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Patong - The Wake


Patong2

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My apologies. Yes, resurrected Tiger. The back end is the new toilet facilities from the other adjacent now demolished soi. Facilities are far cleaner and functional, but same hag collecting your ten baht.

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What Wake, There are 33 hotels in the pipeline with a total of nearly 6000 rooms

A lot of them major players, Plenty of Russian and Chinese tourists arriving as well

Bar trade is down no wonder,  a lot less booze and bar girl tourists are arriving

personally i do not fell sorry for foreign men who make their money by pimping bar girls out

If they tried the same thing in their home country they could look forward to a holiday behind bars, not where drinks are served but the solid steel type  

Edited by madmax2
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At least the taxi rates are not as bad compared as follows to other cities. Not as bad as Zurich.

https://www.carspring.co.uk/taxi-price-index-usd/

They took the data from the official website of the city, don't know if available for Phuket website, and of course not for Tuk Tuk's.

The model of the cars are different too.

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12 hours ago, xylophone said:

Ah were it as simple as your post implies, but the reality is much different, with a few fishhooks thrown in, so to speak.

 

For a start the thread is about Patong and the hotel numbers you quote are those relevant to the whole of Phuket island.

 

How many of those will be built in Patong, well who knows at this moment in time, however it’s a good bet that the major players will be looking to build near pristine beaches, not those polluted by waste and criminals as in Patong. That is unless they mirror the building of the Grand Mercure hotel in Patong, which is probably the only flagship hotel of the group which is built opposite a waste disposal plant and waste-water treatment site.

 

On a warm night the smells from those wafting across to the hotel, along with the smells from the garbage trucks parked alongside of the hotel, are reminiscent of the smells emanating from the toilet in the third class carriage of the Bombay express. Not the best location for a flagship hotel.

 

Those beaches further up the island and indeed some south of Patong will more than likely see most of the building of these new hotels.

 

It was quoted that Russian passenger traffic here increased by 17% in the first five months of this year, however one has to remember that a lot of the Russians vacated the place a couple of years ago, so more than likely this percentage increase is coming off quite a low base, which does take some of the gloss off the figures, and those I have seen are certainly not high-class tourists.

 

Arrivals from mainland China rose 8%, but then it is plain for all to see that the arrivals we are getting here are the lo-so Chinese, part of the zero baht tourism influx and they seek just the cheapest hotels and if they do spend, it’s not on big-ticket items, more on packets of seaweed and dried fruit (see a post earlier from me with regards to statistics from a Chinese newspaper).

 

Now onto the “fishhooks”…….. There are a total of 1724 hotels in Phuket and only 429 are licensed and the reasons why many are not licensed are because they are the small boutique/guesthouse type places and registering them as a hotel and paying the necessary fees and taxes was never in the original budget, so the owner could on sell them (on lease) more easily.

 

A lot of the tourists from the low end, not only Chinese and Russians, but other nationalities seek these out because they are cheap and maybe some will close, maybe they won’t but that’s not the point. The point is that the tourism influx we are seeing here is at the lower end of the spectrum, whereas the likes of the new hotels being built by JW Marriott, Sheraton, Intercontinental, Park Hyatt and so on will not attract those people, so new marketing initiatives will have to be put in place by the powers that be to get the wealthy tourists here, and the betting is that if they do come, Patong will not be a top end destination for them.

 

As also stated in my previous post, research has shown that those wealthier Chinese that do travel are not that interested in shopping, but in other pursuits like quality sightseeing and so on and I’m not sure that they would look forward to a crowded trip on a mangy boat to a very crowded Phi Phi island………..that’s not the pursuit of the wealthy.

 

So it’s a complicated issue because in Patong we have the low end tourists, we also have the low end/cheap hotels and guesthouses which may or may not be around if the registration issues cause problems, and if this happens and prices increase, the low end won’t come here anymore and the already struggling accommodation places and shops will continue to struggle.

Already this is showing from a very low low season and indeed just at the end of the new middle road, within 200 m of the makeshift roundabout there are 30 shops and shophouses closed and for lease/rent. In fairness some of these have just recently been built and are waiting for prospective buyers, if any should arise.

 

However to get a bigger picture, look for the small hotels/guesthouses in the roads off of that road and you will see a few closed ones and this also applies to the batch of them a little further south.

 

It’s a situation which Patong has gotten itself into by poor overall management and greed of course, and quite how it’s going to remedy the situation because it is complicated, remains to be seen.

 

 

 

 

All doom and gloom  aren't you, personally i think the booze and bar girl tourists are the bottom of the heap as far as low end tourists go

The chinese and Russians are stopping in resort hotels, the low end B&BG tourists are the ones who want cheap GH accommodation and they only businesses the support is B&BG's, unlike the tourists you are continually complaining about who spread there money around different businesses doing tours and seeing the sites and keeping the general economy going

 

Small hotels and guesthouses, the farang operated ones are having a hard time because there are a lot more Thais now operating the same businesses, they are not complaining or closing because of a lack of business, if you cannot compete get out of the business, complaining on forums like this will get you no sympathy, learn how to run a successful, profitable business if you can

 

If they closed all the girlie bars tomorrow and all the cheap B&BG tourists went to the well known red light town of Pattaya it would have little or no effect on Patong or Phuket, your numbers are small and make no difference to the tourists trade in Phuket now

The majority of tourists who are not sexpats would only visit bangla road once or twice in a two week holiday for a drink and to watch the crowds reaction to the Katoys and bar girls and the old men chasing them

 

The season none of the new hotel/ resorts and not being built in Patong is because there is no land left to build them on, its all taken up by small guesthouses

 

etc,etc,etc, your only interest in life seems to be Patong, which is not Phuket and what's going on there, all the expats i know are not particularly interested in Patong and have better things to do with their lives     

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27 minutes ago, happyas said:

etc,etc,etc, your only interest in life seems to be Patong, which is not Phuket and what's going on there, all the expats i know are not particularly interested in Patong and have better things to do with their lives 

  Name of thread;    :passifier:
Patong - The Wake   

Patong is the tourist capitol of Phuket, and as long as the rest of Phuket is surviving Patong will as well, should hold a wake for the sexpats as a lot of the girlie bars will be replaced by businesses that are profitable:sleepy:

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15 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

as to chinese shopping,  ever gone to Big c in Junk ceylon?? full of Chinese with FULL baskets   :-)

To be honest, 1 full basket with Mama and other cheap stuff for a noisy hord of 10 and then blocking the cashier by trying to pay 135.56thb by CC which many times doesn't work.

 

BTW the guys who i know who spend before real money in Bangla are all now spending in bkk or kul. 1 of this guys easily spends same amount per day like 50 chinese. So Patong sure miss the big spenders.

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Major shopping areas for tourists have been and are being developed outside of patong

The tourists still stop in hotels and resorts in Patong and these businesses are happy with the business income they supply when these tourists return from their tours and shopping trips and cater to them to get as much of their business as they can food and drinks, entertainment etc

It effects a lot of small businesses here but there is nothing new about this way of running a tourism businesses, it has been going on in other tourist destinations for many years very successfully 

Edited by madmax2
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37 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

as to chinese shopping,  ever gone to Big c in Junk ceylon?? full of Chinese with FULL baskets   :-)

I go just about every day and sure enough there are some full baskets, but then mostly full of cheap junk and as the GM of the store has told me, even this stuff is becoming less popular.

 

Profitable and big spending tourists  do not simply buy packets of seaweed and take them back to their own country in a cardboard box!

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4 hours ago, xylophone said:

Firstly, I am not all "doom and gloom", I am a realist and always have been and I report in posts that which I see.

 

In response to some other aspects of your post which contains some inaccuracies, especially relating to this, "If they closed all the girlie bars tomorrow and all the cheap B&BG tourists went to the well known red light town of Pattaya it would have little or no effect on Patong or Phuket, your numbers are small and make no difference to the tourists trade in Phuket now"

 

You imply, no you state, that I am a "sex tourist" however I won't press for an apology although you are wrong and for the record I would go to Bangla no more than the number of times you quote for the majority of tourists here (who are not sexpats according to you) which is once a week and then it is to go and see friends who own bars. And just to make sure you are quite clear about this, the two bars I mainly visit do not have girls for hire/working girls.

 

I go to see my friends and enjoy the live bands (often joining in when I can) and for me it is an enjoyable night out and I can also observe and people watch, which is something I like doing.

 

I know Thai folk who own small hotels here and they are also struggling and they don't just cater for the sex tourists, they cater for anyone who wishes to stay there. Another point here, is if you wish to visit some of the cheaper/low end/budget guesthouses and hotels in Patong, then you will see they have some of the Chinese tourists staying there and I have observed them using these facilities. Even one Thai Chinese owner who initially catered for the Chinese influx is finding that numbers have dropped off (and not just because it's low season) but because the tour operators are seeking out those owners who will give bigger discounts or accept payments via other routes. The only good thing about these cheaper places is that those Chinese who wish to explore this place on their own and not as part of a tour group can find places to suit their low-end budget, and there are more of these.

 

And quite what this has to do with me and my post, I'm not sure, "if you cannot compete get out of the business, complaining on forums like this will get you no sympathy". ??

 

Do you really believe this........."The season none of the new hotel/ resorts and not being built in Patong is because there is no land left to build them on, its all taken up by small guesthouses" . I doubt whether the land upon which these small places are built would be big enough to accommodate one of the larger hotel groups, nor would it be in the desired location. Food for thought!

 

And finally, I do live in Patong and my main interest is here and I am out and about in the place just about every day, however I do have a car and I travel around the island from time to time and I visit Phuket town at least a couple of times a week, sometimes more if I pick my daughter up and take her out to lunch, as she is resident in Phuket town, attending a good school there.

 

As well as that I travel down to the south of the island to have a look around and occasionally do some shopping, and as the thread is about Patong, that's what I was focusing on........

 Another troll you don't need to feed xylophone.

Your much appreciated ,up to date , telling things as they really are posts give the true picture of Patong goings on.

Keep it up.

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19 minutes ago, happyas said:

 Another troll you don't need to feed xylophone.

Your much appreciated ,up to date , telling things as they really are posts give the true picture of Patong goings on.

Keep it up.

Much appreciated "happyas"........yes and I suppose I am "guilty" of feeding the trolls and must stop doing that, but sometimes their accusations and assumptions  (as in another poster) border on insulting! 

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Old Croc

Probably this speedboat your friend was talking about.

There were actually 2 jetskis under the boat.

Taken from the beach side

 

Many sad memories from then but it was amazing how the people recovered and got on with it.

DSC03207.JPG

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17 hours ago, xylophone said:

Much appreciated "happyas"........yes and I suppose I am "guilty" of feeding the trolls and must stop doing that, but sometimes their accusations and assumptions  (as in another poster) border on insulting! 

The "other poster' seems to have gone to play elsewhere now and this newer one now has opinions that are so far off the mark, that you need not entertain him either.

Those who insult etc only do so because they have nothing to contribute.

Keep the up to date reports coming and ignore the few fools that go against you.

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On 7/20/2017 at 6:37 PM, DrDave said:

Relating to the statement that only Bangla mongers stay in the low-rent guesthouses, that's not what I've personally observed. While staying a week in a 500/night guesthouse recently, I noticed that nearly all of the guests were eastern European couples. Looking around at the neighboring guesthouses, nearly all of the traffic going in and out was the same demographic.

 

The statement that there's simply no land left in Patong upon which to build a new hotel is just not true. Looking down on the town from the higher elevations, one can clearly see 3 very large tracts of undeveloped land all within a 2 minute or less walk from Jungceylon, which would be more or less the center of town. There's also another large tract just south of Macro. Additionally, anyone who's been here for any length of time knows that it's not uncommon to raze recently built structures in order to put up something new. I think the smart money (e.g. large hospitality corporations) is waiting to see what Patong's future holds in terms of a casino or other unique draw, before committing to any large-scale development.

 

Now, as an exception to the "cheap-Chen" rule of low-spending Chinese, in Big C yesterday we joined the checkout line behind a group of Chinese who were searching their collective pockets to come up with the money to pay the bill. Usually, it's just a couple of hundred baht, but this group handed over a wad of bills, and my wife and I looked at each other in amazement as the cashier counted out eleven 1,000 baht notes! Looking at their cart, is was full of what looked to be normal bagged groceries. Couldn't have been electronics or cell phones, as those have to be paid upstairs. My only conclusion is that they were buying up the higher-end dried fruit to be packed into a suitcase and brought back to China. Still - that 11,000 baht wasn't much of a benefit to the local economy.

Have a look at the land you are talking about up close, cost a fortune to develop it

There is still some overpriced undeveloped land at the north end of the third road

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23 hours ago, happyas said:

The "other poster' seems to have gone to play elsewhere now and this newer one now has opinions that are so far off the mark, that you need not entertain him either.

Those who insult etc only do so because they have nothing to contribute.

Keep the up to date reports coming and ignore the few fools that go against you.

Just lost interest in the absolute garbage some people post, more interesting topics elsewhere with intelligent none trolling posts to respond to:partytime2:

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Phuket jock is the only person posting on this topic who probably owns and operates a business in Patong and knows what he is talking about

Anyone who thinks that asking people who manage businesses or owns them for information about the businesses they own or operate will be given accurate information does not have a clue, probably has been previously employed as a manager and lost his/her job for giving out information they should not have

 

Anyone with a good profit making business will tell you want you want to here or miss inform you

Business managers rarely know everything about a business, they are just employed to manager staff and can be sacked at any time the owner wants to, they are just another paid employee and some think they are a lot more important than they really are

 

What wake patong will still be thriving long after i and all the other posters on this topic are dead and gone, the same as this topic will be, so i will not post on it again, its a total waste of time, not because the amature trolls, stalkers worry me

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28 minutes ago, madmax2 said:

Phuket jock is the only person posting on this topic who probably owns and operates a business in Patong and knows what he is talking about

Anyone who thinks that asking people who manage businesses or owns them for information about the businesses they own or operate will be given accurate information does not have a clue, probably has been previously employed as a manager and lost his/her job for giving out information they should not have

 

Anyone with a good profit making business will tell you want you want to here or miss inform you

Business managers rarely know everything about a business, they are just employed to manager staff and can be sacked at any time the owner wants to, they are just another paid employee and some think they are a lot more important than they really are

 

What wake patong will still be thriving long after i and all the other posters on this topic are dead and gone, the same as this topic will be, so i will not post on it again, its a total waste of time, not because the amature trolls, stalkers worry me

hahahaa..you only managed 24 mins away, before coming back and posting more nonsense...stalkers??  amature?? trolls ....you really are mad max 2..

 

PS  Bet you'll be back again, contrary to you words  "so i will not post on it again,"   

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 I noticed a while back that The Deli, near the Post Office had gone. I rarely used it as I always thought the goods were over-priced.

 

I suppose the western deli style things in Makro and Big C would have affected them over time.

 

I always preferred Patong Meats for my treats.

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4 hours ago, madmax2 said:

Phuket jock is the only person posting on this topic who probably owns and operates a business in Patong and knows what he is talking about

Anyone who thinks that asking people who manage businesses or owns them for information about the businesses they own or operate will be given accurate information does not have a clue, probably has been previously employed as a manager and lost his/her job for giving out information they should not have

 

Anyone with a good profit making business will tell you want you want to here or miss inform you

Business managers rarely know everything about a business, they are just employed to manager staff and can be sacked at any time the owner wants to, they are just another paid employee and some think they are a lot more important than they really are

 

What wake patong will still be thriving long after i and all the other posters on this topic are dead and gone, the same as this topic will be, so i will not post on it again, its a total waste of time, not because the amature trolls, stalkers worry me

Spot on Max but unfortunately you forgot about LIK  who has been in business in Patong

for a very long time and now finds himself in the unfortunate position that all his Patong

businesses are in the Nanai area which has sadly been decimated by the greedy antics of

the tuktuk and taxi mafia. You are also correct about the wake nonsense wakes are for when

something/one dies and Patong is very much alive and kicking. This thread means nothing

to anyone with a brain.  

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1 minute ago, phuketjock said:

Spot on Max but unfortunately you forgot about LIK  who has been in business in Patong

for a very long time and now finds himself in the unfortunate position that all his Patong

businesses are in the Nanai area which has sadly been decimated by the greedy antics of

the tuktuk and taxi mafia. You are also correct about the wake nonsense wakes are for when

something/one dies and Patong is very much alive and kicking. This thread means nothing

to anyone with a brain.  

I think the wake should be for the old thread, not Patong itself. Perhaps there will be a wake for this thread soon as it's just heading in exactly the same direction but about 100 pages short!

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1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

 I noticed a while back that The Deli, near the Post Office had gone. I rarely used it as I always thought the goods were over-priced.

 

I suppose the western deli style things in Makro and Big C would have affected them over time.

 

I always preferred Patong Meats for my treats.

 

That's sad to hear. I only go down that way when I have to pick up undelivered registered post. I had thought it still open. I used it for years before Carrefor came along, also the German Deli on the other side of the road. I thought his prices were OK, for sure cheaper than the now Villa Market (not that it lasted long in Patong). I liked the Thai Chinese owner, always helpful. I stopped going when the one way system started, ,meant I had to drive all round town, only to find no parking space. I knew he had been trying to sell for quite a few years. Just too much BIG competition, now a bad location, no parking area, disaster.

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14 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

 

That's sad to hear. I only go down that way when I have to pick up undelivered registered post. I had thought it still open. I used it for years before Carrefor came along, also the German Deli on the other side of the road. I thought his prices were OK, for sure cheaper than the now Villa Market (not that it lasted long in Patong). I liked the Thai Chinese owner, always helpful. I stopped going when the one way system started, ,meant I had to drive all round town, only to find no parking space. I knew he had been trying to sell for quite a few years. Just too much BIG competition, now a bad location, no parking area, disaster.

He did very, very well for many years. Ripping off all cheese-lovers in Patong because he had a monopoly on foreign cheese.

I won't shed too many tears.

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