Honeymoon Nightmare

[McLovin]

The below story appears in today's Sydney Morning Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/pair-stu...7980029159.html

Romantic escape ends with ticket to nowhere

JENNIFER CLARKE'S honeymoon ended in an "unbelievable nightmare" - she and her husband stranded in the seedy Thai city of Pattaya with 70 other Australians.

"We are stuck here. There's no end in sight. There's chaos and mayhem at the airport where we are trying to get on a flight," she told the Herald yesterday.

Ms Clarke said some of the Australians stuck with the newlyweds at the Ambassador Hotel, Pattaya, were planning to refuse to pay the accommodation bill and to barricade themselves in their rooms if necessary.

"They are saying that it's not their fault all this has happened, so why should they pay?"

Australian diplomats in Bangkok said possibly thousands of Australians were still trapped in Thailand after anti-Government protesters seized control of Bangkok's two airports eight days ago.

The numbers were growing as holidays came to an end and people found their scheduled flights to Australia were cancelled.

Ms Clarke, 30, who runs 30 child-care centres in Sydney, said Australians had encountered "crazy" scenes at Utapao, a military airport near Pattaya, 190 kilometres south-east of Bangkok, from which Thai Airways is flying a plane each night to Sydney.

"Last night it left with 200 Thai people on board who were going to Australia for holidays. Other people are just turning up and getting on board while we remain stuck here even though we have Thai Airways tickets to Australia."

Ms Clarke and her husband, Adam Western, spent their honeymoon on the southern resort island of Phi Phi. When they tried to return to Sydney, Thai Airways flew them to Phuket, then Utapao, saying they could board a flight to Sydney there. But the flight has been overbooked each night since Sunday.

Ms Clarke said an Australian embassy official in Bangkok was trying to help the group.

The Tourism Council of Thailand says 300,000 tourists are stranded.

It is crippling the economy and costing Thai Airways almost $20 million a day, with the political deadlock in Bangkok showing no signs of ending.

Two Canadian tourists were killed and a Briton seriously injured in a car crash on Monday as they rushed to catch a flight out of Phuket.

with agencies

[kingwillly]

with the political deadlock in Bangkok showing no signs of ending.

The paper is a day or so out of date !

[thaimate]

Seedy,Seedy? how dare they ,piss off back to Australia and dont come back,and as for not paying your hotel bill,why not? its not the hotels fault that your in our SEEDY town.

and we arnt missing you already.

[joskydive]

"Last night it left with 200 Thai people on board who were going to Australia for holidays. Other people are just turning up and getting on board while we remain stuck here even though we have Thai Airways tickets to Australia."

I wonder if this is the reason why so many are stranded. How many other flights out of here did the same thing?

[kingwillly]

Seedy,Seedy? how dare they ,piss off back to Australia and dont come back,and as for not paying your hotel bill,why not? its not the hotels fault that your in our SEEDY town.

and we arnt missing you already.

yeah, exactly, what did they expect?

[dingdongrb]

Yes, quite funny refusing to pay a hotel bill when you own 30 day care centers....... Bahhhhhh

[APMann]

To be fair, they don't actually use the word "seedy" in any quote. It's the newspaper that seems to have added it. Also, The Ambassador is so far away from Pattaya that I bet they didn't even go into town, as they had other things on their mind with "crazy scenes" U Tapao, so I think this is an editorial observation.

[imaneggspurt]

Seems like hes got himself a gobby sort with an attitude, and wants to keep her Ms title ,mind you if i was a woman lacking in confidence id want out of thailand pretty quick !

[Gary A]

I could certainly work up some sympathy for Ms Clarke's husband. Then again he apparently knew she was the boss before he married her.

[aussiechick]

Isn't the Ambassador one of the Hotels that are taking in stranded guests? So no payment is due (TAT sponsored).

Wonder how much the Herald paid her for her story?

[mgjackson69]

I could certainly work up some sympathy for Ms Clarke's husband. Then again he apparently knew she was the boss before he married her.

I concur...although she might not have been a bitch before she got the wedding ring

[neverdie]

Somehow I doubt that the plane left with exactly 200 'thai only' passengers on it, all going on holiday.

[Basil B]

Bit unfair with hotel if they refuse to pay the bill, the hotel is not responsible for the airport being closed.

As far as I know TAT is paying 2000B per day for hotel and meals available to every stranded passenger.

I assume if there hotel bill exceeds 4K per day for the two of them they are expected to pay the difference, if they refuse then they will be arrested and not allowed to leave before making payment and some tea money.

Anyway it is all over now, it could only hapen in Thailand, the protesters cleaned up before leaving

BB

[PhilHarries]

Ms Clarke said blah blah blah..............

Mr Clarke said.............

Ms Clarke said blah blah blah..............

Mr Clarke said.............

Ms Clarke said blah blah blah..............

Mr Clarke said.............

Ms Clarke said blah blah blah..............

Mr Clarke said.............

I wonder if Mr Clarke started getting second thoughts in sin city?

"Oh no dear" said Mr Clarke "I didn't notice those scantily clad little girls. Yes dear it's disgusting and would certainly never be allowed back in Sydney. Yes dear I will be real glad to get on that plane back home with you my dear. Yes dear this is a most depraved country fit only for perverts and...OUCH....what was that for my dear".

Story certainly has all the hallmarks of being dramatised for public consumption. But that is today's newspapers, if it isn't lurid enough make it so as the truth doesn't sell.

[cali4995]

APMann, I think called this correctly. The writer for the Sydney Morning herald "Lindsay Murdoch",

supposedly based in Bangkok, is the one who embellished the story with the descriptor in question.

I'm not sure if the girl ever said it. Probably not very fair considering all the circumstances.

[Boo]

How quick the women haters jumped on the fact that a women was interviewed & dared critisise this situation!!! If if had been her husband interviewed I wonder how many of you would have referred to him as a bitch, a gobby one, mention of his lack of confidence around thai men or made pointless references to who was the boss!!!! Pathetic.

If you read the report properly, she never said seedy & they never booked their holiday in Pattaya but were redirected by the airline so spew your hate elsewhere thanks.

[dingdongrb]

How quick the women haters jumped on the fact that a women was interviewed & dared critisise this situation!!! If if had been her husband interviewed I wonder how many of you would have referred to him as a bitch, a gobby one, mention of his lack of confidence around thai men or made pointless references to who was the boss!!!! Pathetic.

If you read the report properly, she never said seedy & they never booked their holiday in Pattaya but were redirected by the airline so spew your hate elsewhere thanks.

"To be fair, they don't actually use the word "seedy" in any quote. " - quoting post #7.....

[neverdie]

I guess there has never been a 'seedy' night in Pattaya, such a wholesome place afterall

[mgjackson69]

How quick the women haters jumped on the fact that a women was interviewed & dared critisise this situation!!! If if had been her husband interviewed I wonder how many of you would have referred to him as a bitch, a gobby one, mention of his lack of confidence around thai men or made pointless references to who was the boss!!!! Pathetic.

If you read the report properly, she never said seedy & they never booked their holiday in Pattaya but were redirected by the airline so spew your hate elsewhere thanks.

Had the husband been so whiny I surely would have called him a bitch as well.

[soundman]

How quick the women haters jumped on the fact that a women was interviewed & dared critisise this situation!!! If if had been her husband interviewed I wonder how many of you would have referred to him as a bitch, a gobby one, mention of his lack of confidence around thai men or made pointless references to who was the boss!!!! Pathetic.

If you read the report properly, she never said seedy & they never booked their holiday in Pattaya but were redirected by the airline so spew your hate elsewhere thanks.

"To be fair, they don't actually use the word "seedy" in any quote. " - quoting post #7.....

Another absolutely brilliant article/editorial by the SMH.

It appears, after the one we closed last week, that somebody on their journalistic team has a major beef with Thailand.

[foxxx]

mmmmmm i was down near utapo on the weekend on some bikes and we noticed about 6 bus loads with a police car escort of just thai's going to the airport - students and what not. they looked like a school trip to australia.

and as for the newspaper calling pattaya seedy and you people replying in anger. i mean really, get a f-king clue, pattaya IS seedy. sex capitals of the world hardly represent un-seedyness.

[APMann]

How quick the women haters jumped on the fact that a women was interviewed & dared critisise this situation!!! If if had been her husband interviewed I wonder how many of you would have referred to him as a bitch, a gobby one, mention of his lack of confidence around thai men or made pointless references to who was the boss!!!! Pathetic.

If you read the report properly, she never said seedy & they never booked their holiday in Pattaya but were redirected by the airline so spew your hate elsewhere thanks.

"To be fair, they don't actually use the word "seedy" in any quote. " - quoting post #7.....

Another absolutely brilliant article/editorial by the SMH.

It appears, after the one we closed last week, that somebody on their journalistic team has a major beef with Thailand.

Soundman, what was the other one about that you closed?

[Westerner]

mmmmmm i was down near utapo on the weekend on some bikes and we noticed about 6 bus loads with a police car escort of just thai's going to the airport - students and what not. they looked like a school trip to australia.

and as for the newspaper calling pattaya seedy and you people replying in anger. i mean really, get a f-king clue, pattaya IS seedy. sex capitals of the world hardly represent un-seedyness.

Well said!

[soundman]

Soundman, what was the other one about that you closed?

About a subject that we can't discuss for being in breach of the forum rules, however, through shoddy journalism, the article painted Thailand in a bad light using very broad generalisations.

[cali4995]

Yes, Pattaya is a little rough around the edges but personally, I find it

rather seedy of this newspaper with it's holier-than-thou attitude.

[kingwillly]

How quick the women haters jumped on the fact that a women was interviewed & dared critisise this situation!!! If if had been her husband interviewed I wonder how many of you would have referred to him as a bitch, a gobby one, mention of his lack of confidence around thai men or made pointless references to who was the boss!!!! Pathetic.

If you read the report properly, she never said seedy & they never booked their holiday in Pattaya but were redirected by the airline so spew your hate elsewhere thanks.

I totally agree!

[Beardog]

Somehow I doubt that the plane left with exactly 200 'thai only' passengers on it, all going on holiday.

Yea it sounds a bit iffy 200 Thai's got enough funds to get visas & carouse around Australia when Their citizens can't get home.

Sounds like the child care boss is trying to cash in on the freebie package that will cost her more than she bargained for. The honeymoon will definitely be over when she checks into the Bangkok Hilton for a stretch when her & her posse don't pay up & if they booked by credit card the will still have to pay as I doubt the banks are going to be at all sympathetic to their unlikely plight.

[G54]

Seedy,Seedy? how dare they ,piss off back to Australia and dont come back,and as for not paying your hotel bill,why not? its not the hotels fault that your in our SEEDY town.

and we arnt missing you already.

I like your attitude

[Kerryd]

Soundman, what was the other one about that you closed?

About a subject that we can't discuss for being in breach of the forum rules, however, through shoddy journalism, the article painted Thailand in a bad light using very broad generalisations.

I don't suppose that article was written by the same person as this one was, was it ?

I'm almost tempted to fire off a nasty email to them (I'm on their website now) and tell them where they can stick their story, seeds and all.

[soundman]

Soundman, what was the other one about that you closed?

About a subject that we can't discuss for being in breach of the forum rules, however, through shoddy journalism, the article painted Thailand in a bad light using very broad generalisations.

I don't suppose that article was written by the same person as this one was, was it ?

I'm almost tempted to fire off a nasty email to them (I'm on their website now) and tell them where they can stick their story, seeds and all.

This article was written by Lindsay Murdoch, the other by Craig Scutt, titled "Australia's Shameful Fetish".