"We are not coming back" : Tourists give the thumbs down to Khao San Road changes

[webfact]

"We are not coming back" : Tourists give the thumbs down to Khao San Road changes

 

WE are not coming back... message from tourists

 

Thai media said that tourists have given a strong message to the Bangkok authorities and the government after attempts to sanitize Khao San Road.

 

They have clearly spoken out saying: You are destroying the life and soul of the city - and we are not coming back!

 

Thailand's most influential and far reaching media Thai Rath went to the Khao San area to investigate after the authorities have tried to shift out the traders and stalls from the sidewalks.

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Despite opposition and refusals the area is already a shadow of its former self and tourists arriving are convinced they have come to the wrong place it is so quiet and lacking in life.

 

Thai Rath said that traders in regular shops, tuk-tuk drivers and motorcycle taxi ranks in the area were all speaking with one voice saying that the tourists have virtually all gone.

 

One comment from a motorcycle taxi guy said it all:

 

"No one believes it is Khao San anymore. They arrive then stand about looking confused. They ask "Have we come to the right place?". They look left and they look right. I have pointed to the street sign to show them that despite their confusion they are indeed in the right place".

 

The message is clear: This is not the Khao San Road - not the vibrant Bangkok in the guidebooks and tourist promotion handouts.

 

Traders spoke of a once busy and eclectic road and a thriving trade being obliterated in the name of progress and order.

 

Picture: Manager Online

 

While Thai Rath said that it is a conflict between matters like the law vs the life of the capital and people's livelihoods vs convenience.

 

They said that the issue has divided opinion of people resident in the capital of Thailand.

 

But they said the government's efforts to change Bangkok into a place of order may be its death knell in the eyes of tourists wanting to see something they cannot experience in other cities around the world.

 

The standoff between the the Bangkok authorities continued, reported Manager in a related story on Monday.

 

But they said in the meantime from Aug 6th there would be a seven day calming period when traders would be allowed to set up one stall each on the sidewalks in the area from 6pm to midnight.

 

But it is not known that this will be extended in a Thai compromise or whether the authorities will stick to their guns come next week and clear everyone out for good.

 

Sources: Thai Rath, Manager Online

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-08-07

[webfact]

Deputy Bangkok governor to brainstorm ideas with agencies in bid to resolve Khaosan Road dispute

By The Nation

 

BMA officials are dispatched to enforce the ban on roadside vending on Khaosan Road on August 1.

 

Bangkok Deputy Governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul will call a meeting this week with relevant agencies to seek possible solutions to the ongoing dispute with street vendors at the capital’s highly popular Khaosan Road, after a ban of pavement vending was defied over the past week.

 

In the meantime, a temporary solution has been worked out to allow stalls to continue to be set up on the pavements, subject to certain conditions, for one week.

 

Agencies invited to the meeting include the Metropolitan Police Bureau, the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the Commerce Ministry, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, and the Internal Security Operation Command, Sakoltee told local radio station Jor Sor 100 on Monday.

 

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) earlier banned vendors from pavement vending from August 1, but some 70 per cent of the operators at Khaosan Road have refused to comply with the order since traffic police do not allow them to trade on the actual road surface instead.

 

In the evening and at night, Khaosan Road has always been blocked by huge numbers of tourists and vendors, but the BMA believes activity along the street should now be legalised, the deputy governor said.

 

As no permanent solution has yet been reached, nearly all of the roughly 300 Khaosan Road street vendors would be allowed to set up stalls on the pavements from 6pm to midnight, starting from Tuesday evening for a week, he said.

 

However, the stalls must not take up more than 1.5 metres of the street’s 3-metre-wide pavements, and restaurants and bars cannot place their tables and chairs on the pavements, Sakoltee stressed.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351605

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-08-07

[Thaiwrath]

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

But they said the government's efforts to change Bangkok into a place of order

Should start with Sukhumvit Soi 3 !

[sammieuk1]

We want our run down street with run down stalls on it now?

[colinneil]

Just another brain dead idea by brain dead people.

The brain dead bar stewards are slowly destroying Bangkok with these stupid schemes, what they fail to realise is tourists love what Kao san road was like before they tried to sterilize it.

Welcome to Bangkok the city where the only thing you will experience is nothing but empty streets.

[Lungstib]

Seems like streets full of cars is fine but streets full of people need banning. Weird.

[Thian]

So now the Indian tailors have nobody to harass on the sidewalks? And the poor tribal lady with the frog who always harassed me while eating in a restaurant is also gone? Oh i will miss them so much.

 

And all those fake Nike slippers which break in 2 days and become waste, the tourists still miss those? 

 

They should open a nice market close to kao sarn and real shops in the fronts, taxi's on the street waiting...i don't see the problem.

[darksidedog]

Further proof that stupid people always find a way to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Tourists dont go there for a sanitised environment and clearly won't go at all if this idiocy continues.

[Thian]

11 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Just another brain dead idea by brain dead people.

The brain dead bar stewards are slowly destroying Bangkok with these stupid schemes, what they fail to realise is tourists love what Kao san road was like before they tried to sterilize it.

Welcome to Bangkok the city where the only thing you will experience is nothing but empty streets.

Do you think it was good for the image of BKK and Thailand that the whole world knew that on kao sarn road you can buy fake id's, presscards, university degree's, and probably everything else fake...It was just open on the corner of the street for loads of years...

[varun]

Instead of decimating an iconic street with oodles of character,

why don't you get rid of the ebony / uzbekistan whores and nigerian pushers that congregate between Sukhumvit Soi 1- 5?

 

[lanista]

Khaosan rd died 20 years ago. It used to be lined with 'hole in the wall' guest houses  for 80 baht/night and mountains of backpacks waiting to be loaded into buses  fanning out all over Asia and beyond.

Khaosan  was taken over by developers  in the early noughts  and is now just like any other street littered with vendors and Indian hustlers not to mention  kfc , mcdonalds and expensive hotels and western style beer bars. 

 

A townhouse on Khaosan sold for about 1 million baht back when i first arrived.  Price now?? 50 million maybe.

Very high rents and deposits.Trendy Thais went there for a while but unlikely nowdays.

Bangkok has totally westernized the tourist areas.

No longer Asia.

 

 

[Get Real]

48 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

Should start with Sukhumvit Soi 3 !

Are you talking about eradicating the famous lamb dishes????

[Snow Leopard]

Who is going to go to a place with 100's of police roaming around like in the picture to enforce the law. Maybe someone could explain to me what they are trying to achieve here? This only really hurts Thai's who are working there in my opinion and is a massive OG. Military Govt, Boy Scouts everywhere. Noooooo Thanks. 

[thaiguzzi]

56 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Just another brain dead idea by brain dead people.

The brain dead bar stewards are slowly destroying Bangkok with these stupid schemes, what they fail to realise is tourists love what Kao san road was like before they tried to sterilize it.

Welcome to Bangkok the city where the only thing you will experience is nothing but empty streets.

Not forgetting all the street food vendors moved on - which made worldwide news, BKK being famous for its street food , and people from all walks of life using it, loving it, and now missing it.

Except the Big Wigs in a military govt.

Cleanliness and Orderlyness is next to Godliness for this lot...

Numpties.

Edited August 7, 2018 by thaiguzzi

[cmsally]

46 minutes ago, Thian said:

So now the Indian tailors have nobody to harass on the sidewalks? And the poor tribal lady with the frog who always harassed me while eating in a restaurant is also gone? Oh i will miss them so much.

 

And all those fake Nike slippers which break in 2 days and become waste, the tourists still miss those? 

 

They should open a nice market close to kao sarn and real shops in the fronts, taxi's on the street waiting...i don't see the problem.

The problem is that "the nice shops with taxis waiting" can be found anywhere else, including the many useless and energy wasting malls.

People come to see and experience things unique but many people don't seem to realise this. Thailand used to have many places and people that were totally unique. Most of these have become diluted or disappeared completely, consequently tourists will disappear also.

[bendejo]

Backpackers are big on following each other, only go to places where other bp'ers go, wear what other bp'ers wear (t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops are essentials), follow what Lonely Planet says, etc.  They would need another place to go, or another place to follow each other to.

 

 

[lapamita]

Bangkoks last charming places would be gone soon............

 

Bangkok was unique in the past

 

..thats gone over the last 5-to10 years

[lanista]

They dont understand here.  Tourists dont like being  constantly surrounded by military, police and other creeps in uniforms. Thailand is swarming with Thai punks in uniforms. They're everywhere not just the tourist traps.

The toursim industry  has definitely reached the crossroads.

Up to Thailand which way they turn.

Plenty of other destinations for people to visit  with no harrassment by the uniform brigade. 

I was in Laos for a few weeks and hardly saw a cop anywhere. Saw several army guys but they look harmless enough in their pyjama  outfits.

In Thailand there are hundreds of thousands of cops and army types wherever you go. baht , baht  baht !!!

[JAG]

 

It is just possible that tourists, whether dreadlocked backpackers or clean-limbed worldly sophisticates such as myself do not fancy visiting Khao San Road to watch men in paramilitary outfits strutting around giving the local vendors a hard time...

 

That picture rather encapsulates what is happening to this country. Its one reason why, despite all TATs hysterical claims and predictions, western tourism is declining

[bendejo]

There is a police station at the end of KSR, just a few paces from where that pic was taken.

 

 

[JAG]

1 minute ago, bendejo said:

There is a police station at the end of KSR, just a few paces from where that pic was taken.

 

 

I know, just off to the right of the picture isn't it?

 

However by the look of the picture most of these fellows are Bangkok "Tesseban" cops, you know, the ones who specialise in fining tourists for dropping cigarette butts rather than proper policemen.

[Dick Crank]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Just another brain dead idea by brain dead people.

The brain dead bar stewards are slowly destroying Bangkok with these stupid schemes, what they fail to realise is tourists love what Kao san road was like before they tried to sterilize it.

Welcome to Bangkok the city where the only thing you will experience is nothing but empty streets.

i dont think the chinese cared for it much, they like nice hotels better and seafood buffets, the clean streets make them feel safer and they stay in the hotel and spend more. tuk tuk and vendor income does not really matter.

 

but you learn well, and quickly, and you do it quite well...(cut to scene of head bobbing up and down)

Edited August 7, 2018 by Dick Crank

[Destiny1990]

Now the street is filled with parked taxies and tuk tuks.

Ban all cars and tuk tuks and bring the stalls back the soi is dead now.

[cmsally]

1 minute ago, Dick Crank said:

i dont think the chinese cared for it much, they like nice hotels better and seafood buffets, the clean streets make them feel safer and they stay in the hotel and spend more. tuk tuk and vendor income does not really matter.

 

but you learn well, and quickly, and you do it quite well...

Actually not really true, the Chinese love Chiang Mai weekend markets in the open air at weekends. They are so stuffed full of Chinese you can hardly walk.

[CGW]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Just another brain dead idea by brain dead people.

The brain dead bar stewards are slowly destroying Bangkok with these stupid schemes, what they fail to realise is tourists love what Kao san road was like before they tried to sterilize it.

Welcome to Bangkok the city where the only thing you will experience is nothing but empty streets.

Bangkok has long been owned and run by persons who's favorite colour is Yellow, they also - coincidently have a lot of money ? 

The people who own the buildings where these stalls are set up outside are going to be very happy to see the back of these folks, same as the owners of the high priced properties on Sukhumvit, the majority of goods that these stalls are selling are technically illegal anyway - at the end of the day it will make no difference to tourists.

Progress ? move them into one area where they will need to be registered, next thing you know they will be paying taxes as well! ? 

[mok199]

wait wait wait!!!! BKK has some of the most honest taxi drivers on the planet....

[NCC1701A]

Photo caption, man in red tee shirt:

 

"Jesus Christ! I can here for a fake ID and now I am in the middle of a policeman's convention."

fear and loathing in Bangkok.

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, Get Real said:

Are you talking about eradicating the famous lamb dishes????

No, just the hairy ones.

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, cmsally said:

Actually not really true, the Chinese love Chiang Mai weekend markets in the open air at weekends. They are so stuffed full of Chinese you can hardly walk.

The local Thais also love Khaosan and often head down there for a night out, due to it being so unique and different to the rest of the city. I expect the foreign media will be all over this story before long, and not in a way that's flattering to those in charge. 

[55Jay]

Tourists seeking to escape their orderly, sanitized lives can still visit Tijuana for some partially organized chaos.  It was a number of years ago now but the mayor, at one point, instituted a dress code for street vendors.   Comply or be kicked out. 

 

Quote

The new decree, ordered by flamboyant Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, is designed to showcase the city's melting pot of Mexican cultures to the outside world. He said the fashion mandate will allow visitors to "feel Mexico." Those who disobey will be given two warnings and then forced to leave the area where the dress code applies.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/600146255/Tijuana-orders-fashion-makeover-for-street-vendors.html