Have you noticed the recession in udon.

[vlad]

Has the recession been felt in Udon or is it still a happy place to live. Here in good old blighty its a struggle unemployment is at a high time high on average there are 30 pubs closing a day the good old Bingo has all but dissapeared due to thr smoking ban our goverment is too busy lining there own pockets the man on the street is having his home re-posessed. There higher then they have ever been. The days have gone where you can pop off down the local most of them have gone, even in my town 5 have shut in the last year. And what have our goverment done, at midnight they put the fuel tax up 2p a litre making it the 3rd rise in a year that works out nearly 120 bht a litre. So you think your in a recession there.

[BobHelm]

It's a bit difficult to say really vlad - working in a place & being retired in a place sort of gives you a different perspective I think. I know when the word "recession" was in the news & I was working there were almost daily conversations at work about how the business was going & what our chances of surviving were like. So it very much kept it upper most in the mind. Being retired, about the only thing that worries is the exchange rate - which just is not worth discussing with anybody as which way it goes is a lottery & certainly can not/will not be influenced by my personal efforts...
It is quiet around town in the bars, but has been for well over a year now. Much of the bar trade has always very much relied on Falang tourists and they are a real rare breed these days. Falang who are here full time either have their favourite spot with their mates, use the Night Market/Udon Town or just party at home. So it would be unusual if places like Day & Night would ever look busy from 'local' Farang.
As for the Thai's I know that many,many have lost jobs in & around Bangkok & some of those have come back to Issan so I guess there is less money around for them as well.
However, in saying all that..Big C and Lotus still look busy & they have the added competition of Carrfour now. It would still not be easy to find a seat at the Night Market on a Saturday night if Man U or Pool are playing - and that has competition from UD Town now...
I suppose that some of it is due to the fact that it is still possible to go out in Udon for a night out with a few mates, have more than enough beer & something good to eat without it costing an absolute fortune..

[MALC]

hi vlad deisel went up about 7bht fags gone up 10bht beer gone up the thai gov put them all up same day. its one big increase if you are a thai. fags 10bht a packet. which gets passed on to every thing else as you know malc

[souness]

dunno about udon so much but in phuket everything seems expensive and not to many tourists around.
we stayed in kata which was very quiet.went to patong for a couple of nights even pretty quiet there.plenty of bar girls but not many customers.hotels offering big discounts but the restaurants still expensive,no discounts there.
the tuk tuk drivers in phuket are a big rip off.also they are really unfrendly.they should smile a bit and be grateful for the business.
lots of crime in phuket as well,particularly patong.after midnight driving from patong back to kata quite a few nutters arond on motorbikes.
but udon does seem a bit more expensive than last year.a lot more bars but not many customers.

sean

[123sawaddee]

i stayed at january at udon...and new night market was very quietly. now i see many pubs and restaurant closed or for sale in udonthani...whats happen?? and now Carrfour open soon with mcdonalds....looks not like the recession arrived udon but whats true and whats wrong about business there?

[seymourbutts]

i went to the pizza place in the complex today, had lunch a carbonara and the misses had the new rice thing for 79baht. anyway i had long finished my meal before my wife was served!!! nothing new there then,,, I did notice however that the salad bar had become a lot poorer than before!!! Also i had to go to KFC after to fill me belly!! the portion i had was like a childs meal so maybe theyre feeling the pinch here!!

[jackspratt]

How much was the carbonara, Dave?

[seymourbutts]

89 baht but it was a lunch time special, had i had it with coke i think it was 119 or something like that. point is i like it so i have had it many times, this time after maybe 5 months since my last one it was half the size!!!
Also another scam i feel is the banks will only allow 10,000 baht withdrawall per day!!! this gives them more than double the 150 baht charge if say you wanted 25,000 like i normally withdraw!!!

[beer monkey]

point is i like it so i have had it many times, this time after maybe 5 months since my last one it was half the size!!!

You have it many times....but its been 5 months since your last one.... ..
I think i know whats going on.... Maybe the plates are bigger thus creating the effect of a smaller portion....where as if they were smart they would decrease the plate size so then they could also decrease the portion size...and hope no one will notice....but they didn't bank on seemore popping in for his regular order of Carbonara.

[seymourbutts]

i was in uk for the last 3 months..... must be the plates and my stomach have got bigger, cant image a thai company cutting corners to make more money!!!!

[Roy]

My guess is that you will be seeing a very big recession in Udon any day now Seymor.
The money in your bin will sucked dry.
You will watch the price of formula like you currently do the exchange rate, nappies will become the most important thing in your life, running out is a very, very bad thing and to top it all we could expect a name change, maybe Seylessbutts or even Seynobuttsatall

Good luck with it all mate.

[beer monkey]

Ohh yes nappies and formula for a few years.....save money go on the breast, breast is best as they say, My Mrs was not interested and wanted to keep the noms in shape so went the forumla route, it was ok with me...and use the old style re-usable washable nappies...

[seymourbutts]

Thanks for reminding me roy!!! i think maybe "symournappycladbutts"....

BM!!!!!! Do they still make the old style nappies??????

mmmm new airoplane, box of nappies or "kerching" Terry nappies!!!! good idea!!!

[beer monkey]

They use something similar in villages...a bit more like a piece of toweling , i think they mop up as they go, some village folk are not going to spend cash on disposable nappys.
Must still be available, a good boil wash and right as rain lad.
Best ask the Mrs first though before presenting her with them.....

[vlad]

Dont they use Bannana leave's out in the village's BM. After all they do say its the tree of life. In the uk now your paying 120bht for a litre of petrol. how much is it in udon.

[beer monkey]

In the uk now your paying 120bht for a litre of petrol. how much is it in udon.

Where are you paying that much Vlad..?....thats too mutt.

[rick]

Vlad,

120 pence may be, but not baht (today petrol for me 107.9 in Hampshire)

[vlad]

Rick i just used that as an analogy to the expats who pay about 25p a litre in udon the last time the put the price up at the pumps there all the locals kicked up a stink so they reduced it again lol thats the diff between uk petrol tax and the thai. Now this morning news has leaked that 1 in 20 national health workers have to go to save the goverment 20 billion. The govt cannot sustain the high cost so looks like doom and more gloom for good old blighty wont be to long before we are paying for a bandage, and a shot.

[MALC]

hi vlad i paid 35bht to day for deisal a litre/

[parrot]

MALC » September 3, 2009, 3:54 pm
hi vlad i paid 35bht to day for deisal a litre/

I bought diesel (not the B5 stuff) a few days ago at 28 and some satang. I think the price is pegged (just another one of those things we have to put up with, living here......pegged prices and all!)