Hua Hin was also hit hard by a lack of tourists
Naresdamri Road used to be the busiest shopping street in downtown Hua Hin. It now gives the appearance of poorly maintained teeth. More than half of the shops and restaurants have closed their doors. A 'For Rent' sign now adorns the empty shop windows and shutters.
A year ago, this place was teeming with foreigners, looking for a cheap bag or a tasty meal. Here and there a restaurant is still open, with some employees bored on the terrace. It exudes the atmosphere of a death house. The high rents were always paid from the crowds of tourists who came here to soak up the atmosphere of authentic Hua Hin. That is no more. An Indian clothing store owner says he can last another year because he operates his business in his own building. After that it is also the end of practice for him. There is no prospect of improvement.
Soi Binthabaht, the street with the bars, is not much better. Foreigners can be counted on the fingers of one hand and the Thai tourists who come at the weekend are not interested in drink and feminine beauty. They prefer to report to the Market Village or Bluport shopping centers on Saturdays, although vacancy rates are slowly but surely rising there too.
We all know the sad images of Koh Samui and Phuket, but things aren't much better in Hua Hin. It's a matter of survival, not of living.
Don't look at it too long, it will make you sad.
berthy
Outside the tourist areas of Phuket, Huahin, Pattaya, Chiangma, Koh Samui etc etc it is not doom and gloom everywhere.
With my contribution about Nongkhai, this could also have been Loei, Phitsanoluk etc.
Specially Nongkhai is very busy roads are widened in the city of Nongkhai because of the crowds .
Telephone and electricity cables go underground.
The hospitality industry is busier than ever and I'm talking about thousands of people who go out in the evening.
i have 2 sons who both play music professionally in a music band in different places in Nongkhai .
where my sons perform 3 hours a day and generate an income of baht 30.000 per month.
If you only want to post the negative, ok, but your credibility will go down because of this.
ps we will soon travel again via Petchabun to Bangkok via Pratchuap kirikan to Koh Pangan
and back via Ayuttaya and Loei.
Greetings Peter from beautiful Nongkhai
Ps I also lived on Phuket Pattaya, Chonburi
I am sending this letter to you because there is often a lot of ignorance and untruths told by most fellow countrymen who live in Moobaans and understand little or nothing about Thailand and Thai culture.
Finally, why do you think this situation is being maintained.
due to the fact that the Elite of the ASQ hotel group have never had such a good year and they want to maintain this for as long as possible.
Yep, but 50% is still not too bad for me. The food and bar life is also moving to Soi 88 and especially Soi 94. Soi 80 also 50%, but that will come again in a few months. Binthabat and around it will take a little longer.
Food courts also very quiet, except for Baan Khun Por, which is packed, especially on weekends.
Personally I think it's wonderfully quiet, but of course very annoying for the many owners.
2021 will be a challenging year…
Very unfortunate, I went there 3 times a year to Hua Hin and Pak Nam Pran, my favorite spot..
It seems that people take pleasure in talking themselves and others into the pit. Just a walk around, and then from the car (!) Shoot some pictures of empty buildings. And say how bad it all is.
Yes, we're going to miss the season this year. No high season. And that is indeed dramatic for the operators dependent on tourism.
But the old center of Hua Hin has been empty for several years. Most activities move to the area around Soi 88 and 94. Baan Khun Por is still very busy. Even though it can always be better there.
Hua Hin has definitely NOT turned into a ghost town. There's still plenty happening. Tamarind Market is old-fashioned cozy. Last weekend was Bike Week. And recently in Bluport a classic car show. New restaurants are opening at an almost faster rate than older ones are disappearing. And on the beach it is nice and quiet, but still cozy.
Hua Hin is still a great place to visit. Although you may have to look for the 'hustle and bustle' a little further south. But that is nothing new either.
RobHH, as a resident of Hua Hin, I certainly don't take pleasure in talking anyone down the drain. You are correct that I took the pictures from the car. Naredamri is narrow and you cannot park there. However, that does not detract from the sad sight of so much vacancy. Only in that place can you see how Covid-19 is wreaking havoc. And the future of Soi 94? I help you hope.
Dear namesake,
I have to agree with Hans' opinion. It hurts the eyes to walk on Naresdamri. Except for a few restaurants (speak about Friday evening), everything is closed. At least don't see any new restaurants there. Don't think anyone has said Hua Hin is a ghost town but the center is far from lively (and that's an understatement). BluPort has also completely closed the top two floors as you will know. Indeed / luckily Hua Hin is more than just the area around Naresdamri.
And yes, it also has its charm that on Maresdamri you are not run off your feet by cars or scooters and you are not approached with the words: Hi boss, nice suit.. 😉
These images are indeed a feast for the eyes.
And for us they are sad images, but put yourself in the place of the people who kept their shop open for corona and earned their living, how must they feel. !!!
Let's get back soon and invest the money we saved this year in this beautiful country, no more haggling to get a paltry 20 baht discount.
They can count on me as soon as the rules are humane and easy to implement.
Jozef
I will be returning to Hua Hin in mid-April, I have been living there since 2014.
My flight back to Bangkok in March turned 2!!!! canceled days before departure and have been traveling through Europe a bit since then.
When the quarantine in ASQ is reduced from 15 to 10 days, that is doable. Then Hua Hin will have another resident as of April.
the current quarantine is formally 14 days and the possibility being discussed is 10 days. I can't imagine that if the quarantine is 4 days shorter you suddenly want to come. The difference isn't that big after all.
Wasn't it already a declining affair with looking and not buying tourists. In Phuket, yes.
There is also more poverty in the more rural areas where few tourists come. My son wants to sell a piece of rice land of 6 rai. It does not work. I drove along a road and saw a sign every 20 meters ขายที่ดิน khaai thie din 'land for sale'. That was not the case a year ago.
@Tino,
I'm afraid you're right, but is the buyer a freeloader?
I do not understand the question.
What I mean is that in the parental village there is often a desire to sell land and at some point it may just be that my partner does it because the need is high. It is a supply and demand thing, but how do you view people who can come ashore "cheaply" in this way? Are they freeloaders at the expense of someone else who needs cash?
How much is he asking for that land? Bit with everything in thailand, ridiculous prices are asked. Rice land that was sold for 15 20.000 years ago is now being asked for 200.000. 60.000 is worth it. So nothing is sold.
The 6 rai piece of rice land that my son wants to sell was bought 20 years ago for 350 baht. He wanted to sell it for 000 bath. He's dropped the asking price to 1.200.000. A lot of people want it, but no one has the money.
That is 25000 euros ha. If that produces 2500 kg of rice per year, if all goes well. Times how many baht per kilo? Minimum costs? 400.000 is worth it, maybe someone will give 750.000 if you're lucky. Thai like to count themselves rich. Buying is easy but you can't get rid of it. Do you know. Greeting
Dear all, take courage.
We will start the vaccination in 3 weeks and believe me all the old loyal Hua Hin visitors are eager to come again.
We assume that the Thai government will let the tourists back in with a vaccination certificate and we promise that we will spend a little extra to help the middle class get back on track.
Because we were not allowed to come, we were able to save an extra year.
We promise that we will be back on December 1 when we are welcome and wish everyone happy and healthy holidays both in Thailand and in the Netherlands.
And for Martijn in Say Cheese, hang in there and see you soon.
Only to the tourist places but everything else is normal.
Would almost say they can do without tourists.
80% of those working in the tourism sector are non-Thai, most come from Laos or another country.
Most Thais have already found other work, but paid less.
Can't post pictures, but most Thai places are nice and busy.
I live in Hua Hin and can only confirm what is written in the article.
Just got back home from a trip to Hua Hin for two weeks. In soi 88, where I always stay when I'm in Hua Hin, everything seemed to go on as usual. As far as foreigners are concerned, as usual in that Soi 88 only the fixed 'furniture'. I was accompanied by a Dutch friend who came to Hua Hin for the first time. What struck him was the unfriendly and soured faces of the Farangs there. Most even find it completely unnecessary to answer a simple nod of the head when walking by.
What many also lose sight of is the fact that Hua Hin is mainly visited by Thai people on weekends and that has not changed since Corona arrived. Take some pictures in the city center during the weekend and you will get a different picture. Ordinary snapshots often give a distorted picture. We took a walk through soi 80 and yes, almost everything was closed there….. it was at noon, so I cannot say what it is like in the evening because that is a 'barren street' and it is there until late afternoon always very quiet…..
Personally I think this "heavy" hit is exaggerated. If this city was really hit so hard, how is it possible that so much work not only continues, but even expands? In the last few months so many roads have been widened, improved, more than in the past 8 years that I have lived here. Not just a bit of asphalt, but real work, with months of work on the road. Just look at the Petchkasem between Hua Hin and Pranburi. The street at Kao Kalok at Pak Nam Pran.
Look at the bridges being built all over the high speed railway.
In Pak Nam Pran hotels are being refurbished and I see two complexes that have been empty, unfinished for two years, that are now being built further.
I certainly believe that those who depended on foreign tourists have been affected by the loss of tourism. But something else is taking its place everywhere and there is a shift from foreigners to the local population, who now spend more within Thailand.
Go to Hua Hin or Pak Nam Pran on a weekend, you will see that it is full of tourists from the big cities.
And what Lung Addie said about the soured faces of the Farangs in Hua Hin? They had already soured when I came to Hua Hin for the first time after 9 years 12 years ago…
2004 phuket tsunami seen. Damage was gigantic but a year later almost nothing to see. A few years later, half of Thailand was under water. Was also cleaned up again. Next year you will see that everything is running again as if nothing happened.