phuketrex

2 mates just arrived in Patong came through Phuket airport 3 hours ago.

Went to the Meter Taxi booth and told there were no taxis available and wouldn't be for an hour. So they went over to the silver Airport Limousines and asked how much to Patong...1100baht!! Said they wouldn't pay that and asked another driver and got the same response.

Went back inside the terminal and got the tickets for the minibus 150 baht each.

Airport Limousine fare to Patong is usually 550 or 600 baht. Meter Taxi 430 baht.

The disease is spreading!

For those that haven't seen it...this guy knows who pays his rent>>>

How about someone get some stickers printed with that on and we stick them on the Phuket tuktuks when the drivers aren't looking :-)

A couple of takeoffs that didn't get very far>>>

...and an IL76 in Australia that did takeoff...but only just!...bit like my avatar at Phuket airport!>>>

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Unless you all get out at the same point! Never heard of this before and it's another rip off if it is happening. Crazy Thailand! Wish I could have done this when taxi driving in the UK getting 2 or 3 times what the fare should have been!!

PhuketGazette yesterday>>>

Can I share a metered taxi from the airport?

As a resident of Phuket, it is always a pleasure to return to the island after being away for a while.

One of the few redeeming features of Phuket’s taxi services is that one can actually take a metered taxi home from the airport at a fair price.

However, when I returned from Bankok this Sunday with a friend, we were abruptly told that we could not share a metered taxi because we wanted to be dropped off at different addresses, both in Bang Tao.

“Only one stop for a metered taxi,” the driver said.

You come to expect it from the touts, but to now have this from metered taxis is very disheartening.

Is this the accepted standard for airport taxis? Can tourists heading in the same general direction really not share a taxi?

Bryan Shale, Thalang Monday, January 11, 2010

“Metered taxi provides one-stop service only. If you would like to be dropped off at different destinations, you will pay separate fares. Customers can get into the same taxi, but they must pay for their own charges.

For example, if you hire a taxi and would like to be dropped off at Kamala Beach, but your friend wants to be dropped off at Patong beach, the prices will be different. You can expect to pay a 300 baht fare to Kamala Beach. Your friend should expect to pay 450 baht fare for Patong Beach after the meter is reset in Kamala. That means you and your friends have to pay 750 baht in total.

For more information contact the Airport Zone Taxi Meter Association

Monday, January 11, 2010 Miss Piyanan, Receptionist at the Airport Zone Taxi Meter Association counter

A Canadian tourist was assaulted this afternoon by a tuktuk driver outside the Sunset Beach Resort at Kalim when disputing the fare has had hospital treatment.

If you use a tuktuk make sure you agree the fare BEFORE you get in the thing.

Here is the documentary that was aired on Channel 4 last wednesday...not going to be easy to watch for many people.

Tsunami : Caught On Camera

Christmas Day 2004, and across the Indian Ocean, tourists from around the globe are enjoying dream holidays in the sun. But none of them know that the very next day their video cameras will capture one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history, which will leave nearly 300,000 dead in eleven countries.

Five years on, and told almost entirely using amateur footage, much of it never broadcast before, Tsunami: Caught on Camera is the moving true story of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami told through the eyes of those who were actually there.

Shot by ordinary people across the Tsunami's huge impact area, the remarkable amateur footage reveals what happened when the waves, caused by a massive underwater earthquake, hit land.

This powerful, bold and intimate film reveals what it was like to be caught up in the events of that day and tells stories of panic and heart-breaking loss, as well as courage and miraculous survival.

Here is the documentary that was aired on Channel 4 last wednesday...not going to be easy to watch for many people.

Tsunami : Caught On Camera

Christmas Day 2004, and across the Indian Ocean, tourists from around the globe are enjoying dream holidays in the sun. But none of them know that the very next day their video cameras will capture one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history, which will leave nearly 300,000 dead in eleven countries.

Five years on, and told almost entirely using amateur footage, much of it never broadcast before, Tsunami: Caught on Camera is the moving true story of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami told through the eyes of those who were actually there.

Shot by ordinary people across the Tsunami's huge impact area, the remarkable amateur footage reveals what happened when the waves, caused by a massive underwater earthquake, hit land.

This powerful, bold and intimate film reveals what it was like to be caught up in the events of that day and tells stories of panic and heart-breaking loss, as well as courage and miraculous survival.

Phuket Town 90 years ago!>>>

This was a single giant firework we let off on Patong Beach last night that had 66 firings and lasted nearly 2 minutes>>>

...more going off the whole length of the beach and 100's of lanterns being launched>>>

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The best way you have of getting anything done is to contact the local Ambassador of your respective countries and put pressure on him to make the Thai PM aware of what is going on.

Get real.

The local ambassadors are in Bangkok and rarely go to Phuket, unless it's to collect bodies. Do you suffer from short term memory loss? Do you remember when the German ambassador came to see the Phuket governor and was rudely treated? What exactly do you expect these ambassadors to do on behalf of nationals that have voluntarily chosen to visit Thailand despite very explicit warnings on most foreign (western) foreign affairs websites? The Royal Thai Government expresses regret, wrings its hands and says, we feel your pain. After that it is business as usual. The only leverage the government, any government understands is economic sanctions and I don't see any foreign government imposing sanctions over the tuk tuks.

Following the murder of Australian nationals in Indonesia, the Australian government was powerless to do anything. Sure it could send strongly worded protests, but it wasn't going to invade Indonesia and kick some ass was it? What the Australian people could and did do as a nation was to avoid Bali. The Indonesians got the message and eventually acted. Today, because of Australian consumer actions, Bali is a safer destination. It's been said multiple times in this thread, until economic pain is felt, there will be little incentive for change. Major tour groups have to cancel bookings. Tourists have to go elsewhere and make sure the government knows as was the case in Bali.

I walked on Patong beach this morning and there were plenty of tourists frolicing in the filthy water oblivious to the dangers. And to follow up on my earlier post did see 6 jetskis in use, 3 of which were operated by beach boys. People are avoiding the jetskis this year compared to last year. Consumer action as a result of public information dissemination.

Oh yes the jet skis. Just who was it that kicked the Thai government into actually doing something about them? Foreign Ambassadors on behalf of their governments that's who.

I did actually ride down the beach road this afternoon with my camera taped on the bike and have a video....sad eh!!! I have tried to upload it on Youtube but the internet connection here is <deleted> and gets interrupted halfway through uploading every time I try. If in Japan it would have uploaded in a couple of minutes!

What was interesting was I passed a tuktuk carrying 9 people in the back!...2 were very small kids though. Made me think about that comment from a tuktuk driver who claimed if they had to take more than 4 people from the Centara Resort in Karon then they would have to use 2 tuktuks and so cost a group double. Whereas I have on video now a tuktuk with 9 customers in it! So bleating that they can't take more than 4 people isn't doing them any favours.

By the way there were 67 tuktuks parked up between the Holiday Inn and Bangla Road...at 3pm.

PM is passing through Phuket today. Bet he doesn't use a tuktuk while he's here.

I'm sure this guy gets plenty of business wherever he is!>>>

The best way you have of getting anything done is to contact the local Ambassador of your respective countries and put pressure on him to make the Thai PM aware of what is going on.

Bangla Road 1984ish>>>

Were there any cars there?

Kathu Farm is roughly where I've put the X...well that's where the sign is anyway>>>

Looks like they calculate that figure by the cost of the rooms 100% + 10% Service Charge =110% then VAT on that of 7% = 117.7% then added the 1% Provincial charge = 118.7%

Or maybe they just plucked that figure out of the sky.

Been 4 years since I used a tuktuk because of my last use of one. It was in a monsoon and we got to my apartment and the fare was something like 280 baht. I didn't have the fare in small money so gave the driver 500 baht and was waiting at the passenger window in the rain waiting for him to give me change.

He told me he didn't have change...yeah right...and made some searching moves around the cab like he was looking for money but kept saying he didn't have change. Meanwhile I was getting soaked. So supposedly neither of us had change. Then he leaned across and opened the glove box on the passenger side so right by me and I saw a gun in there! I got the feeling he wanted me to see it!

So I just told him to keep the money and went into my apartment. Never used a tuktuk since.

I've passed another one in Kathu>>>

Nothing new on the blog since the air quality results>>>

http://jillstonge.blogspot.com/

You can now download the 67-page NTSB report on the accident in a pdf file here>>>

NTSB CD List Of Contents

Concert dates on their website. Don't list any for the rest of this year>>>

http://www.job2dothailand.com/Job2do_concert.html

So what do the tuk tuk owners do when a minibus from Phuket Fantasea turns up to at the resort to take guests to the show or from Simon Cabaret or......??