Officials To Inspect Business Licenses Of All Foreigner Owned Tourism Businesses In Phuket

[mylk]

Time for us "Farlangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

Huh? Exactly why do I need leave TH?

Pease provide us with a list of your top five spots you are suggesting. Please bear in mind:

1. How delightful are the local people?

2. How reasonable is the place to live?

3. How food is the local cuisine?

4. What about the local women? Are they attractive? Open to relationships with foreigners?

It is fine to say you want to leave, but where to?

As for your last reason (women). All than well if you are a sex tourist or prefer the seedier side of Thailand but any decent Thai women wouldn't want want a bar of a farang guy.

[Groadie666]

Thailand - The place of no competition, just scams!!

[maximus101]

Time for us "Farlangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

Huh? Exactly why do I need leave TH?

Pease provide us with a list of your top five spots you are suggesting. Please bear in mind:

1. How delightful are the local people?

2. How reasonable is the place to live?

3. How food is the local cuisine?

4. What about the local women? Are they attractive? Open to relationships with foreigners?

It is fine to say you want to leave, but where to?

As for your last reason (women). All than well if you are a sex tourist or prefer the seedier side of Thailand but any decent Thai women wouldn't want want a bar of a farang guy.

What a ..... you are (and completely off topic) he said relationship

Used to go to Phuket years ago but now wont go near the place.

[Whidbeyboy]

Apparently free enterprise competition=causing trouble, in Thailand.

Exactly. In the US those who please customers the best do the best. Competition, as we know drives excellence. When you have a monopoly you end up with people really not caring about pleasing customers since they cannot go anywhere else.

This is just a greedy power grap attempt that will come back to bite them.

[Whidbeyboy]

Speaking of crack downs, have they solved the jet ski scams yet? Or would that be interfering in Thai business?

[Hans Sierhuis]

Leave Phuket to Russians and the Thai. All solved And we get to read great story's

[stoffel45]

Hey Friends - try very hard NOT to confuse Russian organised "Enterprise" mobs - with Farangs.

[Beetlejuice]

Time for us "Farlangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

Us? Not all us, as you describe. Only the farangs that rely on having to work or do wheeling and dealing in Thailand in order to financially support themselves and stay here.

Many of (us) are living quite comfortably and 100% legally here without having concerns regarding the Thai business and workers laws imposed on foreigners. No excuses, the laws and Thai attitudes towards foreign workers are described in great detail. This is something that should be given consideration before Westerners decide to plonk themselves here. What`s the point of complaining afterwards if moving here on a hope and a prayer.

But as you say; if the going gets tough, than yes, best to go elsewhere and seek out greener pastures. Good luck to all who sail in her.

[Terry Newman]

This does not really effect me as I will never go to Phuket again in my life. I despise the place. There is nothing great about it, it is western prices and just a mess in every way.

The Russians have spent to much money on promoting Phuket as a new travel destination to pull out now, there is demand as such. But if the Thais "Attack" the big inbound companies that conduct the charter flights, it wont be hard to move them to another beach & prostition destination.

[unanimosity]

Apparently free enterprise competition=causing trouble, in Thailand.

Those pesky foreign tour businesses are treating the tourists too well, allowing them to leave without being fully fleeced, thus causing them to come back and bother Thailand again in the future.

[fisherd3]

Before than bored Legal business, WHY they not start to use meter in Tuk Tuk. ??

Ooh sorry because they are thai...

Because waste of money as they wouldn't use them if they had them !

[Jessi]

Get the tea money ready for another crack up in Thailand. Its all about money.

Just follow the money.

[BwindiBoy]

I understand a certain amount of "national protectionism" exists in most places but the big difference in Thailand is that this is driven by taxi thugs (no pun intended!) whereas it's driven by government organisations / law enforcement agencies in less currupt countries. Instead of "taking their ball away" they should focus on looking after the walking farang atm machines that give them their best hope of making a decent living!

Spoilt, greedy, lazy bully boys, ignorant to how close they are pushing themselves toward a cliff they'll never climb back up!!

[stevehaigh]

"...to identify any problems that they might be causing for local operators,” he added.

What, you mean like "providing a better service at competitive prices"? It's called "competition", you

great emoticon

[retell]

plain discrimination if foreigners ,but whats new

should check all business all over thailand than they find the foreign ones are not the main of the trouble

while they are at it make it the hub of company inspections

[charlieboz]

Leave Phuket to Russians and the Thai. All solved And we get to read great story's

Very true, they can have the place

[northernboy]

Apparently free enterprise competition=causing trouble, in Thailand.

Exactly. In the US those who please customers the best do the best. Competition, as we know drives excellence. When you have a monopoly you end up with people really not caring about pleasing customers since they cannot go anywhere else.

This is just a greedy power grap attempt that will come back to bite them.

Sorry the US is not a level playing field. You clearly do not see life as it is.

[khaowong1]

If there really is a "Russian Mafia" in Thailand... then I expect things to heat up for these taxi/tuk tuk thugs.. From everything I read and hear, you really don't want to piss off the "Russian Mafia"..

[IvanLaw]

“Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada”

　

Phuket has a Governor for Vice?

Wonder how much he had to pay for that position ?

I bet that job is not open to aliens

[Johnnie99]

" ... we have to find out if the foreign-owned businesses are still causing trouble for the local business operators ... " That sums it up, doesn't it. We all know that foreigners are the ones blockading local businesses ... oh wait ....

[NamKangMan]

I am only speculating, but if they push out all the Russian operators, no doubt Russians will not step a foot there, take a large chunk of numbers out of circulation. so who will be protesting then?

No protest. They put the prices up to get the same profit out of the numbers that are still in "circulation."

[meatboy]

Time for us "Farlangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

Huh? Exactly why do I need leave TH?

Pease provide us with a list of your top five spots you are suggesting. Please bear in mind:

1. How delightful are the local people?

2. How reasonable is the place to live?

3. How food is the local cuisine?

4. What about the local women? Are they attractive? Open to relationships with foreigners?

It is fine to say you want to leave, but where to?

my no 1 spot remainia[oh my spelling]

[Newguy70]

If tourism in Thailand was so high as the numbers have been indicated in prior threads, there would be less fighting over a dollar!

[Chupup]

thugs win again..................nothing new here.....

[Thai at Heart]

If the licenses aren't correct, who issued them?

[eddie61]

Of course this is an issue. When you have well run businesses, run by people who understand the international markets, the concepts of correct and intelligent marketing, and the elements involved in competitive pricing, and customer service, the Thai businesses simply cannot compete. So, when you cannot compete, what do you do? You try to eliminate the competition. But, from what I hear, it was a Thai operator here, who was doing the local trade, So, it seems that the issue is simply the right to overcharge for a service. When the Phuket insects are getting 200 baht for a 1.5km ride, and 1,000 baht for a ride to and from the airport, there is a lot of room for improvement. But, unfortunately, as usual, the authorities do not have the wisdom to see the benefits of service, over extreme profits. Nobody minds a decent profit. Everybody minds extortion. Let us find a scapegoat. Who will lose in the end?mthe tourists who are supporting Thailand's tourism industry.

I think the governor of Phuket might not be aware of how many ex-tourists have blacklisted Phuket on account of the taxi scams, including this one.......Once bitten, twice shy.

[sirchai]

Time for us "Farlangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

and that is where?

Maluku Selatan!

Tetuan/ Maroc

[NamKangMan]

Time for us "Farlangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

Huh? Exactly why do I need leave TH?

Pease provide us with a list of your top five spots you are suggesting. Please bear in mind:

1. How delightful are the local people?

2. How reasonable is the place to live?

3. How food is the local cuisine?

4. What about the local women? Are they attractive? Open to relationships with foreigners?

It is fine to say you want to leave, but where to?

I don't think there is a need to leave Thailand - just Phuket. Phuket is just not "user friendly" anymore. It's getting more difficult to keep the mafia's hands out of your pockets and the infastructure here is failing.

Basically, everything is put together cheaply, but a premium price is charged, and in some cases, a rip off price is charged.

I have always said on this forum I am looking at alternatives to Phuket. If the island keeps heading in the direction it is, the day will come for me to leave. For me, there are the following, and not in any particular order, to consider.

1) Pattaya - the same as Phuket, just more user friendly and with better infastructure.

2) Chiang Mai - Thailand's second biggest city. Great infastructure and affordability. I would get a cheap AirAsia flight to the beach every couple of months.

3) Nha Trang - Vietnam - great beach, extremely affordable, well connected airport.

4) Sihanoukville - Cambodia - is Cambodia's beach holiday destination and has come on a lot in the last few years.

5) Bali - Indonesian - has always had the infastructure and beaches. Bali is back in full swing since the bombings.

6) Hua Hin - haven't been there for a while, but there must be a reason why a lot of expats are moving there, particularly Germans and Scandi's, many of these orgininally from Phuket. I will check the place out again soon.

7) Langkawi - Malaysia - very quiet little tropical island. No real nightlife. A place to go when you are in your twilight years. No for me just yet - possibly in the future.

8) Myanmar/Burma - was there when it was under military rule. Burma is way behind the rest of South East Asia, but it wlll not be long before some of their little islands have bungalows on the sand with crystal blue water meters from your door. Then, bars will pop up, satelite TV, internet etc. It will be everything Phuket used to be.

9) Phu Quoc Island - Vietnam - a beautiful island which now has a new airport. http://discoverphuqu...outphuquoc.html This place is near the top of my list. Keep your eye on this place. You will be hearing more about it in the future.

Also, many of the places I have listed offer better visas, and in the case of Langkawi, better foreign ownership of land and in the case of Cambodia, for a $25US business visa, you can work. That's right, you can serve a beer in your own bar.

I would be happy to hear of any other places I should consider.

Phuket is being badly mismanaged at the moment - I will not put up with it forever. I still enjoy Phuket, and hope for some positve change in the future, but one must consider their options.

Edited February 1, 2013 by NamKangMan

[horsewell]

All these English speakers that can't spell 'foreigner' haha...

Any foreign business owner worth their salt will have the business set up in such a way that it's "apparently" Thai owned or completely legitimate. Like the "Russian" massage parlours in Kata / Karon Beach last month.

The fact that the language barrier is something that needs to be addressed one way or another. I'm sure the larger hotels and resorts pay top dollar for Thai nationals that can speak a foreign language other than English. Maybe the tour operators and taxi services should be looking to also reward nationals with these language skills. It's probably a problem because those that do make an effort will not stick around... they would be off to greener pasture$ as soon as possible. It's not like the Russians or any other nationality have just arrived. This has been growing for the last generation! (all be it, only just really taken off in the last decade).

[andvari26]

Attention to all interested in options and specifically to; spidermike007 & BTM & Skorz re their queries raised as copied below.

Time for us "Falangs" so say goodbye to Thailand and head for greener pastures.

and that is where?

Good luck with finding another country where you can get a decent ride, fresh curry and a beer for under 20 quid.

Please provide us with a list of your top five spots you are suggesting. Please bear in mind:

1. How delightful are the local people?

2. How reasonable is the place to live?

3. How food is the local cuisine?

4. What about the local women? Are they attractive? Open to relationships with foreigners?

It is fine to say you want to leave, but where to?

As I said earlier, Good luck with finding another country where you can get a decent ride, fresh curry and a beer for under 20 quid.

I have left Thailand after years there, so tired of the constant sticky little fingers in your pocket, and the list of wrongs perpetrated daily against Falangs is never ending, the lost deposits on rental properties & hire cars, bikes etc.

Let alone the violence, the pain re Visa`s and reporting, the need to have any property in a locals name by 51% to facilitate easy transfer of assets etc etc. The issues with banks and credit cards, the list is endless.

So in response to your request to identify a better location; I have relocated to Cambodia for 6 months now, some insights as to why I prefer it here;

No Visa issues, pay for a 6 or 12 month Visa endlessly extendible at any travel agent or hotel or rental condo.

You can be in business legally, you can buy property - with caveats, but easily do-able, the people in large are more friendly than in the major hubs of corrupt sleaze as Phuket & Pattaya, and now that disease has taken hold in the tourist areas of Chiang Mai also strongly.

It seems many Farang are able to convince them selves all is well in Thailand, as long as it is not them personally involved in a newsworthy spot of trouble, how short sighted, I decided not to stay & continue to give money to those who make no attempt to even appear as if they like or respect you for any reason other than your money - get some self respect and look elsewhere, or when your time comes to be in the cross hairs - dont complain.

Do not mistake this as all is bad in Thailand, I did have very warm contact with Thai people in a more local environment, it is the so called Hi So and tourism operators who soon see the advantage to be had by blatantly robbing tourists & falang residents there is no stopping them, and we have no rights unless you either can afford to or wish to be the highest bidder on the outcome of your life`s issue at stake to the BIB.

The sale of rose coloured glasses has been very successful in Thailand, why do so many like to live as an Ostrich, very sandy down there !

So apart from here in Cambodia, which is also rated as the 11 th fastest growing economy, or thereabouts - creating many opportunities then there is also parts of the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam as mentioned in another post.

The Farang food is way better here if you like that, see here - http://www.khmer440.com/k/2013/01/le-bistrot-a-rough-diamond-hidden-among-lady-bars/ - so in relation to the 20 quid query, a first class Tournedos with wine x 2 at $1 per glass, albeit small, transport to & from all for about $12.00 & real American BBQ places, NZ Venison, the best Sous Vide cooked burgers at $5 etc etc

You can get real French style Baguettes - not sugar bread, a small thing - but a very pleasant change, the Tuk Tuks are Farang sized & cost way less than in Thailand, they have Casinos if interested etc etc

The chance of me going back to live in Thailand is about the same as fair trade to take wings in Phuket !