Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Sad to see another small bar on Nanai having all of its fixtures and fittings removed (about 50m north of Makro) and also noticed that the long standing and "famous" massage parlour, "Nickys" has had the same treatment!

Posted
42 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Sad to see another small bar on Nanai having all of its fixtures and fittings removed (about 50m north of Makro) and also noticed that the long standing and "famous" massage parlour, "Nickys" has had the same treatment!

 

Many places never coming back. The Bamboo independent convenience stores all seem to be stripped bare inside. 3 locations Karon/Kata. The 7s and Family markets have big pocket owners. But even some small 7s closed.

  • Like 1
Posted

While some other ones open, a brand new 7 is opening near my place - this week, about 50m from two Familymarts either side and just about 150m from another 7...!!! No idea how these places make money being so closed to each other, but I guess they do , or did...!? 

 

 

Posted
7 hours ago, xylophone said:

and when I said that there were hardly any farangs left here and probably wouldn't be many coming for a couple of years, she seemed bemused!!

Well honestly would have looked at you bemused myself, 'years'?

 

While rest of low season is pretty much a goner if country opens up borders under reasonable terms by Aug, high season should see decent amount of Euros then.

 

Aus and NZ are still going to be iffy though, missing the Aus market in particular is going to hurt, especially bars in places like OTOP 

 

Be good chance of no Russian, Chinese or Indians by then but many Euros will view that as more incentive to come (everyone been complaining about all 3 groups for years) and those missing wont' be a loss for most small businesses here (mainly hurt BigC, 711 and chinese tours)

 

Also with so many businesses unlikely to reopen/survive next couple of months be also less overall competition, for example have also heard all/most of the bars in san sabai car park were given eviction orders to be out by July 1 as land was sold by bank, the already mentioned Soi Kepsap and many other small businesses around have already been stripped or knocked down (developers seem to be taking advantage of current situation to redevelop all over the place)

 

How well Patong/pattaya/islands particularly and Thailand generally is going to do over next 6 months is really going to be up to how the gov reopens the borders, if they keep faffing around with quarantines, travel bubbles, business people only, 1000 arrivals per day, "quality tourists" into Aug then rest of the year is screwed, if they come up with something reasonable before then high season should be OK, if they don't then not only are tourist areas screwed but the rot will also spread to non tourist areas

  • Like 1
Posted
14 minutes ago, Lashay said:

Well honestly would have looked at you bemused myself, 'years'?

Yep, that's my take on it, a couple years before Patong gets anywhere near what it was in recent times, and even longer, if ever, to match the halcyon days of yore.

  • Like 2
Posted
7 hours ago, madmitch said:

Thailand opening its borders is only part of the story; other countries must also do the same, airlines will need to start flying between the countries and tourists need confidence to travel without fear of either contracting coronavirus or having borders closed or quarantine imposed at either end. Thats asking a lot.

If you have been following the european news you would see they already are. Most internal borders in the EU should be open by end of the month. 


From July 1 EU commission has told schengen members to start opening external borders and issuing visas (Western Balkan states is already approved for July 1) , some are already doing so, yesterday Sweden told embassys to start issuing visas to Thais and about 6 other non EU countries. Greece has already opened to multiple non EU countries. France is allowing foreign students from anywhere in from July 1. Iceland is already open. All these with minimal restrictions, either deemed safe enough or just not allowed. They are not trying to over complicate things like in Thailand and asia in general. On the Asian side Japan and Taiwan have already announced their side of the travel bubbles with Thailand. Thailand dropped Switzerland into the mix yesterday


Probably many more changes not seen and all this has  happened in last week or so.

 

Just as everyone rushed to close borders now it goes the other way. And only thing stopping Thailand being in any early waves of opening is the Thai government it's self

 

July the main news to track will be who is opening to who and under what conditions

 

After that airlines will quickly follow and then passengers. There might be many afraid to travel but there is also 3 months of pent up demand to mitigate that

  • Like 2
Posted
2 hours ago, Lashay said:

If you have been following the european news you would see they already are. Most internal borders in the EU should be open by end of the month. 


From July 1 EU commission has told schengen members to start opening external borders and issuing visas (Western Balkan states is already approved for July 1) , some are already doing so, yesterday Sweden told embassys to start issuing visas to Thais and about 6 other non EU countries. Greece has already opened to multiple non EU countries. France is allowing foreign students from anywhere in from July 1. Iceland is already open. All these with minimal restrictions, either deemed safe enough or just not allowed. They are not trying to over complicate things like in Thailand and asia in general. On the Asian side Japan and Taiwan have already announced their side of the travel bubbles with Thailand. Thailand dropped Switzerland into the mix yesterday


Probably many more changes not seen and all this has  happened in last week or so.

 

Just as everyone rushed to close borders now it goes the other way. And only thing stopping Thailand being in any early waves of opening is the Thai government it's self

 

July the main news to track will be who is opening to who and under what conditions

 

After that airlines will quickly follow and then passengers. There might be many afraid to travel but there is also 3 months of pent up demand to mitigate that

You make a good point regarding the borders. They are slowly opening for travel between most EU states and it will slowly open more and more. But how many people will have the appetite for long haul travel?

 

If Russia opens its borders in time and Thailand drop quarantine we may see a high season of sorts. We might also see a few Scandinavian regulars after Christmas. Were unlikely to see the Indians and as for the Chinese, who knows.

  • Like 1
Posted

The announcement earlier today that normal inbound international flights will not be permitted until September doesn't bode well.  Even if restrictions are lifted in September, how will airlines react? Will there be enough demand to offer a full schedule of flights? Will passengers from certain regions be refused entry? Will airlines be permitted fill every seat on a plane?

With so many unknowns, the only certainty is that there won't be *any* inbound tourists until sometime in September, at best. I wouldn't expect arrivals to approach anything near normal levels until mid to late 2021, and that's being optimistic. 

  • Like 2
Posted
5 hours ago, DrDave said:

The announcement earlier today that normal inbound international flights will not be permitted until September doesn't bode well. 

Where is this 'announcement'? See nothing anywhere about it.

 

Are you referring to what CAAT said 3 days ago after the meeting with airlines?

 

'Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand director Chula Sukmanop said none of the airlines he met had expressed interest in resuming their international flights by next month, when the order shutting down the country’s airspace is set to expire. He attributed the reluctance to uncertainty over the government’s policies on international travels.'

 

Thats basically airlines saying not going to start until government's clarify what the hell the plan is, and probably a complete rejection of Thai Govs 1000 buisness people per day and no more that they came up with day before. That would never be worth it to the airlines...plus how the hell would they manage it? Sorry you cannot get on your plane today, other airlines used up all the quota?

 

It was non news really, only interesting thing that came out of that meeting was international flights would be allowed seating at near full capacity (just have to keep few rows at back empty in case someone starts to show symptoms)

 

As said thai gov is currently coming up with many overly complicated unworkable 'plans', is rather unfortunate they have had no one to copy in Asia yet because smart innovators they are not, and guy in charge of it, Anutin, is worse than most

 

Though that might change soon, Malaysia announced yesterday expanding types of visa holders allowed in, nice and simple too, no quarantine, just covid test before getting on plane or after arrival and they also start talks with other countries in the region tomorrow

 

 

  • Like 2
Posted
4 hours ago, Lashay said:

Where is this 'announcement'? See nothing anywhere about it.

You are correct, rather than an official announcement from CAAT banning flights, it was more a statement of fact by a CAAT official that flights won't resume until September due to uncertainty over the Thai government's ever-changing policies. Same end result, though.

Sorry for the confusion.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
8 hours ago, xylophone said:

Yes, it's the lack of inbound tourists that is going to kill off/put a strain on any of the existing businesses here, and as I write this, I have seen a few more small shops/businesses closing down. 

 

Last night I caught up with a couple of friends in Bangla and we went to my favourite Italian restaurant "Salute" and we were the only ones in it, apart from one another lone customer, and none of the other four restaurants in that little Soi were open.

 

Around 10 o'clock we ventured up and down Bangla and it was pretty much dead apart from loud music emanating from "Sweetie" bar, which was quite busy and had some dancing girls in it, and there were live bands in what was once Monsoon (forgot the name of the new bar!) and in Lion bar, however the majority of the patrons, not that there were many, were Thais.

 

There were about seven or eight other bars open, as well as "Illuzion" and one other nightclub place, and I would suggest there were more people in black outside of the venue then there were inside, and I don't really know what they were doing but seemed to be operating like bouncers/greeters or the like?

 

Had a couple of drinks at the "Black Horse" bar and all of the patrons were drinking out of the bottle, which was seemingly not allowed, but we followed suit anyway as it was more convenient. Again apart from myself and two other farangs, the bar was home to about 10 other Thai patrons, and this seemed to set the scene, as just occasionally, just very occasionally, a small group of Thai girls/women would proceed drunkenly up Bangla towards wherever they were going, so most of the patronage that evening would have come from local Thais, perhaps out celebrating for the first time in a while, or maybe sussing out any job opportunities and having a good time whilst doing so!

 

Whilst we were seated at the bar we had two visits from two groups of "officials" who were taking photographs of the bars, the patrons in it and also taking notes, whilst at the same time pointing out certain "things" to the staff.

 

Once the second lot had gone one of the staff was complaining that all these officials really wanted was a kickback, because that's what they seemed to be angling for, according to her.

 

A friend was going to stay out late and celebrate, but I decided to wend my way home just before midnight and I was struck by the fact that I was the only one walking up Bangla, whilst there were just a couple of bars left open, and my friend enquired as to what nightclubs were open and was advised that two were, however all of the lights had been extinguished at the entrances and no one was outside, but they were still operating and allowing the occasional punter in to the place – – I guess brown envelopes are still in use, and to back this up one of the bar girls said that one particular "disco/club" had been open until 2:30 AM in the morning.

 

A sad state of affairs, even though four of the bars that were open seemed to be pulling in enough custom, whereas the others were almost empty.

 

Interestingly enough, the huge bar which set up where Soi Crocodile once was, "Bar Funk" had a very large sign in front of it which said they were opening on July 9th, however good luck to them in being able to fill it with the amount of punters needed to be able to turn a profit, because the punters they want just aren't here.
 

I thought the no bottle rule was for the usual Thai way of drinking in retaurants with a bottle of whiskey on the table from which everybody topped their glasses up. Maybe I misinterpreted. If it does apply to beer, I really can't see any reasoning behind the concept. But I cant see reasoning behind a lot of concepts here!

  • Haha 1
Posted

There seems to be three similar topics on the Phuket board for Phuket status/outlooks/wakes etc, so i will post this in each. Apologies if you read it elsewhere already....

 

There is allot of negativity on this thread picking on Phuket during this china flu bug season. Please keep in mind, EVERYWHERE in the world that still has a lockdown is suffering bigly. Not just Phuket.

 

ANYWHERE In the world that is tourism reliant has been hit especially  hard.


Things will bounce back to normal in Phuket and elsewhere faster than you would imagine once the lockdowns are lifted.

 

In addition, there is a fast-growing realization and consensus globally that the kungflu is really just a nasty flu season, and not worthy of any general lockdown. Many are calling the whole China flu hysteria a hoax, and just a power grab.
 

At most, this nasty flu is worthy of special precautions for the elderly 70+  and those with certain co-morbidities. Unfortunately and obviously, those specific folks need to be locked-down or only venture outside to the reopened world at their own risk, until an effective treatment or vaccine is found.
 

Indeed, Thailands perceived (current) success at keeping the (tested) virus levels low is actually a huge draw for even more tourists to come once the lockdowns end. 
 

It sucks if your income has been severely impacted by the lockdowns, but those who can hang-on for a little while longer will see the light at the end of the tunnel. There will be new businesses opening where old ones went under.
 

Things will get back to a new normal, and hopefully that new normal will be even better than the old one.

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Posted
4 hours ago, Patong2 said:

Well Patong looks pretty attractive from where I am sitting in Auckland NZ.

Had to go to bed at 9.20pm because the power went off because of a storm going through.

Of course that means no power for heat pump or electric blanket.

It is back on now and of course woke us up when it did come on with all the beeps etc.

 

It is very cold and wet at the moment, and going for a walk is just too bloody cold and we are both putting on too much weight. We have decided we are having to go and walk around some of the bigger malls a few times just to get some exercise each day and not freeze.

 

And everyone is glum and complaining

 

I'm happy to go back to Patong as soon as we can.

 

 

 

Here-here! Give me Patong over the “English Riviera” (South Devon) any time! It’s midsummer here and the thermometer won’t even worry the 20°C mark for as far forward as they can forecast.

 

I just hope that Phuket lets me in in December or else I’ll have to divert somewhere else when I stopover in Singapore – which I would rather not have to do. I don’t really care how quiet Patong will be – I don’t need hundreds of bars and eateries, just my few favourites and some beaches for the daytimes.

  • Like 2
Posted
1 hour ago, London Lowf said:

 

Here-here! Give me Patong over the “English Riviera” (South Devon) any time! It’s midsummer here and the thermometer won’t even worry the 20°C mark for as far forward as they can forecast.

 

I just hope that Phuket lets me in in December or else I’ll have to divert somewhere else when I stopover in Singapore – which I would rather not have to do. I don’t really care how quiet Patong will be – I don’t need hundreds of bars and eateries, just my few favourites and some beaches for the daytimes.

Good luck obtaining all the requirements !!

Posted
On 7/5/2020 at 5:11 PM, Lashay said:

Anyone else noticed there is yet another exodus out of Patong occurring? Many of the staff around that returned after lock down or stayed have been leaving with loaded pick up trucks, obviously not planning on returning any time soon

 

Guess the nonsense about how gov is planning to open borders (Chinese tour groups, caps of less than 1% normal arrivals volume, why bother?) is making them lose all hope. Also been seeing buisness owners turn negative, especially nightlife, many are starting to look beyond border opening and asking how Gov will overreact when the inevitable odd cluster forms.

Well having a chance to escape from what was Phuket the island FEMA internment camp,I think leaving would be pretty smart in case there is a Covid lockdown part 2....... 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...