Hua Hin "chopping mawww"

[Chas]

Having just returned from patronizing what passes for a department store here. . .I am bummed! Could they find ruder or more unpleasant shopgirls? I think they scoured Thailand for this lot.

OK. Why go in at all I hear you ask? Well, I needed stuff Tesco doesnt carry and I didn't fancy the drive to Big C. So there I am in this depressing corner of Hua-Hin with people trying to squeeze by each other. Of course this is the time they pick to restock the shelves so you have to negotiate pallets of stuff as well as other customers and their carts. I needed something from their little fenced in cosmetic section too and that meant two trips through checkout AND a bag check IN on the way around. The girl I asked for a price check on something behaved like I was holding her up. ( True they probably are the worst paid people in Thaland, but they get to hang out all day and chat with their friends. . .so what the hell.)

Don't the people who own that place realize that NOBODY will go in there once a decent store opens in town?

Anyway, the point of my rant is WHEN is this much vaunted new store coming anyway? The building I see going up just before the Marriott looks suspiciously like condos. Is anyone SURE we are getting a Big C or similar dept store within the next year?

Hey, I really DO like living here guys. (In my 4th year and planning to make it many more.) But I also like a nice place to shop with friendly people to deal with. ( Is that really too much to ask in this LOS?) Our new Tesco does very well I think. Kinda crowded, but the people have always been nice. Much more pleasant but they DO run out of stuff.. .a LOT! (This is a Brit company isn't it?)

While I am at it, I also love Starbucks and every so often nip into Burger King for a chicken sandwich.. .or eat at that wonderful pizza restaurant on the corner of the narrow soi leading to the Hilton.

[lomuamart]

I heard that the owners of the mall were just a bit put out when they heard that a new shopping centre was opening in town. They tried to get it stopped. That was the rumour anyway.
You'd have thought that they might have considered improving their establishment bearing in mind the impending competition, rather than griping about competitors. Obviously, that was beyond their business acumen.
As far as getting tangled up with the shelf stockers is concerned, I've never been in there when this hasn't been happining. Don't think you can avoid it.
The new centre is due to open next year - don't know when though.
The shopping centre site is the other side of the road to The Marriott, in case you're mixing it up with other construction work on the same side. The latter will be condos/ small hotel, I think.

[dan]

whoa, chas.....sounds as tho you were having a bad day.

i've always found part of the charm of visiting the shopping mall were the crowded aisles, the constant movement of inventory(so i can't find the chunky peanut butter again!) and the sometimes clueless staff. I especially enjoy going in the front door and sauntering down the length of the store checking out the cosmetic girls and the latest in polyester fashion. Having been a patron of the place for almost 20 yrs and i can tell while it hasn't changed a lot it is better than b4. At least they have chunky peanut butter now. The help may be clueless and or disinterested at times but they've always been courteous and tried to help if asked.

No doubt when the new mega multi shopping plex opens the ailes will be wide and well lit, the prices will be a bit easier on the consumer and the feel a lot more corporate. Kind of a double edged sword for me......one stop shopping with better prices but a little more of Hua Hin's charm will be stripped away.

[Norseman]

but a little more of Hua Hin's charm will be stripped away.

I must say I have to agree with you on that dan.
Whether you like it or not, the shopping mall has it's charm.
The crowded aisles and all the people and friends you meet there makes it sometimes ok.
But, I really look forward to the opening of the new shopping centre.

[Chas]

Dan, you might say I was having a bad day. . .I went there just after I stopped at the Kodak store where I waited a half hour while they tried unsuccessfully to find the film I left there a couple days ago!

I do understand that it might be part of the "charm" of Hua Hin, especially for you long-timers. ( You mean there was a time when you couldn't buy Chunky peanut butter here? How did you survive?) But the point is, the place is dreadful I mean, the wet market IS charming and I still enjoy going there anytime and passing the pig heads and flower stalls and all. That place says Thailand to me and I like it and accept it and wouldnt change a thing. Part of the "foreignness" of living here. Nothing like it back home.

But the "mall" is trying to be a western style store and failing badly at the attempt. Doesnt surprise me that they tried to block competition, they have no clue how to compete. Did they ever think of painting the place? fixing up the front entrance? It looks derelict from the outside, possibly the ugliest business establishment on the main street.

Half the people shopping in there are western tourists or expats and the place is run as if it were for Thais. Have you been in there when they broadcast those ads in Thai? The competing loud music? (three different sources when you stand in line at the front.. . .which you do a lot. (Try to get a smile out of those cashiers!) I am always sorry for those Swedish tourists who wander in for a bath towel or whatever. On the bright side, the guy who sold me a clock was pleasant enough and even smiled and said thanks.

Nice to know that the new mall is coming along. Yes, I had it on the wrong side of the street. Thanks

[Guess]

Just to fill in the gaps.

The Tesco Lotus store is scheduled to open in July and at the moment its looks on course. However sticking to schedules is not high on our agenda here.

There is an alternative shopping mall in Hua Hin which is less crowded and generally more friendly. It is located west of the main railway crossing on Chom Sin Road about 100 metres west on the southern side of Chom Sin Road. I have seen peanut butter there but am not sure about the chunky variety.

The exsiting mall is not built on western lines exactly but more Chinese. It is, after all, Chines owned. The fact that they have not noticed that many of their customer are farang maybe a mistake for them. However I believe they have taken that fact into consideration as they have allowed the fueding meat supplier to retail from their site.

Anyway I think that the opening of the new Tesco might change a lot of things. Let us wait and see.

[Chas]

Thanks Guess.
I have seen the store you mention on the other side of the railway, just never stopped in. I will have to now. I didn't know what it was. (and I always avoid that junction if at all possible.. .it is crazy!)

Can't wait for the Tesco lotus. Talking about deadlines though, I was surprised how fast the Index mall went up and opened. One day it was a construction site and the next day, open for business. I wonder how they got it done so fast!

[2dandan]

Chas, Guess and co,

I travelled to a foreign country once and discovered that they used a different currency to me, they spoke in an unintelligible language and they drove on the wrong side of the road.

I was shocked I tell you.

Don't these "foreigners" know how to run a successful country.

I would like the World to change to accomodate me and my tastes and if I ever visit any other country, they'd better have changed prior to me getting there or I'll be really angry.

I don't intend to tell them of my arrival, so they had better change NOW.

Supermarkets with narrow aisles. I can't believe it.

Who do these people think they are.

To all the angry men on this post - I believe Tesco have a special offer on pink rubber gloves at the moment. I suggest that you rush down there and buy some. After you finish doing your housework obviously!!

[Norseman]

Chas, Guess and co,

I travelled to a foreign country once and discovered that they used a different currency to me, they spoke in an unintelligible language and they drove on the wrong side of the road.

I was shocked I tell you.

Don't these "foreigners" know how to run a successful country.

Scotland you say?
Yes, they do behave strange and talks funny.
I almost had a car accident in Oban because I met a guy on the wrong side of the road.
What you mean by successful country?
In football?

[2dandan]

Accents and language are the variety of life, 'bye the way'

Can I suggest that you drive on the "right" side of the road, when you come to Scotland. That means the left, obviously.

That way you will avoid car accidents.

Try this.

Yahoo search for 'famous Scots' - 2,100,000 hits
Yahoo search for 'famous Norwegians' - 257,000 hits

Google search for 'famous Scots' - 1,850,000 hits
Google search for 'famous Norwegians' - 203,000 hits

Yahoo search for 'famous Englishmen' - 583,000
Google search for 'famous Englishmen' - 476,000

I rest my case. Thank you.

Try the attached site for Famous Norwegians quiz.

www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz96421b0c260.html

Bye the way. I've just returned from my local Tesco and there were some stout people in there who made the aisles that little bit narrower. I just don't know what to do now.

The good thing is the pink rubber gloves are still on special offer.

ps. Don't mention the football.
In any event, we achieved a creditable 1 - 1 draw against USA's second team last week. Not many people can boast of that.

:P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :cheers: :cheers: :P :P :P :P :P :P

[Lev]

Lets try and keep the bickering at bay and this thread on topic.

[2dandan]

Didn't mean to cause any bickering.

Just trying to point out (humourously, I had hoped) that getting annoyed about the width of a supermarket aisle was a bit ridiculous and not something that troubles the rest of us in the real world.

So, to get back on topic, can anyone tell me whether you can get cheese and onion crisps (party pack) in the supermarket referred to.

Or Irn Bru.

[Chas]

Thanks for the rescue Lev. I have noticed that keeping on topic in these forums is a bit like herding cats!

No idea why someone in Scotland ( that paradise on earth, so I have heard. . ..where there is nothing at all to complain about) knocks my posts and interrupts a legit discussion of shopping options in Hua Hin. I have learned a lot from the posts of some of you who have been here a lot longer than me and have found your replies very helpful.

Scotland's posts are the posts of a tourist. When I travelled to Scotland, I couldn't understand a word. No problem. It was OK because I was out of there in a week or two. Visit anyplace in the world and the variety of life is wonderful!! . .largely because you can move on in a few days. I was recently in Japan and in the supermarkets there, NOTHING is in English and there are guys yelling at you all the time. So you pick up bottle of sauce and you have to go by the picture on the bottle. You should have seen us trying to buy plum sauce. So that was FUN. Variety and the spice of life etc etc. reason you travel in the first place after all. Of course! Had similar experiences in China, Italy and Morrocco.. . .But I didn't LIVE in these countries.

If I had to shop in that Japanese market week after week. . .I would go bonkers.

I LIVE in Hua Hin. Have done for more than three years now. I will be here for the forseeable future, probably through retirement. The "charm" of an ugly store and an ugly shopping experience wore off long ago. That place is not even Thai.

Moving on here, I dropped in at the new Index Mall and was VERY impressed . ..prices are sky high and I didn't try to actually buy anything, but the place is beautiful and EVERYBODY, even the guards smiled at us.. .and this was just at closing time too.

[Guess]

I have noticed that keeping on topic in these forums is a bit like herding cats!

Brilliant stuff. I only have one cat and it is absolutely impossible to get it to do anything that I want except when there is food involved.

As for 2dandan, I found the posts very amusing. I too wonder why people get so upset about things like the width of aisles. It does not matter how big they are. There will always be some big fat farang woman that manages to block it.

The best I have seen was at Safeway in San Jose where two women with a combined weight of 500 pounds had placed ther trolleys, stuffed with chips ice cream and cookies, 90 degrees opposed to the aisles. When I pushed the two trolleys apart to enable my passage both of the fat bitches snarled at me like rabid dogs. It made my day.

As for driving on the wrong side of the road, we all do it. Mai Bpen Rai. Blame it on Napoleon.

BTW. Please please please will you all stop posting references to the Index store. I have so far managed to keep it secret from my wife, but if she gets to hear about it and, about the overinflated prices I am sure that she will want to go there and cause irrepairable damage to my bank account.

[chelsea]

2dandan, there is one search that you will never find in your search of anything famous in Scotland, that is "World Cup Winners", not now, not ever
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