Foreign tourists tidy Koh Pha Ngan beaches, earn praise

[webfact]

Foreign tourists tidy Koh Pha Ngan beaches, earn praise

By The Nation

 

Photo from Noom Coral's Facebook page

 

Foreign tourists presumed to be Westerners have earned voluminous praise from Thai Facebook users after photos of them cleaning up beaches on Koh Pha Ngan were posted online.

A Pha Ngan resident posting on Facebook as “Noom Coral” shared the pictures on Wednesday.

 

The first images showed foreign men and women collecting garbage on beaches between Mae Had Bay and the smaller island of Ma.

 

A second batch showed an apparently Western woman picking up litter on Had Thong Nai Pan.

 

As Thais expressed their admiration and gratitude for the foreigners’ help, it was noted that local authorities have no way of keeping the beaches tidy.

 

Village heads in the area muster volunteers to clean them every Friday.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30330645

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-02

[richard_smith237]

Excellent, I hope the local authorities take note and are more severe with those who litter and more supportive of those who make efforts to clean the beaches. I also hope locals take note, help and join in. 

 

Recent events show how spectacularly pristine many areas of Thailand can be given a level of incentive and once their apathy is removed, it is an example of what can be achieved by all. 

 

Littering is a blight on society, it is simply unnecessary. With that said, much of the beach litter is washed in and that is a major issue which needs addressing internationally. 

 

 

[And, as this is ThaiVisa.com some muppet will be unable to help them self from making a 'work permit' comment. Don't, in your attempts to seem intelligent and knowledgable you will just come across as petty and dumb !]

[Phanganguy]

Sadly much of the beach trash is washed up from the sea, only a proportion being litter as such. This is a national issue, or even global, not just a local one.

Congratulations to the foreigners helping keep the Phangan beaches clean, including several voluntary organisations, Trash Hero, Green Cross and Ecothailand. Please also remember that there are several very active and major thai community initiatives on the island including weekly beach cleanups.

[cooked]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_cleaning_machine

[Mooner]

As Thais expressed their admiration and gratitude for the foreigners’ help, it was noted that local authorities have no way of keeping the beaches tidy.

 

Err how about getting off their <deleted> and picking it up like these Farang.

Who cares if it needs to be done everyday.

Employ some Cambodians or Burmese to do the job as Thais wont be interested.

With all the money coming to Thailand through Tourism and most coming for the beaches it is a small expensive to keep the bays clean and tourists returning while maybe gaining a little pride.

[Tchooptip]

2 hours ago, cooked said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_cleaning_machine

Simple comment: Of course Pffff

[soistalker]

HOw many Thais gave the guys  garbage for their bags? They'd much rather throw it around.

savages.

[bimmerbob]

4 hours ago, Phanganguy said:

Sadly much of the beach trash is washed up from the sea, only a proportion being litter as such. This is a national issue, or even global, not just a local one.......

 

 

Shameful Local authorities cannot be allowed to use "washed up from the sea" as a get out clause! It is excellent that the youth of today are able to expose 'authorities' through social media.......long may it continue...

[outsider]

How about getting off your butts (and face out of your laptop and smartphone screens) and cleaning the trash yourself, instead of sitting on your high-horses lavishing praise on other people while you do nothing? Don't you locals feel ashamed that foreigners are clearing YOUR trash? You don't feel embarrassed welcoming foreigners and visitors to a beach of trash?

 

Second comment directed at The Nation - just because a person has a fair complexion and blond hair doesn't necessarily mean he/she comes from the west. The 'western woman' could have come from Eastern Europe. The right word to use, if you MUST describe the subject's ethnicity, is 'Caucasion'. Come to think of it, was it necessary whether the woman came from the east, west etc? Wouldn't 'tourist' be enough? Describing the 'garbage collector's' ethnicity and region of origin is highly unecessary in the context of this story.

[Lupatria]

Finally they realized that farrangs are good for something else than just being cheated?

[Gandtee]

What happened to the beach cleaning machines that Pattaya Council bought many years ago and never used. Their excuse at the time was that no one knew how to use them?

[slippery snake]

22 minutes ago, outsider said:

How about getting off your butts (and face out of your laptop and smartphone screens) and cleaning the trash yourself, instead of sitting on your high-horses lavishing praise on other people while you do nothing? Don't you locals feel ashamed that foreigners are clearing YOUR trash? You don't feel embarrassed welcoming foreigners and visitors to a beach of trash?

 

Second comment directed at The Nation - just because a person has a fair complexion and blond hair doesn't necessarily mean he/she comes from the west. The 'western woman' could have come from Eastern Europe. The right word to use, if you MUST describe the subject's ethnicity, is 'Caucasion'. Come to think of it, was it necessary whether the woman came from the east, west etc? Wouldn't 'tourist' be enough? Describing the 'garbage collector's' ethnicity and region of origin is highly unecessary in the context of this story.

Thing is , it wasn't a Thai cleaning up the rubbish !!!  Only see Thais doing that when they are being paid to do so.. 

[dotpoom]

When I hear stuff like this it never sits quite right way with me, can't say exactly why. Something got to do with sticking one's nose into other people's business. Just strikes me a bit that way.

[sambum]

" it was noted that local authorities have no way of keeping the beaches tidy."

 

Am I reading that correctly?

[Graemej100]

What a load of old cobblers. 

 

I have cleaned the beach at the bottom of my soi in Pratumnak Soi 5 almost every day for three years - but I'm an expat, not a tourist, so it's probably not worth a mention. In those three years, I have had help from five Russians, three Chinese, three Vietnamese and one Thai. Just one!

And guess what? Virtually no rubbish on the beach is left by farange or tourists. I'd say 99.5% is left by Thais. The truth is, Thais just 'don't give a stuff'. 

 

 

[Lucky mike]

Misguided, no doubt well intentioned !

[csabo]

If I had guest visit my house and they started cleaning up I would be humiliated. Just saying. Clean up your own beaches Thailand. 

[Italian guy]

6 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

And, as this is ThaiVisa.com some muppet will be unable to help them self from making a 'work permit' comment. Don't, in your attempts to seem intelligent and knowledgable you will just come across as petty and dumb !

Such comments come from the very fact that according to Thai labor laws a foreigner isn't technically even allowed to do volunteer work without a permit, which is simply ridiculous. They do apply these laws here and there if and where it suits them. So, the comments you're talking about aren't attempts to seem intelligent or anything, but to highlight how absurd such laws really are.

 

Cheers

[terryofcrete]

There’s one born every minute.... poor  tourists ... bless them for their naivety.

[EcigAmateur]

How stupid can be these people to pretend to clean in front of resorts, where OF COURSE resorts staff always clean the beach every morning. Nothing else to do to pretend being useful ?

 

 

[Tengu]

I'm kind of surprised that they weren't arrested for working without a permit....

[PoorSucker]

5 hours ago, Gandtee said:

What happened to the beach cleaning machines that Pattaya Council bought many years ago and never used. Their excuse at the time was that no one knew how to use them?

They came half way to Koh PhanPhangan after one month, then they figure out that Koh PhanPhangan is an island then they are waiting outside can-am, where to go next..... 

This is the islands forum, make stupid questions on Pattaya forum. 

[tgeezer]

How embarrassing. 

[SpicyMeatball]

Great!! Advertise this on travel brochures...

 

”Spend thousands of dollars for your beach gettaway vacation & come to Thailand to pick up their beach trash cuz the locals are too damn lazy & incompetent to keep their own backyard clean. You will be rewarded by being “praised” by the FB crazed Thais”.

 

I’ll take my vacation elsewhere. 

[Zack61]

A band aid on a gaping wound that oozes pus. 

Kudos to the tourists who at the very least brought the problem into the spotlight but nought will come of it. 

[Thechook]

I think it's sad and disgusting that you invite (lure) someone to your home and expect them to clean it for you and charge them to stay.

[Fireyfish]

8 hours ago, dotpoom said:

When I hear stuff like this it never sits quite right way with me, can't say exactly why. Something got to do with sticking one's nose into other people's business. Just strikes me a bit that way.

why the hell would seeing someone doing something positive for the environment bother you   !!! where I come from it is common to see people picking up rubbish while having a walk on the beach  .... 

[Happyman58]

As  i said 100 times  Drive around and see all the lazy Thai men sitting on their butts doing nothing It is a bloody disgrace when tourists have to clean their dirty beaches and the only reason they have to do that is because Thais are just bloody lazy. Thais are into things like scamming people, drinking , watching tv, or just sitting around talking. But not into bloody work.

Take a look at the building sites full of Burmese, Laos, Cambodians working there because Thais refuse to work So my saying is you want the tourists and money clean your own dirty beaches  Then have the audacity to take a photo of tourist cleaning their beaches If i was Thai i feel ashamed. Oh one last thing that woman in photo when she goes home and somebody says " How was your holiday" she will reply Ok i guess after we cleaned their dirty beaches Great for attracting tourists is it not?

[Happyman58]

3 hours ago, SpicyMeatball said:

Great!! Advertise this on travel brochures...

 

”Spend thousands of dollars for your beach gettaway vacation & come to Thailand to pick up their beach trash cuz the locals are too damn lazy & incompetent to keep their own backyard clean. You will be rewarded by being “praised” by the FB crazed Thais”.

 

I’ll take my vacation elsewhere. 

For once Spicy you are so right No way if i was going on vacation would i be walking along the beach picking up their rubbish because they are to lazy to do it

[Happyman58]

6 hours ago, Tengu said:

I'm kind of surprised that they weren't arrested for working without a permit....

Dont worry they would of thought of it Only thing that stopped them was that if the tourists dont do it they would have to That means WORK