Mae Hong Son cracks down on inappropriate tourist behaviour

[spidermike007]

This is very serious stuff. Foreigners drinking beer on the river. Foreigners walking around in a bikini on a hot day. This could tear apart the very fabric of the nation and lead to utter and complete moral degradation. Something must be done to arrest the slide. What could happen next. We must maintain our purity. 

 

 

[FolkGuitar]

Do I understand correctly?

Thailand wants tourism.  Thailand complains that tourism is flagging. Then Thailand complains when they come?

 

Thailand advertises the Full Moon Party that attracts thousands of young tourists every single month, to a beach party (NOTE: Bikinis, alcohol, bare skin... things usually seen on a beach.)  Thailand complains about bikinis, alcohol, and bare skin.

 

Thailand advertises Pai as a resort town with river tubing (NOTE: Bikinis, alcohol, bare skin... things usually seen when river tubing, attracting thousands of young tourists every month. Thailand complains about bikinis, alcohol, and bare skin.

 

Wake up, Thailand. Young people like to party. Young people like sex! (OMG!) If you are going to advertise activities for young people, young people are going to come to participate... bringing all their 'young people, and perhaps childish' behaviors with them.

 

Don't ask for it and then complain about it. That's just childish behavior, too.

 

That said, there is no reason that these young people should walk around Chiang Mai in bathing suits, to say nothing of Pai...

 

Edited July 18 by FolkGuitar

[Marco51]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

Mae Hong Son Governor Chucheep Pongchai issued an urgent directive to tighten regulations and enhance supervision of tourism activities in the Pai district, following reports of inappropriate behaviour by some foreign tourists during river tubing on the Pai River.

 

The matter came to the fore when a local resort owner in Pai raised concerns about the current state of tubing activities along the Pai River. The complaints revealed that alcohol and beer were being illicitly sold to tourists, disguised in plastic water bottles to evade detection.

 

Tourists, after finishing their tubing activities, were reportedly seen wandering around town in their swimwear, with some men donning only swim briefs and women clad in two-piece swimsuits or bikinis. This behaviour has been deemed disrespectful to local culture.

 

Additionally, there have been instances of tourists sneaking into resort areas for sexual activities, leading to police reports and widespread online criticism.

 

In response, Chucheep directed relevant agencies and business operators to promptly implement measures to regulate tourism in Pai, particularly focusing on tubing activities involving foreign tourists. The objective is to preserve the town’s reputation as a desirable tourist destination.

 

 

The district chief of Pai initially reported the inappropriate behaviour linked to tubing activities. Consequently, district authorities and police will convene with business operators to establish cooperative measures.

 

These will include a ban on alcoholic beverages during tubing activities, regular inspections, and ensuring tourists dress modestly, wear life jackets, and respect local cultural norms. While most tourists have been cooperative, there have been a few exceptions.

 

The Deputy Governor of Mae Hong Son is scheduled to visit the Pai district to attend a meeting with relevant agencies to further organise and solidify tourism measures.

 

Mae Hong Son has emerged as a popular destination for both Thai and international tourists alike. From the beginning of the year until July, nearly 40,000 tourists have visited. River tubing on the Pai River is seen as a significant attraction for foreign tourists, reported Pattaya Mail.

 

By Ryan Turner

Image courtesy of Pattaya Mail

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-07-17

 

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Looks like the masses are all farang having mass fun in a mass flower - hicks- pow-hicks-er destination, now all new with legal cannabis to the booze. Quite possibly the Chinese ambassador has protested again , I had been told by Chinese girls selfying, sorry, travelling in Chiang Mai they were headed next to Pai where the western hippies go for sex and dlucks an lockandloll . Giggle, maybe get la.....oooops

It really used to be a laid back place 25-30 years ago for a weekend with bad accomodation but good food and QUIET !!!   and relaxation , good conversations and .....aah yes, they did already have a late night "karaoke hotel" right at the beginning of the town that had been a pain in the behind. Like everywhere : do not talk about it if it is nice, the unwashed masses will want it too, preferably in prepaid TUI tours and many many compatriots of the same intellectual level. Spain: ticked, done that , Portugal, Crete, Istambul, Kabul, Goa, Bangkok, Samui, Bali...............

[smedly]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Mae Hong Son Governor Chucheep Pongchai

can I invite you to an eye opening tour down soi 6 in pattaya 

[khunpeer]

14 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Why not fine the ones who sold the alcohol outside the alcohol sales hours??? Now in Pai you have to wear proper clothes.. Maybe an idea for Pattaya, Phuket in the bars too that the girls and boys do the same??? Back to the Victorian age?

 

Best thing to do is that tourists avoid Pai and this rafting.... Much better and easier  

Ptya & Phuket are beach towns, so you can expect some bathingsuits walking around, but Pai is a mountainvillage with a couple thousand inhabitants, hardly to be compared to those places...

 

[G Rex]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

a ban on alcoholic beverages during tubing activities, regular inspections, and ensuring tourists dress modestly, wear life jackets, and respect local cultural norms.

 

This ^  - will not lead to that..

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The objective is to preserve the town’s reputation as a desirable tourist destination.

 

[khunpeer]

12 hours ago, Arkady said:

In Vang Vieng in Laos there have been many tourist deaths caused by the mixture of tubing and alcohol.  I expect the same is true in Pai but reporting is suppressed.

ah, a conspiricy-theorist!

that took a while...

[khunpeer]

12 hours ago, it is what it is said:

 

tubing there used to be so cool, 25 years ago it would be a relaxing, peaceful appreciation of nature experience, now it's a pretty horrific to me, but probably a wonderfully social media boastable, noisy, drunken experience to the younger generation. sad we don't seem to be able to appreciate the small, beautiful experiences in life anymore.

I also 'rivertubed' in VangVieng before the turn of the century! 

it was the first year, 2 or 3 tubes and that was it! 

one with nature, for me that was the max!

now I don't even want to go back there, afraid of a big dissappointment...

Pai authorities took their time handling this tubing situation, it's going on for years already.

organizers don't give a hoot, just filling pockets 250 b pp!

 

[khunpeer]

2 hours ago, chuang said:

Firstly ban the tubing..

why?

nothing wrong with rivertubing,

something wrong with boozing, or at least the combination of these two!

[Ausie11]

15 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Why not fine the ones who sold the alcohol outside the alcohol sales hours??? Now in Pai you have to wear proper clothes.. Maybe an idea for Pattaya, Phuket in the bars too that the girls and boys do the same??? Back to the Victorian age?

 

Best thing to do is that tourists avoid Pai and this rafting.... Much better and easier  

I suggest that tourists just send a money and they can see photos of Pai online. Easy 🤣

 

[Dionigi]

1 hour ago, Banana7 said:

From the mid-19th century onwards, the traditional topless attire of Siamese women began to be viewed as obscene, and attires revealing female breasts were then regarded as 'un-Thai' expressions of depraved Western sexual culture

40 years ago toplessness still occurred in the villages but unfortunately only among the old women.

[rocketboy2]

All a bit two faced of Thailand.

Seen plenty of Thai guys walking around with water bottles half filled with Lao Khao. 

even at the temple when a burning was going on.

 

 

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, atpeace said:

I was thirty two when I first went to Pai 25 years ago.  Don't remember any tubing but sure it existed.  Lots of rafting trips.  Beautiful place and there were tourists but it wasn't anything like it is today.  In the evening now it is like Disneyland.  Lines and squeezing through crowds.  Not my type of place in the least.

I first came to Pai in 2005 and stayed for 11 months and it was mostly livable but hanging on by threads. Fast forward to today (I visit 1-2 time a year to see my uncle) and it's totally ruined by tourism. The economy is like 99% tourism and doesn't even feel like Thailand. Nary a Thai to be found.

 

In general the locals are probably sick of all the retarded stuff you see on a daily basis. Last visit this June I saw a guy wearing a leather vest with no shirt, a kilt and carrying a literal scepter. Imagine how tired the locals are of the antics and silly games.

[NorthernRyland]

24 minutes ago, Dionigi said:

40 years ago toplessness still occurred in the villages but unfortunately only among the old women.

When I first came to Pai I saw hill tribe women doing gardening with their breasts hanging out over their shirt, presumably to keep cool and totally normal in the villages. Rural Thai people used to go topless within the last 100 years too I heard.

[khunpin]

Another reason why to avoid those 'tourist attractions'! 

NOT because of the complaints about bad behaviour of rude people from England or the u.s.!

Because those rude animals are uneducated and don't know anything about Thai culture! 

Arrest them, get their names and ban them from entering Thailand again until they can't board any plane again! 

That might teach others a lesson. Oh, I forgot. 

They come from countries where stupid people are living. 

Unable to learn anything! 

Edited July 18 by khunpin
typo

[paul1804]

The hypocrisy of the Thai authorities will never change. 

[roo860]

Was there last weekend, the only time I saw girls wearing bikinis was when they had finished the water tubing, early evening. I actually followed 4 of them for about an hour, I was very discreet as to not get arrested 😅. 

[ryxyz]

they want tourism dough, so they have to put up with the trash that a lot of them bring

[Franky0815]

I have no idea what Thais don’t understand about mass tourism??!!

[Purdey]

I remember when the ministry of culture had topless angels on its website. Then they realized their hypocrisy was making people laugh at them.

Topless angels everywhere...

[brianthainess]

14 hours ago, Arkady said:

In Vang Vieng in Laos there have been many tourist deaths caused by the mixture of tubing and alcohol.  I expect the same is true in Pai but reporting is suppressed.

I was going to say this is normal behavior there, not only drinking from cans while drifting down stream, but smoking joints too, they all looked happy & relaxed. The Jumping from the cliff has caused deaths.   

[GammaGlobulin]

3 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Forty years ago, Greece was like this, all the grandmas in black going ballistic about topless sunbathing.

 

They learned to adjust once they saw the money rolling in, without the same hypocrisy as Thailand, which tolerates  open prostitution without admitting it exists.

 

Mores will change over time, if they don’t, tourists will go elsewhere to enjoy themselves.

 

Humans are very depraved, you know..

Compared to all other animals.

 

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

can I invite you to an eye opening tour down soi 6 in pattaya 

[Jackbenimble]

16 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Why not fine the ones who sold the alcohol outside the alcohol sales hours??? Now in Pai you have to wear proper clothes.. Maybe an idea for Pattaya, Phuket in the bars too that the girls and boys do the same??? Back to the Victorian age?

 

Best thing to do is that tourists avoid Pai and this rafting.... Much better and easier  

OR respect the local culture? Might be an idea.

[brianthainess]

About 9 yrs ago.  

[Jackbenimble]

15 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

I wonder what these guys think of the sexy Mor Lam dancers and booze filled dance shows that there seem to be in supermarket carparks and patches of wasteland every couple of weeks!

as you rightly pointed out yourself these are restricted to car parks and "every couple of weeks". Hardly a problem unless you go into the car park and yes - I have seen the shows you refer to - they are a small number of vehicles usually next to each other and tucked away in one small area of a large car park. Not quite the same as taking over the whole town.

[FolkGuitar]

This might surprise some people as it's a radical concept, but...

 

If you want to reduce bad public behavior, be it excessive noise, drunk driving, or walking around the city half-naked...

... perhaps a policeman or two 'regularly' stationed (as opposed to one night a year, well advertised,) where the bad behavior goes on 'might' reduce the numbers. To date (and I've been here almost 25 years) I've not seen this tactic being used, just repeated complaints about the problem.

I know that has been shown to work fairly well in other locales.

[BangkokReady]

6 minutes ago, Jackbenimble said:

as you rightly pointed out yourself these are restricted to car parks and "every couple of weeks". Hardly a problem unless you go into the car park and yes - I have seen the shows you refer to - they are a small number of vehicles usually next to each other and tucked away in one small area of a large car park. Not quite the same as taking over the whole town.

 

So, it's a case of, "we don't actually care about immoral behaviour if we can't see it happening, even if everyone else can, but the minute we can see it, we want it stopped" then?

 

A tad hypocritical.

[NoshowJones]

24 hours?

[BangkokReady]

3 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

Do I understand correctly?

Thailand wants tourism.  Thailand complains that tourism is flagging. Then Thailand complains when they come?

 

Thailand advertises the Full Moon Party that attracts thousands of young tourists every single month, to a beach party (NOTE: Bikinis, alcohol, bare skin... things usually seen on a beach.)  Thailand complains about bikinis, alcohol, and bare skin.

 

Thailand advertises Pai as a resort town with river tubing (NOTE: Bikinis, alcohol, bare skin... things usually seen when river tubing, attracting thousands of young tourists every month. Thailand complains about bikinis, alcohol, and bare skin.

 

Wake up, Thailand. Young people like to party. Young people like sex! (OMG!) If you are going to advertise activities for young people, young people are going to come to participate... bringing all their 'young people, and perhaps childish' behaviors with them.

 

Don't ask for it and then complain about it. That's just childish behavior, too.

 

That said, there is no reason that these young people should walk around Chiang Mai in bathing suits, to say nothing of Pai...

 

 

Thailand wants foreign peoples money, but they also want the foreign people to be considered as the lowest members of society. They don't want Thais looking up to them or treating them as if they matter to Thailand.

 

Foreign people bring foreign ideas and could take away from Thai people.