expat Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Things are fine here--bottled water is available, etc. Some weird things are hard to find. Soda water is not available in any 7-11 I've been in, but you can get it at Top's or Central. Stuff like that. Mild, mild inconveniences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Things are fine here--bottled water is available, etc. Some weird things are hard to find. Soda water is not available in any 7-11 I've been in, but you can get it at Top's or Central. Stuff like that. Mild, mild inconveniences. And extra-large condoms ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 The Central Festival car park was absolutely jammed packed all weekend. The number of vehicles with Bangkok plates was very noticeable. All the restaurants were full , mostly with Thais. Traffic is noticeably worse, but it still moves. 7/11’s are lacking a lot of stuff, but the Family Marts tend to be better stocked at this point. Bottled water is available, but not all brands. As others have said, so far, very mild inconveniences. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 The Central Festival car park was absolutely jammed packed all weekend. The number of vehicles with Bangkok plates was very noticeable. All the restaurants were full , mostly with Thais. Traffic is noticeably worse, but it still moves. 7/11’s are lacking a lot of stuff, but the Family Marts tend to be better stocked at this point. Bottled water is available, but not all brands. As others have said, so far, very mild inconveniences. TH Thanks for this, TH - that is exactly the kind of report I was after. The really good thing about Patts is that you aren't totally reliant on the little shops - you have a Big C (I think its a Big C) and Central World. I don't know where the ports are (BKK ?) to bring tinned goods in from China etc, but I imagine that the 'Product of Thailand' stuff is going to get thinner on the shelves ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I firmly believe there is no actual shortages of most items, it’s just the distribution networks have been disrupted. This will work itself out over the next few weeks. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 . I don't know where the ports are (BKK ?) to bring tinned goods in from China etc, Main Port is Laem Chabang which is Eastern Seaboard midway between Pattaya and Chonburi. As TH stated it is the distribution that is the problem, containers full of goods can be imported at Laem Chabang and transported to Bangkok but unfortunately the main distribution hubs are located in Industrial Parks that are flooded Laem Chabaeng cleared 5,200,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) in 2010, that is over 7,000 40 foot containers / day (5 Containers / Minute) making it the 22nd busiest container port in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thanks for that, Mekong - I had vague memories of seeing a large port area on the drive to Hua Hin, but clearly that was something else or I have mixed up my memories. This flood might have industry rethinking its distribution centres (or not - TiT, I guess). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 From one of Stick's contributors, having spent the weekend in Pattaya: If I was a bar owner I'd be pulling my hair out though. Most bars near my hotel, Twin Palms next to the Hard Rock on Second Road, had between none and two customers all night - with large groups of tourists, Russian and Korean and some from Bangkok strolling around, not spending a penny. Yep, and with the influx of Indians and Chinese combined with ongoing problems in Europe and the US, I dont expect that owning a bar in Patts will be part of my plan for financial security in retirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldFun Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 gobble, you may have seen bkk's minor port in the south of the city along the river or even another major logistics/container area near the airport at lad krabang. those would be secondary to the main port mekong mentioned. anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 gobble, you may have seen bkk's minor port in the south of the city along the river or even another major logistics/container area near the airport at lad krabang. those would be secondary to the main port mekong mentioned. anyway Yeah - its weird, but I often forget that Bangkok is a 'city by the sea'. It really needs the surfing beaches Sydney has - can you imagine how many people would be down at their version of 'Bondi' every weekend ? I dont know if they share the Balinese fear of the sea (particularly post-Tsunami), but I'm sure there would be plenty of young Thais willing to risk life and limb to get out amongst the breakers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGxgK-XG5R4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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