Silom Complex Closure - Bargains Galore!

[Guest fountainhall]

As most people are aware, Silom Complex is closing for a major revamp. I don't know the exact date but it seems to be the end of December. I noticed yesterday that most stores there now have big sales, some with discounts up to 80%.

[Guest]

As most people are aware, Silom Complex is closing for a major revamp

 

I don't get this. The complex is still looking quite fresh & occupancy seemed high on my last visit. Certainly miles ahead of the building across the road. So why are they going to turn off the cash flow?

Are they trying to squeeze more units in or something?

[Guest fountainhall]

The announcement was made many months ago. I think the work would have already started had the floods not interrupted preparations.

 

The owners are basically upgrading the complex, presumably trying to get higher revenue generating clients in. Presently they have almost no top rank brand name outlets - apart from an Apple store - and I am certain they feel in that location they should have more. No doubt they will be trying to attract those who go to Silom for fun/massage etc. but who then go to Paragon, Emporium, Central World etc. for their brand name shopping. The existing bookstores, coffee shops, cheapish apparel outlets etc. are more akin to those at MBK and cannot generate anything like that sort of return.

 

Also the Central store is now a pretty pale imitation of Central Chidlom. That will be upgraded, as will TOPS supermarket so it is more in line with TOPS in Central Chidlom.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Presently they have almost no top rank brand name outlets - apart from an Apple store.

I wasn't aware Apple had an actual authorized retail shop anywhere in Thailand. I checked Apple's web site and cannot find a listing. Are you sure it is a real Apple store? Could you possibly mean an iStudio store where Apple products are sold?

[Guest]

You can buy laptops in Silom Complex. That's enough, I don't need to see a partially eaten piece of rainbow coloured fruit above the shop.

 

Silom complex is fine as it is. There are a few shops with a nice range of goods, you can get a coffee and even the odd freelance money boy. A gogo bar would be the icing on the cake.

 

I'm not the worlds greatest shopper, but to get more customers, wouldn't it need more scale to compete with the other malls in BKK?

[Guest fountainhall]

Are you sure it is a real Apple store?

Probably just a studio-type.

[Guest Motel69]

I did not know about this. But I take it as good news. Hopefully, the remake will trigger some gentrification throughout the entire neighborhood.

 

The Skytrain tracks have cast that stretch of Silom in a dark shadow. Nothing you can do about that. But like other posters have pointed out, there really are no tenants, except the Apple shop, to draw customers to Silom Complex. Inside, the place is dreary.

 

And across the street, the building that used to house Robinson's could use some redevelopment. Perhaps it still is a Robinsons. I don't now. I've never been inside except to use the toilet. But that was years ago. I walked into the McDonald's once, but seeing the clientele, I immediately walked right back out.

 

And all of Soi Thaniya could use an upgrade as well. I love going to Cutey and Beauty on my first day in Bangkok every year, but I get the creeps walking around that complex.

 

Let's cross the street again. Over from Patpong is Watson's and California Fitness. I do use that complex. At least I take a two-week membership at California Fitness and load up on stuff at Watson's. Still, that whole building could really use some sprucing up. It feels dark and empty and so 1970s inside.

 

And what about everybody's favorite gay spots on Silom? Soi 2 definitely needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Every time I go to DJ Station, my nose is filled with the stench of urine. That place used to be among the world's greatest gay venues. Now it's a sewer. No wonder why so few people go anymore.

 

I don't really have a complaint about G.O.D, but I do wish they could at least get toilet seats for the toilets.

 

And Soi 4? Haven't been there for years. Not since DP 2000 closed down. The Soi, with all its second-floor DJ bars, used to draw so many cool Bangkokians ... as well as its share of world travelers. Silom Soi 4 used to be worth a vacation to Thailand all by itself. Some of my fondest memories are of sitting in front of one Soi 2 bar or another and being so engrossed in conversation with some other clubbers I had met only hours earlier that I never even noticed the sun coming up. Now it seems every business on the street caters to sex tourists. When I walk by the soi and look down into it, my eyes take in a sea of gray hair. A couple years ago, in front of G.O.D., I bumped into an older gentleman who said he owns The Balcony on Soi 4. He mentioned how he calls up cute young gays and offers to take care of their bills if they hang out at his restaurant. That's a perfect description of what has happened to what was once such an exciting street. To get young people to go there, you have to bribe them.

 

Yep, a good dose of gentrification is exactly what the neighborhood needs.

[Guest fountainhall]

across the street, the building that used to house Robinson's could use some redevelopment

It will be interesting to see if an upgraded Silom Complex will be a catalyst for further development in what could be a prime retail area. Although we have to remember that a huge new shopping complex is now on the way up where the late, lamented night bazaar used to be on the corner of Witayu and Rama IV. That is bound to draw off some shopping traffic.

 

On Silom, the Robinsons section has been empty for quite some years now, with only the occasional tatty outlet sale. I'm not sure if the offices above are still occupied. TOPS remains in the basement as does Starbucks at ground level. McDonald's is also still there, used by some as a way of spotting eye candy and the occasional rent boys that still walk past from time to time.

 

And all of Soi Thaniya could use an upgrade as well

Now that Soi must be a major money-spinner as it caters mostly to Japanese and the almighty Yen. I doubt if the owners will change it. If you mean Thaniya Plaza - the one with lots of golf shops and an Asia Books on the 2nd or 3rd floor, they have tarted up the section linking that with Silom and added a Skytrain link. But like Silom Complex, I suspect the whole complex will be upgraded eventually.

 

And Soi 4? . . . Now it seems every business on the street caters to sex tourists. When I walk by the soi and look down into it, my eyes take in a sea of gray hair

I happened to be there last night for drinks before moving elsewhere for dinner. Not all that busy, but certainly very far from a sea of grey hair. Lots of younger tourists. The Soi is owned by the family that live at the end. It must be making them a ton of cash, and so unlikely in my view that they'll bring in the bulldozers any time soon.

[Guest thaiworthy]

Can anyone tell me about the new mall "Terminal21" at Asoke? Why is it named that? What kind of shops, restaurants, places worth seeing, anything interesting?

[Guest Motel69]

What? The Night Bazaar is closed and they're already building on the site? Since that's the case, the foot of Silom needs to go in another direction. I mean, just how much retail space does Bangkok need?

 

And a family lives at the end of Soi 4? They must love to party. With gay men. I'm sure you're right and that the businesses along the soi, and those along Soi Thaniya, bring in cargo carriers of cash. I just wish Soi 4 could diversify and recapture some of its mid-1990s vibrancy. It was so exciting when several different sub-cultures mixed there. The last time I was there, it was just about all older gay Westerners. And some Thai waiters.

[Guest fountainhall]

What? The Night Bazaar is closed and they're already building on the site?

Tenants started moving out around 2 years ago and it finally closed at the beginning of this year. The heavy construction gear is already there.

 

What beats me is that Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, SIngapore and goodness knows where else in the region all promote themselves through their various Tourist Associations as meccas for shopping. Since it's the same goods everywhere and Bangkok seems more expensive than the others, "I don't get it". Sure, tourists can get their VAT refund, but the refund procedures at the Suvarnabhumi remain ridiculously complex that I have seen many tourists just give up.

[Guest]

Surely tourists from the west & other prosperous countries would not normally visit Bangkok primarily for the shopping, but many of these will still actually go shopping as a secondary pursuit when there.

 

Don't understand it myself, although shops are useful for items I forgot to pack, or perhaps the odd book.

[Guest SilomSoi4]

And Soi 4? Haven't been there for years. Not since DP 2000 closed down.....

 

I have been working in Soi 4 for nearly 20 years and cannot remember any venue called DP 2000.

Please take a look at the map here and tell me which business now occupies the space that once housed DP 2000.

Thanks.

[Guest Motel69]

I have been working in Soi 4 for nearly 20 years and cannot remember any venue called DP 2000.

Please take a look at the map here and tell me which business now occupies the space that once housed DP 2000.

Thanks.

 

 

It was on The Balcony side of the street, on the second floor. Perhaps where Bearbie is on your map. It was one of those places that made you wait on the stairs to get in, just to make it look like there was a crowd of people waiting to get in. Once inside, it was almost pitch black. The music was Goa trance and the DJs were always young Israelis. The crowd was mostly young, straight Thais and a few foreigners.

 

Oh yeah, and the name of the place seemed to be unofficial and always mutating. A lot of people simply called it "The Deep."

[Guest Motel69]

Tenants started moving out around 2 years ago and it finally closed at the beginning of this year. The heavy construction gear is already there.

 

What beats me is that Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, SIngapore and goodness knows where else in the region all promote themselves through their various Tourist Associations as meccas for shopping. Since it's the same goods everywhere and Bangkok seems more expensive than the others, "I don't get it". Sure, tourists can get their VAT refund, but the refund procedures at the Suvarnabhumi remain ridiculously complex that I have seen many tourists just give up.

 

You know what? I LOVE Bangkok for shopping. But I confine myself to Siam Center, and mostly to the upper floors of Siam Center, where a bunch of Thai designers are concentrated. Every year their fashions are just simply amazing. The fabrics they use are world class. The designs are unique, especially since they are only available in Thailand (and really only available at one mall). I still get compliments on stuff I bought almost a decade ago from Greyhound. The best thing about Thai fashion labels, though, is that their clothing is dirt cheap, at least when compared to Western labels.

 

 

Oh yeah, and shopping at these stores is extra fun because the cute salesmen are terrific flirts.

 

But like you, all these other malls ...I just don't get it. Many of the stores can be found in any city in the world. So why bother shopping at them in Thailand, where tariffs make their goods even more expensive? And a lot of the other stores seem to be the equivalent of B movies. Instead of being filled with really bad dialogue, they're filled with really ugly merchandise.

 

Every year there seems to be another mall filled with these stores. I just don't get it. I'll make my way to Siam Center next time I'm in Bangkok. And when I'm finished in all the cool Thai designer boutiques, I'll walk over to MBK, up to the sixth floor food court and chow down on some mango and sticky rice so that I'll never be able to fit into all the clothes I just bought. But I won't bother with the other malls.

[Guest Motel69]

I have been working in Soi 4 for nearly 20 years and cannot remember any venue called DP 2000.

Please take a look at the map here and tell me which business now occupies the space that once housed DP 2000.

Thanks.

 

By the way, what do you do that you've been working on Soi 4 for 20 years? Have any of the current establishments been in business that long? From my memory, Telephone Bar is the longest-running business on the street.

[Rogie]

You know what? I LOVE Bangkok for shopping. But I confine myself to Siam Center, and mostly to the upper floors of Siam Center, where a bunch of Thai designers are concentrated.

I like the sound of that, even though I'm probably deluding myself the stuff on sale will work ok with an older guy. Is Siam Centre in Siam Square?

 

 

[Guest Motel69]

I like the sound of that, even though I'm probably deluding myself the stuff on sale will work ok with an older guy. Is Siam Centre in Siam Square?

 

Sorry. Maybe I don't have the name right. There's so many Siam Thises and Thats in the area. Siam Center is across the street from Siam Square, between Siam Discovery Center and Siam Paragorn.

 

And you know what? Don't worry about deluding yourself. I'm way older than most everyone else in these shops. But what the fuck? I'm a gay man. I'm allowed to dress in fashions meant for guys 20 years younger than me. Oh, one caveat. I can't delude myself about fitting into the fashions on the new fifth floor. Those are obviously meant for high school kids. But the shops, ones like Bean of Jack, are fun to browse through. And my younger Japanese boyfriend can still wear the stuff. So it's fun watching him try on the stuff and haggle with the clerks.

[Guest fountainhall]

Siam Center is across the street from Siam Square, between Siam Discovery Center and Siam Paragorn

Indeed it is, and it had a make-over not so long ago. Like Motel69, I much prefer it to both Discovery and Paragon for more or less the same reasons - although in my case most of the other shoppers are well over 30 years younger! Although I can't get into those ultra tight jeans and they don't always have my sizes, I love looking in the shops, and sometimes actually buying. No-one seems to mind that a dinosaur is on the premises!

 

When you get tired looking at the shops, a great place for eye candy is the Starbucks on the 4th floor between Siam Centre and Discovery Centre.

[Guest SilomSoi4]

By the way, what do you do that you've been working on Soi 4 for 20 years? Have any of the current establishments been in business that long? From my memory, Telephone Bar is the longest-running business on the street.

 

I am one of the owners of The Balcony. Before that I was at Telephone.

Helene

[Guest Motel69]

 

As for you accusations:

 

I can honestly say that this is arrant nonsense.

 

1. No business on the Soi

[Rogie]

And Soi 4? Haven't been there for years. Not since DP 2000 closed down. The Soi, with all its second-floor DJ bars, used to draw so many cool Bangkokians ... as well as its share of world travelers. Silom Soi 4 used to be worth a vacation to Thailand all by itself. Some of my fondest memories are of sitting in front of one Soi 2 bar or another and being so engrossed in conversation with some other clubbers I had met only hours earlier that I never even noticed the sun coming up. Now it seems every business on the street caters to sex tourists. When I walk by the soi and look down into it, my eyes take in a sea of gray hair. A couple years ago, in front of G.O.D., I bumped into an older gentleman who said he owns The Balcony on Soi 4. He mentioned how he calls up cute young gays and offers to take care of their bills if they hang out at his restaurant. That's a perfect description of what has happened to what was once such an exciting street. To get young people to go there, you have to bribe them.

 

As this topic is starting to get a bit untidy I thought I would check a few details. Motel69, you have me confused - the infamous 'sea of gray hair' was on Soi 2 according to you, not Soi 4 - even if I have misunderstood you, you say you haven't been to Soi 4 'for years'. Walking by any soi and having a quick look is fine, but that's not the same as actually walking down it and taking a table at The Balcony, sitting down and spending time to soak in the atmosphere. Only then, and if you happen to see 'an older gentleman' 'taking care' of 'some cute young guys' bills with your own eyes, can you say with any confidence what actually happened.

[Guest fountainhall]

I have said that I believe Motel69 is wrong about Soi 4,even though my visits there are fairly infrequent. I have never seen it as Motel69 describes. I have always seen a vibrant Soi that fills up with a wide variety of people of varying ages - including some youngish straight couples. It definitely is not a place just for ageing farang and young Thais (rent or otherwise). Not long ago, I took a young Japanese to Balcony for drinks He had wanted to go to DJ Station but had forgotten his passport and was not allowed into that Soi! He adored Soi 4 and said he just wished there was something similar in Tokyo (and whilst he is into farang, it is definitely not the grey haired or bald variety!).

 

But I also agree it is not the Soi it used to be. I think the nature of the Soi changed when the original Rome Club died. The owners decision to turn it into a straight Club killed it, and its eventual successor never took off. But now there are more boutiiques, at least one smaller cocktail bar etc. Nothing ever remains the same over time.

 

Like Rogie, I wonder when Motel69 last spent any meaningful time in Soi 4. There have been a lot of new additions in recent years

[Guest Motel69]

 

Like Rogie, I wonder when Motel69 last spent any meaningful time in Soi 4. There have been a lot of new additions in recent years

 

To tell you the truth, I can't remember the last time I actually sat down along Soi 4 (and that is the soi I was referring to, although I did have an inadvertent "Soi 2" in one of my earlier rants). It might have been 2004 or so. And it just was not for me. I really hated it. It was exactly as I described.

 

But since then I have passed by the soi on my yearly trips to Bangkok. Sometimes I even take a walk down a little ways. And each time I do I get the same feeling. And I won't describe that feeling again because it seems to upset everyone.

[Guest fountainhall]

Sometimes I even take a walk down a little ways. And each time I do I get the same feeling.

I must admit I have also had that feeling - but only very occasionally and at a certain time of the evening before the soi gets really busy.

 

I just saw on GB's forum that the old Rome Club site in Soi 4 is under renovation, but no-one knows exactly what it will reopen as. Hopefully the owner, who it appears also owns Jupiter go-go off Suriwong, will take a lesson from all the failed ventures on that site and go back to the old Rome Club formula.