Koh Panyi vendors slammed for fleecing South Korean YouTubers

[webfact]

by Petch Petpailin 

 

Thai netizens condemned local vendors on Koh Panyi, an island in the southern province of Phang Nga, for overcharging two South Korean YouTubers. Some netizens claimed that the island locals also overcharged domestic tourists.

 

The drama emerged after the YouTube channel Cullen HateBerry released a video in which Paek Ki Deuk, better known as Cullen, and his friend Jung visited Koh Panyi. Netizens and YouTubers’ fans pointed out their expenses: 1,000 baht for a boat trip and another 1,000 baht for souvenirs.

 

Some netizens guessed that the boat trip was expensive because they booked a private trip without other tourists on the same boat.

 

However, others were still curious about the price of the souvenirs. Cullen and Jung bought a pearl shell for 500 baht and a necklace for 300 baht. The total price was 800 baht, and Jung paid with a 1,000-baht bill.

Jung asked the seller for a discount. The seller did not give them a discount but suggested a necklace for free. However, the seller actually charged them 200 baht for the necklace, so the total cost they paid was 1,000 baht instead of 800 baht.

Many netizens stated that the prices were too expensive while others felt that the souvenir seller took advantage of the two YouTubers by tricking them into buying another necklace at 200 baht.

 

The criticism later escalated into religious discrimination, as some netizens stereotyped Muslim people as being tricky. Some pointed out that these South Korean YouTubers were cheated once before when they bought fried chicken from a Muslim stall in the Hat Yai district in Songkhla province.

 

Deputy mayor

 

Many netizens claimed that they were overcharged despite being a domestic tourist. They shared their negative experiences on the island of X, formerly Twitter.

 

“My friend and I went to Koh Panyi a few years ago. We ordered fried sea bass with fish sauce, and it cost us 1,600 baht. My friend and I were in shock!”

 

“I visited this island once, and it’s enough. Let it be an abandoned island.”

 

“Can I say it? But this happens everywhere. They overcharge tourists, especially foreigners. If foreigners are willing to pay, it’s fine. But sometimes those vendors pressure them to buy. My foreign friend once did not dare to say no but now he has to.”

Locals on the island and some netizens defended the prices as suitable for a tourist destination, stating that not everything on the island is expensive.

 

The Deputy Mayor of Koh Panyee Sub-district Office, Prasit Haemin, also came forward to defend locals in Koh Panyi. Prasit explained that the boat fare of 1,000 baht was not expensive at all because the boat driver had to take about 30 minutes to send the tourists to the island, return to the mainland, and pick them up the next morning.

 

Prasit also clarified that he already talked to the souvenir seller in the video. She revealed that the two YouTubers asked for a free product, so she gave them three pieces of souvenirs for 1,000 baht, down from the original price of 1,100 baht.

 

However, many fans of the YouTubers responded to the deputy mayor that the two asked for a discount, not free items. They added that Jung had never asked for a discount from any sellers before, which meant that these souvenirs were costly.

 

Prasit added in the interview with MGR Online that he and locals on the island were willing to take criticism and recommendations but they could not accept discrimination based on their religion. He urged netizens to refrain from criticising Muslim people and threatened legal action against those who did.

 

by Petch Petpailin 

Photo via YouTube/ 컬렌 Cullen HateBerry

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-07-25

 

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[watchcat]

The islands are a tourist trap!

[Purdey]

The government wants local people to visit tourist areas, but why should they off they are going to get ripped off? 

Personal security is Fortnite in the mind of many people. Knowing they will have to overpay for everything will lead to people staying at home as "couldn't be bothered." 

[hotchilli]

Vote with your feet, if it sounds expensive walk away.

the issue with tourists being ripped off is that they don't know what the value of goods should be or fully understand the currency exchange value.

[Tubulat]

1 hour ago, watchcat said:

The islands are a tourist trap!

James Bond island is much worser.

[Peterphuket]

Looks like this government, Just looking at introducing taxes for the foreigners.

[MalcolmB]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The criticism later escalated into religious discrimination, as some netizens stereotyped Muslim people as being tricky

More of a southern Thai thing than a Muslim thing.

They all do it, and feel entitled to it in the South. Taxis, restaurants, shops all do it in the south

 

Unfortunately most tourists who come to Thailand end up in the South at some stage and the southerners give all Thais a bad name.

 

 

[brianthainess]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

“My friend and I went to Koh Panyi a few years ago. We ordered fried sea bass with fish sauce, and it cost us 1,600 baht. My friend and I were in shock!”

Did they not look at the menu or ask how much ?...........

[Evil Penevil]

Everywhere can be a tourist trap.  Street vendors in NYC, London, Paris, Beijing, etc. will be just as quick to overcharge tourist as the vendors on Koh Panyi.  Tourists have been overcharged by locals for as long as people could be divided into tourists and locals. It's so common an occurrence every tourist should be aware of it and not pay outrageous prices.  Tourists will always pay somewhat more than locals, but should know enough not accept prices higher by a huge margin.

[nahkit]

Two days ago I was shopping in Tesco with my wife. After we paid our bill a lady shouted at us to come back and for a moment I thought we must have forgotten to pay for something. We walked back and she asked to see our bill and then told us because we had bought more than 750 baht worth of items we were eligible to receive a set of 3 knives plus a potato peeler at the incredible price of 200 baht.

 

On accepting this wondrous offer we were then told we needed to also buy a set of saucepans at yet another incredible discount. We declined this kind offer, much to the lady's disgust.

 

Can I now look forward to all Tesco stores in Khonkaen being closed down following this terrible attempt at a scam or will I need to first open up a Youtube channel?

 

Warning - the above contains sarcasm.

 

Seriously, they bought items worth 800 baht, paid with a 1,000 baht note and then accepted a necklace in lieu of the 200 baht change and that is newsworthy?