Thai and Cambodian press warn of escalating tensions following Miss Grand scandal

[rocky123]

Tried to avoid the cespit of Pattaya beach so took the family over to Ko Larn. Headed for Tawen Beach and was shocked at the amount of garbage all over the water. I tried to wade out with my 4 year old daughter but we were caught up in a load of plastic bags. At 100bht a chair the vendors should try and remove the beachfront stuff at least. The place is a discrace. The water looked clean but awash with crap. WHY won't the Mayor or whoever make this a priority.

Beach resort my ....

[OMGImInPattaya]

Didn't you hear, Thailand is now promoting itself as a beach-garbage hub

Edited December 28, 2012 by OMGImInPattaya

[PattayaPhom]

You need to go a little South to Bang Saray or the Navy beaches at Sattahip, not perfect but much better than Pattaya..or Koh Larn

[bobobo]

Samae beach 5 minutes ride from the ferry had clean water, last time I was there about 2 weeks ago. But I agree with You, have visited Koh Larn for many years, for every year it's getting more and more dirty..

[jbrain]

Samae beach 5 minutes ride from the ferry had clean water, last time I was there about 2 weeks ago. But I agree with You, have visited Koh Larn for many years, for every year it's getting more and more dirty..

Thailand is getting more dirty every year.

[wans]

there were huge amounts of plastic bottle labels on Pattaya beach a week back, all from the same company, nestles. my guess is that the factories around chonburi dump all their waste straight in the rivers and sometimes it ends up on pattaya or koh lan depending on winds and tides

[stevef]

the place just gets filthier the people the government do not care about the future of there country its all about making a quick buck today and forget tommorrow i dont think there attitude will ever change till its way to late filthiest beaches i think i have seen anywhere.

[Yahooka]

Didn't you hear, Thailand is now promoting itself as a beach-garbage hub

It never stops to amaze me how the thais have absolutely no idea about pollution and continue to make their country a big rubbish tip.

Even on the small,beautiful and almost untouched islands I`ve seen garbage been taken down on the beach,for the high-tide to take it away !!!

It`s a shame that they don`t start to pay attention and educate themselves about this problem....after all this is not a poor 3`rd world country .

[JaiLai]

Didn't you hear, Thailand is now promoting itself as a beach-garbage hub

It never stops to amaze me how the thais have absolutely no idea about pollution and continue to make their country a big rubbish tip.

Even on the small,beautiful and almost untouched islands I`ve seen garbage been taken down on the beach,for the high-tide to take it away !!!

It`s a shame that they don`t start to pay attention and educate themselves about this problem....after all this is not a poor 3`rd world country .

There is no education and no penalties about disposing of litter so this will NEVER change, most os asia is like this with the exception of Singapore / Malaysia etc, other SEA countries that will always be one step above the likes of Thailand / VN / Cambodia etc.

[simple1]

With the ever increasing numbers of high volume packaged tourists coming to Pattaya the volume of rubbish dumped by foreign day trippers & Thais on the tourist beaches is just going to increase. The rubbish suspended in the sea is most likely untreated run off from the rains as well as carried by the currents from the likes of Bangkok and shipping. If you go to outlying islands beyond Koh Larn the rubbish on the beaches is just astonishing, so must be carried by the currents.

[rocky123]

So fookin sad, dont they see people like beaches but will are put off by all the floating rubish around them ???

I wil stay clear of the cespits now and keep to the pools. Nice one Mr kaplun mayor, u dont give a crap do u. I have tried

to contact him, no chance..

[raro]

there were huge amounts of plastic bottle labels on Pattaya beach a week back, all from the same company, nestles. my guess is that the factories around chonburi dump all their waste straight in the rivers and sometimes it ends up on pattaya or koh lan depending on winds and tides

it's usually not the manufacturer but their "recycling provider" that dumps the garbage somewhere. Had a similar issue with a company I worked with many years ago. The waste we presumed was properly taken care of was found in cassava fields nearby...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

[toenail]

Spending a few weeks in Florida. Amazing how I do not see one, NOT ONE piece of garbage on the miles of beaches I have walked on. Now when I return back to Pattaya (because of work) I will look at the litter along Pattaya Bay more of depressed sight since it is possible not to have empty bottles, plastic bags, and ...whatever floating in the waters. Is it really that difficult to educate the locals on NOT polluting?

[Fookhaht]

Tried swimming at 5 of the most popular beaches (that's almost all of them) on Koh Larn over the New Year holiday. Every one was filthy with garbage onshore and floating in the swimming areas. I contracted a terrible case of the runs and stomach upset and I don't believe it was from the fresh fruits I mostly ate.

Already crossed Pattaya off my holiday destination list (for the same reason) and now Koh Larn gets added to it. When will they wake up?

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Tried swimming at 5 of the most popular beaches (that's almost all of them) on Koh Larn over the New Year holiday. Every one was filthy with garbage onshore and floating in the swimming areas. I contracted a terrible case of the runs and stomach upset and I don't believe it was from the fresh fruits I mostly ate.

Already crossed Pattaya off my holiday destination list (for the same reason) and now Koh Larn gets added to it. When will they wake up?

There is a similar thread running:

Swimming In A Sesspit

for a solution, check out post #63

[Spalpeen]

It's easy to knock the Thai's, but presumably almost all of the garbage on beaches is being chucked by foreign holidaymakers. And don't say there aren't enough bins, although that is true. It's not that hard to keep your waste together and take it off the beach.

[Payboy]

Samae beach 5 minutes ride from the ferry had clean water, last time I was there about 2 weeks ago. But I agree with You, have visited Koh Larn for many years, for every year it's getting more and more dirty..

Thailand is getting more dirty every year.

I prefer dirty, just not the doggie poop, or styrofoam or polybag type.

[kalasin]

You need to go a little South to Bang Saray or the Navy beaches at Sattahip, not perfect but much better than Pattaya..or Koh Larn

I visited some Thai family in Sattahip last week. We tried to go to the beach, where many people were having picnics. But foreigners was not allowed in the beach area, which I was told twice by soldiers in two different beaches in the area.

But perhaps you can sneak you inside....

[dave2]

re.

Headed for Tawen Beach and was shocked at the amount of garbage all over the water

this was a beach over the other side of koh larn in aug 04

and i didnt notice much rubbish then !

dave2

ps ... the navy guards wouldnt let me on a beach in sattaship on the

way back from a week in reyong in april 11 either : (

[Fookhaht]

It's easy to knock the Thai's, but presumably almost all of the garbage on beaches is being chucked by foreign holidaymakers. And don't say there aren't enough bins, although that is true. It's not that hard to keep your waste together and take it off the beach.

I've been to all-Thai beaches and its the same scenario. Everyone here is guilty.

All it takes is a few waste bins strategically-placed and a few full-time attendants at each beach to keep ahead of the litterers. Perhaps an enforced law that each vendor keep the area clean in front of their establishments might work too. I watch these guys collecting 100-200 baht a day to rent a beach chair as they wade ankle deep among the garbage strewn around their own chairs. Epitome of laziness.

[smedly]

Is it really that difficult to educate the locals on NOT polluting?

I beg to differ, I see more foreigners dumping waste in Pattaya than Thais especially on the beaches, family group get up and leave all their rubbish just laying there it's a disgrace, some possible solutions have been suggested

Heavy fines (cannot fine unless facilities are there to dispose of waste)

More bins

Ownership of areas of the beach to deckchair renters to keep clean

Media campaigns on TV promoting tidyness and signs around tourist areas warning about littering and detailing fines of up to say 10,000baht

some simple things that could make a difference

Edited January 5, 2013 by smedly

[Spalpeen]

Maybe they could kill two birds with one stone. Why not give the jet ski scammers the job of collecting fines from people who drop litter on the beach. You can bet they'd be enthusiastic about that.

[wonder6281]

I usually go to Bang Saray for a day at the beach but even the rubbish floating the water there is unbearable! Condoms, Plastics of all sizes. It has to be the drainage system unable to cope. It won't be fixed because I see many in the water not giving a rats where as I do!

[fakename]

It takes time for people to learn about the environment, but maybe Thailand doesnt have that much time anymore. Soon tourist from the developed world, will find other places, and only tourist from the developing world will come here, and they probably dont even notice things like trash, even contributing to it. But as for the tourist that are dumping garbage, its hard to believe, but if so, I would bet that they are from the east, not the west.

Just for a bit of balance about trash, I used to go to the north of Norway for diving, out on the islands, just about as far into the Arctic ocean as there were islands. Almost all the small bays on the islands were packed with plastic, and couldnt even land our boat on some of them. In most little fishing harbors, the fishermen were just dumping their garbage straight into the water, but this was 30 years ago. So, it has happened everwhere, but now days, when everyone has TV and internet, people should be more aware of pollution.