Both Thais And Foreigners To Pay More For Entry To Some National Parks

[cowslip]

Any one know if a non native with a work permit and paying more tax than the average Thai will still pay Thai rates??? Although this has never applied at Kaeng Krachan!!!

there is a notice at Kaeng Krachan visitor centre that clearly states reduced rates for foreigners with Thai DL or similar ID

Sorry but i am a regular visiter to KK (6 times this year already) and i have never seen this sign..But will look out next time

In the visitor centre - it is on a noticeboard with prices out side near the ticket office. If you go to the gate to the mountain drive, they will insist on the full amount. THey appear to be pocketing the different.

I go there quite a bit - I haven't been since Feb. I saw several Farang turn back who hadn't bought their tickets at the office.

[Thongkorn]

Only twice have the wife and Myself come across this both times the wife said " give our money back we will not bother," We don't entertain double pricing at any cost. At some places they have relented and let us both in for the same price. its not about money its about prince-able. if every body did the same they would soon realize.

[bootly66]

Any one know if a non native with a work permit and paying more tax than the average Thai will still pay Thai rates??? Although this has never applied at Kaeng Krachan!!!

there is a notice at Kaeng Krachan visitor centre that clearly states reduced rates for foreigners with Thai DL or similar ID

Sorry but i am a regular visiter to KK (6 times this year already) and i have never seen this sign..But will look out next time

In the visitor centre - it is on a noticeboard with prices out side near the ticket office. If you go to the gate to the mountain drive, they will insist on the full amount. THey appear to be pocketing the different.

I go there quite a bit - I haven't been since Feb. I saw several Farang turn back who hadn't bought their tickets at the office.

Ok I only go to the upper level..Ban Krang mainly , and yes, they always charge me over the top

[cowslip]

I can only speak about what I know. We spend a lot of time in a house near the Tublan National Park in Wang Nam Khieo. Before Mr Damrong starts messing around, we were enjoying quite a number of tourist who came to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. Of them, how many were visiting the national park ? Almost nobody ! I say almost because if you take the wrong turn when visiting the mushroom farm, you end up in the national park .

At the same time, a local entrepreneur opened a floral park (now closed, tks Demolition Man), that was able to attract busload of tourists despite the fact that he was charging the entry B90.

So on the one hand, you have a very successful tourist area , very popular and that attracts thousand of tourists and on the other hand, less than 10 km from there, you have a national park that nobody visit. What is the solution ? In a very North Korean way, you thanks the private investors for the entrepreneurship, their creativity and their longtime financial commitment for the area, and you kick them out and take over.

Because this is what it is about. In the plans for the financing of the National Parks, running resorts is one of the major sources of revenue (with logging !!! and I'm not making that up !). But why bother with trying to reinvent the wheel when you can just take away what others have already done ?

If you build private businesses on a National Park then that land is no longer national Park - if you build without permission then you are a vandal....or maybe you should find out what "encroachment " means

That's the point, the villagers argue that their land doesn't depend from the National Park administration since the year 2000 survey.

The national park was established in 1981 while the land was cleared in the 70's. When the park was established, people who were living there were given some rights and some land titles. All was ok as long as they were subsistence farmers and didn't make money. Unfortunately they proved that properly developed their land has a big hidden value. So suddenly the forest department wake up and say "Wait a minute, you're making money now ? I want my land back !"

Unfortunately it's not the forest department land any more. Since the year 2000 survey, it has been commonly accepted that the area that Damrong claims is no longer part of the national park, a fact that Damrong conveniently forget. Or pretend to forget because so far the resorts that he had teared down are within the border that are accepted by everybody. For the resorts that are in the grey zone, he has made a lot of noise but done nothing because he knows he is on shaky legal ground there.

Sorry, when I say he has done nothing, it's not exactly true. He has sent hundreds of park officers (not making that up) to survey (read terrorize) the area while at the same time every day in the news you have reports that wild life in Thailand is getting poached and meat and parts exported to foreign countries. Is it a smart use of human resources, please tell me.

I think you'll find that the money for thisis coming from Bkk who are having a fine time muddying the water here.