SFX Cinema Pattaya Central...The Last Stand

The last blog post was about Central Festival in Pattaya.
It really only came to mind because i was there the other day with my wife. We hadn't seen a movie in a while and a friend of hers had recommended Arnold Schwarzenegger's new movie "The Last Stand". As i walked into Central Festival i realized how much i had missed the old days of seeing movies at Big C North Pattaya, or Royal Garden which does not even have a movie theatre anymore and just how much times and things have changed here.

SFX Cinema is definitely a 5 star theatre as i mentioned in yesterdays blog post. Movies, though, are still relatively cheap, especially compared to the west. 140 baht per ticket and another 280 baht for 2 boxes of  popcorn and 2 pepsi's is still very reasonable. Seating is very comfortable with seats that recline back almost as much as a business class seat on most airlines! The sound system is excellent, good enough for me to ignore the group behind me which felt the need to talk through most of the flick.

The movie itself was a pretty entertaining...not too realistic but then again it is an "Arnold flick"! "The Last Stand" combines a good amount of action and a lot of humor. Parts of it were so funny you didn't really care how unrealistic it actually was.

For those that haven't seen it yet, Arnold plays an old sheriff in a very small quiet town in Southern Arizona just a few miles away from the Mexican Border. Meanwhile back up in Las Vegas an extremely dangerous drug cartel boss has just been broken out of prison while being transferred to death row. The cartel boss has hired a rogue mercenary group to break him out of prison and get him across the border back into Mexico. This high speed chase goes through Arnolds town of Sommerville Arizona, leading to a bridge that this mercenary group has specially constructed for him to escape the U.S.

Overall the film offers plenty of bullets, explosions, high speed car chases, drama and some very funny moments. If you're bored one of these many rainy days we seem to be unseasonably experiencing here in Pattaya, this definitely would be a good way to kill a couple of hours. Check out the preview clip below.

Pattaya's Central Shopping Mall

Pattaya has been long trying to clean up its image and boast itself as a 5 star family resort. Central Shopping Mall here in Pattaya definitely backs that up. Stretching from the beach to 2nd Rd Central is the biggest thing Pattaya has seen in terms of high end shopping. So whats the big deal?

It has a huge car park, where you can even drop your car off to be professionally detailed while you eat, shop or catch a movie. Starting at the bottom and working its way up is a  basement with open food court, market, a few shops, and Burger King. Outside on the beach is Zico's, a Brazillian style all you can eat BBQ which runs around 550 Baht per person. 

Levels 1-5 has just about everything you could ask for from high end electronics, cameras, top name brand clothing, sporting goods and fitness shops, Starbucks, Japanese food, Korean food, Italian food, bakerys, all you can eat buffets, ice cream shops, even the towns only Carls JR, all situated in a very elegant open design. There is a kids area and mini arcade, and  even the Central World Store itself which i think goes up 5 floors. 

On the 6th level is a game area, 4D motion rides and a 5 star cinema with a variety of seating including Bangkok style VIP seats.  Just off to the left is probably the best bowling alley in town.

The new Hyatt Hotel sits a top it all. I have heard they have one of the best buffets and Sunday brunch in town but have not yet made it up there.

It was only 10 years ago you really had only  Royal Garden or Big C in terms of malls with a selection of western and Thai restaurants, coffee shops and cinema. 

Then came The Avenue on 2nd Rd. An outdoor garden style shopping plaza and certainly a facelift to Pattaya's 2nd Rd. Unfortunately this was to be short lived. New shop and business owners rushed to get in on this new high class venture and opened a bowling alley, "Major Cineplex" - by far Pattaya's best theatre at the time, and complete with Starbucks, Mc Donalds, Book Shops, Apple store and a branch of the then high class fitness chain "California Wow".  

Although Pattaya has definitely emerged i still miss the charm the old Pattaya used to have but i guess all good things change at some point.

This video below i found on You Tube kind of gives you a tour and feel for it

Thailands tourist destinations suffering from poor infrastrcture

Thailand's infrastructure continues to suffer from poor planning and under estimated growth.  

You see it everytime a new road is cut. They are typically 6-8 meters wide and this is supposed to support 2-way traffic with parking. Small roads with land on either side being purchased for major condo and housing developments with no thought on how to support the wave of coming traffic. 

According to an article in The Nation newspaper today this can be largely blamed on private sector investment not being matched by government spending...

1. " The key issues are the same as in Phuket and all of Asia's resort destinations at present. Private-sector investment fuelled by booming economies is not being matched by government spending on infrastructure," said Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks, a Phuket-based hotel and residential consulting firm. "Also, Thailand's resort destinations are no longer simple idyllic destinations but are becoming urbanised, with issues now of population growth, traffic, waste disposal and crime. Local government does not have the support for this growth."

     2. "This has especially held true for Koh Samui  "Its tourism numbers are restrained by the lack of capacity, and it cannot attract broader charter flights and low-cost carriers. This is not entirely a bad thing, as the hotel market has stabilised and positioned the island at the top end of the market, but longer-term it will impair the growth cycle. The airport, roadways, water and electricity are key priorities for the government," he said.

Pattaya's Theppraya road was a classic example of this. 10-12 years ago it was a small deserted 2 land road with littole mom pop shops lining it selling gasoline, plants, and a few mini marts. With a rapid expansion the citys of Pattaya and Jomtien were forced to put together a project to widen the road to support the new massive development. It took over 6 years to complete and has turned out fairly nice. 

Fortunately city officials carried this construction out from Hanuman Cove in Jomtien Beach all the way out to soi Chaiyapreuk. Figuring out where to put the u-turns could prove to be another difficult challenge with already most of the traffic on this new road heading the wrong way down the street.

Another issue is the number of tour buses on the roads now. It seems like there are at least 10 times more buses around town than just a few short years ago. These tour buses wind their way down narrow sois to try and bypass the traffic problems the bigger roads can no longer support. This clogs up sois locals use, mostly on small motorbikes, to negotiate the congestion on larger roads. Check out this video below and take a ride down Jomtien Beach Road!

Big trouble in Thailand

Has anyone ever heard of this series? I have been under the weather the last 2 days suffering from whatever cold or flu that is going around. having no attention span to get any work done i was playing around on you tube when i found this. 

Apparently there has been a series shot called "Big trouble in Thailand". It involves tourists and ex-pats alike getting involved in criminal activities and some of the dumbest ventures! Some ofthe things the tourist police here in Pattaya have to deal with...LOL. it is somewhat similar to series like "Banged Up Abroad". From what i have checked out so far there is at least one season and there was 8 episodes shot. I will be looking to see if there is a season 2 soon.

You have to wonder how some of these people even had enough brain power to get to the airport, make a plane transfer if necessary and get to a local hotel...yes some of them are that dumb! What i have found even funnier is that i could almost swear i have seen some of these people before wandering the streets, drinking in a bar, stumbling down a small soi or even the idiot at the immigration at the airport that did not have their paperwork together and were holding things up causing all kinds of trouble.

I am going to try and finish the season today but you can check out the first episode here.

Weather in Pattaya is just perfect right now!

You simply could not ask for better weather in Pattaya or most of Thailand for that matter. 

Daytime temps have been averaging about 30-31c or roughly 85f with relatively low humidity. Skies have fluctuated between hazy sunshine and clear blue! Nights have been very pleasant at around 23c or 73f.

  
This is my favorite time of year here in Thailand. With virtually no rain and comfortable temperatures i find myself taking far more bike rides somtimes making them into full day trips. Also spend more time enjoying the beaches not so much here in Pattaya but taking a ride down to Bang Sarae or heading off to Koh Larn. Nights are perfect to hang out with friends at outdoor bars and enjoy a few -- not usually quiet -- drinks together.

Bangkok has been averaging around 32c or 87f during the day and 25c or 75f at night. Chaing Mai has been very mild at night around 18c or 65f and warming up nicely to around 32c or 88f. Phuket and Koh Samui have also been sunny and mild


Good news is this weather is supposed to stick around a while. With a rainy season that lasted well into December, Thailands old man winter took a little longer to arrive and according to this article i read it looks like the cold season should last until the end of February with a possible exception for the south of Thailand where temps in Koh Samui, Krabi and Phuket may warm up a bit earlier.

If you ever wanted to get an idea of how big of an area Pattaya covers you should check out his video i found on You Tube taken from a Cessna 172 Sightseeing tour

Pattaya Thailand 4th best nightlife spot in the world according to Agoda.com

Pattaya Thailand has been awarded the fourth best nightlife in the world with Bangkok Thailand taking top marks.

 

This, according to a recent survey conducted by Agoda.com. Agoda's online survey was taken from reviews and feedback from over 113,000 travellers world wide.

The nightlife was rated on a scale of 1-5, 1 being “poor”, and 5 being “excellent”. Bangkok - which Agoda.com referred to as “Thailand’s energetic capital known for its tuk-tuks, temples and street food” - taking the top spot. 

Dubai managed to capture the 2nd best honours representing the United Arab Emirates, while Boracay in the Philippines was rated third.

Pattaya Thailand grabbed the number four slot. Overall Thailand ranked extremely well with Phuket, Chaing Mai, and Koh Samui coming in at 6, 16, and 17 respectively.

The top 25 nightlife destinations were listed as follows

1.     Bangkok

2.     Dubai

3.     Boracay / Caticlan

4.     Pattaya

5.     Tokyo

6.     Phuket

7.     Hong Kong

8.     Macau

9.     Taipei

10.    Bali

11.    Osaka

12.    Shanghai

13.    Seoul

14.    Singapore

15.    Sydney

16.    Samui

17.    Chiang Mai

18.    London

19.    Taichung

20.    Kuala Lumpur

21.    Jakarta

22.    Manila

23.    Kaohsiung

24.    Paris

25.    Siem Reap

Pattaya's soi Buahkhao continues to be hotspot!

Soi Buahkhao in the South Pattaya region continues to thrive!  

New shops, bars, a go-go's, restaurants, and businesses of all kinds are opening on seemingly a weekly basis and there seems to be new guesthouses with quality rooms for rent almost everytime i drive down the soi. 

We have had a number of inquiries lately regarding a newly built shophouses off a small soi. This soi is already bustling with avery successful motorbike shop, restaurant, new botique guesthouses and a 7/11 towards the end of the soi. 

For more information on these shophouses click here or e mail us at info@pattayarealestatemarket.com

Novana Residence Pattaya update!

I have just received an e mail from Da at Novana Residence Pattaya. She has informed me that they are now over 90% sold out. She also said prices on both Thai and foreign owned units would be going up 10% on Feb 1.


Does not surprise me at all. These luxury botique condos offer a great value given the quality of the construction - something the Nova group is known for - as well as location. Their convenient location just off of soi 17 3rd Rd puts you 5 minutes from the beach, shopping, and nightlife. For more information please visit us at www.pattayarealestatemarket.com or e mail us at info@pattayarealestatemarket.com

Stunning new townhouses on the beach in Bang Sarae...construction already started!!

2 Story townhouses with private swimming pool and rooftop garden right on Bang Sarae beach road!

The developers of the prestigious Talay Sawan are proud to offer their newest development. this will be a string of 16 townhouses as close to the beach as permitted!

Each individual Beach House is entered through a private gated pedestrian entrance or through the remote controlled garage door entrance. You then take a walk beside your private outdoor salt water swimming pool to your entrance door. 

On the ground floor, there are two double en-suite bedrooms, with the master bedroom having glass doors leading on to a deck area where you can relax by your private pool.

Each of The Beach Houses is fully air conditioned throughout. In all there are only sixteen of these Beach Houses, with four of them having additional garden areas.

Prices are starting at 7.5 MB and construction on the first 8 has already begun! Payment schedule is as follows:

• 100,000 baht Booking & Reservation Fee

       (Contracts within 21 days of booking fee)

• 25% on Contract Signing

• 50% during Construction

• 25% on completion and transfer   

For more information please contact us at www.pattayarealestatemarket.com or e mail us at info@pattayarealestatemarket.com!