Suan Lum nighmarket to close

Saying good night to BangkokтАЩs night bazaar - The Star
THAI TAKES WITH PHILIP GOLINGAI
Tonight may be the last night for a Bangkok institution that ranks among the Thai capitalтАЩs top five tourist attractions.┬а
ON TUESDAY night, a dozen expatriates gathered at a beer garden in Suan Lum Night Bazaar to mourn the uncertain death of a Bangkok institution. ┬а
The tears were for fear the popular Suan Lum Night Bazaar located in the heart of the Thai capital would be bulldozed to make way for a high-rise commercial complex consisting of a shopping mall, offices and hotel. ┬а
According to the organiser of the gathering, Nima Chandler, a 30-something American who manages the well-known Nancy ChandlerтАЩs Map of Bangkok, the lively bazaar is one of BangkokтАЩs top five tourist attractions. ┬а
тАЬThere is something here for everybody тАУ Thais, tourists and expatriates тАУ and you can get things that you canтАЩt find anywhere else,тАЭ said Chandler. ┬а
What you can find in the bazaar are about 3,700 booth vendors hawking products such as wallets, Thai designer clothes, fake Liverpool jerseys, pirated DVDs and papier-mache heads of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and offering services like fortune telling and massage.┬а
ThereтАЩs also the Joe Louis Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre, La Roue De Paris (French Ferris Wheel) and a beer garden with nightly concerts or sports screenings.┬а....
continued on http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story. ... ai%20Takes (http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/columnists/2007/3/31/thaitakes/17308769&sec=Thai%20Takes)

nicked from Gaythailand where BKKvisitor reported this.

Well Suan Lum has not been opened but a very few years. Previously the site belonged to The Thai Army. I do not care for it. There are long rows of concrete little shops selling not much different from Patpong and there is no vibrancy to the place. The open bars and restaurants do seem popular and I have read reports that the food is good and cheap. So yet another Mall, huge Hotel and offices.

Nima Chandler, a 30-something American who manages the well-known Nancy Chandler’s Map of Bangkok, the lively bazaar is one of Bangkok’s top five tourist attractions. ┬а

According to the expat society of Bangkok, maybe, but according to anyone else it is hard to find tourists that remember it or give it any imporatnce as a "top site". I remember in my corporate days in Bangkok persons associated thinking it was a great idea that might put PP out of business. It didn't do it. On my few visits to Suan Lum I found it rather unpopular. But I do like the nearby ferris wheel, at least from the perspective of the skyline. Well, Bangkok will get just what it needs: another luxury shopping mall. How do they all survive???


and you can get things that you can’t find anywhere else

Not much different than what you can get from vendors anywhere else in Bangkok, either.

In 2000 the Suan Lum area was illegally bulldozed and the complete bazaar has been set up without any mandatory permissions. Only people without local knowledge would invest there on medium or longer terms since there where always doubts about the future of this popular tourist spot.

I don’t like to see this new landmark if central Bangkok going. After a difficult time the management just made the best out of it. If money talks, there is nothing to discuss. Due to the prime position, the grounds are most valuable.

In 2000 the Suan Lum area was illegally bulldozed and the complete bazaar has been set up without any mandatory permissions. Only people without local knowledge would invest there on medium or longer terms since there where always doubts about the future of this popular tourist spot.

I don’t like to see this new landmark if central Bangkok going. After a difficult time the management just made the best out of it. If money talks, there is nothing to discuss. Due to the prime position, the grounds are most valuable.

I remember the old barracks hosting some very handsome and indeed discrete military police staff. There salary wasn’t as good as today’s. I don’t anybody from there going out “selling his bum” but a friendly invitation for a hot and raunchy night out was often welcome.

With some I am still good friend with.

Lots of misinformation in the above postings. Thai Army? Illegal bulldozing? Ho-hum.

Here's an informative piece from last week's papers (sorry, I forget which one it was -- either the Bangkok Post or Nation):

With subway and skytrain stops within walking distance and Lumpini Park
next door, the potential of this 127-rai plot of Rama IV has been lost
on no one, least of all its owner, the Crown Property Bureau (CPB), and
its newest lease-holder, Central Pattana (CPN). Together they have
joined forces to create what they say will be a more spectacular Bangkok
landmark. CPN, which was recently awarded a 30-year lease for 40 rai of
the plot, plans to build a mixed usage commercial complex, featuring
world-class shopping facilities, offices, a hotel and perhaps even
Thailand's tallest skyscraper..

According to a Crown Property Bureau press release, the development will
be "a true centrepiece attraction for Bangkok" and "serve the social and
commercial needs of the community." It will also "introduce a number of
interesting and fresh architectural concepts that will both upgrade the
look and value of both the site and adjacent areas." Moreover, they are
promising it will be a "model for other developments around Bangkok".

Meanwhile, the market's keepers cling to hope that the powerful wheels
in motion will be miraculously halted.

History of the Plot:

* The land where the Night Bazaar is located is owned by the Crown
Property Bureau.

* From the late 1950s until 1999, the land hosted the Armed Forces'
Preparatory School. The land was then categorised as an educational zone.

* In 1999, the Crown Property Bureau moved the school.

* In 2000, P Con development received a short-term 3-year lease to
develop the land. P Con opened the Suan Lum Night Bazaar in 2001.

* In 2002, the land was rezoned as a "commercial and residential" zone.

* In 2004, the Crown Property Bureau extended P Con's lease until March
2006 in order to give merchants time to move off the site.

* As the company took the fight to court, P Con has frequently told
vendors that they may be able to stay, creating uncertainty and confusion.

* In November 2006, the Crown Property Bureau announced the land would
be divided into three plots, one for embassies, one for commercial
purposes, and one for near term development. They say the overall goal
is to create a new landmark development for the city.

* On February 22, 2007, the Crown Property Bureau awarded 40 rai,
currently occupied by the Night Bazaar, to Central Pattana.

* The Crown Property Bureau had given vendors until April 30, 2007, to
vacate.

Lots of misinformation in the above postings. Thai Army? Illegal bulldozing? Ho-hum.

Here's an informative piece from last week's papers (sorry, I forget which one it was -- either the Bangkok Post or Nation):




That's some but not even half of the truth. Unlike Lumphini Park, only a strip used to- or might still does - belong to Crown Properties Bureau. The complete grounds where divided into several ownerships. The number of owners came down in 2004, after the Ministry of Finance sold most of there shares held in BEC-TORES (Channel 9) which is still operating adjoined to the Suan Lum.

As always with larger properties especially in Bangkok, itтАЩs a very wicket matter.

I have to admit, due to change of interests, I did not follow the further development after 2005. I might find the offer send from the management to me at the beginning of 2006 since I was interested into some small space for commercial by myself. They offered me a long term option тАУ which I gratefully turned down a while ago.

I was still aware, that shops where sold at least until a few weeks ago. Some less suspicious people might lost a lot of money with there investment.

Several very influential people have been battling behind the scene to get hold on this outspoken jewel.

Nevertheless, not just me might feel sorry if Bangkok is loosing this interesting spot.

[Brad the Impala]

I remember going to a wedding reception at this site, back in the seventies when it was under army control. Two thai friends invited me to join them at their friends wedding party. They failed to mention that they would be going in drag to a very straight occasion. It was the first time that they had appeared in drag in public, emphasised by the fact that my friend couldn't find any lady's shoes big enough, so under his finery he had some very butch boots.

We stuck out like a sore thumb, but were warmly welcomed. I remember it feeling like a very long evening!

[Dick]

To my way of thinking, it was overpriced.
Overpriced in context means you could buy cheaper in Patpong.

The live bands in the beer hall were ok but everything else was so so.