Another Tuk Tuk Driver Assault

[2unique]

That would depend on a number of different factors.

Priority

Low crime stats, low rate of violence and murdered farang

Honest tuk tuk/taxi service

tropical palmtree beaches with clear water

a variety of local and international restaurants

close high quality hospitals

english speaking locals to be found

top notch night time entertainment

Now, which areas do you recomend over Phuket?

Barbados :-P

5 years ago I stopped going to Samui for the same reasons (plus watered down drinks) now to he found in Phuket, returning for a friend's wedding in October I really enjoyed the place. Admittedly mostly due to three days of drinking with mates I've not seen for years but I'd go back there before Phuket with wife and kid. Would drive or hire car for both tho.

Had a good 2 days in Krabi in November but was insulated from the normal tourist stuff quite a bit.

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[stevenl]

Now, if we had proper, affordable, public transport, it would not be as dangerous to ride a bike, then no one would need a car, then the car parking wouldn't be a problem, but it all started with the Thai authorities not creating a proper, affordable, public transport system.

Everybody, all over the world, wants their own car. Nothing to do with lack of public transport. The same goes for driving after drinking, has nothing to do with public transport.

Sorry, I lost you after this, you started off again with the same things you call 'facts', but which are not factual at all, just your opinion.

[NamKangMan]

Now, if we had proper, affordable, public transport, it would not be as dangerous to ride a bike, then no one would need a car, then the car parking wouldn't be a problem, but it all started with the Thai authorities not creating a proper, affordable, public transport system.

Everybody, all over the world, wants their own car. Nothing to do with lack of public transport. The same goes for driving after drinking, has nothing to do with public transport.

Sorry, I lost you after this, you started off again with the same things you call 'facts', but which are not factual at all, just your opinion.

A couple of years ago I stayed a month in Pattaya. Due to the baht bus system there, I didn't even have the need, or the want, to hire a bike, let alone a car. Actually, to have either, would be more expensive in fuel, maintainance etc, even if you owned one and did not have to rent one.

I don't want to get into the argument of which is better, Phuket or Pattaya, or, "If you love Pattaya why don't you move there." blah blah blah blah.

The FACTS are, stevenl, that in a tourism zone in Thailand, very similar to Phuket, there is a great public transport system in operation, called, baht buses.

The FACTS are stevenl, that system does not exist in Phuket.

The FACTS are, stevenl, similar systems are operating in other countries that are in direct competition to Phuket.

The FACTS are, stevenl, that if there was proper affordable public transport in Phuket, not as many accidents would occur, alcohol related or not, therefore less death and injury.

These are the sad FACTS and I can not see how you can dispute them. You really need to start calling a spade a spade and stop making excuses for the people in authority here. It is blatantley obviously these people are only thinking of their own wallets. There is nothing wrong with stating you like Phuket and chose to live here but it has many "issues."

Edited January 8, 2012 by NamKangMan

[2unique]

The FACTS are, stevenl, that if there was proper affordable public transport in Phuket, not as many accidents would occur, alcohol related or not, therefore less death and injury.

As much as I agree with you, that is not a fact but more of a probability based upon there being less vehicles driven by "amateurs" and non-alcoholics on the road.

2 full baht buses in a collision vs 2 passenger cars with a single occupant on a daily basis destroys your FACT.

other than that, this pedant says keep up the good essays

Edited January 8, 2012 by 2unique

[NamKangMan]

The FACTS are, stevenl, that if there was proper affordable public transport in Phuket, not as many accidents would occur, alcohol related or not, therefore less death and injury.

As much as I agree with you, that is not a fact but more of a probability based upon there being less vehicles driven by "amateurs" and non-alcoholics on the road.

2 full baht buses in a collision vs 2 passenger cars with a single occupant on a daily basis destroys your FACT.

other than that, this pedant says keep up the good essays

I take your point, but you are assuming ALL passengers would be either injured, or killed, thus becoming a statistic. I am prepared to rephrase that comment to your satisfaction and say, "There is a high probability that there would be less accidents, therefore less death and injury, if Phuket had a proper, affordable public transport system."

There are many coach buses operating in Thailand. They crash, regularly, but if we look at how many passengers they move around, to the amount of crashes, it may be an acceptable risk to travel by coach bus.

Baht buses drive pretty slow and wait to be flagged down by pedestrians. If there was a collision, death and injury would be minimal. Baht buses running along the coast would be more dangerous as the speeds are higher. All I can say is we hear of so many fatal bike accidents and car accidents, but rarely, if ever, of a fatal tuk tuk accident. So, if we were to make tuk tuks drive around like baht buses, accidents may not be not as common.

Even the locals in Pattaya, bar girls, waitresses, room cleaners, reception staff etc, who are on 6000 baht a month salary, catch baht buses. Then there are the tourist and expats. So, the locals, tourist, and the expats, do not have to buy or rent a bike to traverse Pattaya City. That's a lot of vehicles not on the road, which means a lot of vehicles not be operated whilst overloaded Eg. 4 people on a bike and a lot of vehicles not been operated whilst under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

In this case, the PROBABILITY of less accidents, therefore less death and injury, boarders on FACT.

Edited January 8, 2012 by NamKangMan

[katabeachbum]

The FACTS are, stevenl, that if there was proper affordable public transport in Phuket, not as many accidents would occur, alcohol related or not, therefore less death and injury.

As much as I agree with you, that is not a fact but more of a probability based upon there being less vehicles driven by "amateurs" and non-alcoholics on the road.

2 full baht buses in a collision vs 2 passenger cars with a single occupant on a daily basis destroys your FACT.

other than that, this pedant says keep up the good essays

I take your point, but you are assuming ALL passengers would be either injured, or killed, thus becoming a statistic. I am prepared to rephrase that comment to your satisfaction and say, "There is a high probability that there would be less accidents, therefore less death and injury, if Phuket had a proper, affordable public transport system."

There are many coach buses operating in Thailand. They crash, regularly, but if we look at how many passengers they move around, to the amount of crashes, it may be an acceptable risk to travel by coach bus.

Baht buses drive pretty slow and wait to be flagged down by pedestrians. If there was a collision, death and injury would be minimal. Baht buses running along the coast would be more dangerous as the speeds are higher. All I can say is we hear of so many fatal bike accidents and car accidents, but rarely, if ever, of a fatal tuk tuk accident. So, if we were to make tuk tuks drive around like baht buses, accidents may not be not as common.

Even the locals in Pattaya, bar girls, waitresses, room cleaners, reception staff etc, who are on 6000 baht a month salary, catch baht buses. Then there are the tourist and expats. So, the locals, tourist, and the expats, do not have to buy or rent a bike to traverse Pattaya City. That's a lot of vehicles not on the road, which means a lot of vehicles not be operated whilst overloaded Eg. 4 people on a bike and a lot of vehicles not been operated whilst under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

In this case, the PROBABILITY of less accidents, therefore less death and injury, boarders on FACT.

drinking more than 3 beer, I would never drive/ride more than 3 km if there was taxis available as in BKK

so IMHO lack of proper taxi and public transport indeed causes more drunk driving accidents, and brings more unskilled drivers/riders out on the roads

so for once, sorry its twice, iceman presents FACTS

[steelepulse]

>>I stated to the other member that Bali met all of his criteria, so, an alternative did exist for him and that he did have another option.

Bali might not be such a good option if you're an Aussie. How about that great Indo food compared to Thai food ?

>>heraldsun.com.au Chris Mete, 26, was forced to buy a first-class ticket and fly six hours to Australia with a leaking pancreas and fluid in his lungs after the scuffle that saw him and Newcastle man Jake Whitehead slashed at Kuta's Bounty nightclub. He and wife Mandie chose to dash home four days ago after days in a Balinese intensive care unit where several other patients died.

But Mr Mete still says Indonesians are better behaved than Australians. His comments come as fresh police statistics reveal crimes against Australians in Bali rose by a massive 214 per cent last year. Aussies acting like louts was the biggest problem. heraldsun.com.au Chris Mete, 26, was forced to buy a first-class ticket and fly six hours to Australia with a leaking pancreas and fluid in his lungs after the scuffle that saw him and Newcastle man Jake Whitehead slashed at Kuta's Bounty nightclub. He and wife Mandie chose to dash home four days ago after days in a Balinese intensive care unit where several other patients died.

But Mr Mete still says Indonesians are better behaved than Australians. His comments come as fresh police statistics reveal crimes against Australians in Bali rose by a massive 214 per cent last year. Aussies acting like louts was the biggest problem.

[NamKangMan]

>>I stated to the other member that Bali met all of his criteria, so, an alternative did exist for him and that he did have another option.

Bali might not be such a good option if you're an Aussie. How about that great Indo food compared to Thai food ?

>>heraldsun.com.au Chris Mete, 26, was forced to buy a first-class ticket and fly six hours to Australia with a leaking pancreas and fluid in his lungs after the scuffle that saw him and Newcastle man Jake Whitehead slashed at Kuta's Bounty nightclub. He and wife Mandie chose to dash home four days ago after days in a Balinese intensive care unit where several other patients died.

But Mr Mete still says Indonesians are better behaved than Australians. His comments come as fresh police statistics reveal crimes against Australians in Bali rose by a massive 214 per cent last year. Aussies acting like louts was the biggest problem. heraldsun.com.au Chris Mete, 26, was forced to buy a first-class ticket and fly six hours to Australia with a leaking pancreas and fluid in his lungs after the scuffle that saw him and Newcastle man Jake Whitehead slashed at Kuta's Bounty nightclub. He and wife Mandie chose to dash home four days ago after days in a Balinese intensive care unit where several other patients died.

But Mr Mete still says Indonesians are better behaved than Australians. His comments come as fresh police statistics reveal crimes against Australians in Bali rose by a massive 214 per cent last year. Aussies acting like louts was the biggest problem.

If crimes against Australians rose 214% - how many tourist arrivals are they getting???? As mentioned before, Bali is packed with tourist, mainly Aussies. A large slice of the Phuket market is going to Bali now. So, your post tends to prove what I am saying.

I saw a report of that incident on the news. If the same incident happened here, a dozen Thai members of staff would grab a weapon each and either kill, or severly injure the combatants. You only have to look at the weapons involved in the recent fight where the manager of The Isarra Hotel Group was stabbed. A lot of crime is not reported to police here because it's just a waste of time. We know it will not be properly investigated. So, in my opinion, the crime statistics are a lot higher than we think.

I'm not saying Bali is better than Phuket. I am saying if Phuket doesn't start addressing it's negatives, it's going to keep losing market share as their competition gets stronger. Then, we start to see derelict buildings and bars, for sale signs everywhere etc etc.

Maybe they thought the Chinese, Russians, indians and Arabs would shop and drink as much as the westerns, so, they thought they could just replace one demographic of tourist with another, but we all know they do not spend and many are on packaged holidays.

Edited January 8, 2012 by NamKangMan

[BookMan]

That would depend on a number of different factors.

Priority

Low crime stats, low rate of violence and murdered farang

Honest tuk tuk/taxi service

tropical palmtree beaches with clear water

a variety of local and international restaurants

close high quality hospitals

english speaking locals to be found

top notch night time entertainment

Now, which areas do you recomend over Phuket?

I would recomend Penang, the Gold Coast in Aus, all the way up to Cairnes. The Canary Islands, Vietnam, Maldives, Goa and many many more

Gold coast , sunshine coast and all the way up to Cairns has some beautiful clean beaches and lovely scenery. But.. it is expensive compared to Phuket. which is why many Aussies come to Thailand...

[BookMan]

East Oz can't comment, but, it would have to be expensive compared to Phuket.

How much is a 400m taxi ride, and hospital fees for a broken skull?

Can't see too many people doing a 400 metre taxi ride in OZ...but... flagfall and 1st kilomtere... close to 200 baht.

[BookMan]

That would depend on a number of different factors.

Priority

Low crime stats, low rate of violence and murdered farang

Honest tuk tuk/taxi service

tropical palmtree beaches with clear water

a variety of local and international restaurants

close high quality hospitals

english speaking locals to be found

top notch night time entertainment

Now, which areas do you recomend over Phuket?

A thread came up like this a while ago and the same question was asked of me. The member asking me to name an alternative to Phuket had quite a few "factors" that needed to be met. For example, he required an International School. I do not have young children, so, an International School is of no concern to me, but was important to him.

When hehehehe says "It would depend on different factors" - if he is talking about the individual's criteria that has to be met, then I agree. I stated to the other member that Bali met all of his criteria, so, an alternative did exist for him and that he did have another option.

A lot of people come to Phuket for a 2 week holiday and love the place. They think living here (as an expat everyday) is going to be like everyday in those 2 week holidays they had here. They really do think Phuket is the be all and end all. How wrong can they be? This island has many, many problems that, as expats, we have all become used to or have organised

"a work around."

Many members post on TV that one of the island's many problems, is not a problem for them anymore, because of their "work around" so, therefore, the problem does not exist on the island anymore. That is wrong, the problem still exists for thousands of other people. Many of these "work arounds" create other problems. For example, riding a bike is too dangerous on Phuket, so, everyone gets a car - now, there's nowhere to park cars. Now, if we had proper, affordable, public transport, it would not be as dangerous to ride a bike, then no one would need a car, then the car parking wouldn't be a problem, but it all started with the Thai authorities not creating a proper, affordable, public transport system.

The problem for Phuket is, for so long, they have been the only place that matches the criteria in your post. However, their competition is now catering for what tourist and expats want/need, and in the not so distant future, will offer EVERYTHING Phuket offers, without most of the negatives that Phuket has. This is something the authorities in Phuket either don't seem to care about, or realise the island has gone too far down a certain path and it can not be changed. As stated previously, I think it's the latter, and only the army can implement any change here now and there will have to be much blood shed before the Army will be sent in.

The Vietnam War kicked off tourism in Thailand. So, many of the first expats were War Veterans or their friends and/or family, as they were the ones first told about Thailand - mainly Pattaya back in those days, and it spread from there. After the war, Vietnam shut it's boarders, so there was no tourism there and the country was in a rebuilding mode. So, Thailand benefited greatly after war by way of tourism. That generation of expat is aging, and many are passing away, year by year. Phuket needs to attract the next generation of expat, and this is where Phuket is struggling. The problems we have here now, we have had for years, and those problems have not stayed at the same level, they have grown worse. For example, crime and violence on the island is more prevalent.

Phuket's competion do not have tuk tuk problems and a massive drug culture amongst the locals. There is no random drug testing of hotel staff etc etc. In general, there is no monthly collection of "tea money." The list goes on and on of the negatives that DO NOT exist in neighbouring countries who are now in direct competition with Phuket. Not to mention, Phuket has the highest cost of living in South East Asia, apart from Singapore.

I really struggle to keep my mouth shut when I hear an expat on Phuket say, "I love it here. It's great." I ask, "Where else have you been in South East Asia?" Many times, the answer is, "Nowhere else." How would they know Phuket is so great without anywhere else to compare it to???? A lot of human psycology comes into play. A guy in Phuket hooks up with a local girl, so now he's in his comfort zone and there is no way she was ever going to leave Thailand, because she likes to be "big boss" due to speaking the language, knowing the culture etc. A lot of guys say they love Phuket because they know the missus will never move with them. I know guys who have girls who will not even accompany them on visa runs for a few days. Tell these women "we are moving to Vietnam tee rak" and watch how nasty things get, so, for her sake, many guys feel tied to Phuket/Thailand. Funny thing is, I remember when these girls used to say, "Up to you farang." Now they say, "Up to me. Up to me."

Katabeachbum, we all have different criteria to meet, it's hard to pick a place that meets them all, for everybody, but the competition are building what the tourist and expats want and need, at a fast rate, so, in the near future, there will be many places that will offer all the positives that Phuket has, without all the negatives. An example is visa laws. Malaysia - 90 day stamp on arrival. Vietnam - you organise a 3 month visa on arrival which can be extended for 3 times, within the country, so basically, you live there for one year on one visa.

Places to watch will be Da Nang and Nha Trang in Vietnam. Penang does offer most of what you mention. Of course there is Bali, which has everything.

There are new, emerging places, like Myanmar (Burma) which has many, many beautiful islands. When "change" has been fully implementent in the country, it will have a lot of potential. The expat bar owner in Phuket, who is getting sqeezed from all sides and has become an "expat slave" to the wealthy Thai's for his rent and tea money every month, can get in on the ground floor over there, whilst it's still cheap, and set up a large Aussie, English or Irish theme bar and just sit back and watch their investment grow, while trade in Phuket shrinks. This opportunity still exist in Vietnam, but the window period in Vietnam is closing, fast, because a lot of the "smart money" has already gone there.

I love Langkawi. It's a small tropical island in Malaysia - well serviced by AirAsia and boats. It's been made a tax free island to promote tourism. Malaysia also has some of the best land ownership laws for foreigners. It lacks the raging night life of Phuket and Vietnam but what a great little island to see out your twilight years with your missus - if she'll go.

I could name many more places, but I can only encourage expats to go and look for themselves. If you had the motivation to leave your country and move to Phuket, go a few extra yards to have a look "next door." You might find that Phuket is not all it's cracked up to be and then you may have an understanding why members like me are critcal of Phuket.

I am not Phuket bashing. I chose to live here, for now, but as I have said before, I can see the day coming when Phuket will be a shadow of it's former self and the Thais would have raped and pillaged it while the going was good and will leave it like a Costa del Sol. Until recently, I thought that day was in the distant future, but on a recent tour around, I can tell you, that day is coming a lot faster than we all originally thought. When that day comes, I will not chose to live here and I will move, but that day is coming.

What the Thai's are doing now is akin to slash and burn agriculture and it's just not sustainable tourism. As an expat reading this, you are probably saying, "What do I care about tourism? I live here. I'm an expat." I would say to you, as an expat, do you really want to live in a place where every second guest house, restaurant and bar is "boarded up" and left derelict, for years, with a for sale sign out the front? Look at the bars under the new boxing stadium. Only a few at the front are in operation and they are for sale, and they have built a masive complex on Bangla Road. Who's going to buy in there, especially up the back of the complex? Many of the bars in in the Soi's are for sale.

Now, NEVER forget the Thai business model - profits are down, so put prices up. An example is rent. Rent goes up, so now the owner has to put the price of his beer, food and/or accommodation up for the customers, so now Phuket is becoming more expensive and less competetive for the tourist dollar and expats on pensions discover their money isn't going so far these days. The loss of tourism DOES have an effect on expats and so we should be concerned. It's tourism that keeps us expats with the lifestyle we are acustom to here, whether that be hitting the girly bars or being able to buy that bottle of wine we like.

Anyway, if some of my post has hit a nerve with any member, I do not mean to offend. I would courage every member to have a "Plan B" as an alternative to Phuket and you should be doing recognizance on your Plan B now. For many in business here, all it would take is another tsunami (highly unlikely) or an attack similar to Bali, and many businesses would close overnight. The tsunami gave the authorities the opportunity to give Phuket a fresh start, but not long after, Phuket just slipped into it's old ways.

There is also uncertainty for when a very revered Thai individual passes away and also for when Thaksin comes back to Thailand (highly likely) Neighbouring countries do not have any of these issues in their near future.

Also, for those in business, remember, all it takes is a "travel warning" to be placed on Thailand, and although there is no immediate danger, a tourist can not gain travel insurance - so, tourism dries up, instantly. These tourist, locked out of Thailand, with go "next door" and if it's cheap, and they enjoyed themselves, they will return there, and maybe never ever visit Phuket, or maybe never return to Phuket because they have stumbled upon a place they like more. The volitility of Thailand, and it's Government, is a concern.

Phuket practically used to have all of "the tourism pie" in South East Asia, but many other places are now cutting huge slices out of that pie. You will see Phuket left with a smaller and smaller peice of the pie, year after year, because nothing is changing for the benefit of tourist and expats here. You would think to have been in such a strong position in the market it would have been easy to hold onto market share, but neglect, greed and corruption has allowed their opposition to get a foot in the door and I only see a shrinking market share for Phuket in the future.

Unfortunately for Phuket, many of it's positives are being taken over by it's negatives, and whilst other places, currently, may not have all the positives of Phuket - they have far less of the negatives of Phuket, thus giving them the ability to provide a nicer lifestyle, that is also more affordable, and is only going to get better as they put more and more investment into their infastructure, as more and more people visit and live there.

Gee, this post has taken me back to my university essay writing days.

Excellent post!

[2unique]

The FACTS are, stevenl, that if there was proper affordable public transport in Phuket, not as many accidents would occur, alcohol related or not, therefore less death and injury.

As much as I agree with you, that is not a fact but more of a probability based upon there being less vehicles driven by "amateurs" and non-alcoholics on the road.

2 full baht buses in a collision vs 2 passenger cars with a single occupant on a daily basis destroys your FACT.

other than that, this pedant says keep up the good essays

I take your point, but you are assuming ALL passengers would be either injured, or killed, thus becoming a statistic. I am prepared to rephrase that comment to your satisfaction and say, "There is a high probability that there would be less accidents, therefore less death and injury, if Phuket had a proper, affordable public transport system."

There are many coach buses operating in Thailand. They crash, regularly, but if we look at how many passengers they move around, to the amount of crashes, it may be an acceptable risk to travel by coach bus.

Baht buses drive pretty slow and wait to be flagged down by pedestrians. If there was a collision, death and injury would be minimal. Baht buses running along the coast would be more dangerous as the speeds are higher. All I can say is we hear of so many fatal bike accidents and car accidents, but rarely, if ever, of a fatal tuk tuk accident. So, if we were to make tuk tuks drive around like baht buses, accidents may not be not as common.

Even the locals in Pattaya, bar girls, waitresses, room cleaners, reception staff etc, who are on 6000 baht a month salary, catch baht buses. Then there are the tourist and expats. So, the locals, tourist, and the expats, do not have to buy or rent a bike to traverse Pattaya City. That's a lot of vehicles not on the road, which means a lot of vehicles not be operated whilst overloaded Eg. 4 people on a bike and a lot of vehicles not been operated whilst under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

In this case, the PROBABILITY of less accidents, therefore less death and injury, boarders on FACT.

drinking more than 3 beer, I would never drive/ride more than 3 km if there was taxis available as in BKK

so IMHO lack of proper taxi and public transport indeed causes more drunk driving accidents, and brings more unskilled drivers/riders out on the roads

so for once, sorry its twice, iceman presents FACTS

Note I'm not saying it is incorrect however it cannot be submitted as fact in the absence of corroborating evidence. Pattaya supports the evidence at hand however w/out a real life application how can it be a fact? Pattaya I'm told has the highest rate of motorcycle accidents in Thailand desire having an alternative public transport system which is probably due to ths fact it doesn't offer sufficient coverage for the overgrown sprawl.

Just because I'm assuming in my devil's advocacy that all accidents involve full buses with 100% fatalities doesn't mean its outside the statistical parameters

I'm happy with; evidence from similar tourist destinations suggest that if there was proper affordable public transport in Phuket, not as many accidents would occur, alcohol related or not, therefore less death and injury.

dam_n TV makes you work hard to be pedantic :-P

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[BookMan]

If crimes against Australians rose 214% - how many tourist arrivals are they getting???? As mentioned before, Bali is packed with tourist, mainly Aussies. A large slice of the Phuket market is going to Bali now. So, your post tends to prove what I am saying.

Bit of an exaggeration NKM. They both get around 430,000 Aussie tourists a year.

Bali holidays are like folklore in Australia. Bali Iwas always the number one destination for Australian tourists in the SE Asian region. The 'bali bombings' of 2002 (killed 82 Australians & over 200 people all up) and the 2005 bombings put a dent in confidence of Australians going there. They have seen huge increase again as confidence returns. But it doesn't seem to have been by taking a large slice of the Phuket market, which has also increased.

[NamKangMan]

If crimes against Australians rose 214% - how many tourist arrivals are they getting???? As mentioned before, Bali is packed with tourist, mainly Aussies. A large slice of the Phuket market is going to Bali now. So, your post tends to prove what I am saying.

Bit of an exaggeration NKM. They both get around 430,000 Aussie tourists a year.

Bali holidays are like folklore in Australia. Bali Iwas always the number one destination for Australian tourists in the SE Asian region. The 'bali bombings' of 2002 (killed 82 Australians & over 200 people all up) and the 2005 bombings put a dent in confidence of Australians going there. They have seen huge increase again as confidence returns. But it doesn't seem to have been by taking a large slice of the Phuket market, which has also increased.

After the bombings, the Aussie market, and the rest of the world, stopped going to Bali. As you said, they lost "confidence" in their safety there. During the time when Aussies, and other nationalities, lacked confidence in Bali, Phuket picked up many tourist. Now confidence has returned to Bali, people from all around the world are heading back there. These people, westerners spending big dollars, have been replaced in Phuket with Chinese, Russians, Indians and Arabs, all of which do not spend up big.

So, even if we take TAT's statistics as accurate, showing tourist numbers are up for Phuket, I think you will find dollar takings are down, across the whole island, in all industries tourism related. Not a good sign for the Phuket economy.

[BookMan]

If crimes against Australians rose 214% - how many tourist arrivals are they getting???? As mentioned before, Bali is packed with tourist, mainly Aussies. A large slice of the Phuket market is going to Bali now. So, your post tends to prove what I am saying.

Bit of an exaggeration NKM. They both get around 430,000 Aussie tourists a year.

Bali holidays are like folklore in Australia. Bali Iwas always the number one destination for Australian tourists in the SE Asian region. The 'bali bombings' of 2002 (killed 82 Australians & over 200 people all up) and the 2005 bombings put a dent in confidence of Australians going there. They have seen huge increase again as confidence returns. But it doesn't seem to have been by taking a large slice of the Phuket market, which has also increased.

After the bombings, the Aussie market, and the rest of the world, stopped going to Bali. As you said, they lost "confidence" in their safety there. During the time when Aussies, and other nationalities, lacked confidence in Bali, Phuket picked up many tourist. Now confidence has returned to Bali, people from all around the world are heading back there. These people, westerners spending big dollars, have been replaced in Phuket with Chinese, Russians, Indians and Arabs, all of which do not spend up big.

So, even if we take TAT's statistics as accurate, showing tourist numbers are up for Phuket, I think you will find dollar takings are down, across the whole island, in all industries tourism related. Not a good sign for the Phuket economy.

Stats of course can easily be manipulated. It is as you say about the dollar takings.

[tartempion]

As a tourist I flew to Phuke-it 2x in 2011.

In March to Khao lak, because non of Phuke-it island was on my agenda, been there before, seen it all 3x over the last 20 years.

Then in September on to Karon beach because the wife wanted to and I wanted to see what it is like 20 years down the road.

Knowing the tuk-tuk mafia i rented a motorbike at 250/day without much using it.

We booked 3 nights and wanted to stay longer but the hotel we stayed at was fully booked for the next 3 nights.

Found an other hotel to our liking 1km down the road, sent wife out 100m from hotel to ask for tuk-tuk to take our luggage, max price I was willing to pay 100B. Guy refused net: would only move his ass for 200B and we needed to bring our luggage, he was not allowed top pick us up at our hotel.

Thus they made zero baht of our stay.

Managed to drive the motorbike with our luggage between my legs and some more.

Now from the new hotel it was a good walk to a restaurant area we ate at during the first nights.

Thus if these scammers would accept 50B for a short ride (1 km) they would get our business to/from the restaurants many times and more, for short trips I would rather take a tuk-tuk or taxi than ride a motor bike.

Brilliant brains the tuk-tuk mafia must have, great business sense

2012 will bring us again to Khao Lak in March and I have the tel# of a driver to pick us up at the equally scamming airport exit doors for 800B not 1200 or even 1500. Booked a hotel with lots of eateries within walking distance, no need for tuk-tuks nor motor bike.

September 2012, Karon beach again, booked same hotel (the second one) We will walk.

To hell with the tuk tuks.

2013 no more Phuke-it, we have other plans.

Edited January 8, 2012 by tartempion

[steelepulse]

As a tourist I flew to Phuke-it 2x in 2011.

In March to Khao lak, because non of Phuke-it island was on my agenda, been there before, seen it all 3x over the last 20 years.

Then in September on to Karon beach because the wife wanted to and I wanted to see what it is like 20 years down the road.

Knowing the tuk-tuk mafia i rented a motorbike at 250/day without much using it.

We booked 3 nights and wanted to stay longer but the hotel we stayed at was fully booked for the next 3 nights.

Found an other hotel to our liking 1km down the road, sent wife out 100m from hotel to ask for tuk-tuk to take our luggage, max price I was willing to pay 100B. Guy refused net: would only move his ass for 200B and we needed to bring our luggage, he was not allowed top pick us up at our hotel.

Thus they made zero baht of our stay.

Managed to drive the motorbike with our luggage between my legs and some more.

Now from the new hotel it was a good walk to a restaurant area we ate at during the first nights.

Thus if these scammers would accept 50B for a short ride (1 km) they would get our business to/from the restaurants many times and more, for short trips I would rather take a tuk-tuk or taxi than ride a motor bike.

Brilliant brains the tuk-tuk mafia must have, great business sense

2012 will bring us again to Khao Lak in March and I have the tel# of a driver to pick us up at the equally scamming airport exit doors for 800B not 1200 or even 1500. Booked a hotel with lots of eateries within walking distance, no need for tuk-tuks nor motor bike.

September 2012, Karon beach again, booked same hotel (the second one) We will walk.

To hell with the tuk tuks.

2013 no more Phuke-it, we have other plans.

Unfortunately, the tuk tuk drivers all wait in a queue, so if they take a fare for 50 baht, they can't do anything for the next few hours. Knowing this, they all give out the same price and won't move until a punter agrees to the minimum 200 baht fare. This is wrong of course, but due to the fees they pay to the "association" and the abuse they will take from other drivers, they will not budge. Mafia at it's finest!

[Jimi007]

As a tourist I flew to Phuke-it 2x in 2011.

In March to Khao lak, because non of Phuke-it island was on my agenda, been there before, seen it all 3x over the last 20 years.

Then in September on to Karon beach because the wife wanted to and I wanted to see what it is like 20 years down the road.

Knowing the tuk-tuk mafia i rented a motorbike at 250/day without much using it.

We booked 3 nights and wanted to stay longer but the hotel we stayed at was fully booked for the next 3 nights.

Found an other hotel to our liking 1km down the road, sent wife out 100m from hotel to ask for tuk-tuk to take our luggage, max price I was willing to pay 100B. Guy refused net: would only move his ass for 200B and we needed to bring our luggage, he was not allowed top pick us up at our hotel.

Thus they made zero baht of our stay.

Managed to drive the motorbike with our luggage between my legs and some more.

Now from the new hotel it was a good walk to a restaurant area we ate at during the first nights.

Thus if these scammers would accept 50B for a short ride (1 km) they would get our business to/from the restaurants many times and more, for short trips I would rather take a tuk-tuk or taxi than ride a motor bike.

Brilliant brains the tuk-tuk mafia must have, great business sense

2012 will bring us again to Khao Lak in March and I have the tel# of a driver to pick us up at the equally scamming airport exit doors for 800B not 1200 or even 1500. Booked a hotel with lots of eateries within walking distance, no need for tuk-tuks nor motor bike.

September 2012, Karon beach again, booked same hotel (the second one) We will walk.

To hell with the tuk tuks.

2013 no more Phuke-it, we have other plans.

Unfortunately, the tuk tuk drivers all wait in a queue, so if they take a fare for 50 baht, they can't do anything for the next few hours. Knowing this, they all give out the same price and won't move until a punter agrees to the minimum 200 baht fare. This is wrong of course, but due to the fees they pay to the "association" and the abuse they will take from other drivers, they will not budge. Mafia at it's finest!

I agree Steelepulse, but tartempion... Yeah, okay... But making a hugh deal out of about $3? Why not rent a car? That's what I did many years ago when I first came here. It will cost you way more than a motorbike or a tuk tuk for 200 Baht. The price of some things here drive me crazy. Even I had to get over it after living here for many years...

[NamKangMan]

I agree Steelepulse, but tartempion... Yeah, okay... But making a hugh deal out of about $3? Why not rent a car? That's what I did many years ago when I first came here. It will cost you way more than a motorbike or a tuk tuk for 200 Baht. The price of some things here drive me crazy. Even I had to get over it after living here for many years...

A friend of mine has a bar in Karon. Sometimes I will go and have a drink with him, during the low season. I ride my motorbike down and book into a cheap guest house for the night that is 400 baht per night. We then go for some dinner and then drinks. As I refuse to ride/drive whilst drunk, I sleep it off down in Karon.

This still works out cheaper than getting a tuk tuk or taxi down to Karon, from Patong, and back again, a distance of only a few kilometers. The tuk tuk drivers want 400 baht down to Karon and 800 baht to bring you back at night, and if it's raining, they will charge more. So, without rain, 1200 baht. This is the cost of renting three rooms for the night and nearly half the cost of renting a motorbike for one month. Also, not to forget, that the average DAILY wage on Phuket is around 300 baht, and that's at least a 10 hour day.

If I told this to anyone who hasn't been to Phuket before they would think Karon is a long way from Patong and you are doing a "day trip" with an overnight stay. IT'S ONLY A FEW KILOMETERS AWAY.

What a ridiculous situation and, to my knowledge, this situation does not exist anywhere else in the world.

I have my own apartment, a few kilometers away, but it's cheaper for me to rent a second place for the night, due to the cost of transport on the island.

As perviously stated, when tourist come here and realise they are paying more for transport to the beaches, markets, bars, restaurants, view points, monuments, temples etc than they are for their accommodation and/or alcohol, meals and activities for their entire holiday, then you are potentially losing business in the future. Or, if people refuse to pay these outragous charges and hire a bike, then you have the carnage on the roads we see around the island everyday with inexperienced riders and/or people riding under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The tuk tuks are doing a lot of damage to Phuket's tourism industry.

[NamKangMan]

As a tourist I flew to Phuke-it 2x in 2011.

In March to Khao lak, because non of Phuke-it island was on my agenda, been there before, seen it all 3x over the last 20 years.

Then in September on to Karon beach because the wife wanted to and I wanted to see what it is like 20 years down the road.

Knowing the tuk-tuk mafia i rented a motorbike at 250/day without much using it.

We booked 3 nights and wanted to stay longer but the hotel we stayed at was fully booked for the next 3 nights.

Found an other hotel to our liking 1km down the road, sent wife out 100m from hotel to ask for tuk-tuk to take our luggage, max price I was willing to pay 100B. Guy refused net: would only move his ass for 200B and we needed to bring our luggage, he was not allowed top pick us up at our hotel.

Thus they made zero baht of our stay.

Managed to drive the motorbike with our luggage between my legs and some more.

Now from the new hotel it was a good walk to a restaurant area we ate at during the first nights.

Thus if these scammers would accept 50B for a short ride (1 km) they would get our business to/from the restaurants many times and more, for short trips I would rather take a tuk-tuk or taxi than ride a motor bike.

Brilliant brains the tuk-tuk mafia must have, great business sense

2012 will bring us again to Khao Lak in March and I have the tel# of a driver to pick us up at the equally scamming airport exit doors for 800B not 1200 or even 1500. Booked a hotel with lots of eateries within walking distance, no need for tuk-tuks nor motor bike.

September 2012, Karon beach again, booked same hotel (the second one) We will walk.

To hell with the tuk tuks.

2013 no more Phuke-it, we have other plans.

Many people are now staying within walking distance to the beaches, bars, restarants, markets etc - HOWEVER, and don't quote me on this, but I believe a certain "influential person" who receives "fees" from the tuk tuk association, and/or his family, also own a lot of prime real estate that just happens to be walking distance to the same beaches, bars, restaurants, markets etc.

So, they control the high cost of transport on the island, and because people now stay walking distance, they also enjoy the benefits of having their properties worth more and always leased at top dollar. A real conflict of interests, but a great "earner" both ways.

Basically, through the lack of transport that they have created, they have locked tourist into certain areas which means many tourist now stay in their properties so they can walk to everything.

[steelepulse]

I agree many more people opting for walking instead of taking tuk tuks. Only downside is most pedestrians have no where to walk except along the side of the soi/road making driving even slower and dangerous for pedestrians.

[hehehoho]

So does a taxi from the airport to a hotel cost more than a flight from Bangkok yet?

Edited January 9, 2012 by hehehoho

[LivinginKata]

So does a taxi from the airport to a hotel cost more than a flight from Bangkok yet?

Depends what the flight costs, sure a very distant booking might cost less but a regular flight price is at least 3 times the taxi fare.

[hehehoho]

Just put it into Airasia, about 9 flights a day, all at 1,199thb including all taxes and surcharges. BKK-HKT 9th Feb, return 15th Feb, same price.

How much is a taxi from the airport to downtown Patong?

Edited January 9, 2012 by hehehoho

[LivinginKata]

Just put it into Airasia, about 9 flights a day, all at 1,199thb including all taxes and surcharges. BKK-HKT 9th Feb, return 15th Feb, same price.

How much is a taxi from the airport to downtown Patong?

Not sure what AirAsia web site you are looking at. there might be 9 flights but none 1,199 baht all inclusive, Might be one at an odd time for near that price. Most are (well) over 1,500 baht, Anyway taxi is still cheaper than your 1,199 price. Last time I looked it cost 800 baht (for a limo). Question asked and answered. This is way off the topic about Tuk Tuk driver assault.

[Jimi007]

Just put it into Airasia, about 9 flights a day, all at 1,199thb including all taxes and surcharges. BKK-HKT 9th Feb, return 15th Feb, same price.

How much is a taxi from the airport to downtown Patong?

It's 500 or 600 Baht to Rawai, so I would think about the same to Patong. Maybe a bit less, since it's closer.

[Nip]

Yes, I urge him to report this to the Chalong police and also to his country consulate here in Thailand. Also worth an email to the Phuket Gazette with the photos.

You gotta be kidding... The Chalong police 'work' the Tuk Tuk's so filing a report will be a total waste of time, the Consulate's are not interested and the Gazette wont print it. Welcome to the cradle of corruption .... Phuket

[2unique]

MISSION Impossible star Jeremy Renner was caught up in a bar brawl in which a pal was hit in the neck with a makeshift AXE, it was claimed today.

Renner, who also starred in the Oscar-winning film Hurt Locker, was in Phuket, Thailand, when the fight involving up to 20 people broke out.

Weapons including metal pipes, wooden clubs and table legs were wielded during the clash, according to reports.

It was said the incident resulted in six staff at the venue being arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Renner, who played William Brandt in Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol opposite Tom Cruise, was with Vorasit Issara, manager of a luxury Thai resort, and four other friends at the Rachada Pub in the early hours of Wednesday.

Six men allegedly attacked Issara, hitting him in the neck with the axe and also stabbing him in the stomach, it was reported.

The axe was a motorcycle part that cops found hidden under a sofa.

Several of 41-year-old Renner's other pals were also attacked.

Issara, 30, said: "We pushed Jeremy to safety as soon as the fight broke out."

Renner, currently filming The Bourne Legacy, was uninjured

[Shot]

MISSION Impossible star Jeremy Renner was caught up in a bar brawl in which a pal was hit in the neck with a makeshift AXE, it was claimed today.

Renner, who also starred in the Oscar-winning film Hurt Locker, was in Phuket, Thailand, when the fight involving up to 20 people broke out.

Weapons including metal pipes, wooden clubs and table legs were wielded during the clash, according to reports.

It was said the incident resulted in six staff at the venue being arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Renner, who played William Brandt in Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol opposite Tom Cruise, was with Vorasit Issara, manager of a luxury Thai resort, and four other friends at the Rachada Pub in the early hours of Wednesday.

Six men allegedly attacked Issara, hitting him in the neck with the axe and also stabbing him in the stomach, it was reported.

The axe was a motorcycle part that cops found hidden under a sofa.

Several of 41-year-old Renner's other pals were also attacked.

Issara, 30, said: "We pushed Jeremy to safety as soon as the fight broke out."

Renner, currently filming The Bourne Legacy, was uninjured

And, whats your point on tuk tuks?

[2unique]

MISSION Impossible star Jeremy Renner was caught up in a bar brawl in which a pal was hit in the neck with a makeshift AXE, it was claimed today.

Renner, who also starred in the Oscar-winning film Hurt Locker, was in Phuket, Thailand, when the fight involving up to 20 people broke out.

Weapons including metal pipes, wooden clubs and table legs were wielded during the clash, according to reports.

It was said the incident resulted in six staff at the venue being arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Renner, who played William Brandt in Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol opposite Tom Cruise, was with Vorasit Issara, manager of a luxury Thai resort, and four other friends at the Rachada Pub in the early hours of Wednesday.

Six men allegedly attacked Issara, hitting him in the neck with the axe and also stabbing him in the stomach, it was reported.

The axe was a motorcycle part that cops found hidden under a sofa.

Several of 41-year-old Renner's other pals were also attacked.

Issara, 30, said: "We pushed Jeremy to safety as soon as the fight broke out."

Renner, currently filming The Bourne Legacy, was uninjured

And, whats your point on tuk tuks?

Every post has a point on tuktuks? You didn't notice any posts on the changing face of Phuket tourism?

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