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Far Fewer Farang Waltzing Down the Chiang Mai Streets These Days. Why?

MisterBleach

By MisterBleach
in Chiang Mai

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MisterBleach Apprentice Member

MisterBleach

Posted
Posted

Important Question:

 

I was in Chiang Mai in 2016 for a brief period of time. At that time, there were plenty of farang waltzing down the streets of Chiang Mai, and there were so many that one needed to be careful not to step on one, even, sometimes.

However, these days, one can walk almost anywhere and not see too many.

 

I asked my friend, why there are so few farang in Chiang Mai, these days.

But, my friend had not a clue.

 

In my opinion, there might be several reasons for the the decrease in farang in this fair city.

 

a.  During the past few months, there has been too much smoke and PM2.5.

b.  The nomads have left Chiang Mai for other places for various reasons unrelated to the smoke.

c.  The world economy is not good.

d.  Temporary anomaly.
e.  Other reasons.

 

SO.  Does anyone here who knows anything know why there has been a sudden reduction in the number of farang in Chiang Mai????  Thank you!

 

If you Google:  "Why are there so few farang in Chiang Mai", then you get no good answer.

 

And so, I have been wondering about this question during the past two months.

 

Why has there suddenly been an apparent loss of farang from Chiang Mai streets?

 

You might imagine that this is an unimportant question.  

 

However, to Grab drivers, this question is important because it is the farang who tip the best, and it is the farang who are quickly disappearing.

 

Every Grab driver knows that farang tip the best.

 

So, I and most other Grab drivers want to know:  Where have all the farang gone?  And, when will they return?

 

NOTE:  When I ask, "Where Have All The Farang Gone", this suddenly recalls to mind the song by Pete Seeger, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone".

 

Here are the lyrics.

 

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

 

 

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thaibeachlovers Star Member

thaibeachlovers

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Other than long term expats, most farangs in C M were bagpackers. Bagpackers are avid internet users and read the reviews by those that went before.

Other than temples, and there are temples elsewhere in LOS, C M has sod all to offer Bagpackers that they can't find elsewhere without being choked by burning.

I lived there because it was cheap, and I wasn't interested in the bar scene any more, but young people want to have fun, and fun is a rare beast in C M.

Frankly, the night life sucks, the traffic is appalling, it's dirty, congested, the night market is pathetic, and sanuk is gone.

 

BTW, I went on 2 different river tours and a Kan Toke dinner and entertainment, and all of them were rubbish. There is zero chance that I would recommend CM to a tourist.

Mae Hong Son- yes, C M never.

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fhickson Advanced Member

fhickson

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ive noticed some increased negativity by thais in cm. not as friendly as it was say 5 years ago. red truck/tuk trying to charge double when they can etc.

 

grab seems the way to go as the reviews keep drivers on their toes, low reviews means less ride referrals. works for me. fudge the tip.

 

the big new malls lkke maya/festival has changed the vibe. the thais dont seem to like working there and take it out on customers. weird vibes. dont go in anymore.

 

agree not many farang around at all. saw a couple hippies with dreads/banana pants today, looked strange and out of place. dont see any farang/thai couples around. the free spirit traveler stuff appears to be gone, or did that go in the 80's?

 

did see a hippy bar with a blond with huge cannons asleep or passed out on a futon with a bottle of jack. thai bf with dreads there. looked like she needed a good pontoon.

 

saw many food vendors in the same spot, making the same drink/dish as they were 8 years ago.

 

out of here tomorrow. better pastures.

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MisterBleach Apprentice Member

MisterBleach

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As I recall, back in 2016, there once was a whole host of very old guys gabbing in coffee houses near the university. They spoke of trivial matters, and often repeated themselves almost every few minutes.  But, now they are gone.  Where did they go?

 

Did they die from the smoke during this past year?  Or, did they finally return to nursing homes in their home countries?  Or, are they lying low in their Chiang Mai bungalows?

 

The point being that you just do not see them these days.

 

Even the Chinese are not out in force, these days, which seems quite odd.

 

I would estimate that the number of foreigners of all kinds here has diminished by about 50 percent, compared to 2016.

 

The Grab drivers are hurting, for sure.  Just ask them.

 

I am not saying that the dearth of farang or other foreigners scares me.  In fact, this new scarcity calms me because, in the past, I found some of the newly arrived foreigners overly noisy.  I mean that they often talked at very high volume.

 

My question is:  Why is it suddenly so quiet after about 4 years of growth?  And, equally importantly, can we look forward to continued relative peace, or will the foreigners soon return, just as inexplicably as they so suddenly left?

 

 

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Dante99 Platinum Member

Dante99

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34 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Other than long term expats, most farangs in C M were bagpackers. Bagpackers are avid internet users and read the reviews by those that went before.

Other than temples, and there are temples elsewhere in LOS, C M has sod all to offer Bagpackers that they can't find elsewhere without being choked by burning.

I lived there because it was cheap, and I wasn't interested in the bar scene any more, but young people want to have fun, and fun is a rare beast in C M.

Frankly, the night life sucks, the traffic is appalling, it's dirty, congested, the night market is pathetic, and sanuk is gone.

 

BTW, I went on 2 different river tours and a Kan Toke dinner and entertainment, and all of them were rubbish. There is zero chance that I would recommend CM to a tourist.

Mae Hong Son- yes, C M never.

You are down on CM and Sri Lanka.  Where do you like it?  besides Mae Hong Son

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LomSak27 Gold Member

LomSak27

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47 minutes ago, fhickson said:

ive noticed some increased negativity by thais in cm. not as friendly as it was say 5 years ago. red truck/tuk trying to charge double when they can etc.

Actually they are far more negative in other parts of the country, than in CM and that started post 1997, to be exact ... 

 

Just keeping you updated ... :biggrin:

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ChipButty Star Member

ChipButty

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I think the same could be said for most tourist areas of Thailand the farang business is down I have a few friends who used to live in Phuket and moved the CM and now wished they hadn't they miss the beaches and the clean air, couple of the guys did move out of CM for 3 months because of the smog 

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LomSak27 Gold Member

LomSak27

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36 minutes ago, MisterBleach said:

As I recall, back in 2016, there once was a whole host of very old guys gabbing in coffee houses near the university. They spoke of trivial matters, and often repeated themselves almost every few minutes.  But, now they are gone.  Where did they go?

Welcome Mr Bleach, on your first or is it second post ?! 

Our heartfelt welcome to a new Thaivisa Member!  ????

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Farangwithaplan Advanced Member

Farangwithaplan

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2 hours ago, MisterBleach said:

I was in Chiang Mai in 2016 for a brief period of time.

Interesting scientific method used in coming to such profound conclusions now.

 

2 hours ago, MisterBleach said:

At that time, there were plenty of farang waltzing down the streets of Chiang Mai,

It's just a guess but I'm assuming the people have moved on from 3/4 time and now contemporary music has moved back to 4/4 which offers a much larger range of dance moves.

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Sandy Freckle Explorer Member

Sandy Freckle

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Actually..., if there really are much less travellers getting around CM these days then maybe it's time to go back there(not in smokey season though)...., given that less is more in my not so humble opine.
Fun times were indeed once had there back in the day.
 

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elektrified Diamond Member

elektrified

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I would say all of the above; a-e.

 

I was at Central Festival the other day and in 45 minutes, didn't see another farang. It wasn't until we were leaving and exited through Tops market did we see perhaps 6 digital nomad types shopping in there. And for that matter didn't notice more than a handful of Chinese, mostly buying snacks at Tops.

 

I I've seen photos posted of the Reggae Bar on a Saturday night at 10:00  p.m. without a single customer in there.

 

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pgrahmm Platinum Member

pgrahmm

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I'm guessing that many have settled down & settled out of town....

I've noticed that in an area that me and one other farang were about the only one's around & getting stared at years ago, there's now many around.....

 

2016 was about the last time I voluntarily went bopping around CM.....

Traffic & parking is now a nightmare, taking away the quick in - enjoy an outing/meal and leave.....

 

Plus, as the farangs have expanded away from the city -   dining options have followed (that weren't there years before).....

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Matzzon Platinum Member

Matzzon

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So, let´s get down to the cold hard facts. We do not have to bring up many reasons.

The biggest reason is that nowadays people have to show real money inside of Thailand for get their permission to stay. If on retirement, also have to lock upp 800k for 5 month and the rest of the time never under 400k.

 

Not same interesting anymore, as there are many other countries that offers a better deal in Asia.

However, now it´s only the ones that can afford to stay that does, and we can still enjoy all the great perks of the country as it´s still the best place to reside.

Welcome to reality!

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scottiejohn Ruby Member

scottiejohn

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6 hours ago, elektrified said:

see perhaps 6 digital nomad types

How do you know they are "digital nomad types" (DNT's) if they are not using or being digital on their keyboards, or whatever, as they move around.

Do they have clearly distinguishing features unique to them?

And anyway what if the they are "DNT's"? 

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scottiejohn Ruby Member

scottiejohn

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6 hours ago, elektrified said:

I would say all of the above; a-e.

 

I was at Central Festival the other day and in 45 minutes, didn't see another farang. It wasn't until we were leaving and exited through Tops market did we see perhaps 6 digital nomad types shopping in there. And for that matter didn't notice more than a handful of Chinese, mostly buying snacks at Tops.

 

 

Was it at 3AM on a Monday morning?

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sanemax Gold Member

sanemax

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There are various reasons for different people :

 

     Tourists : The pollution has been horrendous . who would want to go on holiday to a place where theres not much oxygen to breath ?

      Backpackers : All the bars close at around midnight  , may as well go to the beaches .

     Chinese tourists : Theres a lot of animosity between large groups of Chinese and everyone else .

   Teachers , DN's, self sufficient : Difficulty getting visa and visa extensions .

   Add all those together and add the expense and add to that that many Thais in CM are miserable these days .

   Its no wonder that people dont want to go there anymore

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Lacessit Star Member

Lacessit

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Some farangs have departed Thailand due to the stricter extension requirements on finances. I understand one agent is about 30% down on their retirement extension work. A couple from my condo are in Cambodia.

The strength of the baht against various currencies is not helping tourism or retirement either.

IMHO many of us who used to hit the bars have settled down with wives and GF's, and we are not being replaced with a new crop of inductees due to the unfavorable pollution reports. Som nam na.

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IvorLott Explorer Member

IvorLott

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10 minutes ago, sanemax said:

There are various reasons for different people :

 

     Tourists : The pollution has been horrendous . who would want to go on holiday to a place where theres not much oxygen to breath ?

      Backpackers : All the bars close at around midnight  , may as well go to the beaches .

     Chinese tourists : Theres a lot of animosity between large groups of Chinese and everyone else .

   Teachers , DN's, self sufficient : Difficulty getting visa and visa extensions .

   Add all those together and add the expense and add to that that many Thais in CM are miserable these days .

   Its no wonder that people dont want to go there anymore

 

Nice post. Succinct and pretty accurate. 

I'd add to the Backpackers line 'beers can be had in bars in Cambodia and Viet Nam for $0.50 - $3 (15B - 90B) pretty much all night long so may as well go there too' 

Also 

Pensioners/people with private incomes from Western economies - are off  to where they get 'more bang for their bucks' if you pardon the phrase until the exchange rate improves inn their favour.

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