Samui, Land Of Constant Power And Internet Outages

[japandan]

Aren't they great? , little rain and out...up until a couple of years ago everyone blamed it on all the development = infrastructure could not keep up. BUT development is dead, especially for the last year or so and the power and internet (sometimes land line phone) outages have only gotten worse. Can think of only one reason...corruption, none of the vast income the local government collects actually goes to where it supposed to and should. That, combined with how the local (probably elsewhere too) Revenue is mugging tax payers this year...time to consider leaving Thailand and taking all our money with us, let them go back to eating bugs and coconuts

[Mark Wolfe]

I am not sure about the old saw of corruption being behind all the ills of Samui. Corruption necessitates someone or some group profiting by skimping on materials or workmanship, the echo of this being the disintegrating roads, sporadic street lighting and power outages, to name of few. Exciting conspiracy theory, maybe, but the truth is probably much more mundane.

Personally, I think it is just pure laziness and incompetence. There is no sense here of, "Doing the job right the first time."

The power outages are probably a mixture of old equipment, poor maintenance, jury-rigged hardware and unskilled labor.

Think of it as I do -- Local color.

[livinthailandos]

Doing the job right the first time ( AGREED )

If you've been a user long enough on thaivisa and seen enough koh samui forums on this issue. Its not really worth talking about. After being on samui for 4 years I have no faith what so ever that thailand will ever achieve anything. At some point just realize everything here is similiar to thailand's soap shows on tv. and thats not saying much

[Rooo]

Aren't they great? , little rain and out...up until a couple of years ago everyone blamed it on all the development = infrastructure could not keep up. BUT development is dead, especially for the last year or so and the power and internet (sometimes land line phone) outages have only gotten worse. Can think of only one reason...corruption, none of the vast income the local government collects actually goes to where it supposed to and should. That, combined with how the local (probably elsewhere too) Revenue is mugging tax payers this year...time to consider leaving Thailand and taking all our money with us, let them go back to eating bugs and coconuts

Doing the job right the first time ( AGREED )

If you've been a user long enough on thaivisa and seen enough koh samui forums on this issue. Its not really worth talking about. After being on samui for 4 years I have no faith what so ever that thailand will ever achieve anything. At some point just realize everything here is similiar to thailand's soap shows on tv. and thats not saying much

Same as any TV show, you can always change the channel.BK air have cheap fares right now.

[Mark Wolfe]

I have to say, and no offense intended, but people who come back with the, "Well, you can always leave," ad hominem argument infuriate me.

Aside from being an intellectual cop-out, it's nonsense.

It reminds me of a joke that was going around in the late 70s:

LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR (OR ANYTHING) IN TWO EASY STEPS --

1. Buy a guitar

2. Play it

LEARN HOW TO HAVE SEX WITH RAQUEL WELSH IN TWO EASY STEPS --

1. Find Rachel Welsh

2. Have sex with her

This was an actual exchange:

"Steaks here in Taiwan are too expensive."

"If you don't like it here, you can leave. Go back to Canada or wherever you're from."

I agree with livinthailandos inasmuch as things are the way they are...but disagree on things never improving. I think it is possible that things could get better, but it might take several generations and some sort of geopolitical upheaval to make it happen.

To a certain extent, all that is "wrong" with a place is exactly what gives it its charm and "exoticness."

The fact that we can even get Internet wirelessly in our homes here is something of a minor miracle, when you think about it.

(America -- 'LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!' and I did, 24 years ago...hehe.)

[bridge]

I am with Samui BlueChip Wireless, and I am getting 5meg downloads with no absolutely dropouts. I couldn't be happier= AWESOME

[japandan]

Aren't they great? , little rain and out...up until a couple of years ago everyone blamed it on all the development = infrastructure could not keep up. BUT development is dead, especially for the last year or so and the power and internet (sometimes land line phone) outages have only gotten worse. Can think of only one reason...corruption, none of the vast income the local government collects actually goes to where it supposed to and should. That, combined with how the local (probably elsewhere too) Revenue is mugging tax payers this year...time to consider leaving Thailand and taking all our money with us, let them go back to eating bugs and coconuts

Doing the job right the first time ( AGREED )

If you've been a user long enough on thaivisa and seen enough koh samui forums on this issue. Its not really worth talking about. After being on samui for 4 years I have no faith what so ever that thailand will ever achieve anything. At some point just realize everything here is similiar to thailand's soap shows on tv. and thats not saying much

Same as any TV show, you can always change the channel.BK air have cheap fares right now.

A rather unintelligent, not to mention unhelpful contribution..."love it or leave it" ay Roo? This is a "Forum"...no? This is where we discuss issues?...no?....issues often are about a "problem"...the fact we discuss it may mean we care about it changing. OR are we not allowed to point out certain truths....the negative ones about Samui and Thailand? ...the ones that we who live here care about maybe changing ...the ones you don't want us to talk about...you gonna lose tourist dollars or land sales or something Roo?

Mark, corruption is very clearly an element...there is PLENTY of tax revenue here, if it was spent on infrastructure the basics would very easily be basically ok IMO.

But, alas,up to now I agree for the most part with Livinthailanddos...I to " have no faith what so ever that thailand will ever achieve anything" significant...not to mention work out their own messes here.

[Mark Wolfe]

japandan:

Mark, corruption is very clearly an element...there is PLENTY of tax revenue here, if it was spent on infrastructure the basics would very easily be basically ok IMO.

Much in the same way we can understand subatomic particles by seeing what remains from their collisions, and not by actually observing the particles themselves, we can conclude that corruption must be here; however, I have never seen or read about any substantiated cases save a few private land deals gone south.

As far as tax revenues, we must get our fair share, but I have no idea how this money is allocated nationally or locally.

However you cut it, though, the lack of quality here is rather obvious. Whatever is behind it, the phenomenon is institutionalized.

[Rooo]

Aren't they great? , little rain and out...up until a couple of years ago everyone blamed it on all the development = infrastructure could not keep up. BUT development is dead, especially for the last year or so and the power and internet (sometimes land line phone) outages have only gotten worse. Can think of only one reason...corruption, none of the vast income the local government collects actually goes to where it supposed to and should. That, combined with how the local (probably elsewhere too) Revenue is mugging tax payers this year...time to consider leaving Thailand and taking all our money with us, let them go back to eating bugs and coconuts

Doing the job right the first time ( AGREED )

If you've been a user long enough on thaivisa and seen enough koh samui forums on this issue. Its not really worth talking about. After being on samui for 4 years I have no faith what so ever that thailand will ever achieve anything. At some point just realize everything here is similiar to thailand's soap shows on tv. and thats not saying much

Same as any TV show, you can always change the channel.BK air have cheap fares right now.

A rather unintelligent, not to mention unhelpful contribution..."love it or leave it" ay Roo? This is a "Forum"...no? This is where we discuss issues?...no?....issues often are about a "problem"...the fact we discuss it may mean we care about it changing. OR are we not allowed to point out certain truths....the negative ones about Samui and Thailand? ...the ones that we who live here care about maybe changing ...the ones you don't want us to talk about...you gonna lose tourist dollars or land sales or something Roo?

Mark, corruption is very clearly an element...there is PLENTY of tax revenue here, if it was spent on infrastructure the basics would very easily be basically ok IMO.

But, alas,up to now I agree for the most part with Livinthailanddos...I to " have no faith what so ever that thailand will ever achieve anything" significant...not to mention work out their own messes here.

You feel better now? Take a deep breath Japandan.All I'm saying is , this is not a first world country, add to that it's an ISLAND,so as Mark said get your mind around that & take it for what it is.

Please stop using the Uhhhh word it does not do you much justice,I have lived here many years, so stop this patronising attitude as you are the only one living here,many of the posters here, have lived & experienced the island through it's growth period.

We all came here with our eyes wide open, it's an island, services are limited or were, for God's sake you now have so many supermarkets ,UBC,WiFI etc.......

Sorry but if you can't take some of the downside in amenities, well it's your choice.

And no Mr Japandan, I will not loose any money or land sales,unlike you , I don't jump in & comment on someones status without knowing what I'm talking about.

This argument is so old by the way

[Oak]

Aren't they great? , little rain and out...up until a couple of years ago everyone blamed it on all the development = infrastructure could not keep up. BUT development is dead, especially for the last year or so and the power and internet (sometimes land line phone) outages have only gotten worse. Can think of only one reason...corruption, none of the vast income the local government collects actually goes to where it supposed to and should. That, combined with how the local (probably elsewhere too) Revenue is mugging tax payers this year...time to consider leaving Thailand and taking all our money with us, let them go back to eating bugs and coconuts

Never lived here in the days of generators ,have you? Nice & cosy then.But now we all want power & more power & all the up to date services & the minute we don't have it, what a retched place it is.

You want the perfection & the one hundred mile an hour life style,Samui is not the place for you.

[Lite Beer]

I have to say, and no offense intended, but people who come back with the, "Well, you can always leave," ad hominem argument infuriate me.

Aside from being an intellectual cop-out, it's nonsense.

I never understood that view Mark. Someone said to me years ago "If you don't like your life change it"

I realise it is not always possible because of commitments and circumstances.

It got to the point when I hated my life in UK and I went to Samui where I had some good times for 2 years, realised it was not for me and came up to Khon Kaen where I am very happy. Not for every one but it suits me.

I really do believe that if you are not happy somewhere and you have the means leave and go elsewhere.

Not a dig at you ,just my view. If you and Rooo are happy where you are , good for you.

If you lot think that the Internet and Electric supply is crap in Samui? It is not much better up here.

[Rooo]

I have to say, and no offense intended, but people who come back with the, "Well, you can always leave," ad hominem argument infuriate me.

Aside from being an intellectual cop-out, it's nonsense.

I agree with livinthailandos inasmuch as things are the way they are...but disagree on things never improving. I think it is possible that things could get better, but it might take several generations and some sort of geopolitical upheaval to make it happen.

To a certain extent, all that is "wrong" with a place is exactly what gives it its charm and "exoticness."

The fact that we can even get Internet wirelessly in our homes here is something of a minor miracle, when you think about it.

(America -- 'LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!' and I did, 24 years ago...hehe.)

hmmmmmmmm,do you have an ulterior motive? do you own a development?

Look at Phuket a few years ago,all the criticism in the world, but now it's a benchmark.

Now for a new administration here on Samui, trying to undo all the wrongs that the previous ones have done, it's not going to happen overnight.

Some readers might want to search the forum for threads on this, but yes corruption was at it's optimum & many discussions have taken place on the subject.

Now as you say Mark,it will take a long time, but it's happening.

[Mark Wolfe]

I think, Lite Beer, that we are talking apples and oranges here. "Love it or leave it," in the sense you are speaking makes sense, but I was talking about flippant idealism such as, "You don't like the potholes here on Samui? Move somewhere else."

I think the point to remember here is that this is a developing country and as such, things will be underdeveloped around the edges. I mean, we do have clean water, food that you can eat without wondering if you packed the Imodium and ATMs that function (the machine ones, not foreign men), real medical care (try a hospital in Agra, for instance -- yikes!) and Burger King, to name a few. If you have the money, you can get pretty much what you want.

There is a lot of lackadaisical, stupid <deleted> here, but on the whole, things are pretty good.

Seriously (watch out, I'm getting back on topic), who doesn't like power outages at night when you are home? Candles, and a whole new mood. Of course, no one wants it to go on at Baghdad length, but an occasional candle evening isn't so bad.

[livinthailandos]

haven't seen anyone make the difference yet so it should be pointed out

Water, Sewage, Electric, Roads ( infrastructure projects ) most likely contracted or done by government ( considered really long term, money to get back takes longer than starting up a business, on top you don't get money back for putting down a road. all money for this funding is gotten by taxes.

Tesco, Big C, Makro, Restaurants, Spas, Hotels, Tops, Wifi, Mobile phones, Cable are commercial products for you or put out to the customer done by business people, investors, etc who are interested in making money or getting the return investment they put into it as quick as possible.

anyone reading this see the difference, roo your right you can always move but regardless where you move won't matter to much if you can even keep infrastructure lasting or even done properly.

On that note. I wouldn't make this up, I did read this for a fact, I will look into what paper I read but I understand some people where looking at some south locations like surrathani, and around for building a power plant. Also I realize we get all our power from surrathani. Why I said I don't have much faith here I meant in terms of infrastructure. I've seen over the last 4 years they just keep doing the same thing for the road, electric outages still keep happening, water can be brown at times, Change could happen but I'll either be dead or an old man by the time that actually happens. Between corruption, greed, lack of foresight, direction.this country most likely will stay a 3rd world country in terms of infrastructure for many decades to come

Edited June 12, 2009 by livinthailandos

[Rooo]

haven't seen anyone make the difference yet so it should be pointed out

Water, Sewage, Electric, Roads ( infrastructure projects ) most likely contracted or done by government ( considered really long term, money to get back takes longer than starting up a business, on top you don't get money back for putting down a road. all money for this funding is gotten by taxes.

Tesco, Big C, Makro, Restaurants, Spas, Hotels, Tops, Wifi, Mobile phones, Cable are commercial products for you or put out to the customer done by business people, investors, etc who are interested in making money or getting the return investment they put into it as quick as possible.

anyone reading this see the difference, roo your right you can always move but regardless where you move won't matter to much if you can even keep infrastructure lasting or even done properly.

On that note. I wouldn't make this up, I did read this for a fact, I will look into what paper I read but I understand some people where looking at some south locations like surrathani, and around for building a power plant. Also I realize we get all our power from surrathani. Why I said I don't have much faith here I meant in terms of infrastructure. I've seen over the last 4 years they just keep doing the same thing for the road, electric outages still keep happening, water can be brown at times, Change could happen but I'll either be dead or an old man by the time that actually happens. Between corruption, greed, lack of foresight, direction.this country most likely will stay a 3rd world country in terms of infrastructure for many decades to come

When I said move, it was said tongue in cheek, didn't expect such a backlash. Back on topic, as I said it will take years to get back on track in terms of infrastructure. All the years of neglect, will not be solved overnight. As you said no matter where you go, infrastructure never catches up.

Some of us come here, expecting too much, some have businesses dependant on what in other countries is classified as basic necessities, here, well it's a bonus to have ( wifi, extra phone lines etc).

At the end of the day, how many times have you seen people complain, when they know fully well what they are getting themselves into? They move here, and then all of a sudden everything is rubbish, because the holiday spirit is now finished & they have to live with it every day.

Discussing power supply here, will achieve zero, as long as you have all these brand new hotels, condos etc…. being built, you will never get enough power.

I think it was High diver who had the actual figures Re-supply, when they updated it in 2004-2005, it was supposed to take us then to 2010.I think it reached peak in 2007-2008.

As for the roads, well there is some extensive drainage work taking place in Maenam at the moment, a lot of smaller roads have been repaired, lots of dirt access roads have been graded, some twice so far this year

I know, not much but a lot of little things in the right direction.

So at the end of the day, it’s all about compromise, as you said, wherever you live there is going to be something wrong.

[Lite Beer]

Seriously (watch out, I'm getting back on topic), who doesn't like power outages at night when you are home? Candles, and a whole new mood. Of course, no one wants it to go on at Baghdad length, but an occasional candle evening isn't so bad.

To be honest the Power Cuts when I lived in Samui were a nightmare. I remember a couple of weeks where the power was always off. Connecting up the new underwater cable they said. No more problems they said. Is it really still as bad.

I always felt sorry for local businesses that relied on the electric supply. Cut off for most of the day. No comebacks, No compensation.

[limbos]

I think, Lite Beer, that we are talking apples and oranges here. "Love it or leave it," in the sense you are speaking makes sense, but I was talking about flippant idealism such as, "You don't like the potholes here on Samui? Move somewhere else."

I think the point to remember here is that this is a developing country and as such, things will be underdeveloped around the edges. I mean, we do have clean water, food that you can eat without wondering if you packed the Imodium and ATMs that function (the machine ones, not foreign men), real medical care (try a hospital in Agra, for instance -- yikes!) and Burger King, to name a few. If you have the money, you can get pretty much what you want.

There is a lot of lackadaisical, stupid <deleted> here, but on the whole, things are pretty good.

Seriously (watch out, I'm getting back on topic), who doesn't like power outages at night when you are home? Candles, and a whole new mood. Of course, no one wants it to go on at Baghdad length, but an occasional candle evening isn't so bad.

Would be great to see research into the 9 months after effect opf a power outage at night. Big Western cities have a serious increase in birth 9 months after an evening powercut.

[Mark Wolfe]

limbos:

Big Western cities have a serious increase in birth 9 months after an evening powercut.

Don't make me nervous...I swear, those kids don't look ANYTHING like me....