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

[timkeen08]

I can't believe I just read truth coming directly from The PM.  Now that's a first.  Probably just a joke among friends anyway.

[sapson]

So the Mafia who control Phuket, the islands and work alongside Pinnochio and the Chinese Thai overlords, are suddenly going to back off....... and Taxis will have meters with 2 km journeys 50 baht instead of 200 and Jet ski scammers will will be offering customers who had minor scrapes a soothing post ride cocktail ......not the strong arm escort to the ATM while a corrupt policeman watches from afar.?

[DjSilver]

What a joke, everyone knows it is the Thai government who is the real mafia in Thailand due to how illegally they took power in Thailand.

[Ricebarnandrooms]

7 hours ago, poskat said:

Totally boring mate, only a few restaurants to go to, the shops were all closed, and the only booze was at the 7/11...

And I had to sleep alone. Felt totally screwed 

[LivinLOS]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

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

 

was 1500 in prior news reports.. 

 

Cant even apply for COE until monday.. 

 

[Jimbo2014]

I thought the headline was self referencing!

[Olmate]

40 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

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. ????

In other words you dont know what your missing! 

[PEE TEE]

7 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 i really enjoyed paying for the covid tests great fun and cheap too 

[Benmart]

6 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,

Corruption, dishonesty and lack of integrity are learned traits. When children see and hear adults practicing such skullduggery, they  often follow such behavior. Who are the role models in such a tainted society?

[MrJ2U]

In a way those people are lucky.  Phuket is absolutely beautiful right now with uncrowded beaches and pristine waters.

 

I haven't heard much about the oil spill lately.  Hopefully they get that under control.

[Eindhoven]

43 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

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. ????

 

To be fair, I used to think the same.  But then I visited an area outside the 'normal' tourist areas and had a great time. Friendly and helpful people, great location. Had my own transport, so no issues with transport mafia. If I wanted to drink there were plenty of places within walking distance.

Would definitely visit the same place again. Sometimes you need to see for yourself; rather than relying on hearsay. 

Of course I have little or no interest in places such as Patong. Visited there on a previous trip and if that was all they had to offer, I wouldn't have missed not ever going to Phuket again. But there are still some nice places wherein ou can have a very pleasant holiday with people who are happy to go above and beyond for you and it's not all about the money. You can actually still make real friends.

[dougiemac52]

7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

expect to arrive ......who cares 300 or 1500??? The question is How many people have confirmed and booked already there flights..And talking about maffia... the head is in Bangkok busy to delay vaccines

No guidelines for COE so how can anyone arrive ?

[tomazbodner]

It's a step forward. Admission that there IS mafia, running Phuket. Now take step 2. Get rid of it.

[Excel]

6 hours ago, ChipButty said:

How about he tells the mafia he's the one with all the guns

Well actually he probably isn't

[Excel]

3 hours ago, Surelynot said:

....and had to sleep with the wife.

Ah but whose wife ?????

[Golden Triangle]

27 minutes ago, Olmate said:

In other words you dont know what your missing! 

Correct...............................I'm missing nothing.

[timberpond]

Why do I get the impression that mafia is fine during good times? 

[Chongalulu]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I can only assume you spent your holidays in such IMO awful places as Phuket and Samui. They used to be great but were IMO ruined before corona.

However, there are places away from the madding crowd that were delightful to visit pre corona, so long as one did not expect the IMO abomination of flashpacker accommodation.

Decades ago used to enjoy Phuket and occasionally samui,but more recently found that Ko Lanta offered about the best balance and even considered moving there,although I think it might’ve been somewhat limiting out of season - not even a decent sized supermarket. It must be like a ghost island now ? I’m going to keep my powder dry and see if somewhere like Phuket has a grand reset once they realize the pre pandemic days are not returning in terms of tourism and perhaps a more pleasant environment returns? Thais are terribly obstinate slow learners and not the sharpest tools in the shed so I can envisage it getting a lot worse before something more sensible emerges. Sad what is happening here.

[Partenavia]

I am far from convinced that the population of Phuket has been vaccinated with TWO doses of an approved vaccine.  With the last one being administered prior to 17th June, to allow for the TWO week period to allow full protection.

[MrJ2U]

19 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

To be fair, I used to think the same.  But then I visited an area outside the 'normal' tourist areas and had a great time. Friendly and helpful people, great location. Had my own transport, so no issues with transport mafia. If I wanted to drink there were plenty of places within walking distance.

Would definitely visit the same place again. Sometimes you need to see for yourself; rather than relying on hearsay. 

Of course I have little or no interest in places such as Patong. Visited there on a previous trip and if that was all they had to offer, I wouldn't have missed not ever going to Phuket again. But there are still some nice places wherein ou can have a very pleasant holiday with people who are happy to go above and beyond for you and it's not all about the money. You can actually still make real friends.

Our family has been enjoying it every other month since Covid-19.

5 star hotels like the Marriott or Pullman for pennies on the dollar.  No crowds.  Beautiful beaches.  

 

Not much nightlife but great for families who don't plan on drinking holiday.

[Golden Triangle]

18 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

To be fair, I used to think the same.  But then I visited an area outside the 'normal' tourist areas and had a great time. Friendly and helpful people, great location. Had my own transport, so no issues with transport mafia. If I wanted to drink there were plenty of places within walking distance.

Would definitely visit the same place again. Sometimes you need to see for yourself; rather than relying on hearsay. 

Of course I have little or no interest in places such as Patong. Visited there on a previous trip and if that was all they had to offer, I wouldn't have missed not ever going to Phuket again. But there are still some nice places wherein ou can have a very pleasant holiday with people who are happy to go above and beyond for you and it's not all about the money. You can actually still make real friends.

I appreciate your input, I did wanna visit many many years ago, my parents, both now no longer here, visited Phuket 40 years ago, when they got back home they talked it up beyond belief, and these were well travelled people who visited many places around the world and did more than one round the world cruise on the QE 2, unfortunately mass tourism has spoilt the world in so many ways.

[1duckyboy]

4 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...????

 

You've not taken special sandbox prices and mafia surcharges into account. 

[Eindhoven]

Just now, Golden Triangle said:

I appreciate your input, I did wanna visit many many years ago, my parents, both now no longer here, visited Phuket 40 years ago, when they got back home they talked it up beyond belief, and these were well travelled people who visited many places around the world and did more than one round the world cruise on the QE 2, unfortunately mass tourism has spoilt the world in so many ways.

 

Indeed; which is why, as much as I'd like the place that I visited to succeed, I am reluctant to advertise it.

[Surasak]

Pipat said he didn't want the Phuket Mafia putting a spanner in the works.. Don't worry Mate, the Mafia have a monster great tool box. One spanner indeed.

[Mavideol]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Pipat said that on Thursday he was expecting something around 300. 

no way Jose,  if you are lucky  no more then 30 will show up..... and that's an optimistic guess

Edited June 25, 2021 by Mavideol

[GreasyFingers]

6 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.

Tell that to the USA, China, Japan etc etc.

[Golden Triangle]

7 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

Indeed; which is why, as much as I'd like the place that I visited to succeed, I am reluctant to advertise it.

Same as one of the lesser known islands, paradise does exist.

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

9 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Tell that to the USA, China, Japan etc etc.

Do you think they will come over to Phuket to lend a hand....great. Personaly I would leave China out of the equation

[GreasyFingers]

1 minute ago, Bkk Brian said:

Do you think they will come over to Phuket to lend a hand....great. Personaly I would leave China out of the equation

Dis you want me to include Italy, Spain in the etc. No government has ever stopped the mafia.

[Colabamumbai]

8 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

expect to arrive ......who cares 300 or 1500??? The question is How many people have confirmed and booked already there flights..And talking about maffia... the head is in Bangkok busy to delay vaccines

I'd say none, zero.