Throng Of Tuk Tuk Drivers Deliver Major Beat Down To Two Tourists On Patong.

[WOOHOO]

woohoo..... pull your head out of your small orifice and have look around you ..... this is planet earth , we all want to live in a safe environment , why should i move because of some punks preying on innocent people , if you accept that kind of behaviour then i suggest you move to a country more suited to your liking ... lets move on and start to gather info so we can begin to put an end to this before its too late ..... Phuket as a whole needs to address these situations swiftly , only a fool would continue to think that Tourists will just keep accepting this , sooner rarther than later another more appealing destination will pop up and bingo the numbers will plummet ...... the odds are stacking up already ..... currency exchange not good , political unrest not good , violence getting worse daily , prices on the rise , tax increases on property , int media coverage tuk tuks , jet skis , duty free etc etc

investment opps limited ......

cheers CdM

That's just it. I do feel that I live in a reasonably safe environment. I like many others have children (child to be precise) The second I thought this place wasn't safe, you wouldn't see me for dust.

People constantly accuse me of wearing rose tinted glasses. What do you want me to do? Make up stories about bad things that have happened to me. Lie about bad experiences I've had, fabricate run ins with Thai people and Tuk Tuk drivers, just so I can fit in with the rest of the TV members.

I don't have these issues, and I know lots and lots of other people don't as well.

I personally couldn't give a monkeys about the state of tourism, I don't have a business here, so why should I? The infrastructure could do with less growth, and less people, so maybe things need to get worse for them to get better, these things have a way of sorting themselves out. Until then I'll accept things the way they are, and take it or leave it. Right now, and for the last ten years, I love the place, so I'll take it.

One day I'll do a little experiment. I'll spend a day taking Tuk Tuk rides, and see what happens. I bet I could take 20 or 30 in a day without a single incident. But then if I did that people would only accuse me of lieing and wearing funny glasses again.

[cdmtdm]

That's just it. I do feel that I live in a reasonably safe environment. I like many others have children (child to be precise) The second I thought this place wasn't safe, you wouldn't see me for dust.

People constantly accuse me of wearing rose tinted glasses. What do you want me to do? Make up stories about bad things that have happened to me. Lie about bad experiences I've had, fabricate run ins with Thai people and Tuk Tuk drivers, just so I can fit in with the rest of the TV members.

I don't have these issues, and I know lots and lots of other people don't as well.

I personally couldn't give a monkeys about the state of tourism, I don't have a business here, so why should I? The infrastructure could do with less growth, and less people, so maybe things need to get worse for them to get better, these things have a way of sorting themselves out. Until then I'll accept things the way they are, and take it or leave it. Right now, and for the last ten years, I love the place, so I'll take it.

One day I'll do a little experiment. I'll spend a day taking Tuk Tuk rides, and see what happens. I bet I could take 20 or 30 in a day without a single incident. But then if I did that people would only accuse me of lieing and wearing funny glasses again.

woohoo .... yes i too feel safe but without continued tourism dollars coming in, Phuket will suffer and the small incidents you see now will escalate , less money coming in equals , loss of jobs , increase in crime , increase in prices etc , if this is nipped in the bud now it can be saved ...... the last thing on my mind will be less stress on the infrastructure if we are not safe to live our daily lives ....... the experiment will not work as you are aware of the pitfalls of the tuk tuks unless of course you were pissed and it was late night / early morning and we made you haggle for a discount on every ride ha ha ........ enjoy your posts by the way .... Cheers

[WOOHOO]

woohoo .... yes i too feel safe but without continued tourism dollars coming in, Phuket will suffer and the small incidents you see now will escalate , less money coming in equals , loss of jobs , increase in crime , increase in prices etc , if this is nipped in the bud now it can be saved ...... the last thing on my mind will be less stress on the infrastructure if we are not safe to live our daily lives ....... the experiment will not work as you are aware of the pitfalls of the tuk tuks unless of course you were pissed and it was late night / early morning and we made you haggle for a discount on every ride ha ha ........ enjoy your posts by the way .... Cheers

You're probably right mate, it's just not something I allow to bother me. It may sound selfish, and I assure you that's not the case, I'd be the first person to jump in if I thought an innocent person was being unfairly treated. But all the time it doesn't affect me or my family personally, I won't let it worry me, it's just not my fight. If things change, as you say they will, then I'll move on to pastures new, simple as that, but I'm farly sure they won't.

You're right about the experiment not working. Who was I trying to kid? I couldn't afford 2 or 3 Tuk Tuks in a day let alone 20 or 30.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Maestro

[thepanicandthevomit]

I'm lost- Can someone do a quick character review?

Yes, I can. Woohoo seems to think violent thugs beating up tourists is perfectly acceptable. Draw your own conclusions...

[thepanicandthevomit]

An example I have used is before. If the shoe was on the other foot, and it was Thai or any other Asian nation who poured in to the UK every day to throw their money around and behave as if they owned the place, there wouldn't be a slap here and there, there would be deaths and lots of them.

Again, extraordinary...

[WOOHOO]

An example I have used is before. If the shoe was on the other foot, and it was Thai or any other Asian nation who poured in to the UK every day to throw their money around and behave as if they owned the place, there wouldn't be a slap here and there, there would be deaths and lots of them.

Again, extraordinary...

Again, Thank you.

[WOOHOO]

I was commenting on this earlier..this practice of creating multiple identities and backing up your own position explains why we get 2 or 3 people that take an inexplicable position on an issue that is fairly cut and dry. It's really only one person.

Ah...you would love to gather info on me wouldn't you. I won't do that because there are just enough of you sympathizers and confirmed farangs that are relatives of tuk tuk drivers that would just love to pass on information to your tuk tuk relatives. I simply don't trust you.

Firstly, I explained earlier what happened, you obviously skipped the reading part and went straight to the writing again. That is the first and last time I have created an extra account. I wrote posts exactly how I would have if my normal account was active. Two regular posters (who read posts as well as write them) knew it was me straight away, hardly a good attempt at pretending to be somebody else was it.

Please tell me that second paragraph is a joke. You're calling me a sympathizer? and accusing me of being related to Tuk Tuk drivers!! and undermining your movement. You haven't being watching re-runs of 'Allo Allo' recently have you? I'm going to pass on information to the enemy?? are you pulling my plonker?

No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself, trust me or not, that's your call, but seriously, let it go.

Edited April 12, 2010 by WOOHOO

[billythehat]

No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself, trust me or not, that's your call, but seriously, let it go.

"No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself,"

'have a word with yourself'....Oh, the irony, Joe, WOOHOO, whoever...

[thepanicandthevomit]

No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself, trust me or not, that's your call, but seriously, let it go.

"No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself,"

'have a word with yourself'....Oh, the irony, Joe, WOOHOO, whoever...

[geriatrickid]

What a lovely way to start the day . I don't know why there is such hostility and anger playing out in this thread. We all know that Patong is not Phuket. Basically, what we have here is the recounting of an incident that is not unusual for those of us that stay in that "neighborhood". Patong has its scummy areas that attract the worst of Thais and the worst of foreigners. It's a freak show at the best of times. During the day, the tuk tuk drivers sit in the scuzzy bars around the Ocean Plaza, the taxi drivers waving their cardboard signs half heartedly. Day after day, these guys have seen me. Each and every day, they do their tuk tuk or taxi chant like robots. I stopped saying no thanks long ago and don't even smile. I just keep walking, focused. In return, they now make rude comments. It is especially bad between Bangla and that place where they do that pathetic Elvis tribute show. At night, the drivers and touts are just looking for a fight along that stretch. Sorry, but that's what I have dealt with regularly. The only person that isn't a legitimate threat in the area is that guy pushing the "Kwality Indian" food.

Ok sure, some will say, why do you walk there? Well if you know the soi layout, the only east west access route between Sawatdirak and the Holiday Inn is Bangla. People in that 1 1/2 km stretch don't have any other option except Bangla. We're prisoners because of poor urban planning.

Welcome to the ghetto.

[ScubaBuddha]

No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself, trust me or not, that's your call, but seriously, let it go.

"No offense mate, you need to have a word with yourself,"

'have a word with yourself'....Oh, the irony, Joe, WOOHOO, whoever...

ROTFLMAO

[cdmtdm]

What a lovely way to start the day . I don't know why there is such hostility and anger playing out in this thread. We all know that Patong is not Phuket. Basically, what we have here is the recounting of an incident that is not unusual for those of us that stay in that "neighborhood". Patong has its scummy areas that attract the worst of Thais and the worst of foreigners. It's a freak show at the best of times. During the day, the tuk tuk drivers sit in the scuzzy bars around the Ocean Plaza, the taxi drivers waving their cardboard signs half heartedly. Day after day, these guys have seen me. Each and every day, they do their tuk tuk or taxi chant like robots. I stopped saying no thanks long ago and don't even smile. I just keep walking, focused. In return, they now make rude comments. It is especially bad between Bangla and that place where they do that pathetic Elvis tribute show. At night, the drivers and touts are just looking for a fight along that stretch. Sorry, but that's what I have dealt with regularly. The only person that isn't a legitimate threat in the area is that guy pushing the "Kwality Indian" food.

Ok sure, some will say, why do you walk there? Well if you know the soi layout, the only east west access route between Sawatdirak and the Holiday Inn is Bangla. People in that 1 1/2 km stretch don't have any other option except Bangla. We're prisoners because of poor urban planning.

Welcome to the ghetto.

its not isolated to Patong take a drive out of your ghetto and head toward Rawai , the tuk tuk VD spreads right along the coast .... its the violence and intimidation thats un acceptable in Phuket not just Patong !!

[katabeachbum]

its not isolated to Patong take a drive out of your ghetto and head toward Rawai , the tuk tuk VD spreads right along the coast .... its the violence and intimidation thats un acceptable in Phuket not just Patong !!

agree. It used to be patong only, and could be avoided.

Now its all over Phuket and has to be handled on a dayly basis. Its spread from being criminal tuk tuk drivers renting vehicles from the co op and having probelms paying the extreme prices for them, to most tuk tuk drivers in Phuket. Greed and power probably, using criminal actions to achieve it.

How woohoojoe can state he s never been bothered by tuk tuks is hard to believe. Living sheltered like he does with kid, schooltransport and an occasional sunday lunch on rawai beach, tuk tuk criminals are to be met even in such small circles.

[grumpyoldman]

wow, this Forum has really gone downhill.

We've flogged the dead horse of tuk tuk threads beyond recognition, to the point of flogging joewhoohoo instead.

Somebody get me a sangsom soda.....................I think my laundry girl bleached my redshirt.

Edited April 13, 2010 by grumpyoldman

[thehop]

I have been following this thread with interest, here's my 2 cents......I have visited Phuket (usually for a month or so) every year since 1985. For the past 15 years I have visited with my Thai wife and then with our children (aged 11 and 5) who absolutely love the place. We have friends and family in Phuket. During those earlier years we always had good experiences with the Tuk Tuk drivers, they would help with shopping, load the kids and pushchair and be real nice about it. Jump forward a few years and it has changed dramatically, extortionate prices, surly attitute, they are always spoilng for a row even when you are with your wife and young children. We have not used a Tuk Tuk for at least the last 3 years , just not worth the potential aggro. It's a real shame as tourists love getting around in Tuk Tuks, it was something different.

I'm sure they see some assh..les from time to time, but it kinda goes with the territory, being racked up at the end of Bangla waiting for the drinkers needing a ride home. They are dependent on the tourist $ for their livelihood but the service they now offer is appaling. Those of you here who don't realise this are in dreamland. There is no excuse for 10-20 people beating the crap out of tourists/ex-pats or families (those poor French).

We will probably always make Phuket part of our vacations, but we are fortunate as we know the score and that is not just with theTuk Tuk mafia. I have seen tourists being charged 80 Baht for a single corn cob!!!!

My wife thinks Phuket is not a patch on what it was all those years ago. The price of progress I suppose.

[katabeachbum]

I love to live in Phuket, but I do hate the tuk tuk mafias behavior and actions. Time to clean up the mess. Now.

next time I see 20 tuk tuk drivers beat up 2 people inside a tuk tuk, I will not risk my life interfering, but watch through a camera including the actions of policeoffisers. Then run for life, color my hair red, and hand the vid to as many media as possible and post as many places as possible.

Hope it works

[stevenl]

color my hair red

I will give your user info to the yellows. Lol

[LivinginKata]

I can see that this thread has reached the end of it's useful life. Too many insults being thrown about and some posts have been removed. Topic now closed.