Local Reaction To The Influx Of Outsiders In The Bangkok Post

[sbk]

There are a pair of articles in the Bangkok Post today that discuss locals reactions and experiences to the massive influx of outsiders to the island. These mirror the current onslaught that Koh Phangan has been facing the past two years.

Here and here

The best quote comes here tho:

The close-knit community has been torn apart. In the past, we used to know each other so well, but things have changed with the influx of Isan people. Now we don't know who is who on the island," said 77-year-old Fangpol Boonliang, an islander and father of popular folk singer Su Boonliang.

"Criminal and drug activities are also on the rise because youngsters have grown up unsupervised as we don't know whose children they are, and don't dare to interfere when they do something wrong. If they were the children of islanders, we would not have hesitated to inform their parents or grandparents what their children were up to, and that would have made a lot of difference," he said.

He is right, but its not just the Isaan workers, it is the Bangkok business people, farangs etc etc. In fact, it is common to hear people complain about locals using the Southern dialect, ridiculing it.! People have moved onto the islands to get what they can out of them, regardless of the local people and their culture.

When I came to Koh Phangan my husband knew everybody he saw on the road, now we are lucky if we see one local at all. The local population is being diluted by people who don't give a damm about the island or its culture. They are just here to get what they can , make a quick buck and then leave the island to its fate. Never mind that they take everything they can and put nothing back in.

[John 1]

With out Isan workers who's going to build the Hotels , Resorts and road's, the local know how to pick coconuts and fish and sleep. As for Bangkok people and Foreigners puting nothing in and just taking, where is is the money coming from to build hotel's and then offer employment for the locals, as before when they grew up they had to leave the island to find work. There are always people not happy when some one else is making the money.

[mark lamai]

My response to the story.

.........................................................

Dear Sir,

I was very disappointed with your article "PARADISE LOST

The rape of Samui" by ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA on 12-08-2006.

Responsible journalism should be balanced and contain facts, not selective hearsay.

For example,

"The coconut trees that once lined the island beaches have all vanished."

This statement is so patently ridiculous no further comment is neccessary.

"the islanders lose their land to foreigners"

The islanders SELL some of their land to foreigners but mostly to Thai people from Bangkok and local Thai developers.

There are many unscrupulous foreigners here trying to make a quick buck and they bring shame on foreigners as a group.

But equally there are many more Thai people raping the island as well.

Let the blame lie where it really falls.

The major blight on the island now is the construction of thousands of shophouses in ugly rows

lining the ring road and soon to fill up all of the Lamai Beach streets.

If the Thai people constructing these really cared about their island they could easily

build something more appealing and suitable to the climate and environment.

They don't simply because its cheap and quick to build like this and and then

they can rent it out at exorbitant rates to foreigners.

I had a Thai friend enquire, to the Thai owner, about renting a shophouse, she was told they were all taken.

I enquired 5 minutes later to be told that it was available for 2 million baht keymoney plus monthly rent.

Who is ripping off who here?

Equally, the blight of ugly little concrete box villas crammed together on a Rai of land masquerading as a resort

or something is simply a stupid and ugly thing to build and should not be allowed.

"Much of the area is occupied by foreign developers and the islanders have

unknowingly lost their rights to the natural resources."

"Much" ? How much is much? I don't know either.

But at a guess I would think that at least 80% of all beach resorts are owned by Thai people.

Your reporter should have researched this important point.

Access to Chaweng beach by foot is very difficult I agree.

For everyone. Why? Because there are no planning regulations.

The Central resort was the first to build a "gated community" style with a big gaol-like wall

along a long stretch of road denying access to all who can't afford to stay there.

Back in the early 1990's Chaweng Beach was delightful.

It is not development that is ruining Samui, it is thoughtless and careless development.

For example the lake used to be lovely.

Smelly and dirty in places yes, but when it rained the locals would catch little fish at the overflow,

there was the funky wood footbridge across to Reggae Pub,

now we have an unattractive manufactured lake encased in concrete.

A few of the older resorts still exist and 600 baht a night for a beach resort bungalow is very good value.

But for how long?

Are they just waiting until they want to retire and then take their 100 million baht from a large developer.

"There are meter-taxis on the island - which start at 50 baht, but drivers simply refuse to use them."

Again there is an implied "blame the foreigner" in this statement.

Why not have the police enforce the law?

Why not have the Thai drivers act honestly?

Sure I am laughing at that too.

"A large number of native islanders have sold their land and relocated

to other nearby provinces such as Chumphon and Ranong."

Probably true, but how many and did your reporter bother to talk to any of them?

Obviously they are very happy to take the 2-4 million baht per Rai and live in comfort elsewhere.

Even the 80 year old coconut farmer high up in the hills knows he is sitting on

millions of baht and is very willing to sell it to anyone.

They don't have to sell their land and many have not.

If it really is "Paradise Lost" let me suggest the cause.

It starts at a very low level and goes all the way to the top of the tree.

Haircut for a male foreigner is 120-150 baht (80 baht for a Thai).

In Bangkok its 50 baht everywhere, are scissors that much more expensive here?

A doctor in a local clinic charges 300 baht for the visit plus exorbitant medicine prices,

St. Louis hospital in Bangkok charges 120 baht to see a highly qualified doctor.

Why? Because they are greedy and without ethics.

It is simply greed that is rotting the island and most is perpetrated by

Thai people at every level of contact with foreigners.

It is such a shame that Buddhist principles are not practiced by most people here.

As all Thais must know, a good life starts with a foundation of morality (Sila).

One other point I would like to make concerns Thai xenophobia and ignorance of other cultures.

Put simply, there are many foreigners here who are much nicer people than many

of the locals and really do care about the island.

All foreigners are not evil and they can actually help Thailand to grow in a decent, ethical and responsible manner.

Possibly the seeds of failure are here now.

The ugliness that is exponentially growing could turn away most of the people the island wants to attract.

The future might be about very rich tourists flying in to these ridiculous spa resorts and never venturing outside,

while the rest of the island will become another Pattaya.

Property prices will be driven down, many people will go broke because of high bank debts.

And everyone will blame the foreigner.

[Thaipwriter]

"Criminal and drug activities are also on the rise because youngsters have grown up unsupervised as we don't know whose children they are, and don't dare to interfere when they do something wrong.

A friend of mine attended the first full moon parties way back in 1992. The "locals" were openly selling yaba and amphetamines from huts on the beaches at Hat Rin.

He has a photo of himself standing next to one of the huts that bears the sign "Get your speed here"

A lack of any real policing was to blame then and probably still is an issue.

[taxexile]

hmmmmmmm.

sounds like one of those rants that that crazy bastard taxexile used to keep posting last year until he was asked to stop because he was offending samui-ites with negative nonsense.

[sbk]

marklamai, just a note. Not all Thai people are locals. In fact, at last count, the real local Samui people were a minority. So, remember that distinction when pointing fingers.

Also, this is directly related to my OP posted about 3 hours before yours. You were more than welcome to rebut in that thread but somehow felt the need to open your own.

In that light, I think it best to merge the two threads.

[sbk]

Actually, this article was based in Samui, not Phangan. And just for your information, I have lived on Phangan since 1989 and the rise of drug use on this island by local kids had very little to do with the full moon party.

And as for the idea that locals benefit from the unrestricted growth brought about by the construction of hotels, guesthouses, etc etc. Well, the point was, only some. Most resort owners I have seen here hire Isaan and illegal Burmese immigrants as they are far cheaper than the locals.

The idea that Samui as a community has benefited from the growth is just laughable. I went to the funeral of my husbands' cousin there a few years ago and the number of people attending (on cremation day) was in the dozens, and half of them had come over from Phangan. A similar scene on Koh Phangan would have hundreds, with everyone pitching in to help out.

And then the idea that Samui as an island has benefited must be some kind of joke. I can see the destruction of the environment from over here. Great swathes of forest being cut down, the flooding last november should have been a wake up call to those who believe that the growth is all good.

[Beachedwhale]

The problem with this situation is that there is truth on both sides of the argument and the Island is now in a spiral that it cannot seem to get out of ... Samui is certainly not the idylic Island it used to be and never will be again, but the new tourist coming here do not necessarily want the same thing that we all came here for. For us that came to Samui over 10 years ago it is probably time to move on somewhere else. The quiet and lonely beaches, the empty roads, the need to speak Thai or put up with getting something totally different to what you think you ordered, the ability to get away from "civilasation" etc have almost gone (due to the large increase in hotels etc stealing all of the good staff, it is still possible to get a waiter or waitress at your village restaurant that does not understand you and so gets your order wrong).

I understand people selling their land because the huge money being paid out would tempt anyone. Every day I hear of some huge price paid for a house or land and cannot believe it ... I even heard of a house in Lipa Noi that was on the market for THB110 million but eventually went for THB150 million because 2 people got in a bidding war (Obviously they were making profit at 110m so that extra 40m is a great little windfall)... is it unscrupulous that the seller (a major developer on the island) let the bidding war develop when they should have ethically taken the first firm offer at the asking price or is it just good business sense? To me the lucky person is the one that missed out on getting the house because I can certainly show them some better things to do with 110 million.

No-one individual group can be blamed, it is just that we have sellers willing to sell, buyers willing to buy, customers willing to pay the high taxi prices, customers willing to pay the higher food and drink prices. The good old economic theory should eventually sort it out when the buyers are no longer willing to pay the high prices, but I do not see that happening in the near term.

So in summary, I think us Samui (and Phangnan) "oldies" just need to quietly sell up and walk away or else we will end up twisted and bitter about it all. Regrettably we need to let the new breed have the place as they want it because we certainly cannot have our old Samui and Phangnan back.

[Charma]

Seems to me like you want all these non-native Samuians to leave the island.....except for you of course!

[mark lamai]

marklamai, just a note. Not all Thai people are locals. In fact, at last count, the real local Samui people were a minority. So, remember that distinction when pointing fingers.

sorry I was using "local" as an inclusive term for all Thai persons living here or with interests here.

I am not interested in pointing fingers as such, but when i read such a biased and uninformed article in a major newspaper i believe some balance should be applied.

let's not be afraid of the truth.

i do get the sniff of a conspiracy of silence also among foreigners with business interests here.

Fearful, of course, that bad publicity (the truth?) will affect their investments.

[dog412]

pls. don't blame the locals. they have nothing to do with this . if they didn't, then they must have be real idiot's. everyone knows everything.

[womble]

These articles are sensationlist, and i'm surprised to see something so negative in the Thai media, most of it is not based on fact eigher.

The majority of Chow Samui have done very nicely indeed, yes there are some that have not done so well, but you'll find most of these are in the south where land isn't so popular.

The majority of those that have not done well are jealous of the other Samui folk who have made lots of money where they have eigher sqandered money, or have land that bad luck for them is of little value to developers.

I wonder how many of the poor samui people if given the choise to have the old samui back, or to trade in what they have now for a few rai on chaweng beach, I wonder what they would choose.

A lot of money has been made in Samui, but it is absolutley not possible that the growth could have occured without land being developed, which in order to do, Thai's have to first take the decision to lease or sell. Foriegners cannot possibly utilise Thai soil before a Thai has given the go ahead.

So to blame foriegners is ludicrous, when huge amounts of money are being offered for worthless coconut plantations, who can blame the owners for wanting to cash in.

I belive the blame lies in Government and local Authorities, it is them who have stood by and watched the growth unchecked, they could easily have done something, but corruption stops people intervening.

[Rooo]

If Bangkok Post have been going for 60 years,it sure has taken them a long while to discover Samui.

They have started with some good reporting with the current concerns Re land deals etc.....now they are just rambling on .Typical media.Milk it to the end.Why don't they concentrate more with some investigative reporting and address issues as Womble has mentioned...:

I believe the blame lies in Government and local Authorities, it is them who have stood by and watched the growth unchecked, they could easily have done something, but corruption stops people intervening.

[sbk]

These articles are sensationlist, and i'm surprised to see something so negative in the Thai media, most of it is not based on fact eigher.

The majority of Chow Samui have done very nicely indeed, yes there are some that have not done so well, but you'll find most of these are in the south where land isn't so popular.

The majority of those that have not done well are jealous of the other Samui folk who have made lots of money where they have eigher sqandered money, or have land that bad luck for them is of little value to developers.

I wonder how many of the poor samui people if given the choise to have the old samui back, or to trade in what they have now for a few rai on chaweng beach, I wonder what they would choose.

A lot of money has been made in Samui, but it is absolutley not possible that the growth could have occured without land being developed, which in order to do, Thai's have to first take the decision to lease or sell. Foriegners cannot possibly utilise Thai soil before a Thai has given the go ahead.

So to blame foriegners is ludicrous, when huge amounts of money are being offered for worthless coconut plantations, who can blame the owners for wanting to cash in.

I belive the blame lies in Government and local Authorities, it is them who have stood by and watched the growth unchecked, they could easily have done something, but corruption stops people intervening.

Well, this is your opinion. My husband is a local Koh Phangan native and has many relatives on Samui, either through blood or marriage. Some of them have done well, some have been forced to move off the island to Lang Suan in Chumpon. Koh Phangan is already starting that exodus.

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment that the blame lies with the government and local authorities, thought I had made that part clear but maybe not. If the local govt had had the courage and foresight to step in and stop the unrestricted growth maybe Samui would be in better condition than it is. Hopefully this crackdown on National Park land sales and the new Land Office opening in Koh Phangan will save Koh P from travelling too far down the road of unrestricted growth.

I didn't really see this article as blaming foreigners per say, I know how the locals where I live feel and most blame the outside Thais. One thing I have learned in my life here is that either you are from here or you aren't from here. Doesn't matter Thai or not, you are not from here. My husband is from here and I have lived here for 17 years so that makes me accepted, but still as a person not from here, just as my husband's wife.

As for the comment that I would like to see all but the locals and myself move off, well, my husband is from here, he does have the right to choose his wife so, yes, I guess I would keep myself here. Would I really like to see all the non-locals move off? No, but I would also like to see the number of people moving onto the island restricted. It is an island and has limited resources. As seen from Samui, those resources are stretched beyond the max. A few less non-locals would certainly help ease the problem.

Is it a sensationalistic article? Most certainly, but it also most certainly has strong elements of the truth in it. Ask anyone married to a NATIVE Koh Samui person.

[Charma]

The comment I made was more in response to this quote from beachedwhale:

Regrettably we need to let the new breed have the place as they want it because we certainly cannot have our old Samui and Phangnan back.

It was a bit of a flippant remark, but was one that relates to the age old problem that the minute we arrive in any place, we change it. Then We don't want anyone else coming in and doing the same as we did. So how far back do you go? Who decides how long you should have been on the island to be part of the "we" in "old Samui"?

I do accept though, that as far "transient" population goes, there are different issues. As far as restricting outsiders is concerned, not sure how you can do this. I suppose one way would be to limit the number of buildings on the island,, but I'm guessing too many people want the money more than they want want the tranquility.

[sbk]

It was a bit of a flippant remark, but was one that relates to the age old problem that the minute we arrive in any place, we change it. Then We don't want anyone else coming in and doing the same as we did. So how far back do you go? Who decides how long you should have been on the island to be part of the "we" in "old Samui"?

I do accept though, that as far "transient" population goes, there are different issues. As far as restricting outsiders is concerned, not sure how you can do this. I suppose one way would be to limit the number of buildings on the island,, but I'm guessing too many people want the money more than they want want the tranquility.

If you ask the natives you'll see that issue has already been decided

And limiting the number of buildings is an excellent idea but again, you are correct, won't happen.

[womble]

Places develope, thats the nature of globalisation, limiting the number of buildings is a ridiculous idea, why shouldn't places be allowed to grow so long as it is done at a sustainable rate.

What is needed is enforced legislation. It was needed years ago and it looks like the new building codes whilst welcome are too little too late. It makes the Thai Government look very bad from outside and it shows only too well the risks involved in investment here.

If there were clear rules and they were enforced properly, to everyone then at least people would know where they stand. New building codes are out and still the local authorities don't know how to interperate it.

As with growth in all areas of the world there will be winners and losers. Where I am from back home many locals have also been priced out of their homes due to foriegners and people from the city buying up holiday homes. Outsiders want to invest in property as the town is booming.

Some people on this forum seem to be very anti growth, the thing is that it is a good thing so long as it is done at a sustainable rate.

I'll say it again, blame lies fully and squarely on government and local authorities for just about every major issue thats giving the island a bad name.

Some of the problems include, roads, sewege, taxis, unscroupulous developers, flooding.

The major problems are caused by lack of funding or lack of law enforcement, samui desperately needs to get more money from it's taxes, until this is sorted things will not improve.

It may sound harsh, but they should force people living here to register, Thai's are supposed to by law, but most do not, they should have a crackdown and make people register, fine them if they don't. Unless people are registered or the tax system is changed, Samui will continue to be under funded. They have to choose whether to change the system, or force the Thai's to register, and if this had been sorted years ago we wouldn't be in half the mess we are in now.

It would be wise to levy taxes on the lorries that tear around the island, particulary those that belong to construction companys. It doesn't have to be much, they make huge amounts of money, and they too will gain out of it. There should also be zero tolerence to speeding lorries, this is what damages the roads, and kills people.

I think we need to stop blaming growth and the people that cause growth and start blaming those that have allowed for these problems to magnifest.

I noticed recently that Thailand is being left behind by the rest of Asia in terms of competitiveness, it doesn't surprise me, that is one of the major symptoms of corruption.

Edited August 13, 2006 by womble

[sbk]

womble, you have just listed the reasons why I am anti-growth. You have excellent ideas and terrific recommendations. If it happened your way then I certainly wouldn't be anti-growth but unfortunately, I don't see it happening.

I am not against growth for growths sake, I am against the unrestricted growth that I have seen inundate Koh Samui and is now happening here on Koh Phangan.

[Beachedwhale]

I agree that the much of the responsibility lies with the adminstrators but also feel that the whole problem happened so fast that no-one really noticed it coming. I for one moaned and groaned about the infrasructure a few years ago -mainly the electricity and water. The administrators did get around to enhancing the capacity of both ... but I do not believe anyone could have foreseen the exponential growth and changes that have occurred in the last 2 - 3 years .. making the progress that had been made become ineffectual. It certainly needs strong control now to manage it going forward, but I cannot see how we should solely lay the blame at any particular group. We all had a part it in it.

My previous statement "Regrettably we need to let the new breed have the place as they want it because we certainly cannot have our old Samui and Phangnan back." was more related to my personal view that without laying blame, Samui has changed and it will never be the Samui I came to see 15 years ago. Either I personally accept it or I move on. If I accept it and stay then rather than rant on about the past, I should help in whatever way I can to make sure Samui is still going to be a worthwhile place to stay in. Because I am a foreigner here it is going to be extremely difficult for me to influence the administration etc, so I personally will be here for a few years more but ultimately I will sneek off to find a different sort of place ... just my own personal view

[womble]

Infrastructure is investment for the future, that means when you instal you make sure your spec is way over what is actually needed. I agree that the rate of growth was above that expected, but growth was still expected. It's been on the cards ever since the airport was built that big things would happen in samui.

It remains fact that had laws been inplace and enforced, particulary over the last five years, then many of the ugly buildings and that horrible condo on the hill above N. chaweng would never have been allowed.

Yes we all played a part in it (rapid growth), but it would be nice to have some guidelines or proper rules don't you think? And I mean ones that are applicable to all, not just abitarily enforced when it suits the powers that be.

It is the job of government to govern, that is why when countries have problems it is the goverment that gets the blame. This is because they have the power to bring in legislation that is supposed to benefit the electorate as a whole. There will always be trade offs, we can't have it all, but in a demorcratic society it is ultimatley up to those in charge to steer us in the right direction.

There will always be unscroupulous people who exploit natural resources for personal gain, it is the authorities job to keep them in check. Only in a utopian society would all individuals work together for the good of the island.

So yeah we are all part of the problem, but that doesn't mean the blame should land on us. There are many places in the world where tourism has happend at a sustainable pace, this is because sensible decisions were made from the start, rules enforced and those that break them are punished.

Edited August 13, 2006 by womble

[Rooo]

ISAN FOLK MAKE SAMUI THEIR OWN

Earn higher wages, take on variety of jobs, but still face discrimination from native islanders

What do Koh Samui and Bangkok have in common, apart from being top tourist destinations? They both have large populations of workers from the Northeast, who have fled poverty in the barren region to seek a better life.

Veerasak Rungruangsiripol, president of the Isan Club on Koh Samui, said the Isan natives on the island, totalling 50,000, outnumbered the locals.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/14Aug2006_news06.php

[sbk]

Veerasak Rungruangsiripol, president of the Isan Club on Koh Samui, said the Isan natives on the island, totalling 50,000, outnumbered the locals.

Of that number, only 20,000 are registered residents.

Now, add in the Bangkok and other central people, the other Southerners, farang and what do you get? An island with more unregistered residents than registered.

Why does the govt not allow Samui to count these people? They use resources and seeing as they outnumber the locals, obviously use far more resources than the locals.

As for the thieving mentioned in the article, well, I have seen first hand Isaan people (and illegal burmese) entering peoples plantations and gardens and stealing fruit. They have also managed to help wipe out a good proportion of squirrels and monitor lizards with their hunting as well. I understand they need to eat, but the decimation of the squirrel population is one of the leading causes of the coconut beetles dominance.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand how a people would feel seeing their local community completely overwhelmed, quality of life isn't always about the acquisition of material goods. And unfortunately, people living on the islands are starting to learn that too late.

[Mark Wolfe]

SBK said: "When I came to Koh Phangan my husband knew everybody he saw on the road, now we are lucky if we see one local at all."

So you lament the influx of "non-locals" when you yourself are one. Because you came a number of years ago, this makes you exempt from the theory (unproven) that "outsiders" are "diluting" the nature of the past situation? Or are you saying that you are different? If so, how?

[sbk]

SBK said: "When I came to Koh Phangan my husband knew everybody he saw on the road, now we are lucky if we see one local at all."

So you lament the influx of "non-locals" when you yourself are one. Because you came a number of years ago, this makes you exempt from the theory (unproven) that "outsiders" are "diluting" the nature of the past situation? Or are you saying that you are different? If so, how?

Reread my post and you'll see I have already addressed this issue:

One thing I have learned in my life here is that either you are from here or you aren't from here. Doesn't matter Thai or not, you are not from here. My husband is from here and I have lived here for 17 years so that makes me accepted, but still as a person not from here, just as my husband's wife.

and Mark, you are being deliberately obtuse. When the local population is being overwhelmed by over 2-1 by non locals that is going to have a major effect on the local community. Especially when a large number of those people are transient workers whose only vested interest in the island is what they can get out of it, not what they can put back in it.

You seem to be taking this very personally, I am not saying no foreigners, I am not saying no non-local Thais. I am stating something I have seen with my own eyes. The massive influx of non-locals has clearly damaged the local community in Samui and is beginning to damage the local community here.

[John 1]

At least with a influx of Thais from other parts of the country and some marriying the locals it will cut down some of the inbreeding which is evident. As with small comunities you don't know who's been mixing with who.

[limbos]

That's happening on each island, isn't it John 1?

You're not English by any chance, are you?

Edited August 14, 2006 by limbos

[sbk]

At least with a influx of Thais from other parts of the country and some marriying the locals it will cut down some of the inbreeding which is evident. As with small comunities you don't know who's been mixing with who.

Typical ignorant arrogant attitude from some clueless farang. I know for a fact that the locals here are very strict about who you can and cannot marry. Even second cousins are considered taboo amongst the people I know on this island.

[Gatorade]

Veerasak Rungruangsiripol, president of the Isan Club on Koh Samui, said the Isan natives on the island, totalling 50,000, outnumbered the locals.

Of that number, only 20,000 are registered residents.

Now, add in the Bangkok and other central people, the other Southerners, farang and what do you get? An island with more unregistered residents than registered.

Why does the govt not allow Samui to count these people? They use resources and seeing as they outnumber the locals, obviously use far more resources than the locals.

As for the thieving mentioned in the article, well, I have seen first hand Isaan people (and illegal burmese) entering peoples plantations and gardens and stealing fruit. They have also managed to help wipe out a good proportion of squirrels and monitor lizards with their hunting as well. I understand they need to eat, but the decimation of the squirrel population is one of the leading causes of the coconut beetles dominance.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand how a people would feel seeing their local community completely overwhelmed, quality of life isn't always about the acquisition of material goods. And unfortunately, people living on the islands are starting to learn that too late.

I think you are totally right SBK

The big monitor lizards living near us have been wiped out by the building workers during their work breaks. They had little chance of survival as most of their habitat was being cleared. They were sure nice to watch and along with the demise of the squirrels and the snakes and God knows how many birds being used for catapult practise, this island will be poorer for their loss.

No easy answer but it does seem to be "if it moves, eat it" outlook of Isaan workers. It is not as if the hunting down of these creatures is essential to avoid starvation, it is part of a culture which is going to have a long term side-effect on those who have made this place their home.

One can only hope that the sympathetic landscaping of gardens with many of the new properties will allow nature to re-establish itself in relative safety.

[Charma]

I can empathise with some of feelings the locals must have when seeing their home change so much is such a short period of time, particularly as I am part of their problem. The writing was on the wall though, as soon as the airport arrived on Samui. The non native Thais have arrived to support and live off the tourist and development boom. I wonder though, if really given the choice, how many would wish to go back in time to an existence that was undoubtably tougher financially. I think some, maybe younger generations would not really want that. The key would have been to manage the growth to reduce its impact on the island and the local population, but we all know that the horse had already bolted as far as Samui is concerned. It may not be too late for KP though!

Looking at some of the Caribbean islands, you can see the contrast where development has taken different paths. Some went for mass tourism and overdevelopment (Jamaicia, Barbados) and some restricted development (Mustique and the like). In the end, the less developed islands ended up as exclusive playgrounds for the rich, as the restriction on building pushed up the price of land and properties to the point that only the very rich could afford to live there. In either case you could argue the end result was not exactly paradise for the local population. Some like the Grenadines may have found a middle way, so maybe there are lessons to be learned for KP.

Regarding the article, I read with a smile the following:

One islander who declined to be named said he hated Isan people because they are ''habitual thieves''.

''They often steal fruit from local plantations. Coconuts, bananas, mangosteens _ all that were left unattended were stolen. Such things never happened before Isan people arrived,'' said the islander.

Mr Veerasak said it was unfair to blame Isan people alone.

''There are good and bad people everywhere. The islanders may blame us because we are here in large numbers. But southern people like those from Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat are thieves, too,'' he said.

It reminded me so much of the Iraeli sign thread. Just goes to show that human nature is evident wherever you are from.

[Roberto Naranja]

In one of the recent articles ( sunday i think ) they ran a piece about a local Mafiosa Guy that was by all accounts & as we know in the western world ( England anyway ) as old school...

I appreciated this & agreed with the way that he dealt with things within the Community solved a lot of the immediate problems on the Island...

The writer then proceeded to go on about how this Guy was far superior than Foreign Mafioso's etc & then super imposed him on to a picture with a German Cathedral Building behind him...

Did they do this to imply that this supposedly superior Thai Mafiosa Guy had visited Germany to do Mafiosa style business ???

I didn't know so i wrote to the BP to find out why...

Have they replied ???

Of course they <deleted> haven't !!!

Joke Paper...

On a par with the Daily Sport in the UK in my eyes !!!

The Editor of this Newspaper would not last a single minute in the Western world allowing this tripe to be printed....