Phuket Opinion: Forever At The Mafia's Mercy

[eezergood]

I just had to check that it's really 2 Trillion baht (40 Billion pounds). That's a truely huge amount of money. If the news report is to be believed that the largest loan ever given in Thailand.

as for getting it paid back.........

som nam nar

[andreandre]

I just had to check that it's really 2 Trillion baht (40 Billion pounds). That's a truely huge amount of money. If the news report is to be believed that the largest loan ever given in Thailand.

Just cant see this pipe dream costing anywhere near this amount..even allowing for tea...

[eezergood]

Every other tourist location in Thailand, and even Bangkok, has managed to get and keep one form of reasonably priced public transport or another. Why can't Phuket? Because of "collusion and thuggish self-entitlement". Very sad indeed but exactly true. Several guests at our hotel are reporting that they are now being told the price of a taxi from the airport to the beaches is 1800B. We keep hearing that there are people with folders in the arrivals area which contain a map of the destinations with prices, showing 1800B for Kata Karon. Recently one guest was told, and so paid, 4000B to Kata. Two young female guests took a tuk tuk to nai Harn for 300B. When they were ready to return they were told 1000B. When they tried to negotiate, the driver got rude and threatening. They were terrified. They checked out and have sworn to never return to Phuket because of these interactions with the tuk tuks and taxis. These drivers tear ass around the island with impunity. One of the "back" illegal taxi's belonging to the rank opposite our hotel does burnouts in the street and speeds as fast as his black 4 door Isuzu 4-door can go on a daily basis. Do we confront him? Not unless we want to risk our lives!

So why do people choose to live there? There are much better provinces in Thailand. I left last year for Chiang mai and we also enjoy our holiday house in Chiang rai. I love both provinces. I've never been happier. Leaving that "thuggish" place was the best decision i made in years. Im sad to see what has happened to the once paradise island but unfortunately i can't see it getting any better, ever!

Some of us have little choice, was transferred here & have a contract to fulfill

[andreandre]

Something way wrong with these figures......way way too high.

The Brenner Base Tunnel as an example of a large scale transport project,..huge even, the biggest i do believe,,,55 klm of tunnel [near the same distance [less than] Airport to Patong with all the bells and whistles infrastructure costs 8 Billion pounds....

40 billion for a ferry service thai style? no way in hell IMO

[steelepulse]

Wasn't the two trillion figure mentioned that new loan that was just passed to be spread around the country to various infrastructure projects?