Town bars moving

[littlebird]

I was told by a bar owner last night that all town centre bars (Binta, Selakam etc) are being moved out to Soi 94 in the imminent future
The 12 midnight closing will continue until this is accomplished. The current bar area is being redeveloped.

[richard]

Well that will be handy for me Close also to the Bangkok hospital so over imbibers can stagger round the corner to get pumped out

[Lee1975]

Really? This would be a massive overhaul for HH. Would it work though?
If it aint broke then don't try to fix it!
Unless some of you agree that it is broke?

[Korkenzieher]

My main fear would be that they will try to do something like 'Day and Night' at Udon http://www.udondayandnight.udonmap.com/, which most consider to be a disaster. Basically purpose built identikit bars, all blaring out techno-thai, in what elsewhere would pass for an aircraft hangar. Widely referred to as 'The Cow Shed', it replaced a strip of bars opposite the shopping mall. That space was left as (certainly until recently) just an open wasteland space. Most give the place a wide berth and head either for Nutty Park or the Night Market.

[buksida]

This 'rumour' has been floating around the Bintabaht since I used to drink there in the mid '90s and a new hotel called Melia wanted to strong-arm them all out! Be interesting to see if it does actually finally go ahead.

There was a similar one about the restaurants/guesthouses along from the fishing pier being pulled down but most of them are still here ten years later.

[Korkenzieher]

@Lee,

For some reason a lot of people do think it is broke, but I am not sure why.

The area has certainly been on its uppers for the last couple of years and certain powerful interests have tried to take advantage of that, particularly with respect to the Bazaar (Karaoke) area. Nothing much has happened but this relentless policing of closing time is something new IMHO. There is also a degree of prurience being displayed by some - generally expat residents - who profess not to go to the area. They could quite simply continue to avoid it. As you say,if it ain't broke...

I'm not at all sure though that the hotels and restaurants in the area would want to see the centre of tourist life displaced to some other area of town - the vested interests in keeping the status quo are really quite powerful. It isn't the bar owners themselves who would suffer, after all, they'd pretty much be offered new pitches somewhere, but all the collateral business interests that have concentrated in the area. Added to that, if the new White Elephant Shopping Centre (sorry Natpob...) is anything to go by, I wouldn't expect any redevelopment to be too insprational.

[STEVE G]

I think the main problem is that you have something like about twenty large expensive resort hotels in the town the customers of which are either wealthy Asians or married couples and families who don't use the Bintabaht area bars.
If it was my decision, I would move the bargirl type bars somewhere slightly less central and replace them with small restaurants and bars more suited to the general tourist.
Of course, if the plan is to flatten the area and turn it into a shopping mall it would be better left as it is.

[littlebird]

I agree about the Natpob place, what a disaster and waste of money - ok before it wasnt up to much but some decent cheap eateries and a bit of character, what's in its place is a soul-less deserted mall, which was, when I have been in (twice) deserted, even the shops were locked up whilst their owners sat around at the end of the corridor. I looked in the Body Shop and checked the prices - at least the same as Uk, some item more expensive. Are these guys for real ??
Ok the Binta area isnt for everyone but watch the holidaymakers (families included) wandering down there, even if they dont go in the bars its only what people expect in Thailand. If they didnt like it would they keep coming back - I think not.
Sure, some of the bars are a bit tacky but thats the same in any country.
Cannot help but wonder how much influence the big fancy hotels have put on this.
SO if they want to calm the are down, stop any expansion of bars into other areas, restrict the noise levels after 12.
Keep it contained and keep it managed.
I also heard that whilst the bars would close, the massage places can stay open - a massage place that serves drinks I guess would then be ok if its not called a bar?

[Korkenzieher]

Steve, the idea that you can move the bar-girl type bars as distinct from the others is naiive at best. The bars are there because people want to drink. The girls are there because there are bars. If you simply said 'OK, XYZ bar,you get closed down because there are girls here' how long do you think it would be before the girls move to ABC bar? Look at the freelance places on Sukhumvit - the girls aren't attached to the bars but they are everywhere. The *only* difference is the bar fine, which most people seem to agree actually makes it safer for the punter because it creates a sort of informal contract with the bar. The notion that you can some how sanitise a part of the district is, IMHO an absolute non starter, for as long as Thailand is Thailand and 7/11 sells condoms!

[Super Joe]

This 'rumour' has been floating around the Bintabaht since I used to drink there in the mid '90s and a new hotel called Melia wanted to strong-arm them all out! Be interesting to see if it does actually finally go ahead.

That's right, as we got a little worried at the time as was half-way through building our house at the time in Soi 94. The area quoted back then is that strip of land opposite WL's favourite curry house, where currently the G-UnTung Hotel is being constructed. I assume the ever-expanding Mr G-UnTung must have swooped and snapped up the land to add to his growing empire, the future's looking very orange for him.

I can't see how it's even remotely viable with the daft Soi 94 land prices, the landowner could spend say 700k knocking a bar up and pulling in what 20-25k/month rent, or spend 2m Baht putting a pool villa on it (doubling it's value overnight), and pull in 45-55k/month rent. Just can't see it personally.

There was a similar one about the restaurants/guesthouses along from the fishing pier being pulled down but most of them are still here ten years later.

Funny you should mention that, was having a drink with a Thai mate last night, who's family own two of the 'platform' seafood restaurants, and asked him if the early closings are related to these landowners who want to sell up in Bintablok, that was my guess after reading reports on here about it. He said it was nothing to do with that, but because there's a lot of senior Bangkok OB coming and going due to various operations.

And basically it's because it's a bit of an eye-sore from a 'flesh/noise/crowd/drunkeness/traffic' point of view, in the heart of the town, and would be seen as a bit disrespectful to whomever , other bar areas I've seen have not had to close... railway track in front of Tira Tiraa, Soi 51, karaoke area, train track near Soi 88 crossing etc. But none of this was on any authority, so to speak.


SJ

[Super Joe]

Re: future of Bintablok, I don't believe those landowners & developers (the only people that are relevant to what will happen) believe for one minute that the future is in the beer bars and us punters, I live in the places and I don't believe that. Financially (which goes back to owners/developers), I would think the future would be a good mix of small hotels, different to the norm shops, restaurants and 'normal' (for want of a better word) bars, the reasons...
a) A certain section of tourists will never go in current one's, instead huddle together in MaiTai, so they'll use regular bars.
b) Majority of couples/family tourists don't seem to care either way that they're girly bars, so they'd stay drinking in town in the main.
c) Single male tourists who want girly bars are coming to HH for plenty of reasons other than that, so would it really stop them coming. You would assume they would generally go to Soi 80 or wherever the beer bars relocate to, so lost trade.
d) Some lost trade from local expats, some gained as I know a lot of older married guys who will never go around bintablok cos they either don't like it, or do everything as partners.

I get the distinct impression that Thai business owners in town do not like the 'scene' at all, and these aren’t snooty hi-so types. It would be far more boring, sterile in the middle of town and I’d hate to see it happen, but it’s not gonna be dead without the bar scene, there’s only 2 or 3 very narrow side streets to half fill, Bintabaht and Selekam. Poonsuk and Hilton Road are already busy enough, low-season is low-season.

The centre will lose it's buzz from our point of view, but many many Thais and farangs will also be glad to see the back of the 'scene'. The way the bars will develop imo, is as they have done over recent years, towards more modern, smarter establishments. We’ve seen varying degrees of changes with existing ‘non-girlie’ bars having facelifts ie: BuffBills, El Murphy’s, JW’s, NewHeadrock, that shiny one opposite King Bar, O'Neills. And look at the new bars, like Blackout, Funky Bar and ChinaWhite/Jean Olivehead.

Or alternatively we’re all speculating over nothing, and having the same discussion in another 6-8 years time, in the mean time, get your ar$es down there are do your bit 'support-wise'


SJ

[STEVE G]

If you simply said 'OK, XYZ bar,you get closed down because there are girls here' how long do you think it would be before the girls move to ABC bar?

Surely that depends on the type of customer; a bar is hardly going to attract girls if it's full of married couples having dinner or people with their kids.
It's a bit different from the scene in Bangkok where you have many single male farangs who work and live there.
I've nothing against the type of bars in the Bintabaht area, I just think the area could be improved and as SJ mentioned above, some of the existing bars are pretty tacky and run down to say the least.

[tonymaroni]

Getting all those individual property owners agreeing not to renew the leases of the bars (I imagine most of the bars are leased) would take deep pockets.

Sure the property owners would like a better return.

Getting all the owners to agree at one time is a pipe dream.

Slow, new hotel here and there, development seems more plausible.

Doc

[Spitfire]

Always wondered about who actually owns the land/plots that all the buildings are on. Is it just a 'mish-mash' of individual people owning individual properties or land, or is there someone who owns the land in large pieces and rents it all out to specific businesses etc for a certain lease time?

[poosmate]

I think relocating all the bars as is being speculated a good idea. The new G un tung Short time hotel on soi 94 with the karaoke and the bars conveniently situated on the lower floors. The surrounding areas could be developed into low cost staff housing and small workshops to repair and test essentials like sound systems and motorbikes.Elephants could be kept and walked in safety away from busy roads.All it needs is a petition from the local residents who would benefit from the amenities.