Bangkok Today

I've just returned to Pattaya after a few days in Bangkok. It was almost depressing!

In the Sukhumvit area there are loads of Arabs and Indians walking around but very few Western visitors. Watering holes where many people sit around watching the world go by were noticeably much less busy than usual - even for this time of the year.

Staff in some of the hotels in the area all confirmed that there were not too many people around and are not too hopeful when things might pick up.

The shopping malls are busy with mostly Thai school and University kids strolling around. Not surprisingly the places that were busy were the food courts - as we know Thai love their food and seems to spend a huge proportion of the time nibbling a variety of food.

I noticed several, usually busy places with far too many empty stools and staff standing around with little to do. Prices have not come down - which some visitors think they should. As the business owners will tell you though, rents and utility costs have not gone down.

There are still some signs of the turmoil a few months back - Central World is still under repair as are a few other places in the same area. However, there are plenty of locals on the BTS moving around the city from mall to mall. Judging by the numbers on the BTS in the afternoon a couple of days ago, it will soon be time for them to add another carriage to cope with the numbers.

In the up-market malls, where the better off shop, there are much fewer punters around. Bargains are few and far between compared to six months ago. In fact, some luxury items seem to have gone through the roof in price over this period. This is especially true of perfume and eau de colognes and such like where discounts were the order of the day. Now, bottles which were priced at 2,000 Baht but discounted to maybe 1,200 Baht are now fixed at 3,550 Baht. Business is far from brisk and most staff seem to spend their time chatting to the sales staff at the next stall.

Where will it all end?