but the price????? Yet when I speak to the guy about it he just cannot see that the price he is asking is way over the top, and to honest his stubbornness on this matter becomes very wearing!

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Posted

Really enjoy reports of what is going on.

We are booked to come back in April but who knows what could transpire.

With all its problems we still miss Patong and hope to be back there soon

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to update us.

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