Phuket ready for the Sandbox! But PM says “don't let mafia" spoil the party

[Hayduke]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Don't let Phuket's infamous mafia spoil the party. 

 

Mafia? What mafia? Everyone knows the Hero-Czar's 100% honest and trustworthy government has completely eliminated all corruption. Therefore the sandbox people have nothing to fear.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2021 by Hayduke

[RichardColeman]

Admit it, we're all sat with baited breath waiting to see exactly just how big a disaster this is about to be.

 

 

[crazykopite]

4 hours ago, PFMills said:

I feel bad now, I’ve got this all wrong, I thought they were the mafia.

When I read his comment I though OMG he is talking about himself and his appointed cronies even the Thais call them that name 

[MasterBaker]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Around 300 tourists are expected on the big day next Thursday. 

what happened with 1500?

[sammieuk1]

Thats why all the confusion percentages not agreed ????

[Guderian]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Don't let Phuket's infamous mafia spoil the party. 

...said Don Corleone, rofl.

[Mywayboy]

5 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

Yet the governor told us 1,500 yesterday ....

These guys are not even reading the same book let alone on the same page.

Hmmm!Thai Mafia Never in Thailand.

[PETERTHEEATER]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

With this in mind all the pick-ups at the airport will be registered drivers and no taxi mafia will be allowed. 

Go tell it on the mountain......????

[ttrd]

5 hours ago, poskat said:

"the government did not want the mafia putting a spanner in the works and upsetting foreign tourists, notes Thaivisa."

 

having 80% of places closed and no holiday partying allowed will be much bigger spanners in the works than anything the taxi goons could do.

 

"Hey Trevor, how was your phuket holiday"  "Totally boring mate, only a few restaurants to go to, the shops were all closed, and the only booze was at the 7/11... dont bother going.....however, the taxis were great"

.... and Pipat Ratchakitprkarn himself was renting out jet-ski's .... 

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

 

And let's not forget that it's not that easy to spend money when everything is shut. A lot of that money would have been 2 week millionaires spending a few thousand in the bars every day/night.

 

You don't tend to spend as much when you're sat around the pool or on the beach. I can't see a family of 4 spending 25,716 Baht (6429 x 4) a day when shops and restaurants are boarded up. More likely a few thousand on food and drinks at the hotel pool/restaurant.

Accommodation, i.e. cost of hotel room, is probably included in the amount for daily spending; however, I read in other news articles a few days ago that hotel rooms were offered for $1 during Phuket Sandbox, so you might be extremely right with the family spending 25,716 baht, minus 64 baht for two rooms, per day by the pool...????

[natway09]

With all due respect Mr PM the mafia will be there & they will try & ruin it with their stand over tactics & your police force are either on the make or too cowardly to do something about it.

[chilli42]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Pipat said just a few minor matters remained to be sorted

Like who in their right mind would even consider a holiday in Thailand under these conditions.

[dave moir]

4 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Doublespeak.

A few minor matters means less than 100%.

How minor and how many is a few?

Exactly!????????????????

[IamNoone88]

beyond belief ....... 

[sambum]

"Pipat said that on Thursday he was expecting something around 300. But not to worry, when others see how safe it is they will decide to come and he was expecting increasing numbers in the last three months of the year.

He said that the latest Tourism Authority of Thailand assessment was that 100,000 visitors in the next three months will spend 9 billion baht." 

 

Pipat expects increasing numbers in the last 3 months of the year, but, Surprise, surprise,  TAT expects 100,000 in the next 3 months 

 

And that is a perfect example of why people do not believe a single stat that TAT come out with - they're probably already working on the excuses why 100,000 didn't come for "Parole"!

 

 

[Nanaplaza666]

So the only maffia that can take those little amount of tourists(expats) money is them right ? 

[Snig27]

4 hours ago, connda said:

That's totally for the government to control but they chose not to.
If the government wanted the mafia ended, they'd end the mafia.
So obviously they don't.

Probably because the biggest mafia in the land feels some empathy with the small league guys. 

[AussieinThaiJim]

6 hours ago, poskat said:

"the government did not want the mafia putting a spanner in the works and upsetting foreign tourists, notes Thaivisa."

 

having 80% of places closed and no holiday partying allowed will be much bigger spanners in the works than anything the taxi goons could do.

 

"Hey Trevor, how was your phuket holiday"  "Totally boring mate, only a few restaurants to go to, the shops were all closed, and the only booze was at the 7/11... dont bother going.....however, the taxis were great"

The mafia have already moved, taxi fares, tuk tuks, beach chairs and more to dampen a good holiday let alone 90% of everything closed even 7/11 in Patong!

Edited June 25, 2021 by AussieinThaiJim
Spelling

[Seeall]

5 hours ago, ChipButty said:

They know no different it's ingrained into them from birth, I stopped off at one of these junk shops as I call them that sell everything along the main near home I wanted to buy just one pint glass stay home like a good boy drinking my beer.

I picked one up took it to the counter how much, she said 270 baht, it just doesn't stop.

I eventually bought one in Phuket town for 90 baht and better quality,

ha, at least BG's only double the price...

[khunjeff]

Meanwhile, a stark message from the mafia: don't let the PM spoil our party...

[Dialemco]

Is there a Mafia in Phuket? This is very worrying. 

 

[3NUMBAS]

the gemstone scammers will be there in force,nothing will stop em

[chang1]

17 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

Like who in their right mind would even consider a holiday in Thailand under these conditions.

Well I just booked a hotel at Karon as the wife is desperate to see her parents, which I expect is the same for most who are going rather than just a holiday. They say they are ready but there are still so many unknowns.

Can we use any taxi service to get to the hotel from the airport?

Will I get a COE using my own travel insurance or do I need a Thai certificate of insurance covering covid?

Where do I get tested on arrival? and how much will it cost?

Will our proof of vaccination be accepted?

What happened to the tags? Not mentioned anymore.

Will our choice of flights actually be available if bookings are low?

After the 2 weeks will we actually be free to travel around Thailand for the full month we have left?

And of course the big one - will Thailand go on the UKs red list which would us cost thousands of pounds on our return?

 

As for the mafias, I will pay to go to and from the airport but hire a bike for all other on island travel. Otherwise they can be ignored.

 

On the plus side I am looking forward to seeing empty beaches. Hope the tar balls have been cleaned up! As much as I like going around the bars, that is not too important. Just hope there are some socialable  people in the hotel. 

 

As only the hotel is booked we can still back out at any time as that has not been paid for yet. 

[GrandPapillon]

of course that kind of message will not stop the mafia, they couldn't care less, like ants, those guys don't think, they just do what they are programmed to do

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Around 300 tourists are expected on the big day next Thursday. 

They'll be skinned alive.

[chilly07]

Exactly which Mafia are we talking about here, the one that runs Phuket or the one that runs Thailand?

[chang1]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

They'll be skinned alive.

I doubt any will be green tourists. They will have a hard time getting much out of tight <deleted> cheap charlies like me. Just got to get to the hotel in one piece.

[Golden Triangle]

In all the time I have been a member hear & prior to that many years reading the posts I have never, as far as I recall, ever read a positive post about this place, I have however read plenty about the corrupt ineffective police force, the Tuk Tuk & Taxi mafia, the rip off traders, the Jet Ski scammers, and no doubt plenty more besides, I won't be going anywhere near Phuket.

 

3 years ago me and the Mrs did the drive down to the Malaysian border ( Satun ) down the Amdamam coast then across to the Gulf and back up again and round to Pattaya, we purposely avoided Phuket mainly due to what we read on here and also advised by friends.

 

Now I know that Pattaya is just as bad but the only thing we go into town for is shopping, I wouldn't holiday in Pattaya or Phuket knowing what I know these days. ????

Edited June 25, 2021 by Golden Triangle
Word missing

[mrfill]

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

9 billion baht divided with 100,000 tourists equals 90,000 baht spent by each tourist.

 

Based on average 14 days stay on Phuket this equals 6,429 baht per day in average, i.e. $202 by today's exchange rate ($1 = 31.76 baht).

 

Other articles have mentioned that the expected tourists are mainly Europeans, which according to statistics spend $125.47 pr, day in average when visiting Thailand, i.e. 3,985 baht per day by today's exchange rate.

 

I understand we are not talking plain European tourists when Phuket's sandbox is opening, these numbers indicates rather what might be considered as "quality tourists", as they otherwise might be disappointed when they are only finding 5.5 billion baht in the treasure chest by the end of September...????

 

The figure has taken into account a couple of taxi rides per day.

[Bangkok Barry]

I suppose that arresting the mafia is out of the question? Actually, I have no idea why small-time crooks are called the mafia in Thailand. Maybe the PM and all the other Thais who refer to them need to consult Wikipedia.