Lamai Beach Sea Is Filthy

[CaptainWindsock]

Can't ever remember it being like this in previous years. Now we have a disgusting sea. About 20/30 ft from the shore line is a whole load of rubbish stretching the length of the beach. Mostly seaweed and plastic. Now after the high seas a few days ago it has attraccted a load of oil. And there is often a brownish yuk floating on the surface. I have no idea what the brown stuff is but it could be an algea or sewage. Maybe somebody here knows for sure? Is all this rubish likely to wash away or are we stuck with it for months? It cant be a good advert for the hotels wishing return custom. Rant over!

[screamingeagle]

Yep! Welcome to the third world!

[BigC]

if moan do something about it or say nothing. better get some rubber gloves on. or suggest something positive to be done. i am all for moaning but must have a sulution to the problem or moaning is a pointless. better off dwn the pub with your pint and starring down the blowse of the bar lady.

[BigC]

maybe also something to do with the tides. during the wet season the tides are very high. when they rtn back to normal. all the crap stays on the beach when the water goes bck out. i do agree there is allot of rubbish in the sea. quite dangerous for boats as well. loads of stray logs and plastic and just gernal rubbish. i try to take it out when i see it but not good for a supposed tropical parraside. better off in Koh tao where people aren't even alloud to touch the coral. loads of fish. even koh phangyn is uch better for fishinng the water is so much more un disturbed. think samui is like a city now. took me nearly an hr to get from lamui to mnam the other day. borring !

[game4shame]

And there is often a brownish yuk floating on the surface. I have no idea what the brown stuff is but it could be an algea or sewage.

mmm, lovely.

I used to swim the length of lamai beach every day a few years back - wouldn't go near the water these days.

[MattCinderey]

too true... i've walked it many times and come back with oil on my feet. nasty stuff to get off. junk and litter on the beach. a lot of it seems to come from the fisherman near the buddy...

they should employ beach-cleaners to clean up the rubbish each morning. i don't think it would cost much to employ some locals to do this...

[BigC]

too true... i've walked it many times and come back with oil on my feet. nasty stuff to get off. junk and litter on the beach. a lot of it seems to come from the fisherman near the buddy...

they should employ beach-cleaners to clean up the rubbish each morning. i don't think it would cost much to employ some locals to do this...

they get money for plastic and glass recylcing. i see the people raid the bins every morning. i save all my plastic my self. might as well. better than through it away. might only get about 100 baht for it but it is money for money for nothing buys me a drink or 2

[MattCinderey]

I took my 5 month old German Shepherd to the beach today at 6am. He wouldn't even put his paws in the sea... (either he knows what's in it, or he's scared of water...)

Matt.

[CaptainWindsock]

The other day the tide took away a lot of the seaweed and plastic. Still remains a lot of oil. And the brown stuff. What is this brown stuff? It could be aglea, oil, sewage or something else.

Does anybody on this forum know for sure what it is? It would be nice to know.

[NHJ]

the brown thing, must be dirty water from toilet or used water.

just to clarify a bit my point, i spent more than 2 years in spain in catalunya (1month every year), in the morning, the water was always clear but in the afternoon, more than often dirty.

the guy making a living renting pedalos and seats always told us the same story, they build a recycling water plant in the mountain to solve the problem...

but with a bit of logic, who would build the plant there, this would require enormous pumps to send the water there...

then the truth came to the eye, there was a pipeline going under the sea and rejecting all used water 200M from the beach, hard to believe until one day the pipeline got broken just outside of the beach, the first meters going to the sea had major leaks.

it was like boiling water , the colour being brown and the smell with it.

i don't say it's like that here but so far i don't see the recycling water plant exept in chaweng near the lake.

[game4shame]

the brown stuff is SLIME.....

.....slime is everywhere in lamai - slimy sexpats, slimy ST's, slimy BG's etc etc. the place just oozes it.

[Obiwan]

The brown stuff is algae, hence the funny smell...

More and more oil washing up though!

[soihok]

The last time I was in Samui was 2007 and the water within 10 metres of the beach ( Lamai) was really dirty and had a film of scum floating on top.

The water beyond was clean(ish) but it was getting to it through the scum, so gave up on going in the sea and did'nt let my 5 year old play in it also ....

Seems as if its getting worse, which is not suprising when you look at what is happening to the place itself.

Shame really.

[limbos]

The last time I was in Samui was 2007 and the water within 10 metres of the beach ( Lamai) was really dirty and had a film of scum floating on top.

The water beyond was clean(ish) but it was getting to it through the scum, so gave up on going in the sea and did'nt let my 5 year old play in it also ....

Seems as if its getting worse, which is not suprising when you look at what is happening to the place itself.

Shame really.

Pix of oil on Chaweng beach today, including a syringe (one of a few I saw);

General debris on Chaweng beach, the stretch in front of Al's Resort, obviously a resort that doesn't seem to care at all, left and right from this stretch of beach, the beach was clean(er).

Unfortunately the whole Chaweng beach was contaminated with the oil residue and it stuck to my flip flops which I had to clean before I could move off the beach.

Edited March 17, 2010 by limbos

[CaptainWindsock]

The last time I was in Samui was 2007 and the water within 10 metres of the beach ( Lamai) was really dirty and had a film of scum floating on top.

The water beyond was clean(ish) but it was getting to it through the scum, so gave up on going in the sea and did'nt let my 5 year old play in it also ....

Seems as if its getting worse, which is not suprising when you look at what is happening to the place itself.

Shame really.

Pix of oil on Chaweng beach today, including a syringe (one of a few I saw);

General debris on Chaweng beach, the stretch in front of Al's Resort, obviously a resort that doesn't seem to care at all, left and right from this stretch of beach, the beach was clean(er).

Unfortunately the whole Chaweng beach was contaminated with the oil residue and it stuck to my flip flops which I had to clean before I could move off the beach.

Similar to lamai beach. Was just thinking I would try different beach but maybe this oil has done it for the whole island. I cant beleive that the hoteliers, so dependant upun the tourists, are happy to sit back and do nothing. It wouldn't take much for them to club together and get the beach cleaned.

This beach pollution and Bangkok Airways rip off monopoloy prices are certainly making me think my 10 year run on Samui is coming to an end.

[limbos]

Not all hoteliers are like that, there some hoteliers who are very enviromentally engaged. As stated in my original post, left and right of this spot on Chaweng beach, the ebach seemed a lot cleaner and the debris seemd to be taken care of.

[smartiemarty]

The brown scum / slime is algae and is about now till about august... happens every year but i think this year it is has been washed very close to shore. I have seen this stuff every year for the last 8-9 years and usually it stays offshore. The oil is everywhere at the moment as i had the same sticky black feet after a few hours on haad rin beach.

Can't blame the usual suspects this time.... Nature, and some muppets dumping / cleaning tanks offshore!

LaterZzzZZzZz

[Birdman]

...on the East cost only, and on the beaches there also only in the rather more Northern parts. Hopefully it will be gone by end of the week.

For sure an important issue for the authorities to investigate and prevent in the future.

[BigC]

i just hope the fish are ok. so i can pull them out of the water in eat them. must admitt i have been catching less resetly but more in Koh pHangyn maybe because the waters round samui are over fished.

[Tracer Round]

"i just hope the fish are ok. so i can pull them out of the water in eat them. must admitt i have been catching less resetly but more in Koh pHangyn maybe because the waters round samui are over fished."

"Resetly"? "Koh pHangyn"? If you are not aware of how bizarrely you write -- consistently -- you might have already eaten too many mushroom fish.

"I used to swim the length of lamai beach every day a few years back - wouldn't go near the water these days."

Thank God for that.

"I took my 5 month old German Shepherd to the beach today at 6am. He wouldn't even put his paws in the sea... (either he knows what's in it, or he's scared of water...)"

I gave my dog a Doritos chip and she refused to eat it... (either she knows whats in it, or she's scared of farang food...)

[Trapper]

I have been sending my staff out everyday to clean the beach, as do the resorts either side of me.

I have also had many tourists coming to ask for rubbish bags so they can help clean up.

Is this oil/tar anything to do with the new road surface?

[limbos]

Good on you Trapper, which resort do you work for or own, if you don't mind sharing.

Regarding the tar/oil vs new road, interesting point. It almost looks like somebody was cleaning something up and decided to just dump it overboard.

[CaptainWindsock]

I have been sending my staff out everyday to clean the beach, as do the resorts either side of me.

I have also had many tourists coming to ask for rubbish bags so they can help clean up.

Is this oil/tar anything to do with the new road surface?

Nice to see somebody cares. Well done.

[joesamui]

This has nothing to do with the new road -the oil balls have been floating about in the sea for months (many of the larger ones have barnacles on them!) with other rubbish. Interestingly, some of the rubbish is labeled in Bahasa Malaysia, some from Viet Nam and Taiwan. Clearly some of its has been tossed over board by fishermen but the bulk of it is just a floating mat of trash -out at sea for months and months that made its way here last week due to the increased winds / swells. Note that our resort (south Chaweng) is picking up 50 Kgs. of oil balls from our beachfront alone -daily through Friday!

[ThaiEye]

It's funny the way a lot of foreign tourists complain about garbage on the beaches here in Thailand as it is them that actually encourages the problem. Take Samui here, go down to Chaweng or Lamai at sunset and you'll find heaps of garbage left on the beach by tourists.

So instead of blaming the Thais for a problem like this, point your finger at foreign tourists instead.

Still, Thailand's beaches are far cleaner than most back home.

[Obiwan]

It's funny the way a lot of foreign tourists complain about garbage on the beaches here in Thailand as it is them that actually encourages the problem. Take Samui here, go down to Chaweng or Lamai at sunset and you'll find heaps of garbage left on the beach by tourists.

So instead of blaming the Thais for a problem like this, point your finger at foreign tourists instead.

Still, Thailand's beaches are far cleaner than most back home.

theyaregoodwearebad

[Birdman]

A typical artificial superficial statement without any substance at all...

[joesamui]

Majority of the garbage on Chaweng beach is brought in by wind and waves and is comprised of buckets, buoys, floats, energy drink bottles, plastic bottles, toothbrushes, lightbulbs, flourescent tubes, bottlecaps, plastic baskets, fuel jerrys, bailers, rope -lots of bits of rope, styrofoam, slippers, shoes etc. etc. ...unlikey that your average holidaymaker is generating most of this.

[Obiwan]

A typical artificial superficial statement without any substance at all...

Well said, Birdman, everybody knows that wherever Thais have a beach-picknic it will be a big mess afterwards!

[BigC]

Majority of the garbage on Chaweng beach is brought in by wind and waves and is comprised of buckets, buoys, floats, energy drink bottles, plastic bottles, toothbrushes, lightbulbs, flourescent tubes, bottlecaps, plastic baskets, fuel jerrys, bailers, rope -lots of bits of rope, styrofoam, slippers, shoes etc. etc. ...unlikey that your average holidaymaker is generating most of this.

yes there are allot of thai commercial fishing boats some with up to 10 staff on them. what do u think they do with there rubsih when they are a sea for 1 month