The Phuket's Going To hel_l Crowd

[huggybear]

It just amazes me how many posts, threads and responses I see from people that feel like Phuket is going in the trash bin direction, once I saw Kata described as "hel_l on earth".

Of course "progress" is seen (my opinion) as more roads being developed, a Lotus branch in Chalong, faster internet etc., but is this "progress" ruining Phuket for you or enhancing it?

I like it here. Sure the crappy drivers and increased traffic is frustrating, but my overall lifestyle is good. Folks, my glass is half full, for sure. Good food, mostly nice people, modern conveniences of my home country........it's nice here. I spend my weekends on the beach, will wrap work up and take a jog around Nai Hairn lake, there is nightlife locally and once in a blue moon, might even make it over to Patong.

How do you feel? Are you o.k., or on your way outta here? What's your opinion of Phuket 2008?

[LivinLOS]

I like the amenities.. I doubt I could live in mos of Thailand and be happy.. I am also partial to a night on the tiles, international food options, etc etc etc.

The flip side is I do think the island is killing what made it special and is in danger of ruining itself as it 'progresses'.. As I get a bit older I can see myself heading for a more quiet life as the international options I like spread to Krabi etc.

I had a long chat with an older Thai guy who was born and bred here.. He described as a kid picking coconuts, swimming in the sea, spear fishing and coral reefs, and worked himself up into quite a state, I thought he was going to shed a tear.. To have seen those changes and even with all the options and progress there was no question he wished it hadnt happened.

[g00dgirl]

There's no place like it! It's the best, no complaints. Great balance between infrastructure and how to put it ... personal village ambience, nature and pretty landscapes.

Find me another place in Thailand where you have all of this:

nice, clean beaches

forests, mountains, a lot of green

recreational spaces like the pretty Nai Harn lake

an international airport within an hours reach

Central, Carrefour, Big C, Tesco Lotus, Robinsons and much more shopping

international hospitals with free wireless broadband in the rooms

phone lines that can sustain a stable ADSL connection at 3000 kpbs down and more

high speed wirless broadband coverage (CDMA EVDO)

good choice of free standing, luxury, westen standard housing, outside of artificial gated communities

no terrible traffic and polution like in BKK

[g00dgirl]

As I get a bit older I can see myself heading for a more quiet life as the international options I like spread to Krabi etc.

Yes Krabi seems to have the potential to become the closest alternative, but the international / infrastructure options are not quite equal yet.

Once there have been more nice, western properties built, once one can be reasonably sure that phone lines can be installed that work well with ADSL, once the CAT CDMA EVDO coverage is better, once there is a Central Festival, an international hospital (don't think there is yet?) and a little bit more foreign population in general (still got stared at badly with turning heads by locals last year when running outside even in an area of several large western hotels), then it would be an alternative.

[LivinLOS]

As I get a bit older I can see myself heading for a more quiet life as the international options I like spread to Krabi etc.

Yes Krabi seems to have the potential to become the closest alternative, but the international / infrastructure options are not quite equal yet.

Once there have been more nice, western properties built, once one can be reasonably sure that phone lines can be installed that work well with ADSL, once the CAT CDMA EVDO coverage is better, once there is a Central Festival, an international hospital (don't think there is yet?) and a little bit more foreign population in general (still got stared at badly with turning heads by locals last year when running outside even in an area of several large western hotels), then it would be an alternative.

Yeah my meaning was in say 5 or more years.. As the development spreads, staying in the sweet spot of options but not too busy..

[Zpete]

g00dgirlPosted Today, 2008-07-28 18:04:16 There's no place like it! It's the best, no complaints. Great balance between infrastructure and how to put it ... personal village ambience, nature and pretty landscapes.

See full post earlier.

gOOdgirls post, sums up Phuket for me, perfectly.

Chalong -- Rawai, my preference, suits me fine, altho' at bottom of the island, it is easy to acces all other places. Many superb eateries, bars if you are interested, fishing, only downside, NO decent beach. Who cares, Nai Harn or Kata only minutes away

Yes, Phuket would suit me swell.

[Sir Burr]

For better, or worse, it's home and has been for a very long time.

[donna]

phuket is a beautiful island. it has the best of both worlds for most people who live there.

i can see how the older thai man that LivinLOS got worked up, though. if i were a local, i guess it would break my heart to see the way that parts of it have gone, but then again, thats just progress and it will happen anywhere.

i can remember when i was a kid in melbourne, my street was a dirt road and we had blue tongue lizards and goannas in the backyard. now its suburbia.

the more people there are in the world, the more they are gonna spread. its a fact of life, like it or not.

[LivinginKata]

phuket is a beautiful island. it has the best of both worlds for most people who live there.

Donna sums it up perfectly for me.

Before I settled on Phuket Island I stayed for 8 years on Mallorca Island. I thought Mallorca was perfect, then I found Phuket which to me is Mallorca with good weather all year round. I moved here immediately after just a few days visit. Bought a house (well, a 30 year lease) within my first 6 days. Best thing I ever did.

[ade100]

I think it’s important not to get too Arcadian about this. Development has its positive sides too. It means more job opportunities, better services, better shopping, more choice of food, etc and hopefully better infrastructure.

My GF grew up on HKT before moving to BKK. She describes Phuket thirty years ago as a very dark place with few shops or restaurants, where people often went to bed about 7pm and the beaches of Patong were unreachable on the family 50cc Vespa.

Personally I think the place is ok but I’m planning to research a few other options in the region to have a holiday home.

[vanalli]

It's all right. Less hectic than Bangkok with enough to do to keep me entertained. Nice play to live, but wouldn't want to visit.

[jts-khorat]

nice, clean beaches

forests, mountains, a lot of green

Weeeeellll, this sentence could really get me started; I have been to many holiday destinations where I would describe the beaches as clean, Phuket is absolutely not one of them!

And describing intensive plantation farming as 'forests' shows that you seemingly have not walked in them. I did: not a single living creature above insect-size to be found here.

But as huggybear says, the glass really is half full (and if complaining would not be so much fun...).

[LivinLOS]

nice, clean beaches

forests, mountains, a lot of green

Weeeeellll, this sentence could really get me started; I have been to many holiday destinations where I would describe the beaches as clean, Phuket is absolutely not one of them!

And describing intensive plantation farming as 'forests' shows that you seemingly have not walked in them. I did: not a single living creature above insect-size to be found here.

But as huggybear says, the glass really is half full (and if complaining would not be so much fun...).

I am the first to gripe about some aspects of the development of Phuket.. But large swathes of it are 'wild woodland'.. I know much of what we see as forested is rubber plantations but large parts of the hillsides, including the beautiful view out from my home, are wild.. Just watching from my deck I see birds snakes and lizards, lots of small wildlife.. Perhaps your not looking closely ??? Tho large mammalian life is not in such abundance.

[jts-khorat]

Just watching from my deck I see birds snakes and lizards, lots of small wildlife.. Perhaps your not looking closely ??? Tho large mammalian life is not in such abundance.

Normally I do not have problems with my eyesight.

I just came back from a week-long holiday in Isaan and I must say I was incredibly surprised to hear sing birds all over the place, and this not only in the mountains -- very much in contrast to my experiences here on Phuket -- which might mean, not only my sight is impaired, but also my hearing? :-)

[Royale]

Just watching from my deck I see birds snakes and lizards, lots of small wildlife.. Perhaps your not looking closely ??? Tho large mammalian life is not in such abundance.

Normally I do not have problems with my eyesight.

I just came back from a week-long holiday in Isaan and I must say I was incredibly surprised to hear sing birds all over the place, and this not only in the mountains -- very much in contrast to my experiences here on Phuket -- which might mean, not only my sight is impaired, but also my hearing? :-)

The only place you'll hear song birds are in cages all around the island! Makes me so mad that so many wild birds are hanging in cages on busy roads and left out for hours in the hot sun. Why Thai's like to take them to work with them too is beyond me, there were 2 cages hanging in the Bangkok Bank car park in Phuket town the other day, how they could sing with all the traffic fumes in there is beyond me, poor things. I don't remember it being like this years ago, is it some new craze or what? Everywhere i go i see boys on bikes with birds in cages, or they're in the back of pick-ups,what's going on?

[huggybear]

nice, clean beaches

forests, mountains, a lot of green

Weeeeellll, this sentence could really get me started; I have been to many holiday destinations where I would describe the beaches as clean, Phuket is absolutely not one of them!

And describing intensive plantation farming as 'forests' shows that you seemingly have not walked in them. I did: not a single living creature above insect-size to be found here.

All kinds of birds and wildlife in the back of where I live. We have sort of an oversized pond back there. Also the beaches I go to are usually pretty clean, unless the storms wash in the trash..........so I'll disagree with you on this one.

Maybe you live in the center of Patong?

[Sir Burr]

Loads of wildlife in my garden (Chalong).

I've seen over 30 species of birds, 5 species of lizards and 3 species of snakes. We have a couple of families of squirrels, too.

That stuff on the hills is officially called "degraded forest".

[taxin]

I had a long chat with an older Thai guy who was born and bred here.. He described as a kid picking coconuts, swimming in the sea, spear fishing and coral reefs, and worked himself up into quite a state, I thought he was going to shed a tear.. To have seen those changes and even with all the options and progress there was no question he wished it hadnt happened.

Yeah, but the Thai guy has just sold a huge plot of beach front land for 1 billion baht, a piece of land that was valued in Satangs 50 years ago ! And admits that hel_l could be a lot worse !

[huggybear]

Loads of wildlife in my garden (Chalong).

I've seen over 30 species of birds, 5 species of lizards and 3 species of snakes. We have a couple of families of squirrels, too.

That stuff on the hills is officially called "degraded forest".

Hey SB,

have you seen this one type of bird that sort of has a duck bill and is blue and red? I don't know what the heck the thing is, but a really interesting looking animal, almost a cross between a duck and a colored pirate's parrot.

[Sir Burr]

The crazy thing is, is that all the bad boys got rich in Patong.

Back when it was a fishing village, the fishermen used to supplement their food/income by growing fruit, rice and vegetables which could only be grown on the fertile land from the base of the hills to about half-way to the beach.

When the head of the family died, he would divide his land amongst his children. His favourite child would get the fertile land whilst the lazy wastrel would get the land closest to the beach, only good for growing coconuts and next to the public toilet (the beach).

When tourism started, which of the children got rich?

PS. I still remember when a rai of land in Patong was first sold for over a million baht. Everyone was flabberghasted and thought the buyer was a complete mug.

Sigh........if only.......

[LivinginKata]

PS. I still remember when a rai of land in Patong was first sold for over a million baht. Everyone was flabberghasted and thought the buyer was a complete mug.

Sigh........if only.......

SB, how long ago was that ?

We bought our first piece of land in Patong for less than a million for half rai down the bottom of Nanai 2.

Ahhh ... those were the days ....

[Sir Burr]

I guess it was around 1986 to 1987. This land was on the beach road.

Mind you, a million baht was a lot of money then. More then than now in US dollar terms.

[LivinginKata]

I guess it was around 1986 to 1987. This land was on the beach road.

Mind you, a million baht was a lot of money then. More then than now in US dollar terms.

I did'nt get here until 1996. By then Patong beach front land could only be bought be large hotel groups. I cry at the 'missed' land opportunities we had along Nanai Road. Oh well ... we did Ok with the resources we had.

[petitechevre]

look for lagoon holiday villa on google..

Tell me phuket looks like shit after that..

110 something nice villas, perfect roads, lake.. nice beach...

between rawai/nai harn theres a little beach where thai go fish on weekends, theres a shitload of corals there.. and NO TOURIST only an almost empty guesthouse... lots of trash though but get rid of that and its awesome and always empty... only saw 2 french chick tanning, never anyone else

Kata noi is usualy totally empty during the summer

There a ton of mini beaches south of kata noi that are completely empty and untouched..

theres jungles and waterfall if u look around...

Theres still some perfect spots on the island... imo even visiting patong, u have to be nuts... city is disgusting.. all it has for it is subway imo.. even the girls are quite ugly compared to bangkok or phuket town

i forgot, theres still some nice forest/untouched beachs by the montains in phuket town

[donna]

i used to cycle around the lake in kathu often. the area there is beautiful and there is LOTS of wildlife to be seen. i rarely saw anyone else when cycling around there, and always saw some kind of wildlife.

i must be getting old. what is the name of the lake again?

[Sir Burr]

Bang Wad reservoir.

[LivinLOS]

I had a long chat with an older Thai guy who was born and bred here.. He described as a kid picking coconuts, swimming in the sea, spear fishing and coral reefs, and worked himself up into quite a state, I thought he was going to shed a tear.. To have seen those changes and even with all the options and progress there was no question he wished it hadnt happened.

Yeah, but the Thai guy has just sold a huge plot of beach front land for 1 billion baht, a piece of land that was valued in Satangs 50 years ago ! And admits that hel_l could be a lot worse !

A common statement by westerners here.. That the Thais have all got rich from us along the way.. But this guy is just a regular joe, not rich, not owning land, just trying to get by.. For him hes seen the development and would rather none of it happened.

[Patriot]

There's no place like it! It's the best, no complaints. Great balance between infrastructure and how to put it ... personal village ambience, nature and pretty landscapes.

Find me another place in Thailand where you have all of this:

nice, clean beaches

forests, mountains, a lot of green

recreational spaces like the pretty Nai Harn lake

an international airport within an hours reach

Central, Carrefour, Big C, Tesco Lotus, Robinsons and much more shopping

international hospitals with free wireless broadband in the rooms

phone lines that can sustain a stable ADSL connection at 3000 kpbs down and more

high speed wirless broadband coverage (CDMA EVDO)

good choice of free standing, luxury, westen standard housing, outside of artificial gated communities

no terrible traffic and polution like in BKK

Except for the beaches: Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Chiang Mai .........

[Patriot]

As I get a bit older I can see myself heading for a more quiet life as the international options I like spread to Krabi etc.

Yes Krabi seems to have the potential to become the closest alternative, but the international / infrastructure options are not quite equal yet.

Once there have been more nice, western properties built, once one can be reasonably sure that phone lines can be installed that work well with ADSL, once the CAT CDMA EVDO coverage is better, once there is a Central Festival, an international hospital (don't think there is yet?) and a little bit more foreign population in general (still got stared at badly with turning heads by locals last year when running outside even in an area of several large western hotels), then it would be an alternative.

Yeah my meaning was in say 5 or more years.. As the development spreads, staying in the sweet spot of options but not too busy..

I'm still waiting for you to visit

[donna]

thanks sir burr. bang wad. yeah thats it. (think i need to eat more fish or something?)

very beautiful around there. the people living there are really nice and the area is just so lovely. only 6km around, and the flora changes on the way around. there is even a little waterfall half way around (which is strewn with rubbish from people washing their cars and dumping their crap everywhere).