Here We Go Again

[Glasseye]

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/russian-and-chinese-immigrants-are-rapidly-changing-the-face-of-pattaya-421102

 

Russian and Chinese immigrants are rapidly changing the face of Pattaya

By

 Barry Kenyon

 -

January 7, 2023

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On top of daily scheduled flights to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, Air Azov and Red Wings are delivering almost daily more than 2,000 passengers on six charter flights from various Russian cities.

The demand for Russian flights to U-tapao airport, neighboring Pattaya, is being described as insatiable. Almost daily, Air Azov and Red Wings are now delivering 2,000-plus passengers on six charter flights from various Russian cities including Moscow, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and even Kazan which is the country’s fifth largest urban complex and situated by the Volga. These arrivals are on top of daily, multiple scheduled flights to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.



Most Russians will return after their vacation, but a sizeable minority is here to stay as long as possible as retirees or entrepreneurs. Some younger men and those with families are evading conscription to fight in the Ukraine war, or seeking to settle as global expats. Pattaya immigration is deluged with requests from Russians for certificates of address to open bank accounts and apply for driving licences. Indeed, there is a standing half-joke that, within a few years, more Russians than Thais will own healthy Thai bank balances or own plush vehicles.

 

The Russian love affair with Pattaya goes back decades and annual arrivals almost touched 2 million before the pandemic struck in early 2020. Some believe that this figure has already been exceeded in the last twelve months. Welcome signs beckon in Russian in convenience stores in “Little Moscow”, a Naklua suburb near Pattaya: davai (take it) and deshyovyi (cheap). Thai tailors report a booming business in made-to-order clothes whilst the tills ring merrily in retail outlets from stylish malls to corner jewelry stores. Closed parties with champagne freely flowing are reported in several of the resort’s five star hotels.



Thailand Privilege, the owner of the Elite visa, reports intense interest amongst Russians for longstay visas from 5-20 years. The less affluent are renewing their immigration entry stamps by crowding the organized minibus trips to the Cambodian border where a further 45 days visa exempt is available the same day. “Russians don’t want temples and culture, they want sun and fun,” according to a Moscow tours representative. “Pattaya is our main business now,” she adds, “and we have clients who light their cigars with a 1,000 baht (US$30) note.”

Lining up next are the Chinese who are expected to pour into Pattaya once more flights are available and pending the opening of Chinese passport issuing offices, a service cancelled for almost three years of coronavirus. But the market is much bigger than short-visit tourists. Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram, is awash with the benefits of emigrating to Thailand where international schools are cheap and the latest generation longstay Thai visas, notably the 10-year Long Term Residence with its inbuilt work permit, is attracting lots of attention.

 

Some Chinese investors want the freedom to travel in and out of China at their discretion. They are already the biggest group of foreign buyers of property in Thailand, according to the Real Estate Information Center, with 3,500 units snapped up last year at an average price of US$150,000. In Pattaya, Chinese investors own at least half of all foreign-owned condominium flats. They don’t necessarily intend to live here: the idea is to rent them out. Almost 30 percent of all near-40 million foreign tourists in Thailand were Chinese nationals in 2019.



There has long been a debate about how Pattaya is changing and the prospects for neo (new) Pattaya in the post-pandemic world. The unprecedented surge in Russian and Chinese immigration – not simply tourism – will likely have titanic consequences not yet unfolded. They likely involve a continuing rise in the general cost of living as demand begins to exceed supply against a rapidly shrinking Thai workforce owing to a falling birthrate. Even more significantly, it is an open question whether Pattaya’s infrastructure, traffic routes and local government services can handle a surge of this proportion. The jury will be out a long time.

[coxyhog]

Maybe time to give Phuket a try again,I've not been there since 1987....or just stay in Bangkok.

[Freee!!]

1 hour ago, coxyhog said:

Maybe time to give Phuket a try again,I've not been there since 1987....or just stay in Bangkok.

I hear positive things about Hua Hin and as it was good enough for his late majesty, it should be good enough for the likes of us.

[coxyhog]

10 minutes ago, Freee!! said:

I hear positive things about Hua Hin and as it was good enough for his late majesty, it should be good enough for the likes of us.

We have a niece & her hubbie who have a house there & we stayed with them for a few days a while ago,I wasn't impressed by the nightlife at all.

 

[coxyhog]

From what I remember about the Ruskies & Chinks is that they don't frequent the bars that Western expats do and I don't recall seeing many after dark.

But in the Baht buses & shops they are usually a pain because they tend to be ignoramuses.

[lazarus]

25 minutes ago, coxyhog said:

Ruskies & Chinks

Some of the rudest people to walk the earth...on a good day.

[Horizondave]

1 hour ago, coxyhog said:

We have a niece & her hubbie who have a house there & we stayed with them for a few days a while ago,I wasn't impressed by the nightlife at all.

 

It's never going to compare to Pattaya, but those who live in Hua Hin are mostly looking for something beyond the bars.

That said, there is quite a busy nightlife area around Sois 88-94 and I spent a very pleasant time there back in August. It is growing but is mixed around restaurants and bars that have bands playing which has more of a family feel without the go gos. For me the only place I would live long term again in Thailand is Hua Hin. Easy access to Bangkok or the south. I love it there and intend on going back to live there at some point.

[AJSP]

16 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

It's never going to compare to Pattaya, but those who live in Hua Hin are mostly looking for something beyond the bars.

That said, there is quite a busy nightlife area around Sois 88-94 and I spent a very pleasant time there back in August. It is growing but is mixed around restaurants and bars that have bands playing which has more of a family feel without the go gos. For me the only place I would live long term again in Thailand is Hua Hin. Easy access to Bangkok or the south. I love it there and intend on going back to live there at some point.

I’m a fan of Hua Hin but one thing which really puts me off is the Jellyfish. It may sound trivial but I like spending time in the sea so fir this reason it knocks it off the list ……unless we lived in a pool villa ??

[thegrogmonster]

58 minutes ago, lazarus said:

Some of the rudest people to walk the earth...on a good day.

They never seem to move out of the way either. It seems if I am walking towards them it is always me that has to move out of the way to let them pass.

[Aqualung]

3 hours ago, coxyhog said:

Maybe time to give Phuket a try again,I've not been there since 1987....or just stay in Bangkok.

I arrived in Phuket earlier today and the place is rammed with Russian folks. Plenty in Aonang, Krabi aswell. 

[Zeb]

8 hours ago, coxyhog said:

Maybe time to give Phuket a try again,I've not been there since 1987....or just stay in Bangkok.

Yep. I was last there in 1983. Not really fussed about going back though.

Bangkok & Pattaya however....

[Horizondave]

17 hours ago, AJSP said:

I’m a fan of Hua Hin but one thing which really puts me off is the Jellyfish. It may sound trivial but I like spending time in the sea so fir this reason it knocks it off the list ……unless we lived in a pool villa ??

I rarely go in the sea, mainly as Kataleya (same as me) really loves using a pool and admits the sea is not for her. Beach yes, sea no!

Love sitting on the beach at Cha Am and ordering cooked live prawns for about 280 baht a kilo. I will also sit on the beach at Soi 77, south of the Hilton, and have a few large beers with friends. A small, independent local Thai sells food and drink at incredibly cheap prices, stay on the beach under an umbrella with the sea only as a view.

I agree though, if you are looking mainly for a beach resort with safe seas, then what's in the sea may be an important factor.

 

[AJSP]

1 hour ago, Horizondave said:

I rarely go in the sea, mainly as Kataleya (same as me) really loves using a pool and admits the sea is not for her. Beach yes, sea no!

Love sitting on the beach at Cha Am and ordering cooked live prawns for about 280 baht a kilo. I will also sit on the beach at Soi 77, south of the Hilton, and have a few large beers with friends. A small, independent local Thai sells food and drink at incredibly cheap prices, stay on the beach under an umbrella with the sea only as a view.

I agree though, if you are looking mainly for a beach resort with safe seas, then what's in the sea may be an important factor.

 

We stayed in The Hilton here a few years ago and then put a net out in the sea to immediately ‘enclose’ a section of the sea to afford some protection from the jellies. Not sure this is 100% effective but I used the area.

nice to hear some tips for the food !👍

[Binlid]

1 hour ago, AJSP said:

We stayed in The Hilton here a few years ago and then put a net out in the sea to immediately ‘enclose’ a section of the sea to afford some protection from the jellies. Not sure this is 100% effective but I used the area.

nice to hear some tips for the food !👍

Hi Adam,I was wondering why I had never come across the jellyfish problem on our visits to Hua hin. It seems they only come nearer to the shore during the rainy season, Jun-Oct. Our visits have always been April/May or November.

[Stillearly]

3 minutes ago, Binlid said:

Hi Adam,I was wondering why I had never come across the jellyfish problem on our visits to Hua hin. It seems they only come nearer to the shore during the rainy season, Jun-Oct. Our visits have always been April/May or November.

The signs had always put me off swimming there ... I didn't realise if was only seasonal 

[Binlid]

12 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

The signs had always put me off swimming there ... I didn't realise if was only seasonal 

http://www.hua-hin-thailand.com/hua-hin-jellyfish/

[AJSP]

2 hours ago, Binlid said:

Hi Adam,I was wondering why I had never come across the jellyfish problem on our visits to Hua hin. It seems they only come nearer to the shore during the rainy season, Jun-Oct. Our visits have always been April/May or November.

Aye that’s the issue as our main holiday was always July / August but as Stillearly says it’s the signs which are off putting and also speaking to locals who say it’s a bit more extensive 

still live the place though it’s a cracking place. 

Hoping  your on the mend now !

[Yessongs]

For the Hua Hin lovers...nice place. 

 

 

[Glasseye]

1 hour ago, Yessongs said:

For the Hua Hin lovers...nice place. 

 

 

 

Does the girl come with it....?  lol.   Few months back I watched a sales vid of a condo up here. The sales agent was smoking hot, walking around to the different rooms, etc.  I couldn't help but think as she traipsed from room to room where/how I would bang her in each room. I almost had to have a wank.

I also get a kick out of a lot of these sales vids where they are promoting a new development. Presenting it as new and modern, etc. etc. While at the same time you hear a rooster screaming it's lungs out a couple of houses away.

Just gotta love it.

[Aqualung]

14 hours ago, Glasseye said:

 

Does the girl come with it....?  lol.   Few months back I watched a sales vid of a condo up here. The sales agent was smoking hot, walking around to the different rooms, etc.  I couldn't help but think as she traipsed from room to room where/how I would bang her in each room. I almost had to have a wank.

I also get a kick out of a lot of these sales vids where they are promoting a new development. Presenting it as new and modern, etc. etc. While at the same time you hear a rooster screaming it's lungs out a couple of houses away.

Just gotta love it.

Traipsed!!! 

Brad... Where did you learn that word from? Have you been to Lancashire or Yorkshire in England? 

[boydeste]

4 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

Traipsed!!! 

Brad... Where did you learn that word from? Have you been to Lancashire or Yorkshire in England? 

Fairly common word in my neck of the woods too mate.

[Aqualung]

4 minutes ago, boydeste said:

Fairly common word in my neck of the woods too mate.

Really? 

I thought it was a northern thing. 

[boydeste]

19 minutes ago, Aqualung said:

Really? 

I thought it was a northern thing. 

Yup.

[Glasseye]

6 hours ago, boydeste said:

Fairly common word in my neck of the woods too mate.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Aqualung said:

Traipsed!!! 

Brad... Where did you learn that word from? Have you been to Lancashire or Yorkshire in England? 

 

 

lol. I have been hanging around you bloody Brits too long !