A Beauty Spot

[Richb2004v2]

Whilst driving north from Chumpon the other day was made a stop near Petchaburi. We stopped to visit a huge cave inside a small mountain that was populated by hundreds of monkeys. I like that kind of thing. The monkeys were great, but the whole place was littered with plastic bags and general garbage. The monkeys were playing in rubbish and licking remains of food from the plastic bags. It was terrible. In the midst of this was a stall selling food to feed the monkeys and refreshments and a tour guide to visit the caves. I did start to pick up the rubbish until I realized the spread. We paid the entrepreneurial tour guide to take us around the impressive but abandoned caves. They were quite remarkable, but we were the only visitors there. The guide threw stones and sticks at the monkeys all the way up. Only after my third remonstration, in poor Thai, did he stop.

The whole experience wasn’t great. It was yet another example of something that could have been good but was sadly spoilt.

I understand that the monkeys probably created the mess, but even so one would think that someone would find a way to stop it. There wasn’t even a bin in sight. This only adds to my perception that Thais are completely oblivious to rubbish. They seem happy to like in it, work in it and look at it. Of course they haven’t got a monopoly on litter; they just seem particularly good at it.

[soundman]

I've said it before & I'll say it again - Don't feed the monkeys! Last time I went near the critters in Lopburi, the little demons absolutely destoyed my three month old Fortuner. They pissed on it, scratched the paint, twisted the wipers, & managed to get to the doorseals & other rubber items & chew on them. All in the space of ten minutes. See my previous post on this subject.

Soundman.

[uptou]

i stayed in petchaburi for a week & took a walk up the famous hill to the old royal temple grounds.hundreds of monkeys-(although not sure they are classed as) on & around the hill,& i made the mistake of carrying a plastic bag with me,& had the little buggers trying to snatch it away until one dominant male grabbed hold of my leg & i was walking along with it on the end of my leg to the amusement of other thais.i threw away the bag in the end & had no more monkeys humping my leg.they were the highlight of the walk up though,but at the end of the day they will take anything that isnt securely bolted down,& can give a nasty bite.especially the protective mothers or large males.

[Luckydog]

No monkeys on the beaches of Jomtien but the litter is there alright.....

Doesn't anyone get taught to put litter in the bins provided here in LOS?

I walk along the shoreline with my dogs every morning picking up broken beer bottles.

The locals think I am nuts....I probably am.

Yeeees I know. There is more litter around in Timbuktoo or where ever.......

Edited July 13, 2007 by Luckydog

[Richb2004v2]

I've said it before & I'll say it again - Don't feed the monkeys! Last time I went near the critters in Lopburi, the little demons absolutely destoyed my three month old Fortuner. They pissed on it, scratched the paint, twisted the wipers, & managed to get to the doorseals & other rubber items & chew on them. All in the space of ten minutes. See my previous post on this subject.

Soundman.

I paid a girl to take care of the car.

She had a big stick.

[Richb2004v2]

No monkeys on the beaches of Jomtien but the litter is there alright.....

Doesn't anyone get taught to put litter in the bins provided here in LOS?

I walk along the shoreline with my dogs every morning picking up broken beer bottles.

The locals think I am nuts....I probably am.

Yeeees I know. There is more litter around in Timbuktoo or where ever.......

That’s another topic in itself. The lack of bins in LOS is a problem. I sometimes wonder if having a bin is a loss of face or something. I see so many eating establishments without any place to deposit litter.

[sukanyacondo]

No monkeys on the beaches of Jomtien but the litter is there alright.....

Doesn't anyone get taught to put litter in the bins provided here in LOS?

I walk along the shoreline with my dogs every morning picking up broken beer bottles.

The locals think I am nuts....I probably am.

Yeeees I know. There is more litter around in Timbuktoo or where ever.......

That's another topic in itself. The lack of bins in LOS is a problem. I sometimes wonder if having a bin is a loss of face or something. I see so many eating establishments without any place to deposit litter.

From what I see many Thais are dirty think nothing of their surroundings and this also leads nicely into the "paint" thread. The answer is they aint bothered by it they cant see too far ahead.

[KireB]

If its not in my backyard, I don't care!

[chemist]

No monkeys on the beaches of Jomtien but the litter is there alright.....

Doesn't anyone get taught to put litter in the bins provided here in LOS?

I walk along the shoreline with my dogs every morning picking up broken beer bottles.

The locals think I am nuts....I probably am.

Yeeees I know. There is more litter around in Timbuktoo or where ever.......

That's another topic in itself. The lack of bins in LOS is a problem. I sometimes wonder if having a bin is a loss of face or something. I see so many eating establishments without any place to deposit litter.

From what I see many Thais are dirty think nothing of their surroundings and this also leads nicely into the "paint" thread. The answer is they aint bothered by it they cant see too far ahead.

When it comes to personal hygiene I think that the Thais are examplary, although I sometimes feel that they are a bit obsessive about it. Hygiene and cleanliness outside of the personal sphere is of course something completely different...

Actually, speaking of spheres, I read somewhere (I think it was on Stickman) that Thais divide their world into three spheres. The first sphere includes the person him-/herself, the closest family and mostly the home (the inside of the home). The second sphere: The extended family (uncles, aunts, hundreds of cousins, etc). And finally, the third sphere: Everything else.

Now, as you all know, when it comes to sphere number one, almost all Thais regard cleanliness as a very important virtue. As for sphere two: Cleanliness not so important, but a definite plus. Sphere number three: They don't give a sh1t. This way of seeing the world explains why you can see oceans of garbage just outside a perfectly clean home, for example. It also explains why meticulously groomed individuals can wade through rivers of trash on their way to the nearest bus stop without even noticing the filth (unless the filth sticks to their trousers or skirts, that is).

So what can be done about the garbage situation? In another thread the same issue was discussed not so long ago, and many posters thought that the best solution would be education. I agree, but it will take time, a lot of time... I am not very optimistic about this .(But what do I know. I have been wrong more times than I can count, and I would love to be wrong regarding this issue.)

Regards

Edited July 13, 2007 by chemist

[Robski]

Last time this subject came up there was a lot of complaints about the state of Thailand and the Thai attitude,

then a suggestion came up of promoting a campaign to keep Thailand tidy, as we all care for this country too.

After it was suggested everybody went quiet and the topic died....

Edited July 13, 2007 by Robski

[Tippaporn]

Robski, you . . . you thread killer!!

[Robski]

I'm not sorry, but er... carry on whinging.

[Tippaporn]

Yes, by all means! Carry on.

[Jimjim]

The solution is simple. Don't feed the animals. Monkeys that are too familiar with humans, like the ones near Rayong at a beach resort, can be aggressive.

[Robski]

Better still, train the monkeys to pick up litter and pay them peanuts.

[kiakaha]

As far as I'm concerned, all the shortcomings/annoyances that Thailand and Thai people exhibit boil down to one thing. Lack of education or bad education. Education is what shapes our minds, and our minds are the source of our actions.

You need several generations of filtered down education for it to permeate the psyche of the individual, and hence the population. Crack downs,temporary measures,law enforcement are nothing more than a warm bath. You need to instill concrete values in peoples minds for real change to occur.

Unfortunately I foresee Thailand will have a trash problem for some time to come, and I say that with a tinge of metaphor.

[jetjock]

As far as I'm concerned, all the shortcomings/annoyances that Thailand and Thai people exhibit boil down to one thing. Lack of education or bad education. Education is what shapes our minds, and our minds are the source of our actions.

I agree with 'kiakaha' that it is all about education. Since lack of education and poverty go hand in hand, it seems that almost all the poor countries have exactly the same attitude and problems with littering. It is not even limited to poor countries since within a rich country like the US, you will find many poorer areas living in the same filth and litter that you find in many parts of Thailand. I think anywhere you have uneducated poor people living in survival mode you will usually have this same disregard of the environment.