southwest19

Sorry, I was just irritated by the insinuation that there weren't any deaths in the 2005 flooding - there certainly were. It only took me one search to find this too.

Two construction workers were electrocuted on Lamai beach. The death toll from flood stands at three while water borne diseases such as diarrhea and skin disease are reported on the island.

Original Source Bangkok Post 28 November

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion...discussion.html

Those two unfortunate deaths were probably more due to poor health and safety then the floods. My original response was to the myth that 10 people were swept out to sea in Lamai and so far no-one has come up with a reliable source. Saying you took pictures of the shanty town the day after proves nothing and saying western media would not have reported it is absurd they love anything negative to do with Thailand.

The people who love to slag Samui off have contributed to the building on Samui, the traffic on the roads and yes the spread of tourism. It seems to me that they feel it is okay for them to build a house or use the roads but how dare anyone else.

I get irritated by all the negative inaccurate postings on this board if it really is that bad leave and don't come back, oh I forgot, you cannot sell the house you built.

I first came to Samui in the 80's which I am sure is well before most people who post on this board and sure it has changed a great deal some for the good some for the not so good but lets get some balance here instead of all these one eyed postings.

I still love it and if anyone is new to this forum and are thinking about taking a vacation to Samui my message is come do not listen to all these bashers it is a wonderful place.

SW19,

We posted similtaneously, look at my post above. Feel free to use search function in this forum and look at the discussions had over the rain, last eyar, will give you plenty of reading time.

As for names, the people that got washed out to sea, probably weren't registered at all in Samui, let alone any Western paper carried names of the people who died. Upon request I can post pix of the shanty town in question, I took pix the day after!

Yes we did thanks. I did look back at the forum and all I could find was the usual rumours without substance but I did find this.

'This morning Air Chief Marshal Khongsak inspected flood damages on Samui Island. Provincial Governor Wijit Wichaisarn (วิจิตร วิชัยสาร) reported damages amounting to approximately 300 million baht due to the torrential downpour in Samui. There has been no reports of injuries or deaths on the island. The water has largely receded with only a few outlying roads still flooded. The flooding is reported to have only minor effects on the island's tourism aspect, and sea and air travels to the island have resumed as normal'.

Please feel free to correct me but I standby what I said. The Samui whispers love to sensationlise events and heresay becomes fact.

People did die in the floods - not many - don't know their names though.

Funny how no-one knows anyone who died and no-one can even mention a name. I think you will find it was a complete myth if I am wrong please feel free to enlighten me and let me know your source.

LB - are you moving to Khon Kaen to get away from Samui, or just because you like Khon Kaen, or a mixture of the two? Im sure Khon Kaen is a great place to live, but will you not miss some of the very things that you dont like in Samui? For example, a simple thing such as bars.... I dunno. To me they are priororty! I love a beer and enjoy taking the piss and having the banter with my fellow buddies. We all do. How are you going to do this in KK? western food another one. The beach. That tropical feel that believe it or not, many parts of Thailand dont offer. I could go on. My point is, you may find Samui a little loud, in your face, over populated with ferang et al - but wont going to KK be from extreme to the other?

Then again, maybe you just want to chill, take it easy and mind your own biz enjoying the quiet life. Nothing wrong with that. I tried it once in the North West - after three months i went insane with boredom but we are all different.

A bit of both really. My friend lives in a small village and every time I visit him I love it.

I have just stayed a month to keep an eye on the house building and it was great. People more friendly and genuine, prices cheaper. The wife comes from there so she will be happier. I have managed to sell my small house here and build a much bigger one with a lot more land and have a fare profit as well.

I just got peed off with the constant noise of tree cutting and building. The roads are deadly. I rarely go to a bar, prefering to drink at home. I think driving a taxi in England for 13 years gave me a dislike of people ,especially the drunk morons I had to take home from the pubs every night.

Parts of Samui are still stunningly beautiful but,

The Island is growing at such a rapid rate it just cannot cope. The roads are appaling. The electric supply is a joke. After many so called upgrades and weeks of powercuts yesterday Lamai was cut off all day and I here the same tomorrow. The only air link is a rip off. The Taxis operate totaly illegally by refusing to put their meters on then getting aggresive when you argue. So every one drives home drunk rather than get one.

The building work and tree cutting has caused lots of flooding resulting in lost homes and deaths.

There is a lot more violence. A few months ago there was a shooting in Lamai every week. A few of them in bars. Lets hope they stop some of this and keep what is left of the unspoilt Samui.

Go up to the new temple overlooking Laem Sor Pagoda. Beautiful and quiet with stunning views.

The electric is better on Samui than it has ever been I live in Bang Rak and can recall about two power cuts lasting longer than 5 mins about twice in the last six months. You would have loved it 20 years ago when power cuts were a daily occurance.

I take issue about your claim that building work has caused floods and deaths. Yes some building work has increased the likelihood of flooding but also remember the floods of Nov/Dec 2005 were also caused by the worst monsoon rains for 30 years. Also I do not know of one single death caused by this flooding perhaps you could publish some names!

I first went to Samui in 87 and loved the place but even then I met people who said it was too touristy and had changed too much from previous years. Places continue to change, and if you don't like it, pack up and move, it's that simple.

I agree. Some of the posts on this forum are so negative about Samui it does beg the question why stay. It does make me laugh when people say I was here in 96 and it was so different, try the 80's! My guess is the very same people who bash Samui will soon be slagging off the place they move to thats if they really do carry out their 'threat'.

If they have nothing good to say about Samui then perhaps Samui would be a better place if they did up sticks!

In my humble Opinion..As one who found Samui over 20 years ago..

She has been pillaged, raped and plundered and turned into just another

ugly tourist trap...

The roads are disgusting, the terrible stench of sewage when it rains and floods.

The only pristine bit left is between Nathon and Lamai but the New Jail is the

start of the ruination of that last bit..

As someone who first visited Samui some 20 years ago I have seen the changes not all bad some very good.

What does amaze me when I read some of the postings on this board is all the negative comments from people that live here.

There are two ferry companies and one airline if you really feel there is nothing good about Samui then go don't just sit there complaining all the time. No-one is forcing you to stay!

Can I just say one thing?

PATONG IS NOT PHUKET!!

Patong and it's environs is just one very small region of Phuket where the 'kiss me quick' tourists go. Phuket is a large island that many tourists fail to explore.

Where I live in Phuket, I can walk on a 8km golden sandy beach (much longer than Patong beach). It's rare to see another westerner on that beach.....

I can safely swim all year round at our local beach, even in the monsoon storms, (due to the offshore coral reef).

My hotel guests can hire motorbikes from the local shops at just 150 baht for 24 hours

We buy fresh fish from the beach - can't get fresher than that

I can walk from here to the airport - no ripoff taxis or tuk-tuks

If you think Patong is like the rest of Phuket, then you are not getting out and about enough!

Simon

Simon, I totally agree with you but people will always see Patong as Phuket and this will never change ! In terms of land mass and how much sand is on the beach of course Patong is a tiny part however, at the end of the day to the tourist eye it comes down to "activity", and Patong is the activity centre of Phuket when it comes to tourism.

Ask all the guests in your hotel how many of them visited Patong, and then ask a load of hotel guests in Patong how many of them visited your beach. I think will know what the result will be.

I, like you work in the tourism industry and get frustrated just the same when people think that Phuket is in Patong ! Yes, believe it or not I have had people ask me this.

Im guessing what you actually meant in your post was "If you think the rest of Phuket is like Patong...". If so you will find as I have that people do not actually think this, if they did then they would be staying there. They just will not go there because the perception is there is nothing to do. We are still and always will be in a world wear "activity" holidays will always out-weigh peace and tranquility.

Fact is, Patong has been in the past marketed very well, whereas the other places havent. Lets face it, how easy is it to market a beach with no people on ?

Its the same on samui. Chaweng Beach is not Samui. If someone thinks Samui is one big traffic jam they have obviously never left Chaweng.

Great! I hope a few more countries voice their opinions about doing business here.

The Thai government needs a slap in the face... their xenophobia should cost them dearly. I'm looking at other countries too. I see no reason to think that the government is going to get easier for foreigners to do business here.

HERE HERE ! and this is significant isn't it because Japan has been one of the

main investors here in the past? The Thai's will realize may be too late

that there are now plenty of competing economies in this region

that can provide a very comfortable home for investment dollars

I'm not sure about this.Japanese capital in Thailand has for decades been bound to comprador Thai corporations, and the old elite.The huge scale of Japanese investment must also be emphasised and perhaps as a lesser point the cultural attractiveness of Thailand (golf and girls, the cynics may say but there is much more to it than that).The biggest danger to Japanese investment in Thailand is probably the rival attraction of China, but there's so much sunk capital here that I don't anticipate a major outflow any time soon.

The Japanese have a great number of manufacturing operations in Thailand, surrounded by a complete array of home country support industries. I fully agree that there is no way the Japanese would be pulling out of Thailand because these are not the type of investments that can be moved without huge costs involved. The issue going forward is whether they channel newer investments away from Thailand. We won't know this until 2 to 3 years hence and by that time, I expect Thai authorities will have woken up to the benefits of these types of investors.

I think it maybe a little sensationalist to say the Japanese are going to pull out of Thailand of course there not but when they make decisions about future investment they may well decide to go elsewhere.

In a global economy you have to be competitive and if investors decide that Thailand because of all its new restrictions no longer offers a competitive edge then there is a good chance we will see a reduction in their investments.

It is extremely difficult to plan and grow a business if the rules are changing on an almost daily basis without little or any consultation.

Again we have to question how this gvt is working...

Monday :

Transport Minister says he will not propose the reopening of DM tuesday. "due to the lack of an action plan."

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen Monday said he would not propose the reopening of Don Muang Airport for Cabinet approval Tuesday, due to the lack of an action plan.

Theera said his ministry would discuss the plan in greater detail with relevant bodies, including Airports of Thailand (AOT), the Department of Civil Aviation and Thai Airways International (THAI).

"With no action plan for using Don Muang Airport, I will not raise it with the Cabinet," he said.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30026013

Tuesday :

The Cabinet decides the re opening of DM. The goal is to have 2 international airport.

"Considering the problems we have now at Suvannabhumi Airport and the number of passengers are increasing, the Cabinet decided that Don Muang Airport will be re-opened and Bangkok will have two international airports."

The spokesman said it was an idea of the prime minister .

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/06...es_30026114.php

wednesday

It appears that the airlines were totally taken by surprise. Even Thai Airways !

"The decision to turn Don Muang into Bangkok's second international airport came as a major surprise to THAI."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/07...es_30026195.php

The Airline Operators Committee said Wednesday on behalf of the more than 65 airlines and travel bodies that it opposes the government's decision to reopen Don Muang airport.

"I'm surprised by the decision," she said, adding that the Transport Ministry and relavent agencies should have asked for AOC's opinions before even proposing such at move at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=116623

To sum'up.

Here are some interpretations.

-1-PM and the whole gvt are totally lunatic. The recent past (capital control, FBA amendement) could give some "weight" to this interpretation.

-2-It's a huge heist, for instance "we close DM. Price of land go down. We buy. Then we reopen DM. Price go up again. We sell".

-3-From a practical point of view : having 2 international airport is not that easy. Huge problem of staff, equipement (DM's equipement was moved to Suva). It can't be solved in 45 days.

So there could be another, logical, explaination : once again they are lying because the subject is too hot, but the plan is to have only ONE international airport, at least for short and medium term, while Suva will be closed for massive repair operations. So it could be a communication operation, in order to prepare the public to a great shock : Suva, the "national pride", is falling appart, we need to close it.

The game is becoming totally stupid. It has started in summer 2005, with the first reports about the "cracks". The public and privates business actors still don't have an accurate vision of the situation at Suva.

With the proposed amendments to the Foreign Business Act any companies deemed to be foreign will have to hand over management control to this lot. Will the last foreign investor to leave Thailand please turn out the lights!!

Great! I hope a few more countries voice their opinions about doing business here.

The Thai government needs a slap in the face... their xenophobia should cost them dearly. I'm looking at other countries too. I see no reason to think that the government is going to get easier for foreigners to do business here.

Couldnt agree more Galong!

And this came from TNNB??? I wonder if there is much comment in the Thai newspapers/newssites, anybody?

If there is, it will be presented in such a way as to implicate Taksin and his PR machine.

The present Thai government is totally out of their depth they seem to have little understanding of foreign investment or even a grasp of basic economics. Thailands image as a place to invest has taken a battering over the last couple of months and I fear it could be years before this damge is repaired.

Ultimately it will be the Thai people that get hurt as foreign investors will just switch their investments elsewhere.

great spot! very well arranged and organized.

highly recommended

Thanks for the info guys, I'll pay it a visit next time I'm down that way.

with the prices published can you have the catch as well?

catch and release only pluse you will have to pay for any coaching you may need

what is this? catching a fish and releaseing it, instead of eating it, heard it before

but couldn't believe it, is there somthing to it that people still pay?

I heard deep sea fishing you can have the catch, they charge like 1000 bhat only

That's because God did not charge to put the fish in the sea if he had it would cost you a great deal more then 1000 THB.

Can't really offer much but, good luck.... I think you'll need it.

Maybe PM Lampard10, he owns a successful place in Surin (and a sponsor of this site- The Farang Connection). He may be able to offer you some help.

redrus

Cheers man will do...just one thing why do say I will need the luck this is what i am on about lol..

bars do keep opening so I guess some got to work

AND alot of them close after short periods of time. Good advice is talking to other farangs that have done what you want to do, and get some of the + and - of opening a place on Samui-Good luck though, Im not trying to deflait your dream, just to be careful! Many loose there life saving here on these ideas, and only a few make it worthwhile.

Most bars that are bought are back on the market within one year when the owners realise they are never even going to get their investment back nevermind acually making a profit. The rents now are sky high and the only people making money are the landlords. Before you buy anything work out how many bottles of beer you have to sell at 70-80 Baht a pop to make money and you will soon realise this is not a good investment,

As Lite Beer said, can we get some perspective?

Its a few clowns driving quads on a tourist isalnd. Its not quite the Grand Prix, so dont worry about it.

It could be argued that it was tourists who made Samui island what it is today, by doing touristy things that many of us get pissed of with. Granted, we would all like a more peacfull life without dickheads running around larging it up, but the fact is the tourists come first. Even though many ex-pats live on Samui and have done for years, the people that come here for 2 weeks are the priority, as these are the driving force behind pretty much everything on the island. You may disagree, but i think thats a fair point to make?

It all depends on the grade of tourism you wish to attract if you want Samui to become an extention of low grade resorts such as Tenerife and Spain then morons driving round on quad bikes will probably help you achieve that aim!

Hear hear. A bit of perspective, but its the tourist that have made the Samui economy and it is that exact economy that has made your prop value go up.

End of story.

i cannot beleive anybody can support the use of these bikes on the roads, they are illegal and thats is, no tax no insurance no licence. i just paid 640k for new pick up what happens if one of them smacks into me. who pays Joe tourist is not going to be happy at a few 100,000 baht fine along with repairs for the quad bile etc. so what next joe tourist from Scunthorpe starts to like young children we just say ok he cannot do it at home and hey what he is having a good time. As for looking idiots, i saw 4 such souls ripping up Chaweng beach last week horns blaring, but they were having a good time so what, well they were until Central Samui Security pointed out the error of there ways and took the bikes off them.

cannot understand why so many expats here do not bother to go and do the driving test, it is dead easy also a great form of ID and most of all it means that insurance you pay for is worth something.

Reality check guys. Bikes are dangerous. Quad are dangerous. Cement mixers up your ar*e are dangerous. Driving drunk in a tank is dangerous. Sticking your c**k in some massage bird is dangerous. Wake up, smell the coffee. You are living in the biggest toursit destination in the world. Same as Spain, Greece, Ayia Napa, Portugal etc etc. You dont living here on in this sort of atmosphere then move.

Quads or whatever other idea someone brings to the island makes money for the community, brings more tourists, increases the value of your land and property and thats that.

They also bring more money in for the local hospitals. And yes I am moving.

If you really think that the most dangerous road in Thailand is a playground for having fun then you have a problem.

I agree Litebeer and in addition I fail to see how a load of morons driving round on quad bikes is going to bring in more tourism and enhance the value of property!!!

Elephant and Castle in Bang Rak run by two brothers Mark and John you guessed it from the E+C and Fawltys run by Peter from Birmingham. All very friendly and am sure will point you in the right direction.

Link to a source please?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=103307

sorry new to the forum.

<H1 style="MARGIN-TOP: 0em">Ease up on Bangkok Airways, says real estate MD</H1><H3 style="MARGIN-TOP: 0em"></H3><H4 style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></H4>In recent months, Bangkok Airways has been at the receiving end of a significant amount of criticism relating to its Bangkok-Samui route.

As reported in Property Report Thailand’s December edition, the airline axed a proposed fare hike following complaints from Samui business owners and tourism industry workers that it would have an impact on the island’s economy.

But not everyone is pleased with the airline’s flip flop. In fact, John Birt, managing director of Samui Villas and Homes, says businesses should be thanking the airline for opening up a whole new market to them, rather than protesting.

“People react to any news about Bangkok Airways without thinking it though. All of us in business on the island wouldn’t be here if not for BA,” says Birt, adding that the airline’s CEO, Dr Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, came to the island and built the airport himself, when nobody would assist him financially. “Most people don’t know the true story behind the airline.”

Bangkok Airways built its own private airport on Ko Samui, which was opened in April 1989 and offers direct flights between the island and Phuket, Hong Kong and Singapore.

For the first time in five years, Bangkok Airways hiked the round-trip economy-class airfare on its Bangkok-Samui service from Bt7,100 to Bt9,760 last last year. The airline also raised the "M" class ticket price by Bt100 per trip. Passengers with a Samui resident card would be allowed a 35%t discount. The fare hike was scrapped just days later, following the local outcry.

The airline’s monopoly over the airport has long been a source of contention, and the key reason for the anger over the fare hike.

Tourism operators and hospitality-related businesses said they feared visitors would choose Phuket or Krabi over the island, due to the cheaper airfares.

But Birt says opening Samui’s runways to more airlines isn’t the answer.

“The airport is a very good filter,” said Birt, adding that Samui just couldn’t cope with fleets of jumbo jets coming in, as is the case in Phuket. “The island would be destroyed.”

Instead of taking the assumption that nobody will come if the airfares are higher, Birt says people should instead consider the positives.

“Hoteliers should think about upgrading their product,” he says, noting that if everybody focused on driving the island upmarket it would be beneficial for all involved. Even now more private jets are coming into the airport, says Birt.

According to media reports, Bangkok Airways expects its profit this year to fall from 7% last year to 2% this year. The airline blames higher fuel prices and operating expenses, including the move to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The Samui flights, which carry 600,000 passengers a year, generate 40 per cent of the airline´s total revenue. Passenger traffic has increased 15 per cent annually.

Bangkok Airways said the fare increase was approved by the Transport Ministry. Sources alleged the approval came at the end of September when the country was without a government, following the ouster of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Apart from this, the airline has also declared Samui Airport open to all other airlines for operation, following rules and regulations issued by the CAD. Bangkok Airways is now collaborating with THAI on a code-share agreement for the Bangkok-Samui route.

In the end, Birt says business owners should keep their criticism to themselves.

“I do believe they should allow [Prasert] to make his own decisions instead of having a knee-jerk reaction. Sure as hel_l, [the hoteliers] crank up their room rates every year when their costs go up.”

I read the above article with somewhat disbelief and can only assume that John Birt an articulate and intelligent man must have been quoted completely out of context.

Yes Bangkok Airways made a significant investment in KS when they built the airport but they have had a monopoly for nearly eighteen years and if they have been unable to reap a sizeable return on that investment then maybe we should question their competency in running an airline rather then trying to justify sqeezing yet more money from their customers.

Also to try and justify a fifty percent fare increase by saying it is the first for five years does not really hold much water when you take into account that the original fare was probably the most expensive domestic route in Thailand and Bangkok Airways introduced a fuel surcharge to soften the impact of higher energy costs.

To then suggest that hoteliers (which I am not) upgrade their facilities to make KS a more upmarket destination is quite frankly laughable, Barbados or the Seychelles it ain't!

I think local businesses who have also made investments have every right to voice their concerns when dealing with a monopoly and to suggest that they should keep their thoughts to themselves is quite frankly absurd this is probably the only way of keeping Bangkok Airways in check.

I have been coming here since the 80's and am not particularly against Bangkok Airways monopoly all I want it a reasonable service at a reasonable price.