Patong - The Wake

[xylophone]

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!

[LivinginKata]

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.

[Agusts]

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...!? 

 

 

[DrDave]

6 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

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.

A lot of those smaller 7s don't make much money. Once you've had a glimpse of how they setup their franchises, you quickly learn that "owners" are essentially managers working for CP.

[xylophone]

On 6/15/2020 at 5:40 PM, LivinginKata said:

 

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.

It is certainly a mixed bag here at the moment LiK, because as I have mentioned previously, many shops are closing and being stripped of their fixtures and fittings, probably never to return.

 

And I mentioned on another thread about the state of the bars in Bangla after I took a walk down there a couple of days ago, because it will take a lot of work and money to get them back into a "usable state".

 

Amongst all of that I was surprised yesterday to hear that the owners of the place in which I stay, which only has me as the guest at the moment, have signed a six-year lease on a shop on Nanai Road, which they are intending to turn into an Italian restaurant.

 

The owners of this small apartment place where I live are a Thai woman and her Italian husband, along with the Thai woman's mother and father, and why on earth they would want to start a restaurant in Nanai Road is a complete mystery. Moreover, within the 50 m stretch of road in which they are planning to open, there are two other Italian restaurants, and one seems to get fairly good reviews, mainly because the fare is exceedingly cheap.

 

There seems to be no rhyme nor reason for this decision, especially as the Italian guy goes back home for three months of the year, and of course there is a dearth of farangs here at the moment, and when I asked the Thai woman what sort of clientele the restaurant was aimed at (before I knew it was Italian) she commented that farangs were the target market, 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!!

 

Reminds me of my ex-girlfriend, when she started a very small (actually minute) food stall in the muddy track going up to the elephant camp in Kalim, and when I asked her who was going to frequent the eating place, because there was nobody to eat there, apart from a couple of extremely poor families, her reply was, "if I cook good food people will come". So my question was, "come from where?" And her reply was, "they will come"......... and this went on a few times before I realised I was bashing my head against a brick wall because there was no planning, knowledge or common sense put into this little venture.

 

And, true to form it failed within a month – – so much for business planning and acumen, because many Thais just don't seem to have it, and that seems to fit the case with the Thai woman and the Italian husband here.

[Agusts]

It's just not Thais,  also farangs,  some people like to have an adventure, even a business adventure that could loose money will do..., they have to do something...!

 

I was talking to a European guy, not sure from where, who bought some used Honda Forza bikes and showing me one on the beach. He said he was looking for some Xmax to buy now, he said he has a restaurant and bike rental with his Thai wife... I was amused and said why expanding so much when you hardly find anyone to rent big bikes in this time,  his reply was we should do it now when times are hard, to be prepared,  invest more... !!!? And the bike price he told me were not cheap or bargain...

 

I'm not a business person and maybe don't understand all this, but to me some people do business like when I bet in a casino...! Seems the same to me, mostly  odds are against it, low chances of success, but I guess they enjoy it, ....like me... ! lol

 

 

[Lashay]

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

Edited June 19, 2020 by Lashay

[xylophone]

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.

[madmitch]

4 hours ago, Lashay said:

 

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

I would love for you to be right being in the business but I really can't see next high season being "OK". 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.

 

I've already noticed that a number of hotels are offering reduced rates right up until Christmas. I'm not aware of that happening before.

[billythehat]

10 hours ago, Lashay said:

Hab snip:

 

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.

 

Be good chance of no Russian, Chinese or Indians by then but many Euros will view that as more incentive to come

Sir, I recommend you return that Thai Crystal Ball and ask for a full refund.

 

Europe has taken a fatal financial blow due to the CD19 crisis; the recession is global and considerably worse than 2008-09. Many folk are more concerned with keeping a roof over their heads, paying bills and feeding mouths than taking a holiday. Within the UK industry I work in, supply chains have been severely disrupted for months with the consequence of delayed or cancelled large capital projects. That’s the reality right now and for some time to come.

[Lashay]

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

[KarenBravo]

International airlines are dithering about starting operations again.

What with governmental guidelines on seating arrangement, it means that flights cannot be profitable, unless ticket prices are jacked up by at least a third.

[xylophone]

49 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

International airlines are dithering about starting operations again.

What with governmental guidelines on seating arrangement, it means that flights cannot be profitable, unless ticket prices are jacked up by at least a third.

Yes, you make a good point, not only because some airlines are reluctant to start again, but others that do will probably have to adjust their seating arrangements, thereby meaning less passengers and a much higher price for that travel.

 

So Thailand will not be the place for a "cheap holiday" as it has often been in the past, and if you add all of the other things mentioned in a previous post or two, plus the fact that many of the "target market" for places like Phuket and Pattaya will have seen their earnings dwindle or have been out of work for a while, so an overseas holiday might not be financially viable for them.

 

Patong was becoming quieter as time wore on anyway, mainly because it offered nothing outside of the bars and women, both of which were adjusting their prices upwards and I doubt whether things like the huge water park/theme park being built north of Kathu are going to pull in the tourists, much the same as the new and extended Central hasn't done.

 

Of course I would love to be wrong on my assumptions, mainly for the sake of the businesses here, and especially those owned by friends, but I, like them, are not too hopeful for the (near) future prospects of Patong.

[madmitch]

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.

[DrDave]

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. 

[Lashay]

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

 

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Lashay

[DrDave]

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.

[xylophone]

5 hours ago, DrDave said:

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.

When I read that, I was dismayed, not only because it will impact upon the small businesses here (at least those that remain) but for a few friends who are in the situation of wanting to come back here.

 

I have a friend now stuck in Canada and he managed to get there by a rather circuitous route about six weeks ago, but unfortunately the lucrative contract that he was hoping for didn't materialise, so now he is stuck in the middle of nowhere in northern Canada and would desperately like to come back here, but many hurdles in the way – – availability of flight, cost of flight, health certificate for Thai authorities, quarantine/isolation when entering the country and so on.

 

Meanwhile, back in Patong there isn't a great deal to come back to, and although a few massage places are open, I don't see them doing much business, and the superb bone fide massage place, "Sweet Lemongrass" in Nanai 8 and its sister shop in Soi Patong Whiskey (off Rat-u-Thid road) are open but struggling for business, and I believe the owner is going to close one of them shortly because of this. No point in having five or six staff hanging around waiting for customers, when there aren't any!

 

Jungceylon is still a dead zone and it looks like the restaurant Churrasco (fantastic steaks), has done its dash, along with a few others in restaurant alley, although did notice that one or two folks were dining in the Wine Connection.

 

Had something happen yesterday which is a first for me, actually thinking about it it's a second, because a young girl in Muslim attire, with a small daughter came up to me and asked me if I could give her some money (which I did). I said it was a second time because another Muslim lady who was stamping the car park receipts also asked me for some money a couple of months back.

 

So getting back to my original point, no farangs and no tourists mean no or very little business for many small businesses here, and the travel notices/fiasco is not helping one iota.

 

[xylophone]

On 6/20/2020 at 6:29 PM, DrDave said:

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. 

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.
 

[billythehat]

2 hours ago, xylophone said:

<hab snip>

 

because the punters they want just aren't here.
 

I think DD’s forecast, although not cast in stone, is a realistic opinion on when the return of significant numbers may happen. Just dealing with the Bangla issue here, the bread & butter 2-week millionaires that fed the beast for many years will not be returning, not just because of the current mess caused by CD19, but for the many other issues already stated ad-infinitum on TV postings.

 

Having fallen on its own sword and likely to try and resurrect itself (in part) based on the same model is a business heading for the hong nam. Furthermore, if there are no returning mugs to “invest” in the money pits, where are the investments going to come from? Best return to the farm, ladies, nothing to see here.

 

Your comment on the ‘officials’ looking for kick-backs from other Thais would indicate that in desperate times, eventually the pack will turn on itself.

[Kopitiam]

59 minutes ago, billythehat said:

Your comment on the ‘officials’ looking for kick-backs from other Thais would indicate that in desperate times, eventually the pack will turn on itself.

Its already happening.

Phuket police investigated over illegal gambling dens

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1170943-phuket-police-investigated-over-illegal-gambling-dens/

[madmitch]

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!

[ChasingTheSun]

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.

 

 

 

[xylophone]

19 minutes ago, ChasingTheSun said:

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.

 

 

 

I have to say that I do admire your optimism, whereas I do believe the negative posts, including mine, paint a more realistic and likely picture.

 

As others have posted, even before the virus, the supposed "high seasons" here which were, many moons ago, enough to sustain the bars and businesses through the low seasons, have not eventuated for a few years now, and I know this because I have a few friends who own bars and businesses.

 

The days of the sois being packed to the gunwales with tourists eager to spend their money on booze and girls, tailed off sometime around 2011/12 and never stopped, apart from the occasional flurry, which gave false hope to many.

 

Again, those of us who have been here for a while would ask the question, "what have the local authorities done to improve Patong, its infrastructure, facilities and tourist well being?". And the answer begins with an N.

 

If one takes into consideration the fact that businesses here and around the world have closed, many folks are unemployed or on reduced wages, and bills and debts will have been piling up, then I doubt very much whether a trip to Patong would be number one on their list, although for a few lucky ones it might well be, but not enough to take Patong back to the halcyon days, if indeed it ever gets back there.

 

I won't go into the discussion about whether the virus is one thing, or another, because no matter which way you look at it, over half a million people have died of it with hundreds of thousands more being made seriously ill, with some of the symptoms lasting for many months after they seem to have fought off the virus.

 

Of course I would dearly love to be wrong, mainly because as I said, I have friends who have businesses here, but having seen the gradual decline over the past years, the virus may well have been the last straw, and this does not mean that Patong will close, but that it will be a shadow of its former self and quite how the small businesses will survive, is a mystery.

[Lashay]

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.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Lashay

[Patong2]

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.

 

 

[London Lowf]

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.

Edited July 5, 2020 by London Lowf
To make it better!

[Destiny1990]

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 !!

[redwood1]

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....... 

[hansgruber]

On 7/5/2020 at 5:11 PM, xylophone said:

I have to say that I do admire your optimism, whereas I do believe the negative posts, including mine, paint a more realistic and likely picture.

 

As others have posted, even before the virus, the supposed "high seasons" here which were, many moons ago, enough to sustain the bars and businesses through the low seasons, have not eventuated for a few years now, and I know this because I have a few friends who own bars and businesses.

 

The days of the sois being packed to the gunwales with tourists eager to spend their money on booze and girls, tailed off sometime around 2011/12 and never stopped, apart from the occasional flurry, which gave false hope to many.

 

Again, those of us who have been here for a while would ask the question, "what have the local authorities done to improve Patong, its infrastructure, facilities and tourist well being?". And the answer begins with an N.

 

If one takes into consideration the fact that businesses here and around the world have closed, many folks are unemployed or on reduced wages, and bills and debts will have been piling up, then I doubt very much whether a trip to Patong would be number one on their list, although for a few lucky ones it might well be, but not enough to take Patong back to the halcyon days, if indeed it ever gets back there.

 

I won't go into the discussion about whether the virus is one thing, or another, because no matter which way you look at it, over half a million people have died of it with hundreds of thousands more being made seriously ill, with some of the symptoms lasting for many months after they seem to have fought off the virus.

 

Of course I would dearly love to be wrong, mainly because as I said, I have friends who have businesses here, but having seen the gradual decline over the past years, the virus may well have been the last straw, and this does not mean that Patong will close, but that it will be a shadow of its former self and quite how the small businesses will survive, is a mystery.

500k died from Corona virus but in that time the common influenza killed more. 

TB infected 10 million people in 2019 and killed 15% of those infected. That's 1.5 million deaths. 

It's just as contagious yet it's been around since I was a kid and it's still killing. 

No vaccine, no lockdown yet it's killing a million plus year after year.