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southwest19
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Posts posted by southwest19
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Its the same runway.
I know it was a joke!
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they opened it but its not finished yet.
when compleated. pick up will be from the arrival lounge and not the meeting salla.
when compleated the check in will be conected to the gates by a walk way surrounded by lily pools.
in the meeting salla there is a mock up of the airport posted on one of the walls.
I think they did a great job.
If that is the case then I agree lets wait and see. What I don't understand then why the rush to open it when it is not complete I can understand them wanting a soft opening i.e. not August but why not finish it properly and open in September. Bearing in mind the debacle with the new airport in Bangkok I really do not understand their business logic and I suppose never will.
Maybe that's what they mean by soft opening.Low season,iron out some probs without too much inconvenience.
There is more then one low season on samui why not wait until September October November low season to iron out the problems instead of opening up yet another unfinished airport in Thailand lets hope we don't have cracks on the runways!
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Perhaps Krabi is less greedy than Surat? Surat Thani has excellent roads, it is true. It makes one wonder why they cannot then send some of that technology/equipment and money Samui, Phangan and Tao's way too.
Or maybe less corrupt?
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i am sure this has beenn broguht up already.
but the new man holes they put in the road are at the wrong angle. i knew this along time ago. when they cause traffic chaos installing them.
i already new that they would break when the lorries dumped there crap onto them. so now you have motor bikes bloking half the raod trying to avoid them and people and cars fallingn down them. when it rains you cannot see them. so u drive along then disopear down the trap doors.
maybe me fustrated to see the thais do all that work installing them then just doing the simple thing wrong and install them side ways rarther than length ways.
in dunno T.I.T
This is Thailand
I have recently returned from visiting 4 resort destinations on the Andaman Sea and I'm afraid this is Samui not Thailand.
No-where else are the roads in such a dreadful state
No-where else do they have drain covers in the roads
No-where else do they have to put up with such poor workmanship
No-where else does it flood everytime it rains
Most of the roads are smooth tarmac it is only here that we have this patched up concrete yet no-one is ever held to account draw your own conclusions.
About tarmac: Think they don't have the facilities here do work with tarmac in a greater volume.
About draincovers: Be sure that whatever they can do wrong they will do it wrong.
I went to Rangoon, Surathani, Udonthani, Khon Kaen..... everywhere the roads are better than here.
By the way:
Does the new road between Laem Din and Reggae Pub look better - a friend of mine has got the contract!
They can make the facilities for tarmac roads here they choose not to maybe it has something to do with who owns the concrete company? In Koh Lanta some of the roads are tarmac and they are much wider making them much safer for motorbikes and Koh Lanta is funded by Krabi!
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This is what i herd. you probably already know but samui is not classed as a province. it is part of surrat thani.
which means that places like bohput,, natong, lamui. are all in the eyes of the govment just small viallages in surrathani.
the road are about 7 or 8 years out of date.
the thing that really annoys me is that had the draines been put in side ways it would have helped some what. the funny thing is that a forang wrote into the news paper and warned them that they were installing them wrong.
i think the thais just laughed him off as if to say what does he know. he is just a forang. yet who is laughing now. probably the one with the cash.
also on the cross road at the junction on the ghost road. there is no lights no lines on the road no nothing.. i missed near curtain death by a second about 2 or 3 years ago. where sudddenly i had gone over a cross roads without even realising.
now i know whee it is but for first time people could be a problem. wonder why it is called ghost road.
something that a simple sign or flashing ligt could sorte out. was even thinking about doiing it myself. still might.
I'm afraid the Surat Thani province argument is a myth. I recently visited 3 resort detinations that do not have city status i.e. are funded by Krabi or Phangna and their infrastructure is way superior to anything here I think the root of the problems lies somewhere else!
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they opened it but its not finished yet.
when compleated. pick up will be from the arrival lounge and not the meeting salla.
when compleated the check in will be conected to the gates by a walk way surrounded by lily pools.
in the meeting salla there is a mock up of the airport posted on one of the walls.
I think they did a great job.
If that is the case then I agree lets wait and see. What I don't understand then why the rush to open it when it is not complete I can understand them wanting a soft opening i.e. not August but why not finish it properly and open in September. Bearing in mind the debacle with the new airport in Bangkok I really do not understand their business logic and I suppose never will.
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flow domestic the other day. from the new termial. i must admit. all thoug i do not bangkok airways. they have done a good job on the new terminal.
the departed lounge makes it a pleasure to wait for your plane. the toilets are in very good condition.
they have wireless in the lounges and good sofa's
i was worried i would fall asleep and miss my flight.
they might not be cheap but they have spent there profit well. just my opinum. dunno what other peoples take is on it,
though i was confused at first where to park my car. sure that will all be sortes in the future.
I disagree whoever designed it has obviously never been on holiday before or flown with children.
On departure you check-in then walk about 50 metres and have to get into a shuttle tram which goes every 10 minutes to the gates, you then have to get a second shuttle tram to the plane.
Arrivals is worse. The usual shuttle collects you from the plane and takes you to the arrivals hall where there are plenty of trolleys to collect your luggage. You then load your trolley up and walk 20 metres and have to unload the whole trolley into another shuttle which then takes you to a meeting 'sala' where there are no trolleys.
I cannot re-call another airport in the world where you have this crazy system and bearing in mind it is mainly tourists with lots of luggage using Samui airport it looks like the lunatices have taken over the asylum!
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i am sure this has beenn broguht up already.
but the new man holes they put in the road are at the wrong angle. i knew this along time ago. when they cause traffic chaos installing them.
i already new that they would break when the lorries dumped there crap onto them. so now you have motor bikes bloking half the raod trying to avoid them and people and cars fallingn down them. when it rains you cannot see them. so u drive along then disopear down the trap doors.
maybe me fustrated to see the thais do all that work installing them then just doing the simple thing wrong and install them side ways rarther than length ways.
in dunno T.I.T
This is Thailand
I have recently returned from visiting 4 resort destinations on the Andaman Sea and I'm afraid this is Samui not Thailand.
No-where else are the roads in such a dreadful state
No-where else do they have drain covers in the roads
No-where else do they have to put up with such poor workmanship
No-where else does it flood everytime it rains
Most of the roads are smooth tarmac it is only here that we have this patched up concrete yet no-one is ever held to account draw your own conclusions.
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In another topic about an accident with a drunken thai driver, SamuiExpress has suggested to submit any good experiences about Police and Tourist Police. I think it is worth a new topic.
I want to start:
Last 15 years (mostly for holidays) I had to deal just two times with the police:
A car hit our rented jeep car. I called the jeep owner, she called the police, the police came quickly, I didnt have to pay for the damage.
Then another time I got fined 300 Bahts (with receipt) for driving without helmet.
So 100 % of good experiences!
Please share your own experiences.
I have no first hand experience with the police which I guess is a good thing.
I did hear a rumour though that the farang tourist police volunteers have been disbanded following the 'disaproval' of some local influential Thai's.
Has anyone heard this?
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I recently conducted research on the major competing beach resort destinations of Thailand for an international magazine and the biggest point raised about Samui was lack of infrastructure in comparison to growth.
Phuket and Pattaya won in overall opinions as better destinations for educated travellers.
Lack of infrastructure for "educated" tourists? Quite frankly, I don't think they give a sh*t. When I was corporate, we chose destination and the best 5-star acccommodations.
I agree that is why Samui as a destination for corporates comes a poor second when you compare to Phuket!
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just go to Chaweng and breath through your nose
Low season is low season, but the smell and the expensive Baht dont help !! and who wants to drive around in a construction side on their holidays ??
Sorry you are quite right I forgot about the smell of the sewers in Chaweng!
There is plenty of construction going on in Phuket, Khao Lak etc but it is all well planned and regulated i.e. the view and access to the beaches are not blocked by hotels they remain the main focus point of the destination it seems someone forgot to tell the planners that here.
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Checked Bangkok Airways web site this morning.
There are many flight cancellations, anyone know why?
Quite simply because the flights are half empty. A friend of mine returned from Bangkok 3 weeks ago and there were only 3 flights that morning and only 3 other passengers on his flight.
I also flew in from Bangkok at the weekend and was able to buy a promotion ticket (non-changeable) for 2900 THB incl taxes for a 11am flight 'special promotion'.
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Do you think there have been less tourists coming to Samui over the last 6 months in comparison to previous years?
If this is the case, what reasons would you give?
Costs of flights to USM, Not enough publicity,
Concern about possible threats or terrorism and unrest,
Negative publicity about Samui and Thailand in general.
Yes yes yes and yes would be my answer to your questions. Also may I add that I recently returned from a trip to the Andaman Sea resorts not just Phuket and I can confirm Samui has the worst infrastructure out of any resort destination I have visited in Thailand.
Unfortunately the type of tourist has changed and they do not consider flooding, 3rd world roads etc quaint or charming when they are paying 8000 THb rtn to get here and 5000+ per night for their hotel room.
I do not buy the arguement that it is low season or that people are simply more spread out then before as there are more hotels bars etc.
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I've just spoken with Beck 'n Posh and they are NOT buying in Samui.
I bumped into them in Laem Din market - seems they're over here doing some early Xmas shopping as the stores in LA are crap.
I dropped them off at the airport this morning.
p.s. any jobs going at SE
I can confirm that, I was sitting one row behind them on PG 102. Posh had a whole bunch of Tesco bags and Becky wore a 'Same Same But Different' Shirt from Versace.
Bumped into posh this morning at Big Joe's she was stocking up on meat pies.
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Is it true that anyone can be a Real Estate Agent in Thailand? I have read that there is no License or Education required? Is this a good occupation for used car salesman thinking of relocating to Thailand to consider?
Looking at your missuse of capitals a decent education is something that you obviously missed out on maybe you have found your vocation in life.
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southwest19, I believe you asked this question:Lastly forgive me for being a little cynical but does anyone really believe the TAT would actually admit to a drop in tourist numbers even if it was the case?
Which ThaiGoon correctly answered. If it was so obvious, you certainly failed to include it in your question. So, you can stop the attempted flaming.
Okay I will rephrase my original question for everyones benefit.
Barring tsunamis, nuclear explosions, bird flu epidemics does anyone believe that TAT would actually admit to a drop in tourism? Is that clear enough?
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Lastly forgive me for being a little cynical but does anyone really believe the TAT would actually admit to a drop in tourist numbers even if it was the case?
They did report a sizable drop in tourist numbers after the Tsunamis.
What a daft thing to say. Thousands of people had just lost their lives their were television images shown all around the world of the chaos at airports as tourists were trying to leave they could hardly say numbers were up over the following months could they.
You asked if the TAT ever admitted a drop. They did. What else could I say or do? You wanted me to just ignore that and keep believeing in the conspiracy BS like you (and some others) do?
I was pointing out you were stating the obvious you need to get that potatoe off your shoulder!
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Lastly forgive me for being a little cynical but does anyone really believe the TAT would actually admit to a drop in tourist numbers even if it was the case?
They did report a sizable drop in tourist numbers after the Tsunamis.
What a daft thing to say. Thousands of people had just lost their lives their were television images shown all around the world of the chaos at airports as tourists were trying to leave they could hardly say numbers were up over the following months could they.
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Does anyone actually know how TAT compile their figures? I stated in a previous post that I had made 5 trips this year in and out of Thailand do I count as 1 or 5. The fact that I live here I am not really a tourist anyway i.e. I do not stay in a hotel or hire a car or jet ski. If they are simply counting the airport arrival cards then their numbers are about as accurate as the ones we used to get from the former Iraqi Information Minister!
You will be accounted for as 5 tourists, not 1.
It is highly unlikely that TAT check the names on the arrival cards and compare them with your previous arrivals and say: "Hey, this guy did 5 trips this year so we count him as 1 tourist...."
I travelled in and out of LOS through many years as well during any particular year like many other travellers.
Therefore TAT numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt.
LaoPo
TAT counts every tourist entrance. if you come 5 times youre counted as 5 times.
this is very important as TAT allso measures the amount of returning tourists.
a tourist that returns 5 times is great for whatever reson.
I agree that if a tourist come to Thailand on holiday 5 times they should be counted 5 times my point was though that they have counted me 5 times and I think as I live here though be it on a non-immigrant visa it is totally incorrect to include me in any tourist statistics.
I live in my own house, drive my own car, never rent a jet ski etc so it is totally misleading to class me as a tourist as I am not using the same services as your average tourist here for 2 weeks on holiday.
There are more foreigners living in Thailand then probably ever before and many of my friends who live here are also making many trips a year abroad even if its just a weekend break to Penang or Singapore so if the TAT are counting all these people as just returning tourists on holiday then their figures are not worth the paper they are written on.
Lastly forgive me for being a little cynical but does anyone really believe the TAT would actually admit to a drop in tourist numbers even if it was the case?
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Does anyone actually know how TAT compile their figures? I stated in a previous post that I had made 5 trips this year in and out of Thailand do I count as 1 or 5. The fact that I live here I am not really a tourist anyway i.e. I do not stay in a hotel or hire a car or jet ski. If they are simply counting the airport arrival cards then their numbers are about as accurate as the ones we used to get from the former Iraqi Information Minister!
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My husband goes to town every day so gauges his idea of "no people" by how many farangs he sees on the roads. He sees almost none. So, even if more people were "spread around", Koh Phangan is hardly large enough to hide them. Our resort had an excellent high season, best ever. And we are slow this slow season. But, and here is the big but, we don't owe the bank money or have to pay rent. So, for those who borrowed money to build or (in many local cases) to rebuild falling down bungalows, the lack of tourists is difficult. Was there overbuilding on Koh Phangan? Absolutely, but I don't believe the lack of tourists has much to do with them being spread out over many new places. As I said, Koh P is pretty small and its fairly easy to gauge tourist numbers by driving around on the main roads or going to the pier at noon.
Also, a friend of a friend is currently trekking in CM and told her that it is very quiet there as well, guesthouse owners etc are talking about how quiet it is.
I suspect the enforcement of the visa rule requiring border travellers to have an onward plane ticket may be dampening things. Many backpackers travel overland to Singapore and get a ticket out of there.
I agree with you it is very quiet nearly everyone says so except highdiver. Pop into Chaweng or Bophut and you will see I am not sure what colour glasses Highdiver has on maybe the blacked out type.
I simply do not buy the arguement that numbers are up compared to this time last year and it is just a case of them being more spreadout or simply hiding.
Also how do TAT compile their numbers I have made 5 trips out of Thailand this year does that mean I am 1 tourist or 5?
I think Samui has become very complacent in recent years thinking it had a godgiven right to tourists. We have the worst infrastructure out of any resort destination I have ever been to in Thailand the roads now are criminal yet no-one is ever held to account.
Along with the high prices maybe tourists are starting to vote with their feet!
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as it seems that most of our members have no ide what they are talking bout regarding this issue.
please go to the site:
http://www.samuitouristpolice.com/volunteers.htm
i for one salute those who give time and effort for something ellse then making more money.
I know many local businessman who give up alot of time and money to good causes i.e. the Rotary Club yet they do not see the need to go and play PC Plod in Chaweng.
As for your military background arguement I fail to see how that experience is relevant, in the army you are trained to kill foreigners on our behalf from time to time how is that going to stand them in good stead policing Chaweng that is the last thing we need.
Lets hope they are more successful keeping the peace in downtown Chaweng on a Saturday night then downtown Baghdad.
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for about a month and a half now there have been virtually no tourists in thong nai pan yai... is it like this everywhere in samui/phangan right now? i heard koh tao was hopping! i know this is a relatively low season but this has been ridiculous compared to previous years... people in this village are freaking out because they can't make money to eat! what's going on!
According to my husband it is dead all over. He talked to someone who owns a resort in Koh Tao & she told him that she is emptier than she has ever been & said that the island is quiet, some people but not many. He also talked to a friend of his who works at a resort in Samui & they have 1 room with customers out of 80.
Customers of his (my husband) also told him that Phuket was quiet as well, but they stayed in Kata, so perhaps Patong is busier.
I was in Patong 3 weeks ago and it was rammed. I think the TAT has poured alot of resources in to promoting Phuket because they had to and we have been left on the backburner a bit.
Also it does not help that Samui is now probably the most expensive place to holiday in Thailand a factor of expensive flights and hotels a mantle that used to be held by Phuket.
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one more thing..
All the "old Time farrangs" that have been on the island for a long time (you know.. I have been here since before the airport, and those were the days...) have good contacts to sort out problems..(you know... I know the village pooyai or i am very close with this or that and they are a well conected family)
unfortunatly those coming for a holiday dont have those "contacts" and when something goes wrong and they get into trouble the police volenteers are there to help and assist.
I realy can not understand the negetivity in some of the replies. alot of the threads are about hoe everything is wrong and how things need to improve. when some one is actually doing something and dedeicating time to do it they become a ridicule.
They open themselves to ridicule driving around on large BMW motorbikes Looking like a pair of ****heads and whether they actually improve anything is a matter of opinion. Are they fluent in Thai if not what is the point?
Chaweng has a dreadful parking problem maybe you could volunteer to be the first volunteer farang traffic warden
Police And Tourist Police
in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao
Posted
Your last comment just underlines why you should not be a tourist cop. Just because people disagree with the concept of farang volunteer tourist police or question their motives it does not mean thay should 'get out of Thailand' as you so eloquently put it.
What training or experience do they have for this role?
Have they been vetted?
Do any of you speak Thai?
I cannot think of another country which would allow untrained foreigners armed with pepper sprays etc to roam their streets why because it is a bad idea.