Ahh well yes, Absolutely right to focus on all those nasty foreigners, most of whom just come here for rest and relaxation, not to cause trouble. Surely the super honest Thai police, will in their objective honesty be fair to them and will also make sure that all the Phuket Taxi mafias use their meters and that there will be no "rip off bars". And of course, no gambling at all, after all, the police in this country are famed for their ability to stamp out illegal gambling. Not of course, to forget prostitution!! The world will come to an end if foreigners find out that this kind of thing exists in the land of smiles!!!

8 hours ago, webfact said:

In the meantime, the situation has emphasised Thailand’s dependence on foreign tourism.

 

There's no problem with that, the trouble comes when you decide to let in all the cheap and nasty scum on the planet visa-free. TAT may be a completely imbecilic organisation, yet their long-standing but fruitless quest for more 'quality tourists' was on the right track. Attracting enough better quality tourists, though, would mean cleaning the country up, and not just the pollution and rubbish and black smoke-belching vehicles, but ending the scams, and making the RTP a force that genuinely acted in the public interest.  Yeah, good luck with that, lol. It's much easier in the end to just adopt the 'give me your poor, huddled masses' approach and let anyone in.

4 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

 

All this started in Phuket .

But Phuket is too packed with foreigners , tourists and longer staying Russians .

There is no place left on the island .

Sure , the locals want to earn money , they do this in the moment .

Too many different nationalities and cultures packed together in a tight space creates tensions , that's clear ...

So , who is at fault ?

The politicians who welcomed tourists after locals complained about not earning enough money after Covid ?

Or the locals who got much more farangs than they wanted ...?

Be careful what you wish for .

The Sri Lankan way to get rid of ( russian ) people is becoming more plausible every day ...

https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ukraine-tourists-sri-lanka-visas-whites-only-event-2024-2?op=1

 

Be careful what you wish for .

 

Too many foreigners ... stress for locals , but enough money to be made .

Much less foreigners ... not enough money , people will complain again ...

Phuket is ripoff territory.. brought about by locals

27 minutes ago, Taboo2 said:

They  have been doing just fine without us here trying to tell them how to live. 

 

Odd, uninformed statement that. 

 

The majority would still be living in wooden huts and riding buffalos without tourism and foreign investment over the last few decades.

As usual, reality is the opposite/inverse of what local politicians and govt officials say - in this case foreigners are just getting localised, copying local habits. 

1 hour ago, bwanajohn said:

I will bee surprised if in 50 years there is not a new ethnic population group in Thailand of Russian origin..much like the Chinese and Indians.

 

Harbin

5 hours ago, RobU said:

Possible diversion tactic. When I see political outrage like this in the news, in any country not just Thailand. I look for what appear to be minor news items which are 'overlooked' in the feeding frenzy. These 'minor' items often have greater impact or are more outrageous but are deliberately played down. 

So, what are these 'minor news items', then?

I'd like to know.

9 hours ago, webfact said:

In the meantime, the situation has emphasised Thailand’s dependence on foreign tourism.

So a "crackdown" makes complete sense!

10 hours ago, webfact said:

visitors on the island

= Russians?

19 minutes ago, Bundooman said:

So, what are these 'minor news items', then?

I'd like to know.

Stop trolling, there's a good boy. 

1 hour ago, Taboo2 said:

Not your country!  Leave the Thais alone.  They  have been doing just fine without us here trying to tell them how to live.  They know how to handle their business.  If you  do not like it, then leave!  Who is forcing you to stay here if you do not like that that Thais break the rules?  

yeah Thai people love to get hit and killed by speeding motorbikes while crossing the street. Who are even trying to protect here? If they followed simple traffic laws none of this would be happening.

In a way I dont blame the locals.  I just spent a few days in a  public ward in a government hospital in the poorest province in Thailand and the locals could not have been more warm hearted.  All the staff were the same, just absolutely wonderful.  Why?  We dont see many farang around here.  I read about the yahoo's in Phuket making it bad for all of us, locals, tourists, expats.  Reminds me of the only time I have been to Bali, couldnt believe the mayhem, bogans screaming and shouting in the streets a;ll night, drunk, high on shrooms I dont know.  Makes you embarrassed to be a tourist/westerner.  Got out the next day straight to the tranquility of a tiny island off Lombok.  Imagine its caught up to Kuta by now.

 

But then the ones who are doing the complaining live and work there because they benefit from the same yahoos  either directly or indirectly.  Its a sign of the times, as everybody wants tourist dollars but  unfortunately it all comes at a cost.  I kinda think of tourism and immigration in the same way, the problem is too many too soon which overwhelms the system, the economy, the environment and the local culture.

5 hours ago, stoner said:

 

and my patience is tested daily by the locals. spare me the you are a visitor garbage too. if the locals want to be treated fair and kind then they should do so in return.

Exactly. How long are we guests here? It's tiring, to daily be charged more than the others almost everywhere.

They blame foreigners to not abide the law when in the meantime you rarely see thais making receipts at their businesses or of course employing myriads of Burmese and Cambodian workers without contracts. Yes let's put this migrant workers in jail, not the employers. Not to speak about traffic laws... Foreigners get stopped for routine checks when wearing helmets and seemingly look okay while Thai kids aged 12 pass by 4 on a Honda wave all without helmets (and no licence).

9 hours ago, mr_lob said:

Knee jerk reaction to some isolated high profile cases involving foreigners.

Meanwhile cases of rape, abuse by teachers and bent coppers are kept silent

This is the true crime and don't firget the stolen election and promised 10k wallet.  And Mr t not a day in prison ( eightky convicted or not)

We appeal to Thai Security Authorities do not trust the European clowns Europol etc because the people are ignorant and irresponsible.................

The European law enforcement agency Europol has been plunged into chaos because highly sensitive files containing the personal information of top law enforcement officials disappeared last summer.
"Given Europol's role as a law enforcement agency, the disappearance of the personal files of staff members constitutes a serious breach of security and personal data."
POLITICO spoke with four current and former Europol officials with knowledge of the incident. Some of the missing files resurfaced when a citizen found them abandoned in a public place in The Hague and brought them to a local police station, the four officials said.
Europol's sensitive paper HR files are kept locked in a safe in a special room reserved for a limited number of staff and few people know the code of the safe.

Source:

https://www.politico.eu/article/europol-internal-agency-eu-police-agency-engulfed-in-clean-up-over-missing-files/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=alert&utm_campaign=Serious security breach hits EU police agency

 

 

They should be concerned of what normal tourists think about these razzia's instead, as we all know the locals will be going to temples if we suddenly left like during covid. They even relied on foreigners handing out food and meals but that seems all forgotten already, over a few minor and common tourist crimes.

Essentially the locals are showing their true colors, they do not respect us at all, just want our money and bye bye. Same locals now want to know how some foreigners can own company's or land, while they were the ones profiting from the sales 5-10-15 years ago themselves. But I guess that money is now already spent, so it would be ideal to just steal it from the foreigners, to sell it again.

Time for an Exodus!

Seriously **** Phuket. What a cesspool of every undesirable both local and foreign. They deserve each other, but we don't deserve the bad rep they cause.

13 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

What did they think would happen when they allowed Russians a 6 month visa. 

 

They weren't just going to sit in their rooms and play dominos. Clearly they don't want to be in Russia, and some will seek means of work/business. 

 

It's been clear for nearly a year they were buying businesses, and operating with free will. Sri Lanka recently had to stop their long visa for Russians as a result of the local population growing fed up. 

 

Now they've given Chinese the free visas to come and back and forth too. Same issue is going to start. 

 

The barriers Thailand had up to protect it's population (employment, rising rent prices from long stayers, etc) were just thrown away in a few days with some strange decisions. 

This taking over by certain nationals in Phuket is not just since a year. On Kata beach a good few years back, much before Covid, the Thais burnt down Russian signs and shop fronts ! They had already moved in ! Slowly in the beginning they have bought up all the cheaper condos, and since the war in Ukraine started they’ve really taken off. I was there visiting Thai friends and did they have stories to tell. Phuket is ruined! Exploding cost of living, condos, restaurants dishing out any old rubbish as there are too many customers, they can’t manage ! Shocked me . Everyone knows what they are doing, illegal taxis, illegal rentals to their own kind, property , you name it. I escaped back to Bangkok , and breathed a sigh of relief . My visits in the future will be a few days to visit my Thai friends , I have only one good western friend , all the others have long left . 

8 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

In a way I dont blame the locals.  I just spent a few days in a  public ward in a government hospital in the poorest province in Thailand and the locals could not have been more warm hearted.  All the staff were the same, just absolutely wonderful.  Why?  We dont see many farang around here.  I read about the yahoo's in Phuket making it bad for all of us, locals, tourists, expats.  Reminds me of the only time I have been to Bali, couldnt believe the mayhem, bogans screaming and shouting in the streets a;ll night, drunk, high on shrooms I dont know.  Makes you embarrassed to be a tourist/westerner.  Got out the next day straight to the tranquility of a tiny island off Lombok.  Imagine its caught up to Kuta by now.

 

100% this. Mass tourism annoys everyone. No way to have a peaceful life with the locals if you're in one of those zones. If you feel unwanted maybe it's time considering moving to an area without tourism.

7 hours ago, kaneko86 said:

Foreigners get stopped for routine checks when wearing helmets and seemingly look okay while Thai kids aged 12 pass by 4 on a Honda wave all without helmets (and no licence).

That's what I mean about Thai people not respecting their own laws. They literally just don't care about laws, police included, so it's annoying when they feign interest because it's non-Thais involved. 

 

"My laws must bind everyone, high and low, or they're not laws at all."

 

     - King Arthur.

11 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

The country is run by convicted criminals mate.

Ok, so why are you here then?

On 3/27/2024 at 9:39 AM, ukrules said:

Local outrage - what nonsense, now national action?

 

What is a crackdown on foreigners? Are they going to hassle us in the malls? 🤣

They let Russians in unchecked, we all know that many of them are mafia, they run organised crime, ATM scamming, gambling and pornography, many murders happening amongst this lot. 

Then a mad man kicks a Dr on an illegal structure installed by crooked Thai property developers. 

Two spoiled brat kiwis take a gun off a traffic cop, maybe they thought he was going to shoot them. 

There is lots of police shootings in NZ after car chases, in fact if you're stupid enough to get involved in a car chase in NZ odds are you will end up shot dead or crash dead, they always end badly. 

There are pick pockets, pimps illegal gambling houses and human trafficking going on in los all the time, and they want to crack down on innocent retired people and tourists. 

Clean up your own backyard first, I say. 

Everything in life comes with the trade-off. Nothing in life is free, if you're going to invite tens of millions of tourists in your country you're going to have a few bad apples, you're going to have some idiots that don't behave properly. Same applies to expats, a small percentage are going to misbehave, so you treat them just like anybody else, you discipline them, you fine them, you arrest them, you jail them, whatever is appropriate.

 

But you don't just complain that foreigners are misbehaving, it's just gets to the point where it's just boring, and very old after a while. Stop with the nonsense, deal with it like adults, do what adults do, which is to face problems and they deal with them. Children moan and groan and show outrage online. 

Bit too late for this narrative now isn't it? without foreignness Phuket would have been just another

unassuming Thai town, the locals seems to forgot that many of them become very well-off because of

them foreignness...

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Everything in life comes with the trade-off. Nothing in life is free, if you're going to invite tens of millions of tourists in your country you're going to have a few bad apples, you're going to have some idiots that don't behave properly. Same applies to expats, a small percentage are going to misbehave, so you treat them just like anybody else, you discipline them, you fine them, you arrest them, you jail them, whatever is appropriate.

 

But you don't just complain that foreigners are misbehaving, it's just gets to the point where it's just boring, and very old after a while. Stop with the nonsense, deal with it like adults, do what adults do, which is to face problems and they deal with them. Children moan and groan and show outrage online. 

So, then we have many children on this forum, as the moan, groan and outrage about almost nothing and everything is massive.

22 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

Not your country!  Leave the Thais alone.  They  have been doing just fine without us here trying to tell them how to live.  They know how to handle their business.  If you  do not like it, then leave!  Who is forcing you to stay here if you do not like that that Thais break the rules?  

Yes it is their country and their rules but the problem is the privileged few including the RTP dont live by the rules they swore to uphold and this is where Thailand will come unstuck. Yes thats their problem but its the workers & poorer people of Thailand who loose out so why should the "elite" and people in places of authority keep breaking the very rules they are supposed to be enforcing. Corruption will be Thailands downfall.  

On 3/27/2024 at 8:02 AM, Rampant Rabbit said:

perhaps they could  tattoo us  all and make us  wear a little  star on our clothes or maybe just a big "F"

They already know. Don't need a tattoo

On 3/27/2024 at 4:32 AM, Taboo2 said:

The Thais do not need anyone telling them how to run their country

Dead right...all they need is our money