Koh Tao ban Full Moon parties

[SPB65]

From a well known BP thread "Farangs Cannot Know Thai-ness" from a few years ago;

"The general Thai view is that some farangs may know a lot about Thai politics, culture, way of life and so on, but they will never be able to reach the core of Thai-ness."

In a nutshell, don't even try to apply your western logic to what is going on here. This investigation is 100% Thai-ness.

[mojorison]

This is a fair point

"Consider the known fact that so many young people are graduating college, university, trade schools and not finding work. So they travel now"

It also suggests that many may not be mature enough to travel 1000s of miles away from home as they just turn everywhere into an extended students union p*ss-up. Thailand's culture being so tolerant, able to extract maximum Baht from all situations, sanook loving, lawless.... (take your pick) it is essentially a match made in heaven.

The Thais that we are speaking of are not your usual law abiding suburban Thais... they are the opportunists, and they let it all go unbridled because that's where the money is. Cut feet, bike accidents, falling off rocks, dodgy drug setups and bogus police acting out arrests. There was a scam where they would break bottles on the beach then come to the rescue of unsuspecting tourists and "help" them with their cut feet... 5000 baht later...there are a million scams like this... not to mention the unreported crimes, I'm purely guessing here, but I'd say there are possibly hundreds of sexual assaults on a nightly basis when it's busy. Many cases the victim would not even be aware, and plenty would be committed by western boys too. There are no limits. And the problem is that the young people are used to having limits... we all have been brought up with limits, but on some of these dark nights, on remote islands, there are no limits. Every month there is heartbreak. Serious assaults and bike fatalities... many avoidable.

[NeilSA1]

While they are at it, maybe they can ban bikinis at the same time..

............ for pretty girls only.

[blastface]

From a well known BP thread "Farangs Cannot Know Thai-ness" from a few years ago;

"The general Thai view is that some farangs may know a lot about Thai politics, culture, way of life and so on, but they will never be able to reach the core of Thai-ness."

In a nutshell, don't even try to apply your western logic to what is going on here. This investigation is 100% Thai-ness.

They are reverse racist against you yew yew

[Rimmer]

An inflammatory troll post has been removed along with the quoted replies to it

Edit: Other inflammatory posts and replies have also been deleted.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Scott

[Travelman868]

The parties arnt the problem, its the murderers and scum that attend..... police these places with uniformed police properly would be a better solution, not leave it to the local mafia

If its a tourist location then there needs to be a visible police presence to protect tourists... duh

Are these the scum that are out of their heads on booze or the scum that are out of control on drugs ?? If the tourists had some self control while enjoying themselves

there would be less problems.

In the UK it costs in excess of 200,000,000,000 baht per year to police the drunken yobs in UK High Streets, yes thats 200,000 million.

Tourists going to Thailand need to understand that if they show aggression to Thai people there could be repercussions.

[LuukKoeyKorat]

Absolutely spot on mojorison!

From a long term KPG expat.

My dear Govenor, I hate to inform you, that the horse has bolted already!!

Koh Phangan is also under his jurisdiction, but here it appearently okay to continue the parties??

To much money at stake to expect more than a kneejerk reaction from Thai officials.

The FMP brings very little to the majority of the island. It serves a select few...ie the gangs that run it and sell all "the gear" hookers, drugs, and the general "dark side" elements. In general the FMP has retarded the development and progress on Phangan in an extreme fashion, (since about 2000 anyway). You only have to look at Hadrin to realise this. It is dead for 25 days a month...high AND low season, and only fires up for about 4 or 5 days at party time. The place is disgusting, and because they have designed their business around that market, that's how it will stay. Hadrin is the brunt of many jokes on Koh Phangan... outside of Hadrin we do a decent business all year round... and very little of it is attributed to the FMP... in fact quite the contrary. The Thais are funny though, because they will see 10-15000 people come in for 4 days to Hadrin they think its amazing... they are not very good at looking outside they box, and asking the simple question."what would business be like WITHOUT the party?" and the answer here IMHO, is a resounding "millions of times better".

But as I said before, the young farang only behave in a way that the Thais allow them to. The things they do here, would get you locked up for the night anywhere else on earth... but the Thais not only accept it, they encourage it... then they have the narrow-mindedness to judge the farang on their behaviour... rather than enforcing the laws and making sure they don't misbehave in the first place... like is done pretty well everywhere else.... on earth.

[LuukKoeyKorat]

I'd like a safer Thailand. However, this will take many initiatives and over a period of time. Three murders in that area in two years is not safe - period. Neither is it particuarly safe in Phuket or Pattaya with crimes ranging from assaults/robbery to murder. There are bad elements on all sides of society and therein lies the problem - and the victims are quite often innocent people just on holiday. Banning parties is not the solution ….. and that is from some-one who would never attend.

I was in Vang Vieng, Laos, quite a few years ago. What a wonderful place. Then the young backpacker crowd came to float the river and get super drunk/drugged up. Crime went up, tourist rip offs went up, accidents went up. Finally the government stepped in and stopped this silliness. It's now back to being a very nice place to visit.

....except the rumour is that the 'party crowd' within Laos is now starting to migrate to the 4000 Islands. My point being that all countries on the so called SEA pancake trail need a place where the young party-going backpackers can let off their hedonistic steam - be it Pha Ngan, Vang Vieng or Sihanoukville. You can't avoid them - the young backpacker partying crowds are an integral part of the tourist masses arriving and they need catering to and importantly these are pretty much the only places where they do it bigscale. Koh Tao never was and never will be a party island - the parties that have sprung up there in recent years are simply an overspill from KPG and an attempt to 'cash in'.

[LuukKoeyKorat]

This is a fair point

"Consider the known fact that so many young people are graduating college, university, trade schools and not finding work. So they travel now"

It also suggests that many may not be mature enough to travel 1000s of miles away from home as they just turn everywhere into an extended students union p*ss-up. Thailand's culture being so tolerant, able to extract maximum Baht from all situations, sanook loving, lawless.... (take your pick) it is essentially a match made in heaven.

Jeez you are a bag of laughs. What's your definition of (youthful) maturity? Taking the bus into town to have a Big Mac in Leicester Square?

[Malthus101]

Lol... how to lose all your tourism in one go!

[Nickymaster]

No full moon parties? Load gun, point at foot, pull trigger. When did TAT get the message to do away with all farang tourists that were not rich and respectable. (oh, nevermind) Goodbye Thailand, hello Cancun. I wonder when they will start enforcing full-piece bathing suits for all women.

LOL

The ban seems to be working. Enjoy your next holiday in Cancun.

[ClutchClark]

The parties arnt the problem, its the murderers and scum that attend..... police these places with uniformed police properly would be a better solution, not leave it to the local mafia

If its a tourist location then there needs to be a visible police presence to protect tourists... duh

IMO banning is a Good move, run and attended by drug dealing drunken <deleted> thai and westerners must piss all the locals right off, short term it might hurt but in the long term ,,, good move, no doubt The parties are now a problem if there wasn't the parties there wouldn't be the problem or am i missing something ?

kick out this drug dependant garbidge, and Koh Tau could be a family friendly 5 star resort

with better and clean income than now !

Same for Haad Rin , please General !! shut down this parties,

This party people dont bring the wealthy turism,

they bring and apply only bad behavier and sh*t ( alcohol,drugs,sex,crime ) to Thailand;

Absolutely. Quality over Quantity. Moneyed travelers over penny-pinching backpackers.

[ClutchClark]

I'd like a safer Thailand. However, this will take many initiatives and over a period of time. Three murders in that area in two years is not safe - period. Neither is it particuarly safe in Phuket or Pattaya with crimes ranging from assaults/robbery to murder. There are bad elements on all sides of society and therein lies the problem - and the victims are quite often innocent people just on holiday. Banning parties is not the solution .. and that is from some-one who would never attend.

I was in Vang Vieng, Laos, quite a few years ago. What a wonderful place. Then the young backpacker crowd came to float the river and get super drunk/drugged up. Crime went up, tourist rip offs went up, accidents went up. Finally the government stepped in and stopped this silliness. It's now back to being a very nice place to visit.

....except the rumour is that the 'party crowd' within Laos is now starting to migrate to the 4000 Islands. My point being that all countries on the so called SEA pancake trail need a place where the young party-going backpackers can let off their hedonistic steam - be it Pha Ngan, Vang Vieng or Sihanoukville. You can't avoid them - the young backpacker partying crowds are an integral part of the tourist masses arriving and they need catering to and importantly these are pretty much the only places where they do it bigscale. Koh Tao never was and never will be a party island - the parties that have sprung up there in recent years are simply an overspill from KPG and an attempt to 'cash in'.

Strange but my generation didn't need to let off any hedonistic steam in this manner.

Instead they started careers and families and worked hard towards their futures.

And even had time to wash their clothes, take a bath and visit a barber ;-)

[Gringogazzer]

The parties arnt the problem, its the murderers and scum that attend..... police these places with uniformed police properly would be a better solution, not leave it to the local mafia

If its a tourist location then there needs to be a visible police presence to protect tourists... duh

But most here were happy to get away from their nanny state, me included.

Thailand is pretty Nanny itself

Well that depends on who you know doesn't it.

Where you can walk away from just about anything with the right connections & cash, that's hardly "nanny."

[A1Str8]

I can't wait for these b....es to be caught, the killers of that guy and the girl.

[thaibeachlovers]

There is only one full moon party and we know where that is.

You're right... Goa, India.

The one on Koh Phangan is a spin off of the original.

The one on Koh Phangan is a spin off of the original.

Not if the accounts of the Phangan fmp origins are correct. Just because it happens in two places, it doesn't mean they weren't started independently- happens all the time with different things.

[thaibeachlovers]

The parties arnt the problem, its the murderers and scum that attend..... police these places with uniformed police properly would be a better solution, not leave it to the local mafia

If its a tourist location then there needs to be a visible police presence to protect tourists... duh

IMO banning is a Good move, run and attended by drug dealing drunken <deleted> thai and westerners must piss all the locals right off, short term it might hurt but in the long term ,,, good move, no doubt The parties are now a problem if there wasn't the parties there wouldn't be the problem or am i missing something ?

kick out this drug dependant garbidge, and Koh Tau could be a family friendly 5 star resort

with better and clean income than now !

Same for Haad Rin , please General !! shut down this parties,

This party people dont bring the wealthy turism,

they bring and apply only bad behavier and sh*t ( alcohol,drugs,sex,crime ) to Thailand;

and Koh Tau could be a family friendly 5 star resort

Unbelievable .

[thaibeachlovers]

I'd like a safer Thailand. However, this will take many initiatives and over a period of time. Three murders in that area in two years is not safe - period. Neither is it particuarly safe in Phuket or Pattaya with crimes ranging from assaults/robbery to murder. There are bad elements on all sides of society and therein lies the problem - and the victims are quite often innocent people just on holiday. Banning parties is not the solution .. and that is from some-one who would never attend.

I was in Vang Vieng, Laos, quite a few years ago. What a wonderful place. Then the young backpacker crowd came to float the river and get super drunk/drugged up. Crime went up, tourist rip offs went up, accidents went up. Finally the government stepped in and stopped this silliness. It's now back to being a very nice place to visit.

....except the rumour is that the 'party crowd' within Laos is now starting to migrate to the 4000 Islands. My point being that all countries on the so called SEA pancake trail need a place where the young party-going backpackers can let off their hedonistic steam - be it Pha Ngan, Vang Vieng or Sihanoukville. You can't avoid them - the young backpacker partying crowds are an integral part of the tourist masses arriving and they need catering to and importantly these are pretty much the only places where they do it bigscale. Koh Tao never was and never will be a party island - the parties that have sprung up there in recent years are simply an overspill from KPG and an attempt to 'cash in'.

Strange but my generation didn't need to let off any hedonistic steam in this manner.

Instead they started careers and families and worked hard towards their futures.

And even had time to wash their clothes, take a bath and visit a barber ;-)

Hmmmmmm. My generation didn't have the money to go travelling.

I always wonder where these youths get the money nowadays, especially considering that youth employment is quite high. Perhaps they all have rich indulgent parents.

[thaibeachlovers]

It would be a shame to ban full moon parties, if nothing else at least all the pajama-wearing 'ravi shankars' are in one place and easily avoided.

Quite right. The rest of Phangan is mostly spared because the dread heads mainly hang out on Had Rin.

Unfortunately, there are always a few Thai bar owners trying to jump on the bandwagon on other beaches. I had to flee TNPY because of a party bar there.

[daveAustin]

They would be better off barring Thais, including (especially) the police, at these parties.

[Suriya4]

To protect farang, prayuth should set up a farang only beach. Any Thais who want to join the party must first apply for permit and dna tested.

[minikev]

I can see these islands sinking if the Thai authorities start banning everything no visitors which are far and few these days will leave the islands with only coconuts to harvest and at 10 Baht per coconut on the open market life will become very hard

You're joking, right?

The potential for these islands is massive. If they cleared the islands of drugged up idiots spending 500 Baht a day, these islands could become a diving paradise. Do you have any idea how much income that would generate?

I think most of the people here think these islands popped up for their personal use a few years ago. The locals survived a long time before the 3rd generation hippies arrived.

They were beautiful places and are generally spoiled by us (tourists).

There is good in what General Prayuth is doing. Slowly but surely cleaning up. The popping into 7 11 wearing pretty much nothing should be controlled as it is Thai culture to cover up, It was a nicer place when the visitors conformed with local culture, I for one welcome it been that way again.

I am not connecting the dress code to the viscous murders of these two young tourists and I feel they did no wrong they were simply enjoying a holiday and were brutally murdered by one or probably more disgusting excuses for human beings. I feel the police are highly aware there is a very good chance they are looking for a pack of young Thai men and the blame in no way is with the foreign visitors.

They should at least have their eyes wide open to all possibilities and thoroughly check all evidence. The way they dismissed it could be a Thai in the beginning probably gave the real murderer / murderer's the time they needed to create alibis and destroy evidence.

Get a move on and catch them contrary to what the police think catching the people that really did this crime and dealing with them by real law would help restore confidence whatever nationality they turn out to be.

Dress code,what dress code,they were naked,<deleted> on the beach.Surely some responsibility lies with the victims,if they were in a room,none of this would have happened.

Keep up. Or at least check your facts before posting. The girl was clothed and so far no proof they were doing anything more than being there.

[thaibeachlovers]

To protect farang, prayuth should set up a farang only beach. Any Thais who want to join the party must first apply for permit and dna tested.

please excuse lack of capitals- i am typing with one finger due to fractured hand.

would that be acceptable in your country? i'm pretty sure it wouldn't be.

btw, the only person i have felt threatened by in los was a farang.

[thaibeachlovers]

I can see these islands sinking if the Thai authorities start banning everything no visitors which are far and few these days will leave the islands with only coconuts to harvest and at 10 Baht per coconut on the open market life will become very hard

You're joking, right?

The potential for these islands is massive. If they cleared the islands of drugged up idiots spending 500 Baht a day, these islands could become a diving paradise. Do you have any idea how much income that would generate?

I think most of the people here think these islands popped up for their personal use a few years ago. The locals survived a long time before the 3rd generation hippies arrived.

They were beautiful places and are generally spoiled by us (tourists).

There is good in what General Prayuth is doing. Slowly but surely cleaning up. The popping into 7 11 wearing pretty much nothing should be controlled as it is Thai culture to cover up, It was a nicer place when the visitors conformed with local culture, I for one welcome it been that way again.

I am not connecting the dress code to the viscous murders of these two young tourists and I feel they did no wrong they were simply enjoying a holiday and were brutally murdered by one or probably more disgusting excuses for human beings. I feel the police are highly aware there is a very good chance they are looking for a pack of young Thai men and the blame in no way is with the foreign visitors.

They should at least have their eyes wide open to all possibilities and thoroughly check all evidence. The way they dismissed it could be a Thai in the beginning probably gave the real murderer / murderer's the time they needed to create alibis and destroy evidence.

Get a move on and catch them contrary to what the police think catching the people that really did this crime and dealing with them by real law would help restore confidence whatever nationality they turn out to be.

please excuse lack of capitals- i am typing with one finger due to fractured hand.

while i don't agree with all you write, i'd like to see topless female tourists penalised, as that is too far against current thai mores.

it is Thai culture to cover up

hmmmm, imo that has changed. it's common to see Thai women with bare shoulders now, and not so long ago that would have been a big no no. even bare midrifs are now tolerated.

Edited September 22, 2014 by thaibeachlovers

[simondan]

To protect farang, prayuth should set up a farang only beach. Any Thais who want to join the party must first apply for permit and dna tested.

But Thais dont believe in discriminating against anyone based on race!

555555555

[simondan]

I'd like a safer Thailand. However, this will take many initiatives and over a period of time. Three murders in that area in two years is not safe - period. Neither is it particuarly safe in Phuket or Pattaya with crimes ranging from assaults/robbery to murder. There are bad elements on all sides of society and therein lies the problem - and the victims are quite often innocent people just on holiday. Banning parties is not the solution .. and that is from some-one who would never attend.

I was in Vang Vieng, Laos, quite a few years ago. What a wonderful place. Then the young backpacker crowd came to float the river and get super drunk/drugged up. Crime went up, tourist rip offs went up, accidents went up. Finally the government stepped in and stopped this silliness. It's now back to being a very nice place to visit.

....except the rumour is that the 'party crowd' within Laos is now starting to migrate to the 4000 Islands. My point being that all countries on the so called SEA pancake trail need a place where the young party-going backpackers can let off their hedonistic steam - be it Pha Ngan, Vang Vieng or Sihanoukville. You can't avoid them - the young backpacker partying crowds are an integral part of the tourist masses arriving and they need catering to and importantly these are pretty much the only places where they do it bigscale. Koh Tao never was and never will be a party island - the parties that have sprung up there in recent years are simply an overspill from KPG and an attempt to 'cash in'.

Strange but my generation didn't need to let off any hedonistic steam in this manner.

Instead they started careers and families and worked hard towards their futures.

And even had time to wash their clothes, take a bath and visit a barber ;-)

What generation was that, Class of 38?