Koh Phangan crackdown continues: Ukrainian woman arrested for running illegal hostel

[mike324]

6 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

it makes sense, seems like you haven't been to or seen pictures of hostels before. Yes it not really spacious or anything, just rows of bunk beds. Can't expect much for 250 baht / night for AC room and shower facilities.

[spidermike007]

Pure silliness. Sounds like something is fishy. Perhaps the cops are a little hungrier than usual? They are going after all the wrong people. Or is this a message to the ex-pat community? It does appear that the authorities might be getting increasingly hostile to foreigners. Maybe. Does anyone else sense that? They are also pursuing pot possession. What a waste of time. We all know that is only about the money. There have been a few postings about people getting busted for it, so here goes my rant on that.

 

They sometimes appear to be acting like Puritans, or Quakers. Or fundamentalist Christians, or extreme Muslims. Those groups, in their extremes tend to be the least tolerant on the planet, and support things like draconian penalties for things as innocent, and meaningless as the smoking of a joint. Also, they tend to be very judgmental, and are often willing to declare pot smokers are something far more heinous than they are. Some even refer to pot smokers as addicts, and compare them to users of heroin. Never has a more ignorant and less informed judgment been cast. 

 

In terms of the rule of law, as you very well know, that is incredibly selective here. If you have enough cash, you not only can smoke and possess as much pot as you want here, but the police will not touch you for it. And if they do, you walk away scot free. In addition you can commit murder, engage in human trafficking, have slaves aboard your fishing boats, and do pretty much anything you like. So, the law here is very subjective. Also, it is being enforced by a junta lacking in judgment. So, I have little respect for the enforcement of silly laws.

 

Pot should be legal worldwide. It harms nobody, unless you count poor memory and lack of ambition as great offenses against the nation. Illegal by who's definition? A corrupt, illegal government that is completely out of step with a changing world? Pot does little harm to anyone. The biggest risk is the the user will lose his ambition. Compared to alcohol the detriment to society is minuscule. Only the Jeff Sessions and the Little P's. of the world continue to pursue these draconian convictions. The only reason why ganga is illegal in Thailand is due to the fact that legalization would make the police franchises less valuable. That is it. It ends there. This has nothing whatsoever to do with morality or character development. Quite the contrary. And to lump a pot smoker into the same category as a heroin addict is just plain old ridiculous and ignorant of the facts. 

[mickyboy]

9 hours ago, crazykopite said:

Think this is the end of hostels on Koh Phangan problem is all the cheap wooden bungalows you used to see on the beaches have all gone to make way for more expensive accommodation years ago 250 baht would of got you a room on the beach but those days have long gone .

same as koh chang white sands used to have loads bungalows about 10 years ago reggae bar on the beach now 4 and 5 star resorts

[cookieqw]

8 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

12 x 12 = 144

[MyFriend You]

13 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

Bunk beds, 20 people to a room can be done.............

[Box fighter]

On 16/02/2018 at 10:11 AM, Jonah777 said:

...ah, but how many of us remember the good old days her in Thailand, when one could get a seaside tiny bungalow for 100 Baht and everything was hassle free and few worries.  We need to be thankful some of us got to enjoy Thailand before the idiots came here to screw things up.  

Yes and 72 baht to the £1

[TheLobster]

On 2/16/2018 at 5:41 PM, spidermike007 said:

<Snip> Pure silliness.

Explain to me again why you are posting on a Samui forum? Surely you have moved on? No? How many posts do you think I have posted on the HH forum?

[StayinThailand2much]

On 2/16/2018 at 9:23 AM, manhood said:

I want to see the crackdowns on thai owned and illigal operation guest houses and the our boats and all the mafia structures and families running this island!!!!!!!!!!

But yes the easiest way is to point the finder on some foreigners, sure not legal working but the most harmless ones in between the mass of corrupt sharks!

Well, the foreigners don't know how and to whom they have to properly hand out the cash envelopes; serves them right! More business for the, well connected, Thai mafia businessmen...

[CH1961]

On 17.2.2018 at 5:27 PM, Box fighter said:

Yes and 72 baht to the £1

I guess this was the same time when steam engines pollute the air in London :-)

[sn1per]

On 16/02/2018 at 6:45 AM, FitnessHealthTravel said:

Great! Send them home after a stint in the Bangkok Hilton.

for not having a valid permit for a hostel and violating the Building Control Act ?  

[PoorSucker]

13 hours ago, sn1per said:

for not having a valid permit for a hostel and violating the Building Control Act ?  

Google "Santika fire", violating building control act should have severe punishment, unfortunately it's not the case in Thailand so nobody cares. 

 

The Big tiger aka Bangkok hilton only have guest serving more than 20 years,. 

 

[gk10002000]

And last week wasn't some foreign "manager" arrested and set for deportation?

[sn1per]

On 21/02/2018 at 3:09 AM, PoorSucker said:

Google "Santika fire", violating building control act should have severe punishment, unfortunately it's not the case in Thailand so nobody cares. 

 

The Big tiger aka Bangkok hilton only have guest serving more than 20 years,. 

 

Yeah, I agree that there should be checks and penalties for breaking these laws, but I think a stint in the BKK Hilton is a bit strong in this case. This is not actually about building regs or permits though, it's about targeting and closing down foreign-owned/run hostels. I would bet my shirt on it that they will be up and running again as soon as the offending foreigner is out of the picture, this sort of thing has been happening on KPG for years

[spidermike007]

On 2/19/2018 at 12:10 AM, TheLobster said:

Explain to me again why you are posting on a Samui forum? Surely you have moved on? No? How many posts do you think I have posted on the HH forum?

There is a very simple answer to that question. Samui, Phangan and Dark Tao are the epicenters of the bribe trade, when it comes to pot busts. I have spoken to tourists who were busted with one joint, and held up by the robbers in brown, for 100,000 baht. It happens often. 

[spidermike007]

Notice how this so called crackdown only relates to foreign owned businesses. The Thais are exempt. The drug rackets, the mafia, the illegal land sales, all go unpunished. Way to go BIB. you continue to demonstrate daily, that your abhorrence for law and order is fully intact. It is all about the money, with a bit of xenophobia attached. Oh those nasty foreigners. They are responsible for so many evils in our great, pure, holy, upstanding, honest country, that is brimming with integrity and all of the qualities that make us such glorious souls. 

 

Why pick on foreigners? A feeling that this is the most important country in the world. The knowledge that where we are living is the center of the universe. A people bursting with pride, at knowing that they are at the apex of culture, finance, power, and intellectual prowess. A country with the real, true religion, and with smart and benevolent leaders, who are spending every minute, of every day trying to make life better for the common man. A vastly superior moral and ethical nature, that allows the Thai people to rise above the rest of the world, and live in absolute, and complete harmony with each other. And a grand vision for the future of this illustrious nation.

 

[CH1961]

On 16.2.2018 at 5:41 PM, spidermike007 said:

So, I have little respect for the enforcement of silly laws.

I guess you are already out of LOS, are you ;-)

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, CH1961 said:

I guess you are already out of LOS, are you ;-)

Nope. I remain here. And I remain defiant to the end. Laying down is not my style. And it is exactly what the worms in power hope for, demand, and expect. Homey does not play that game. I am the same way anywhere. I could not possibly have less respect for the authorities. They do not deserve it. I am really, really scared. The 5'2" general is going to come after us, if we misbehave. Oh my. What are we going to do? I think I will find someplace to hide, within middle earth. He does not want to go back there.

 

The goons in charge are focusing their efforts in all the wrong areas. They are trying to make Thailand a Quaker State. A land of purity. Total BS. Nonsense. Misplaced priorities, and wasted efforts. They should be focusing their efforts on traffic and public safety, easing import tariffs, making visa policy simpler, and more friendly, boosting Western tourism, real crackdowns on slavery, and illegal fishing instead of nonsensical hyperbole, cleaning up the water, the air, the rivers, and the beaches, and other things that actually improve lives.

 

In the world that I come from, respect has to be earned, and it is never freely given. The authorities here deserve little respect, as they do not earn it. The police care little for the people, do not engage in any sort of traffic safety, only show up after an accident has taken place, do not ever pull anyone over for reckless driving, threatening lives on the highway, speeding, or driving while drunk. Sure, they nab people at checkpoints. But, most of those checkpoints just slow up traffic on the highway, and rarely result in making the highways safer. So, unless and until they start doing their jobs, they will continue to get little respect from the public. You get what you earn in this life. Most cops here cannot be taken seriously, as they are not serious people, and treat their job as a private franchise, rarely engage in law enforcement, or protection of the public.

 

His personal motto may as well be - I Little P., promise to move Thailand backwards at a breath taking and alarming pace, and never, ever do anything to benefit the Thai people. I will continue to do everything I can to protect the elite, the super wealthy, the connected, and those in office, either in the police, my administration, or the army. The little man simply does not exist, in my consciousness. 

 

 

[evadgib]

What time is muster parade tomorrow morning and which Govt building in Hua Hin will you be inspecting?

[HLover]

On 2/16/2018 at 8:21 AM, AlQaholic said:

Yesa! and then stop the stupid drunken abomination they call the "full moon party".

You forgot 'drug infested'.

[HooHaa]

On 2/16/2018 at 2:52 PM, Zack61 said:

I remember paying 20-60 baht for seaside bungalows on Samui and Phangan. Not more than two or three cars on the islands. Unrecognisable today. 

yes, i remember not paying bills, but i was a child. 

[HooHaa]

On 2/19/2018 at 1:10 AM, TheLobster said:

Explain to me again why you are posting on a Samui forum? Surely you have moved on? No? How many posts do you think I have posted on the HH forum?

by your rationale a great number of the regular posters on thaivisa should not be allowed to post as they are not located in thailand.

[Sadanava]

On 2/16/2018 at 1:52 PM, Zack61 said:

I remember paying 20-60 baht for seaside bungalows on Samui and Phangan. Not more than two or three cars on the islands. Unrecognisable today. 

and you are, how old again? 120? :)

[sklmeeera]

On 16/02/2018 at 10:11 AM, Jonah777 said:

...ah, but how many of us remember the good old days her in Thailand, when one could get a seaside tiny bungalow for 100 Baht and everything was hassle free and few worries.  We need to be thankful some of us got to enjoy Thailand before the idiots came here to screw things up.  

Yeah man , bring back the 80s.

[PoorSucker]

3 hours ago, sklmeeera said:

Yeah man , bring back the 80s.

Yes, why should the local Thai develop. 

It's my birth right to come here once per year and enjoy pristine beauty and cheap beer. 

 

Damn you, @colonialtourits... 

[bazilio1954]

Funny. Did not give a bribe to anyone?

[Damrongsak]

On 2/15/2018 at 10:11 PM, Jonah777 said:

...ah, but how many of us remember the good old days her in Thailand, when one could get a seaside tiny bungalow for 100 Baht and everything was hassle free and few worries.  We need to be thankful some of us got to enjoy Thailand before the idiots came here to screw things up.  

I don't think I ever paid 3-digit prices, but then I came down from Isaan.  555