Ao Nang Fights Back.

[aonangmrhuw]

One month ago, I witnessed, and spoke out about the stabbing in Ao Nang Krabi.

With increased pressure from Embassy's ,Hotel's,restaurant's,shop owners,and not forgetting all the bad press around the globe

I believe Ao Nang's Royal Thai /Traffic /Tourist Police,have actually turned it around,and saved the day.

With check points being set up daily,They have sent a clear message to unwanted trouble makers.

Ao nang will not stand for this kind of behaviour.

Any people drinking alcohol in large groups by the seafront,will be swiftly moved on.That applies to Ao Nang beach and Nopparatt.

A security firm has constructed a check point at the intersection, on the road to Ao nam mao. Its manned all night.

Ao nang's Or bo torr has been busy,cutting trees giving more light to the place.The old rubbish bins have been replaced with shiny new ones.

New trees have been planted on the beach front ,

The electric company has been checking all the broken street lights,and replacing them .

The lights are on all the way down the Nopporatt Road.

On the 1st of next month ,there will be another beach clean up.

Ao Nang's friendly police chief Mr Ban,and his team, have been patrolling up and down both beach roads.In his New vamped up Tuk Tuk. Stopping illegal traffic violators .As well as giving out free tourist information .

The tourist police are doing many foot patrols talking with farang

Overall I think personally,after living here for 10 years.

They have received a massive wake up call.Save Ao Nang now or it will be too late.

They have responded in the best possible way.They cant do no more in my eyes.

Lets hope and pray this is a new start,and they all keep up the good work, for seasons to come

[Bung]

Thats great news, let's hope this action will set an example and spread to other areas as well.

It will be nice to see some of the money generated put back into the communities and not in peoples pockets.

[noob7]

"Lets hope and pray this is a new start,and they all keep up the good work, for seasons to come "

Better, you check on this, let's say, after new year again. Past problems are less important problems.

Or to say it in 'funny' words:

Several elderly nuns were in their second floor convent one night when a fire broke out.

They took their habits off, tied them together to make a rope, and climbed out the window.

After they were safely on the ground and out of the building, a news reporter came over to one of the nuns and said to her, "Weren't you afraid that the habits could have ripped or broken since they are old?

The nun Replied, "Nah, don't you know old habits are hard to break!!"

[Soupdragon]

Hopefully this news is spread far and wide and there is an upturn in business because of it. If revenue increases then hopefully the message will get through. This is the way forward.

[klongmuang]

Ao Nang's police chief Khun Ban Innupat has called locals and expats and any other volunteers to join him cleaning up Ao Nang and Hat Nopparathara in commemoration of the 7th cycles birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand. He will get my full support.

[taninthai]

^

while your there helping ask him if you can take a boat out to the 4 islands and clean them aswell,sent sone customers their yesterday they came back complaining about the amount of rubbish there and no bins to put anything in,and this is only the start Ot the season imagine what mess they will be in around 2 months time

[hellodolly]

Thats great news, let's hope this action will set an example and spread to other areas as well.

It will be nice to see some of the money generated put back into the communities and not in peoples pockets.

Never been there but have my tickets for next month. Your post makes it sound like it is a regular city. I had always thought it was just a bunch of resorts with suvaniere shops and the support workers. Is this true or have I been under a false belief.

As of now we My Wife and my 47 year old son plan on staying in Krabi and then looking around at Ao Nang to see what it has to offer, We are the laid back type not looking for a loud night life.

Had to spell check, My spell checker couldent even straighten out one if the words.

[LivinginKata]

I would not call Ao Nang a big city, more like a big village trying to be a big town. Long straight road going towards the sea with small bungalow resorts along the way on short roads to each side. More shops and bars as you get in sight of the sea, sharp right turn along the beach front with a short road which is the village centre, then road turns right again and the shops give way to some of the larger more expensive big remote resorts. At least that's the way I remember it last time I was there about 3 years ago. Have a look on Google Earth.

[ManInSurat]

Ao Nang's police chief Khun Ban Innupat has called locals and expats and any other volunteers to join him cleaning up Ao Nang and Hat Nopparathara in commemoration of the 7th cycles birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand. He will get my full support.

I'd like to offer my full support too, but I've seen these "clean-up" drives far too often. Admittedly this is largest one I've seen, but it's identical in nature to all the ones I've seen before.

It's always as a knee-jerk reaction to some international news story(ies) that garner(s) Krabi or the surrounding area with lots of negative attention. The rape of Ms. Koldijk and the attack on Mr. Cole and Ms. Clifton recently, being the cases here. Compounded by Tourism Minister Silapa-archa making very dangerous comments about rape that has almost definitely intensified the spotlight on the region.

This is probably the most pressure and coercion that the BiB and local government have had in a long time and also from local business owners.

The cosmetic changes Mr Huw mentioned have been a long time coming. They shouldn't come to us as some kind of "sorry" gesture. It should happen anyway. The area gets a lot of money. The fact they rarely use it for improvements to the area unless coerced speak volumes. Understaffed? Hire more policemen. That will mean having to pay people.

The second people stop looking at Ao Nang in the international press, they'll be back in the rong pak sitting on their backsides all day and coming out once an easily preventable accident has already happened (instead of really taking measures to enforce helmet wearing and prevent drunk driving.)

Call me a cynic, but just as with the "Motorcycle Helmet 100% No Excuses March 1 2012 Drive" the wind will be knocked out of the sails the second the media spotlight is turned away from the area. It's always the same.

The amount of times I've wanted to physically stop mothers carrying toddlers on bikes with no protective gear. Sure take your own life into your own hands, but don't force that on a child. Two toddlers were killed near to Raan Faa Tai or "Plastic Shop" opposite Baan Ao Nang School, 2 evenings ago. If local law enforcement actually wanted to eradicate these needless deaths they could. That tells me everything I need to know.

The fact is they're bone idle and I only ever see them patrolling when they've been told off from above, they need to fill the coffers again, or at Songkran, NYE and other such holidays or there is intense negative international attention that isn't abating, as is the case now. This is not their normal modus operandi and if you posit otherwise, you can't live here.

It's money-motivated. They don't care that Ao Nang is a turning into a tip, they care that their profits are being affected. That much is abundantly clear to me.

I'm being extremely cynical, I know, but it's with very good reason.

If this attitude is permanently maintained, I will retract what I have said at a later date, but I think the majority of you know that it isn't going to be the case.

Yes, I've seen them in the tuk-tuk on the front which they have commandeered from Immigration, moving on people carriers. I haven't seen them doing much else.

[hellodolly]

Ao Nang's police chief Khun Ban Innupat has called locals and expats and any other volunteers to join him cleaning up Ao Nang and Hat Nopparathara in commemoration of the 7th cycles birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand. He will get my full support.

I'd like to offer my full support too, but I've seen these "clean-up" drives far too often. Admittedly this is largest one I've seen, but it's identical in nature to all the ones I've seen before.

It's always as a knee-jerk reaction to some international news story(ies) that garner(s) Krabi or the surrounding area with lots of negative attention. The rape of Ms. Koldijk and the attack on Mr. Cole and Ms. Clifton recently, being the cases here. Compounded by Tourism Minister Silapa-archa making very dangerous comments about rape that has almost definitely intensified the spotlight on the region.

This is probably the most pressure and coercion that the BiB and local government have had in a long time and also from local business owners.

The cosmetic changes Mr Huw mentioned have been a long time coming. They shouldn't come to us as some kind of "sorry" gesture. It should happen anyway. The area gets a lot of money. The fact they rarely use it for improvements to the area unless coerced speak volumes. Understaffed? Hire more policemen. That will mean having to pay people.

The second people stop looking at Ao Nang in the international press, they'll be back in the rong pak sitting on their backsides all day and coming out once an easily preventable accident has already happened (instead of really taking measures to enforce helmet wearing and prevent drunk driving.)

Call me a cynic, but just as with the "Motorcycle Helmet 100% No Excuses March 1 2012 Drive" the wind will be knocked out of the sails the second the media spotlight is turned away from the area. It's always the same.

The amount of times I've wanted to physically stop mothers carrying toddlers on bikes with no protective gear. Sure take your own life into your own hands, but don't force that on a child. Two toddlers were killed near to Raan Faa Tai or "Plastic Shop" opposite Baan Ao Nang School, 2 evenings ago. If local law enforcement actually wanted to eradicate these needless deaths they could. That tells me everything I need to know.

The fact is they're bone idle and I only ever see them patrolling when they've been told off from above, they need to fill the coffers again, or at Songkran, NYE and other such holidays or there is intense negative international attention that isn't abating, as is the case now. This is not their normal modus operandi and if you posit otherwise, you can't live here.

It's money-motivated. They don't care that Ao Nang is a turning into a tip, they care that their profits are being affected. That much is abundantly clear to me.

I'm being extremely cynical, I know, but it's with very good reason.

If this attitude is permanently maintained, I will retract what I have said at a later date, but I think the majority of you know that it isn't going to be the case.

Yes, I've seen them in the tuk-tuk on the front which they have commandeered from Immigration, moving on people carriers. I haven't seen them doing much else.

I live in Chiang Mai and knew nothing about it other than what I have read here. My son came to visit from Canada knowing I was planning a trip to Krabi and he knew nothing of it. The wife watches lots of Thai news and knew nothing of it. I think you are not realizing how unimportant Krabi is to the rest of the world. I doubt that you will lose tourists over it. Most tourists are not dumb they know that when they travel to other countries the odds of an unfavorable situation go up/

[ManInSurat]

I live in Chiang Mai and knew nothing about it other than what I have read here. My son came to visit from Canada knowing I was planning a trip to Krabi and he knew nothing of it. The wife watches lots of Thai news and knew nothing of it. I think you are not realizing how unimportant Krabi is to the rest of the world. I doubt that you will lose tourists over it. Most tourists are not dumb they know that when they travel to other countries the odds of an unfavorable situation go up/

Just because you don't read other countries' media or newspapers does not mean there isn't wide coverage. For the first time in my living memory there have been 2 major incidents that have made front page news of the Daily Mail in the UK and have been featured heavily on their website, as well as other British media outlets.

Mr. Cole and Ms. Clifton are English nationals and the photos of Mr. Cole's serious injuries was in a major tabloid newspaper.

There's a whole thread on TV detailing the fact that local business owner in the Ao Nang area have seem alarming amounts of cancelled bookings and it is this that is prompting the action. Most of those making cancellations have been British and Dutch and Australian (following the lady stabbed to death for her purse in Phuket a few months back.)

That was my whole point.

I'm not surprised your wife hasn't seen anything in the Thai news, they police and manipulate what the nation is allowed to see. Surely you must be aware of that.

I'm know for a fact the Canadian sisters on Phi Phi was heavily reported in the Canadian press. I don't particularly expect the Canadian media to make a story about a British couple being attacked and put it on the front page. That is what happened with the British couple and I do remember seeing the Evil Man From Krabi video on major tabloid websites too.

It's still a very lovely place to visit, in my opinion and I hope you have a lovely trip here. It sounds like you've been planning it for a while.

[mancub]

Ao Nang's police chief Khun Ban Innupat has called locals and expats and any other volunteers to join him cleaning up Ao Nang and Hat Nopparathara in commemoration of the 7th cycles birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand. He will get my full support.

I'd like to offer my full support too, but I've seen these "clean-up" drives far too often. Admittedly this is largest one I've seen, but it's identical in nature to all the ones I've seen before.

It's always as a knee-jerk reaction to some international news story(ies) that garner(s) Krabi or the surrounding area with lots of negative attention. The rape of Ms. Koldijk and the attack on Mr. Cole and Ms. Clifton recently, being the cases here. Compounded by Tourism Minister Silapa-archa making very dangerous comments about rape that has almost definitely intensified the spotlight on the region.

This is probably the most pressure and coercion that the BiB and local government have had in a long time and also from local business owners.

The cosmetic changes Mr Huw mentioned have been a long time coming. They shouldn't come to us as some kind of "sorry" gesture. It should happen anyway. The area gets a lot of money. The fact they rarely use it for improvements to the area unless coerced speak volumes. Understaffed? Hire more policemen. That will mean having to pay people.

The second people stop looking at Ao Nang in the international press, they'll be back in the rong pak sitting on their backsides all day and coming out once an easily preventable accident has already happened (instead of really taking measures to enforce helmet wearing and prevent drunk driving.)

Call me a cynic, but just as with the "Motorcycle Helmet 100% No Excuses March 1 2012 Drive" the wind will be knocked out of the sails the second the media spotlight is turned away from the area. It's always the same.

The amount of times I've wanted to physically stop mothers carrying toddlers on bikes with no protective gear. Sure take your own life into your own hands, but don't force that on a child. Two toddlers were killed near to Raan Faa Tai or "Plastic Shop" opposite Baan Ao Nang School, 2 evenings ago. If local law enforcement actually wanted to eradicate these needless deaths they could. That tells me everything I need to know.

The fact is they're bone idle and I only ever see them patrolling when they've been told off from above, they need to fill the coffers again, or at Songkran, NYE and other such holidays or there is intense negative international attention that isn't abating, as is the case now. This is not their normal modus operandi and if you posit otherwise, you can't live here.

It's money-motivated. They don't care that Ao Nang is a turning into a tip, they care that their profits are being affected. That much is abundantly clear to me.

I'm being extremely cynical, I know, but it's with very good reason.

If this attitude is permanently maintained, I will retract what I have said at a later date, but I think the majority of you know that it isn't going to be the case.

Yes, I've seen them in the tuk-tuk on the front which they have commandeered from Immigration, moving on people carriers. I haven't seen them doing much else.

Excellent post and I fully agree with everything you've commented on .

[klongmuang]

The clean up day is set for Dec 1 and volunteers meet at the tsunami tower in Ao Nang at 2 h p.m.

I don't agree we Thaninthai to put rubbish bins on the islands. It will further encourage tourists to dump their garbage there, instead of carry it off the islands again and you tourist operators should recommend your customers to do so. Whoever carries stuff to the islands, can also carry the trash back again.

[mancub]

The clean up day is set for Dec 1 and volunteers meet at the tsunami tower in Ao Nang at 2 h p.m.

I don't agree we Thaninthai to put rubbish bins on the islands. It will further encourage tourists to dump their garbage there, instead of carry it off the islands again and you tourist operators should recommend your customers to do so. Whoever carries stuff to the islands, can also carry the trash back again.

Fair comment , but there are vendors selling food/beverages to tourists visiting the islands ...These vendors do not come back to collect or clean up after them , so better for tourists to have somewhere to dispose of their rubbish responsibly ...especially applies to Asian tourists .

[taninthai]

You could argue all day who is throwing the rubbish there tourist ,boatman or tour operators it doesnt really matter who or how it's getting there at the end off the day it's up to the thai people in charge (whoever that is) of the islands to arrange rubbish clearance.

As for the clear up planned for 1 dec it's a good thing and a start but I think this is also only done because it just after Loy kratong and they have to clear all them from the beeches

[12DrinkMore]

You could argue all day who is throwing the rubbish there tourist ,boatman or tour operators it doesnt really matter who or how it's getting there at the end off the day it's up to the thai people in charge (whoever that is) of the islands to arrange rubbish clearance.

As for the clear up planned for 1 dec it's a good thing and a start but I think this is also only done because it just after Loy kratong and they have to clear all them from the beeches

The blame lies 100% with the Thai attitude that "it does not matter".

Foreign tourists are the only people I have seen collecting rubbish and trying to dispose of it properly.

The whole problem could be dealt with very easily if it came from the very top that "Thailand is to be a clean country free from litter".

[taninthai]

Ok rant time it's 1.30 in the morning the dog was barking so I go and see what's going on ,5 thai fisherman moved all our chairs put our umbrella up and sitting round our table on the beach, ..... knows what they were doing by the time I tell the wife and switch the lights on they have gone but oh they have left their rubbish on the floor on the beach, my patience is wearing thin with these idiots they have no respect for anything.

Then the soon to be ex wife is moaning at me for not being jai yen yen.arghhhhhhh