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Forget The Phuket Monorail!


simon43

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post-174-1137921308_thumb.jpgI've just read that the proposed monorail from the airport to Phuket city via Patong will cost about 20 billion baht...

That's a lot of money, never mind the construction issues.

What about this simple idea?

The airport is located right by the beaches at Nai Yang. Patong is located right by ... er ... Patong Beach.

Why not operate a hovercraft service between the airport and the various beaches of Kamala, Patong and beyond?

The hovercraft can come right up onto the airport apron and tourist beaches. These machines are fast and the high-season weather should make the journey from the airport to the beaches very enjoyable and quick! Additionally, the views of the island would be very good!

The neccessary infrastructure to set up this project is minimal! The only problem is that the boss of the project will probably get murdered by the limousine/taxi/tuk-tuk mafia :o

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You can tell that photo is a forgery. If it were a Thai hovercraft it would be covered in M-150, kratindeng, and D-tac stickers. Oh, and there would be about 100 people clinging on outside :D

cv

LOL Vic! :D I just reckon a few more transit buses wouldn't go astray between the beaches. How hard can it be? It's a no-brainer!

But then again.... many things "disappear without a trace" around here! :o

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Yes, I was just asking myself why a monorail is needed. Is it a road-congestion problem? (I havn't noticed a big problem myself). Or is it that no-one has the guts to stand up to the taxi mafia, and spending 20 bn baht is one way to avoid losing face!

In any case, 20bn baht is about 285 million pounds (I think!). I reckon you can buy quite a few large commercial hovercraft for that price.

Additionally, the hover project is better for cash-flow. You could start with one hovercraft, and see if there is demand for it. So you start to get customer revenue and can ramp up the number of hovercraft. With the monorail, you really need to build the whole thing before you can start to get paying customers.

Simon

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  • 1 year later...
Yes, I was just asking myself why a monorail is needed. Is it a road-congestion problem? (I havn't noticed a big problem myself). Or is it that no-one has the guts to stand up to the taxi mafia, and spending 20 bn baht is one way to avoid losing face!

In any case, 20bn baht is about 285 million pounds (I think!). I reckon you can buy quite a few large commercial hovercraft for that price.

Additionally, the hover project is better for cash-flow. You could start with one hovercraft, and see if there is demand for it. So you start to get customer revenue and can ramp up the number of hovercraft. With the monorail, you really need to build the whole thing before you can start to get paying customers.

Simon

Simon,

Maybe you will be pleased to know that I have just opened a hovercraft rental company on phuket

It is based in Cape Yamu. So if you need a ride of a lifetime forget patong and come and pay us a visit.

Phuket Hovercraft.

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This is another Thai government Fantasyland idea.

I agree. The government has a hard enough time just appropriating land and getting the rights (and figuring out which government agency is responsible) to widen a road. Then the land owners haul away the topsoil and sell it before the land turns over. TIT.

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