Changes Coming To Dongtan Beach

[mahjongguy]

"Completion of the Dongtan section is scheduled for January, but Nong Nooch Landscape & Design predicts the job will be finished sooner."

"...a five-meter-wide footpath and 1,000 new trees."

from http://www.pattayamail.com/news/dongtan ... rly-186128

[mahjongguy]

- I swear the first article I read back in June said the target date was in October.

- There is no room for 1,000 new trees. Just more awful reporting. I'm guessing they meant "new plants". That's probably 100 palms and 900 small shrubs, which is plenty enough.

[Dodger]

I'm too lazy to read all these threads...so here's a dumb question:

Is the gay beach open for business...or closed until this construction is finished?

[Smiles]

I was in Jomtien on Aug 14 for a few days and went to the beach twice.
The above photos were apparently taken on Sept. 12, and frankly the place looked on Aug 14 not that much different than it was on Sept 12.
Here it is Sept 17 and we need a batch of new photos.
Anybody ... anybody?

Dodger, it seemed to me the ongoing construction area was a few meters away from the first lines of umbrellas. There seems to be quite a lot of lost space before you reach the public toilet ... but quite a bit better after the toilet, with fewer trees pulled up, and in general more room for the umbrella businesses.
I got the impression that life would still go while the road/walkway/water pipes construction kept up appearances.
But more hands-on information is needed now on Sept 17.
Anybody ... anybody?

[mahjongguy]

The construction project has not required the closing of any of the beach vendors but the noise and activity make it a little less pleasant getting there and being there. When the project is completed the road will be wider and the sidewalk will be a straight shot down along the road instead of meandering along just by the vendors. And, trust me, there will be plenty of palms.

What will be missing is most of the empty space where children played and the massage folks would ply their trade.

Visitors who prefer the former less-engineered look can go just a bit further, almost to the Rabbit Resort, where the rest of Dong Tarn remains unchanged.

Two uncertainties:
- will the road still be closed in the daytime?
- will the new rules for vendor concessions really go into effect? That would mean that some vendors would be out and others might have to change location. This is not related to the cosmetic work but could have a much greater impact on the "gay beach" as we've known it.

[Undaunted]

Two uncertainties:
- will the road still be closed in the daytime?
- will the new rules for vendor concessions really go into effect? That would mean that some vendors would be out and others might have to change location. This is not related to the cosmetic work but could have a much greater impact on the "gay beach" as we've known it.

You say the "gay beach" as we've known it. What made it a gay beach for many was all the boys that used to be available at the beach years ago, does some old gay guys on the same plot of sand really make it a "gay beach"?

[mahjongguy]

...does some old gay guys on the same plot of sand really make it a "gay beach"?

Yes, it does, and it seems that there are ex-pats and visitors who want that, even though the freelancers no longer come out to frolic. My point is that if the half dozen vendors who promote their spaces with gay flags and such are scattered amongst the 100 or more other vendors on Jomtien and Dong Tarn beaches, then there will no longer be a gay beach by any definition.

[thaiworthy]

You say the "gay beach" as we've known it. What made it a gay beach for many was all the boys that used to be available at the beach years ago, does some old gay guys on the same plot of sand really make it a "gay beach"?

I agree. I think this is a very astute observation, actually. I wouldn't go to a bar that didn't have boys in it. Similarly, just because we have been accustomed to it in the past, does not make the label "gay beach" any more valid now. It's nice to reminisce if it makes us more comfortable to be someplace we have always enjoyed before.

[mahjongguy]

Because nearly all the customers are old, it's not a gay beach?

[Concerned]

My understanding is that stage 2 of the beautification of Dongtan Beach is imminent. Stage 2 as I understand it is a continuation of the reclamation of Dongtan Beach for a widened road & new footpath structure starting at the White House & continuing to the huge block of land between Jomtien Condotel ( Rabbit Resort) & Pattaya Park. On page 1 of this topic is an aerial photograph of that huge block of land that stretches from Thappraya Road down to Dongtan Beach. The new construction site for this stage 2 is being erected within this block of land at the Dongtan Beach end. If you enjoy a massage beneath the trees on the sand in front of Rabbit Resort I suggest you do it quickly.