Phuket Taxi Mafia Confronts Tourists Over App-Based Ride

[Bjoern]

The Taxi / MC taxi / Tuk-Tuk mafia in Phuket is getting worse every year, how will this crime syndicate survive when here is no more tourists to scam or extortion money? Will they just move to another tourist destination in Thailand? Shame on the thai Police who is payed to look the other way.

[RonJr]

On 1/18/2023 at 3:20 PM, Klonko said:

DLT Banglamung 12/22: passport with 2 copies of front pages and visa page, medical certificate + 1 copy, 2 copies of residence certificate, one copy each of front and back of existing driving licenses.

 

I made my copies with a color laser mfp and they were happy with the copies of my residence certificate from my embassy, so I could keep the original for obtaining the international driving permit.

Everyone hates traditional scam taxis who refuse to use a app but insist on scamming desperate and often niave tourist, ban taxi ques and fine and fire these prices of human trash, they are the same the world over, waiting for desperate tourist who don't speak the language to charge ten fold market value by being deceitful and deceptive I fkn hate old school taxis and walk, despite how much it cost because the very nature of their business model is the same as a Bell in the farang Bar 

[geisha]

14 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

A five year prison sentence might send a statement to these vermin. The issue is that the taxi mafias have always been more powerful than the police and the army. They seem untouchable. Perhaps it is time for the people to take control and show the authorities what discipline, punishment and control look like. 

I left Phuket because of them. I lived practically opposite the taxi parking lot in front of the beach . Around them piles of empty bottles of beer and Mekong. One afternoon a tourist with his family parked on the side rd to the beach. He didn’t realize that those thugs «  owned » all the roads. They beat the driver with an iron bar in front of his child and family !!! The things that happened in Kata Beach , unimaginable.  The city hall set up a bus service going from Karon beach to Patong. On the first day, the driver hadn’t gone 300 m , with tourists inside, when the thugs stopped the bus , a few nasty threats and the driver ran like hell leaving the terrified tourists inside. This is why there is no bus service on Phuket, except the crawling one an hour open wooden bus to Phuket town that is  a danger in itself.  Nowadays there is one Airport Bus that circulates . Too late for me. Gave up my beautiful condo and left.

[geisha]

13 hours ago, gravity101 said:

What did he say that was wrong? I agree with all he said. Phuket is becoming a millionaire's playground, like it or not. And why is it becoming that you should ask? Top notch shopping, dining, environment, hospitals, regional connectivity as well as excellent sailing grounds for our yachts with a myriad of beach

destinations to choose from. And yes, loads of Singaporeans and Singapore expats do 5 days offshore 2 days on here, because it has a better lifestyle and its cheaper for them to do that in terms of housing and schooling.

You obviously don’t know any real millionaires paradise.  And neither does Katatonic.  I do, and it doesn’t look a bit like Phuket. Most of the foreigners that have money there are criminals. And the rest are warmongers. I lived 20  years  in Kata so I do know it well. 

[watchcat]

20 hours ago, NickyLouie said:

Phuket = worst place in TH

 

Don't forget Bangkok and Pattaya

[Qld4000]

Phuket was once a nice  place to go in SE Asia.    But that’s all changed , and not for the best.   It’s inevitable though with overdevelopment of cheap hotels, cheap booze ,weed & prostitution & not much in the way of Rule of Law.   Crime & corruption obviously follow.

 

Phuket will simply sink into the same seedy swamp that Pattaya has become.    That mob  seem proud of the image of being the worlds No 1 Sin cIty.   The reputation of their women firing ping pong balls out of their asses for the amusement of tourists & weirdo’s has never concerned them. 
 

A few annoying taxi drivers are not even an issue by their standards. 

It’s all good if it brings in the tourist numbers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[john donson]

the motorcycle driver insisted on checking the tourist’s phone for confirmation 

 

 

no thank you

 

motosay want to take tourist with luggage on his bike??????

[watchcat]

Avoid the place.

[Aussie999]

16 hours ago, sambum said:

 

I wouldn't class the town of Surat Thani as a tourist option, but Koh Samui and  Ko Pha Ngan are both in the Province of Surat Thani, and well worth a visit, but Koh Tao is not on my bucket list, "I'm afraid"!   

Surat has nice beaches, is good for families, away from the normal tourist riff raff, and the less than family friend nightlife, very much the same as Hau Hin, it is also, for those who want, a ferry ride to Koh Samui

[stevenl]

6 hours ago, geisha said:

I left Phuket because of them. I lived practically opposite the taxi parking lot in front of the beach . Around them piles of empty bottles of beer and Mekong. One afternoon a tourist with his family parked on the side rd to the beach. He didn’t realize that those thugs «  owned » all the roads. They beat the driver with an iron bar in front of his child and family !!! The things that happened in Kata Beach , unimaginable.  The city hall set up a bus service going from Karon beach to Patong. On the first day, the driver hadn’t gone 300 m , with tourists inside, when the thugs stopped the bus , a few nasty threats and the driver ran like hell leaving the terrified tourists inside. This is why there is no bus service on Phuket, except the crawling one an hour open wooden bus to Phuket town that is  a danger in itself.  Nowadays there is one Airport Bus that circulates . Too late for me. Gave up my beautiful condo and left.

Bus service from the airport to town, bus service from the airport to rawai via the major beaches, bus service from all beaches to town.

And airport shuttle is expanding i read just don't remember from where to where.

[stevenl]

5 hours ago, geisha said:

You obviously don’t know any real millionaires paradise.  And neither does Katatonic.  I do, and it doesn’t look a bit like Phuket. Most of the foreigners that have money there are criminals. And the rest are warmongers. I lived 20  years  in Kata so I do know it well. 

No, you clearly don't know it well.

[spidermike007]

19 hours ago, Kalorymetr said:

Young lads seem to like it. Maybe night didn't get worse but someone just got old and has different views. 

The quality of the talent on Phuket has diminished by 98% from just 10 years ago, young guys might like it, they might not know any different, but Phuket has fallen off the face of the map on so many levels. It is truly a pale shadow of its former self, even the tourists that are there now are very low end, mostly Arabs, Malaysians, Indians, and Russians. 

[KireB]

7 hours ago, geisha said:

You obviously don’t know any real millionaires paradise.  And neither does Katatonic.  I do, and it doesn’t look a bit like Phuket. Most of the foreigners that have money there are criminals. And the rest are warmongers. I lived 20  years  in Kata so I do know it well. 

 

7 hours ago, geisha said:

You obviously don’t know any real millionaires paradise.  And neither does Katatonic.  I do, and it doesn’t look a bit like Phuket. Most of the foreigners that have money there are criminals. And the rest are warmongers. I lived 20  years  in Kata so I do know it well. 

Wow the ignorance of this post is unbelievable. Phuket has tens, if not hundreds of gated communities with very expensive villas.

[Taboo2]

On 11/2/2024 at 9:25 AM, proton said:

Over priced tourist trap

Agree...I was there in 2021 and enjoyed it because it was quiet...now, I would crawl through broken glass in a North Korean prison camp, than waste  my money and stress on that island....way too many obnoxious Russians and the Taxi mafia sucks.

[Taboo2]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

The quality of the talent on Phuket has diminished by 98% from just 10 years ago, young guys might like it, they might not know any different, but Phuket has fallen off the face of the map on so many levels. It is truly a pale shadow of its former self, even the tourists that are there now are very low end, mostly Arabs, Malaysians, Indians, and Russians. 

And, the more runs pay the marked up prices for services that they can get in BKK or Patts for 25% of the cost.  

[Stargeezr]

My Thai family and I went to Phuket with a mini van and driver, the tour was great and we stayed at a nice 

guest house. My advice though is, do not take a speed boat tour to Phi Phi, the big boats are

much better if you want some scenery, and not get bounced around.  I did notice how much more

Phuket has been developed, and there is a lot more vehicles on the roads. 

[Patong2021]

This event occurred in PATONG.   Having spent more time in the city  than I should have over a decade, I can assure cynics that every negative comment made about the city is understandable. The moto taxi and tuk tuk thugs are a powerful lobby and they operate in a manner that suggests organized crime. Phuket is in the triangle of corruption that is bounded by Nahkon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Phuket. Corruption is a way of life here and is heavy duty, the kind where people are seriously beaten or disappear. One need only look at the Patong beach to understand that gangsters run the place.

 

On 11/1/2024 at 7:46 PM, Denim said:

Scumbag.

Why people still go to that place beats me.

 

There are some nice places. Despite the problems of the Karon-Patong-Kamala strip  please note that Phuket is a  large island. It does offer some very beautiful beaches like Surin or Karon. There are some wealthy enclaves, far removed from the filth of Patong. The farangs who live in in Bang Tao, or Kata or other nice areas rarely if ever have to deal with the scum, so they island remains nice for them. Most foreign residents do try to avoid Patong.

 

On 11/1/2024 at 10:21 PM, KireB said:

Maybe because Phuket has great beaches, wild nightlife and fantastic food? Just maybe.

 

Yes, Phuket does have that, but they are outside of Patong  😉

 

22 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

Due to the poor tranport options, and not promoted by TAT, tourists tend to miss out on nice places, eg Hua Hin,  Chumphon, Surat Thani

 

You are right. The connection options are poor. It is really unbelievable that Thailand still can't get its train services and  schedule to these cities up to the standards of at least 1994. The SRT is still offering 1960's era service and it shows.  Connecting the south train  lines (and Pattaya) to  Bangkok airport by an express train should have been a priority a decade ago.

 

 

[grumpyoldman]

If you are not ready to deal with the prices of the local transportation, rent a car. Be stuck with the other 200,000 Russians who have cars, and take hours to get 30 miles.

 

As far as talent, was at the Laguna bars Rawai 8 months ago, 5 decent looking ladys for every 30 muay ThaI heads and Russians. Not interesting, hello Tinder.

[London Lowf]

3 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

way too many obnoxious Russians and the Taxi mafia sucks.

 

That's odd - I spend 180 days a year on Phuket and barely notice them - and I pop into Patong (Bangla) most evenings.

 

I see a few guys that look like the sterotypical square-head Russians and hundreds of Tuk-Tuk drivers hanging around but they have absolutely zero impact on my life.

 

[BMW Overlander]

On 11/2/2024 at 11:47 AM, ujayujay said:

Don't make yourself bigger than you are, dwarf

Giving silly comebacks to atone for your inadequacy and insignificance. Well done 💩

[Bundooman]

On 11/2/2024 at 9:25 AM, proton said:

Over priced tourist trap

In that case - please enlighten us all which places, worldwide, aren't?

[Bday Prang]

12 hours ago, Qld4000 said:

 

Phuket will simply sink into the same seedy swamp that Pattaya has become.    That mob  seem proud of the image of being the worlds No 1 Sin cIty.   The reputation of their women firing ping pong balls out of their asses for the amusement of tourists & weirdo’s has never concerned them. 

I thought that it  was patpong which was famous for that delight

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, Bundooman said:

In that case - please enlighten us all which places, worldwide, aren't?

Yemen, Darfur, Gaza,   need I go on?

[lordgrinz]

I am pretty sure if he confronted me in anyway with aggression he would be laid out flat on the pavement, grab mine or my wifes phone?! Good Luck! LOL