Koh Phangan To Be Drugs-free Family Destination

[asiawatcher]

They should terminate these full moon parties completely.

Thailand has a unique way of life, why destroy this with the infiltration of Western yob culture.

Sooner or lately these activities will spread to other parts of the country like a cancer, so now is the time to get rid of it before the rot really sets in.

Totally agree - but not for the sake of more mum and dad venues. The western decay should not be allowed but as long as the brown uniformed Mafia are collecting it won't go away! All hoohaa about nothing. Unless Toxin politics comes in again and summarily executes the dealers without trial to solidify the cartels !!!

[epicstuff]

Get rid of the drugs and hippies , and Backpackers and the land values go up;

since all those making a fortune out of drugs and parties have now all bought up all the available land worth having!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lazygourmet]

Get rid of the drugs and hippies , and Backpackers and the land values go up;

since all those making a fortune out of drugs and parties have now all bought up all the available land worth having!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you a new visitor, or what...?!? For long time, people known that money is being made in the bars, not with booze and drug... but with flesh.... Just because human been, you can recycle!!!

[sunray69]

Jongdee Thongchan, chief of Takian village in tambon Angthong on Koh Samui, said some people from the village go to the Full Moon party.

He was worried they would be exposed to drugs and could develop a drinking habit.

I love the "could develop a drinking habit" when talking about the locals living on the island... Most of Thai men are pure alcoholics !!!

[HYENA]

Idiots; alcohol and tobacco ARE drugs! Impossible to make a party drug free.

Tobacco is a sched 1-2 drug come to think of it...alcohol is a sched 2-3 and marijuana is a sched 4-5. Don't understand why the number one and two killers are legal and some of the less harmful one's are not. Very strange.

yet again, farang is responsible for negatively influencing thais....maybe one will develop a habit (like they'd never get a habit at home)

Edited September 13, 2009 by HYENA

[dude007]

I call it: cutting the branch on which you are sitting... Others say: Eating the chicken which pnds the golden eggs...

For once something was working for tourism in Thailand, and honestly getting famous for it almost arund the world and such not always in the bad way... then there we have it again: the Ministry of Crackdowns: TIT... Poor thinking, poor management, poor policy... this country is doomed to die with that low IQ from the pocket-fillers and decision makers!

I will start to believe that TOXIN after all wasn't so bad although he stole heaps of money that equals the national budgets of small countries! In Thailand, there seems only to be bad and worse! Is there anybody there out of the blue with some more IQ to stand up and save this country, other than TOXIN???

[topsecret]

[The division has asked locals to tip off police about any suspected drug-related activities on Koh Phangan.]

Erm... it's the local Thai bar owners, waiters, resort managers who sell the drugs!

Nice One!

[pippomusic]

all this talking about drugs its so hypocrit...

what is a drug?

Howmany of you big bellies are on 3 beers a day? is that not a drug addiction?

Ok lets make weed illegal, because we can grow it on our terraces...

We can't brew beer, thus thats legal: you ought to buy it.

Lets teach our kids how good metamphetamine is filling them up with ritalin...

then they will be ready to the big move on prozac

And finally! Koh phan ghan will be a drug free paradise for families on lexotan, ritalin and prozac...

what a wonderful world we live in

Valium, prozac, lexotan, playgine, xanax, roipnol....

mhhhh howmany of you and your mums looooooove these goodies?

We all have to open our eyes...

loving your job, means putting flowers at the window of your prison...

[lunalanding]

How many times over the years have the authorities tried to or said they will stop, clean up the full moon party,it never has happened up to now. too much money is being made by too many people on this day, and if the party was stopped here it would pop up somewhere else.Must say its a great day to go out in Samui on this day though, because most of the louts are on KPG.

[thaibeachlovers]

THAILAND HAS LOST IT.

there were not many drugs at the party when i was there several years ago, never even saw any weed - just lots of 'trust fund hippies' pretending to be poor. I heard there were undercover police on the train from BKK trying to extort anyone caught with illicit substances.

Had Rin itself was a disgrace, the bungalows were like mosquito infested dog kenels, never cleaned. filthy bed sheets.

i would never go there again. i wouldnt take a dog there never mind my family. (koh samui was also ruined from the beutiful beach place i visited 20 years ago too - never been back since).

as for a 'family friendly destination'.... WHY? THERE ARE 100's MUCH CLOSER TO U.S. RUSSIA AND EUROPE - SO WHY COME ALL THE WAY TO THailand, 1 or half a day on a plane with kids (NIGHTMARE) - if you had any sense you never would.

Thailand was the No 1 sex holiday destination, millions came for that and spent fortunes of cash. (all that money given to ladies in the morning is not on any accountants spread sheet - but it is still a HUGE part of thailands GDP - but in the black economy so no official percentages ever quoted).

so if you are number 1 on this planet at something stick with it thailand, why try ruin it and become another crappy family destination?? with more competition. there are 100s already on every continent - so stick to what you are good at.

(bet that'll get the 'holier than thou' lot going, but it is true IMHO)

I agree. Why do people think that because they have a revolting ankle biter that the world should revolve around them?

They should all go to Butlins or some other such sprogcentric establishment, and not ruin big peoples playgrounds.

If this "crackdown" does work, and I certainly won't be going if there's going to be road blocks ( the potential for extortion is immense, and I wouldn't trust the plod as far as...... ) expect a huge increase in fit ups as the plod seek to compensate for the loss of their backhanders.

[thaibeachlovers]

I call it: cutting the branch on which you are sitting... Others say: Eating the chicken which pnds the golden eggs...

For once something was working for tourism in Thailand, and honestly getting famous for it almost arund the world and such not always in the bad way... then there we have it again: the Ministry of Crackdowns: TIT... Poor thinking, poor management, poor policy... this country is doomed to die with that low IQ from the pocket-fillers and decision makers!

I will start to believe that TOXIN after all wasn't so bad although he stole heaps of money that equals the national budgets of small countries! In Thailand, there seems only to be bad and worse! Is there anybody there out of the blue with some more IQ to stand up and save this country, other than TOXIN???

You are joking! toxin and his sidekick puritanical were the ones that tried to destroy the farang night life scene. No doubt had he been around long enough, the FMP would have been doomed too.

[thaibeachlovers]

They should terminate these full moon parties completely.

Thailand has a unique way of life, why destroy this with the infiltration of Western yob culture.

Sooner or lately these activities will spread to other parts of the country like a cancer, so now is the time to get rid of it before the rot really sets in.

Totally agree - but not for the sake of more mum and dad venues. The western decay should not be allowed but as long as the brown uniformed Mafia are collecting it won't go away! All hoohaa about nothing. Unless Toxin politics comes in again and summarily executes the dealers without trial to solidify the cartels !!!

Western decay??????? Who do you think is providing all the party venues? If Thais were so pure of heart, they wouldn't be selling "buckets" with rohypnol added.

[ingvar]

About time soething was done about this drug thing...

Its a poorly disguised attempt by the diabolic farang to subvert the innocent Thai youth into drug addicts and pushers.

These foreign drug users should be arrested and put in prison for life.

[Sherlocke]

"Koh Phangan To Be Drugs-free Family Destination,"

Why do they even bother to report this as it it were a factual statement?

this is clearly the "brainchild" (and I use the term loosely) of another "great politician" - probably conceived whilst on the toilet....which is where it should have stayed.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Sherlocke

[leebeeUK]

'NOW we're going to make sure they don't take drugs' etc etc... kind of missed the boat (or ferry!) again on that one as usual.. so just when was it 'OK' to go mind-tripping while island tripping in the first place? And which Jiminy Cricket brought about the sudden conscience that 'drugs are bad (on Koh Phangan), people who take drug's (on Koh Phangan) are bad, m'kay?' Sure there'll be a 'crackdown' or two and then the guys with the stashes'll come out of the loos, from under their upturned boats, get their plastic bags out the systerns and hey-ho-away-they-go again!! As for me, I don't go there, don't do drugs, so as long as they're doing it amongst themselves I'll trust the authorities and the kids to tussle it out - or not - between them!!

[Zolt]

Anyone else forecast tourism to Koh Phanghan dwindling to almost nothing in the next few months? Not that the drugs-free part is a bad idea, I'd be wary of doing drugs anywhere in Thailand anyway, but didn't they try the "family oriented" thing with Pattaya too?

The place is in the middle of nowhere, and the accomodation, while enjoyable for backpackers, is not the kind of place I'd want to take my wife & kids to. There's plenty of better, easier to reach options, and it's not like they were bursting full at the moment.

R.I.P Phangan

[carmine]

Idiots; alcohol and tobacco ARE drugs! Impossible to make a party drug free.

Tobacco is a sched 1-2 drug come to think of it...alcohol is a sched 2-3 and marijuana is a sched 4-5. Don't understand why the number one and two killers are legal and some of the less harmful one's are not. Very strange.

yet again, farang is responsible for negatively influencing thais....maybe one will develop a habit (like they'd never get a habit at home)

Foreigners are responsible for negatively influencing Thais. Why do people like you come on a public forum and say such stupid ridiculous things. People with opinions such as yours beggar belief. Grow up

[poppynyet]

I love getting funny jokes in my e-mail!

On a side note, I went to one in Feb 2006. Biggest disappointment in my life... I love techno/electronica and thought it would be a giant rave, but it was just a bunch of farang sitting on the beach drinking beer and taking drugs (12,000+ of them). I would say 10% were dancing or even cared about the music, and they trashed that beach...

I would say the funniest thing is the choice of the beach, the moon disappears over the mountain, not the water. Didn't matter though, I left early disgusted and disappointed

Though i did learn a new phrase that night "Farang kii nok". So I guess all was not lost.

Thanks BlackArtemis,

As someone who is hugely into electronic music (and quality events), I was feeling a little remorseful that I had not made it to one, and am unlikely to as my partner's tastes (and being on the wrong side of thirty) would prevent it on our next trip over there.

Your description confirms that I'm not really missing anything! Were the tunes any good?

[frankman]

I wish they shut down the party and the drugs,

and get the people to come here with nice events like;

the "red hot chilli peppers" on the beach.

But first, pigs will fly.

I guess

[Geekfreaklover]

I wish they shut down the party and the drugs,

and get the people to come here with nice events like;

the "red hot chilli peppers" on the beach.

But first, pigs will fly.

I guess

The "red hot chilli peppers" have taken more drugs between them than an entire full moon party combined !! The guitarist died of an overdose.

[britmaveric]

Can someone have fun without the need to get fked up?

[frankman]

I wish they shut down the party and the drugs,

and get the people to come here with nice events like;

the "red hot chilli peppers" on the beach.

But first, pigs will fly.

I guess

The "red hot chilli peppers" have taken more drugs between them than an entire full moon party combined !! The guitarist died of an overdose.

not anymore, they also grew old now,,,lol,,,

[PoorSucker]

I call it: cutting the branch on which you are sitting... Others say: Eating the chicken which pnds the golden eggs...

For once something was working for tourism in Thailand, and honestly getting famous for it almost arund the world and such not always in the bad way... then there we have it again: the Ministry of Crackdowns: TIT... Poor thinking, poor management, poor policy... this country is doomed to die with that low IQ from the pocket-fillers and decision makers!

I will start to believe that TOXIN after all wasn't so bad although he stole heaps of money that equals the national budgets of small countries! In Thailand, there seems only to be bad and worse! Is there anybody there out of the blue with some more IQ to stand up and save this country, other than TOXIN???

I remember when Toxin closed all the bars 2AM (expect for those with the "right connections")

Good times, bars open all night.

Now you must be or know the Police (remember that Toxin used to a Police in Chiang mai)

[lazygourmet]

I call it: cutting the branch on which you are sitting... Others say: Eating the chicken which pnds the golden eggs...

For once something was working for tourism in Thailand, and honestly getting famous for it almost arund the world and such not always in the bad way... then there we have it again: the Ministry of Crackdowns: TIT... Poor thinking, poor management, poor policy... this country is doomed to die with that low IQ from the pocket-fillers and decision makers!

I will start to believe that TOXIN after all wasn't so bad although he stole heaps of money that equals the national budgets of small countries! In Thailand, there seems only to be bad and worse! Is there anybody there out of the blue with some more IQ to stand up and save this country, other than TOXIN???

I remember when Toxin closed all the bars 2AM (expect for those with the "right connections")

Good times, bars open all night.

Now you must be or know the Police (remember that Toxin used to a Police in Chiang mai)

Actually, the bar closure regulation idea came from Purachai (Chang Mai catholic!) who was Thaksin first governement interior minister...

and now, Dr. Pure is living on his N-Z farm, north of Auckland, watching all the damage done

[lazygourmet]

I wish they shut down the party and the drugs,

and get the people to come here with nice events like;

the "red hot chilli peppers" on the beach.

But first, pigs will fly.

I guess

The "red hot chilli peppers" have taken more drugs between them than an entire full moon party combined !! The guitarist died of an overdose.

not anymore, they also grew old now,,,lol,,,

Why not Ian Curtis coming to play the original version of Blue Monday...

when New Order used to be called Joy Division?

And actually, where did you get these mushrooms from? Could you EMS me some?

[sbk]

Comments about moderation, posts quoting the entire first post without making a comment and posts flaming others have been deleted.

Lets keep this civil and within forum rules, thanks

And one final note, whatever you feel about former PM Thaksin, lets do try to avoid inflaming political opinions in a thread that is not about him by using his real name instead of inflammatory nicknames.

[frankman]

I wish they shut down the party and the drugs,

and get the people to come here with nice events like;

the "red hot chilli peppers" on the beach.

But first, pigs will fly.

I guess

The "red hot chilli peppers" have taken more drugs between them than an entire full moon party combined !! The guitarist died of an overdose.

not anymore, they also grew old now,,,lol,,,

Why not Ian Curtis coming to play the original version of Blue Monday...

when New Order used to be called Joy Division?

And actually, where did you get these mushrooms from? Could you EMS me some?

Ahhhhhh!

Found it finally.

No mushis for me anymore (40+),

I just like "hand made music",

techno not for me anymore!

But really, get some big names on the island,

and the money will follow.

Fans, supporters etc.

Edited September 14, 2009 by frankman

[Sturbuc]

Koh Phangan full moon image change

Phangan 'just says no'

...

The division has asked locals to tip off police ... How much tip?

...

Ilkka Happonen, a 24-year-old Finnish student ...

We drink and dance together and never take drugs," he said but we dont take drugs as alcohol is complementary food

Edited September 14, 2009 by Sturbuc

[frankman]

Koh Phangan full moon image change

Phangan 'just says no'

...

The division has asked locals to tip off police ... How much tip?

...

A pice of lead,

if it's one of the big boys,

I would guess.

lol

[Trouble]

After viewing the video "Trouble in Thailand" showned on British TV and posted on youtube, what man would take his family to Thailand for a "family vacation"? I can't wait to see the following episodes as it should be quite interesting. While I think it is possible to enjoy a nice resort vacation at many of the the fine hotels at certain beaches around Thailand, if I were some 12 to 18 hours away from Thailand I would think twice about it being a place to take the "family" after seeing the video.

The notion that farangs are changing Thai cultural values and the cause for bringing drugs to Thailand is completely false. Rural Thailand is full of folks that drink to excess and do drugs without any help from farangs. People do these things everywhere to get thru life's struggles and feel good. All over southeast Asia people have been using betel nut for centuries as a mild stimulant. Maybe the types of drugs change over time but the fact is there has always been something people use to get high be it betel nut, ganja, palm wine, etc. People over the centuries have found a way to get "high".

Are there drugs at the full moon parties? Most likely! Who is providing those drugs to the partygoers? Most likely Thais.

Chances are they sell the stuff and then turn in the kids to the police collecting on both sides of the transaction. The vast majority of the partygoes probably are smart enough to not take drugs there and just enjoy the drinking. Yes, I have done my share of drugs in my life but am also not stupid enough to go to a place where undercover cops are just waiting to find drug users. Let's face facts the police could care less about stopping drugs there as how would they collect their "fines". It is good business for the police to have drugs there. It must be nice to suppliment police income once every month arresting partygoers and collecting fines.

I say let the young people have their fun. Most are out to enjoy their youth and having a good time. Settling down with work and a family will put an end to that in time. I did my partying and look back many times to that time and wish I still had the energy to continue. KPN is a nice isolated place to let them do that. It brings income to the island which will disappear if the parties go away. Families will not travel there to have a family vacation. Families will fly to Phuket, take a taxi to one of the nice beach hotels, and enjoy resort life. Families with children and lots of luggage do not want to go thru the ordeal of getting to some island like KPG anyway.