ZigZagMan

I miss the seats on the beach road. Do they think no one wants to sit down? It was nice just to watch the world go by. I presume they took them out to stop the hookers sitting there.

Chair rental next?

This is about jet skis. Not about banning lady bars! God forbid!

Yes I am quite awware of that and gave my reasons, I vote no. What would be next? Police it and regulate it properly without any corruption.

Police and regulations are the problem.

You are asking the impossible so what would you do next?

An article from 2012 from Pattaya Daily News says the Jomtien Jet Skis 'association' police themselves, divided up the beach & have insurance.

Well, is there insurance or no insurance? Why the conflicting information in the press?

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/pattaya-news/jomtien-jet-ski-vendors-agree-to-police-themselves/

Jet skis are not the problem...it is the corrupt owners who insist in scamming naive tourists...

License, plus collusion and liability insurance should be a requirement to run a jet ski operation...

Too many complaints...and license will be pulled...

Pulled by who?

I had my coffee here today and made some comments in the Hit n Run Restaurant Thread.

I think this place is a winner.

And Pattaya's largest demographic will be pleased to know they served me free water with the coffee.

These thugs with the support of police and city officials have been robbing, assaulting, kidnapping, terrorizing, defrauding and intimidating our visitors for years.

They even attack witnesses that try to film the exploits. Anybody walking by with a camera during an attack could be injured or even killed.

Some people want to keep them?

Criminals posing as taxi drivers waiting for first time tourists to scam on Sukhumvit Soi 6 outside the Dynasty and Sofitel Hotels.

For years, people in the neighborhood have complained about these criminals. They will never give a regular passenger a ride. Hotels guests are forced to use the criminal services or walk!

Depending on the location, they each pay the police 1,000bt. - 3,000bt. a month.

Notice how they park close to hide their license plate numbers and the final guy in the row raises his trunk lid to hide the license plate.

This scene is repeated in front of EVERY tourist hotel. Very good earner for the police.

Lets see. I roughly estimate 100 hotels in the Lumpini district with about 6 criminal taxis drivers per hotel payong 3,000bt each to the police.

That's 1,800,000Bt per month going into the police pockets for protection. Just in one district.

Any taxi driver that rolls down the window and tries to interview the customer is a scammer.

Any taxi parked outside your hotel is a scammer.

Taxi drivers agree to take all fares when they sign up for the job.

Get in and inform the driver of your destination and pay what the meter says. Simple.

Just be sure to watch the meter.

Drivers have a secret button that can run the meter up. If you see this, change your destination to the police department.

Taxi drivers agree to take all fares when they sign up for the job, you say? Wrong, wrong and wrong again. I don't know what planet you've been living on, but welcome to the planet called "Earth". Taxi drivers (world-wide) are NOT company employees. They are (in fact) "independent" contractors. Its a hustling person's business, and a taxi driver waiting for "prospective" passengers, from outside of a busy hotel, is not a scam artist. He's a wise businessman. Taxi drivers (world-wide) will first interview prospective passengers, agree upon the rate (meter or flat fee, if the driver is also the taxi owner) prior to beginning the livery service trip. That standard holds true for London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Budapest, Bucharest, Tel Aviv, etc. Capiche?. Even if the Thai drivers do "cheat" a bit, so what? The Bangkok taxi fares are some of the lowest fares on the planet. If you were an experienced traveler, you would have already known the facts, and probably would not have posted those absurd remarks. Thailand is real easy, in that regard. Don't believe it? Then take a taxi (Teksi) trip in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Then compare the differences, especially with regards to the secret meter button. For heaven sake, lighten up, sir! Have a nice one.

What are you talking about? The law states they must accept fares.

These "wise businessmen" you speak of are breaking the law refusing passengers.

(that's why there is a crackdown )

They are not businessmen of course. They are not taxies.

They are criminals, posing as taxi drivers to get close to their victims, first time tourists.

These criminals pay the scamming police to lease the scam turf in from of hotels. This is a fact.

The parking area is leased out by the police. Honest drivers are attacked and chased away.

Every scamming taxi in the tourist areas are paying off the police! That is why it is impossible to get a taxi in the hotel district and tourist centers.

Now you know.

Somebody is lying about the insurance issue.

Todays article says "jet skis are not covered with insurance because Thai law doesn’t allow this type of water craft."

Now in Phuket the Deputy Mayor says they have insurance. Is he lying? I think so.

I'd be interesting to see if there was actually insurance or are the Phuket authorities lying about insurance?

I will bet the Phuket insurance company never paid one single claim.

Yep. 3 years ago they were registered and getting the insurance.

What happened Mr. Mayor?

Did your staff disobey?

Are the incompetent?

Are they in on it?

My advice would be to fully privatise the airline. There is no need to have a government owned airline. You can discuss whether the government should own companies in other areas such as utility providers, post, rail road and so on, but there is really no case to be made for owning an airline.

Thai State run enterprises are notoriously corrupt. Run for decades and pillaged by the ruling class.

The people in charge now like it that way. Privatization won't happen with this gang in charge.

Could somebody tell me what purpose or benefit to society these defecating, urinating, disease carrying, biting, attacking, killing, stray dogs have.

They make idiots feel they are doing a bit of good by feeding them, and thus making the situation worse?

Agree. Saw one such idiot just today between 4pm and 5pm on Soi Khopai 10, Pattaya while I was walking with my leashed Labrador. First he fed a dog outside ThaiFun apartment. Then he went round to the Futsal park and placed food and water out. I saw 3 strays there. When I shouted at him "Now you've fed the dogs, please go back and pick up the poop" he ignored me and drove away on his M/C.

Why are there so many dogs on the road causing accidents?

The roadside feeding brings the dogs to the...wait for it.... the ROAD.

Saw another SR400 at Mityon, 3Rd. yesterday.

The sales guy said he could deliver immediately.

Here he is again in 2010 acting concerned.

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/17340/meeting-discusses-ways-to-combat-pattaya-jet-ski-scams/

The Mayor and deputy mayor have been pretending to tackle the jet ski criminals since 2009.

Lots of videos of them showing fake concern.

Deputy Mayor says :

http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/jet-ski-anti-scam-committee-approves-stronger-mandatory-insurance-system-20925

They registered and got insurance last year. I know this because the deputy mayor was tasked to sort them out.

In fact, weekly inspections were said to be carried out.

You don't think he has any financial interest in the scammers continuing???

Give them a treat. They will be nice.

Works with Thai people too.

Just another state run company that is pillaged by the elite.

Auditors discovered $5 million dollars missing and were told to keep it quiet.

Guaranteed the Genersl won't be looking to carefully at those books.

It's the smiling Thais you really have to worry about.

At least the disrespectful types are being honest.

Of course TIT so the officials will be sure to understaff the counters and compell visitors into paying to get thru.
Typical.
Scammers in the high security area. Amazing.

Any taxi driver that rolls down the window and tries to interview the customer is a scammer.

Any taxi parked outside your hotel is a scammer.

Taxi drivers agree to take all fares when they sign up for the job.

Get in and inform the driver of your destination and pay what the meter says. Simple.

Just be sure to watch the meter.

Drivers have a secret button that can run the meter up. If you see this, change your destination to the police department.

"a good bunch but 2 are aggresive? I dont mind the dogs but the aggresive ones have to be removed from public areas, thats all there is to it. theres a long haired one up there that should have been removed long ago, it spends all its time harrasing people. there a street person that hangs out with them but he cant control them"

This sounds just great. Think I'll take the family on holiday to this beach.