Tesco Lotus

[Jaime]

PS. I can not believe that we have had nore than 100 posts over a sodding supermarket.

Convenience, convenience, convenience!

Despite being banned from taking photographs in there, I think the mall is great! There, I said it. I visited it on so many occassions over the months of March/April and never once spent more than about five minutes waiting to get into or out of the parking lot. Driving a pick up it is damn well easier to park there than in downtown Hua Hin!

There is a well considered and seamless transition from external space at the front, through a light filled and airy covered market that leads to the air conditioned internal spaces and magnet stores at the rear. It has fountains and cool, shady places to sit, rest and meet friends. There are also large plazas that are used for displays, kids shows and just for milling about in.

There is no other public space in Hua Hin like it and its success is evident in the way people (primarily Thai) have taken to colonising the public spaces. The Municipality would do well to see how some of the successful aspects of this public space could be brought to bear on any of its crackpot regeneration schemes in downtown Hua Hin.

For those who haven't already worked it out, the colonnade and mezzanine detailing seems to be a slightly cliched and stripped down but fairly reasonable (given the commercial nature of the building) take on the Thai-colonial structure at Mareukathaiwan palace, between Hua Hin and Cha Am. Surface materials throughout the mall are good quality and you can feel it.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the range of farang products in Tesco Lotus and when considering the quality of the retail experience and the range of goods available, there is simply no comparison between Big C, Petchburi and Hua Hin Market Village - Big C is dead, long live Market Village.

[MartinJ]

Despite being banned from taking photographs in there,

it that just you that banned or every one ?


I took loads of my girl going into every shop she could, spend spend spend

and i had great service in the KFC too,

[Guess]

Jaime,

There is no problem taking photographs in the Tesco Market Village in Hua Hin. It was what you were taking the photos of that caused the ban.

[Jaime]

In hindsight I suppose I should have done the porn shoot at home....

Seriously though, they just didn't want any photos taken within the building. I was approached by security and told to stop. I know that Tesco Lotus has been the object of bomb attacks in the past (even a rocket attack at one Bangkok branch) so maybe that has something to do with it.

Before anyone panics, these isolated attacks were elsewhere in Thailand and were put down to disgruntled former employees and/ or local business people who had suffered loss of trade as a result of Tesco opening nearby.

[lomuamart]

On the subject of photos - a little off topic , I know - I read an article in The Guardian about a month ago. A newspaper photographer went around London taking photos of buildings - Canary Wharf, The Bank of England, Parliament etc and reported on the "welcome" he was given by security teams seeing him directly, or through cctv.
It was about 50/50 that he was questioned, but in every instance he was allowed to continue taking the photos after explaining he was a "tourist". This piece of journalism followed on from photography magazines saying that enthusiasts were being hassled and even detained for a short while on suspicion of terrorism.
So, Jaime's got a point.

[Guess]

The fact that Tesco is a Jewish company will not help its security either.

[MartinJ]

(even a rocket attack at one Bangkok branch)
Before anyone panics, these isolated attacks were elsewhere in Thailand and were put down to disgruntled former employees and/ or local business people who had suffered loss of trade as a result of Tesco opening nearby.

A rocket attack because some one was sacked

they dont do things by half in thailand to they

LOS

[Jaime]

Check out these articles for the low down:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 692999.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 697049.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1656006.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 423434.stm

I can't believe it was so long ago - time flies etc!

[Chas]

I must add that it has also become one of my favorite places to go in Hua Hin. I head there every other night or so. It has a LOT of positive things about it.

The design is appropriate to Hua Hin (IMHO) it certainly isnt like a mall in New Jersey! . . .though they went a bit overboard on the fountains. . .I do like fountains so I dont mind.

My pet peeve is the incessant noise! I stood at the front on that balcony yesterday and I could hear different LOUD music from FOUR different sources. WHY? This is probably a Thai thing. . .even a little streetside market has to have loudspeakers blaring. What ever happened to quiet "muzak" or shopping music? (I remember my first impressions of Thailand a few years ago included the realization that this is a VERY noisy country! (What was Thailand like in the days before amplifiers? Anyway, the Thai people are used to it and the mall managers dont care what a farang thinks.

The other peeves, just to recap them. .I think they have all gotten enough mention on this thread.

1. Those insane ramps into and out of the parking garage. Talk about bad design. . these are stairways which were paved over for cars. Square corners? Hello?
2. The incredibly poor signage in the garage itself. Without those poor suckers on the whistles frantically waving at you, you cant identify the one way "lanes" . The paint has worn off all the arrows and the signs are impossible to read.
3. The first signs of corporate greed in renting every available square inch of selling space. Room for customers to walk? Are you kidding -TIT!
4. The Tesco Lotus public address system. Noise Noise Noise. In this electronic age, has no one invented a system to spare the customers from hearing that Mr. Sombat is wanted in the office or that Lucy and Ethel are going to have their break now.. . .or whatever it is they are blasting away in there.
5. THe Major Cinema has produced not one but TWO "major" fiascos. A bowling alley with every other lane out of service all the time and a crew determined to spoil your evening by screwing up your bill and taking half a day to get it straight. Happened to me three times. .out of three visits!

And of course the major disappointment that only Thai language movies will be shown here after all. (This is not Bangkok. No farangs here. No Thai people who prefer original soundtrack to those two guys in a booth in Bangkok who dub EVERYTHING in Thailand.) So its back to Bangkok every few weeks to see first run movies. (If I thought they cared I would write a letter.)

[lomuamart]

I'm still holding out and am proud to say that I havn't been in there yet, although I'm sure that will change.
I'm not an architech or shopping buff, so the finer arguments of those two topics escape me.
All I can say is that it took me 35 mins to get back from Chiva Som to the centre of town this morning. OK, it's a long weekend and not all the chaos was caused by the mall. However, why did it have to be built in the centre of town?
A retrograde step, IMHO, for HH. (I'm only talking about the location).

[Mongo Slade]

Will I be able able to find a good sushi bar at Tesco ? Are there any sushi bars in Hua Hin period?

[Guess]

Chas,

I have to remind you that Tesco is a British company. What you have descibed is nothing like a shopping Mall in CA or NY but just like on in Amersham in Buckinghamshire. I think the car park was designed for Noddy and Big Ears.

Sushi. There is no Fuji or similar in the Market Village as far as I know, however there is five sushi bars in Hua Hin. The most up market is on the grounds of the Sofitel by the crossroads.

I spent the boring holiday afternoon being bored stiff at Tescos yesterday. I tagged along with the wife so that I could purchase a few cans of the superb Australian Beans. To my dismay they did not have any. They did not even have any Ayam beans which are the only other edible beans around.

PS. Why do people wait thirty minutes in a queue at the nearest U-Turn to get into to Tesco's when if you go to the next one, which is about another 400 metres you can turn straight away.

[caller]

This morning was my first visit. At which time it was easy to get in and out of and I thought it looked nice. But a bit like a shopping mall anywhere, which I guess is on purpose - the comfort factor.

Oh! Some of the savouries in Tescos looked nice.

I really can't think of anything else to say about it.

Parking in Khorat malls was more fun, with pick ups parked in front of otherwise perfectly parked cars. But they all leave there handbrakes off, so you can gently move them out of the way. Now, that was a new one on me!

[Farang]

'
Cinemas in Market Village are nice, but, this being Asia, too cold and much, much too loud.
.

[blue nose]

[quote="Guess"]Chas,

I have to remind you that Tesco is a British company. What you have descibed is nothing like a shopping Mall in CA or NY but just like on in Amersham in Buckinghamshire. I think the car park was designed for Noddy and Big Ears.

Sushi. There is no Fuji or similar in the Market Village as far as I know, however there is five sushi bars in Hua Hin. The most up market is on the grounds of the Sofitel by the crossroads.

I spent the boring holiday afternoon being bored stiff at Tescos yesterday. I tagged along with the wife so that I could purchase a few cans of the superb Australian Beans. To my dismay they did not have any. They did not even have any Ayam beans which are the only other edible beans around.

Thats why those of us who are savvy..have a house south of tescos..easy u turn...