Filthy beaches - so say the tourists

[beechbum]

NKM wrote: "Phuket no longer represents a value for money product"

That's a fair call IMO, have heard that from a few visitors as well.

I should have mentioned they were Australians that said it, they've been going to Bali for a long time and renting upscale villas, will probably return there by the sounds of it.

Edited January 25, 2015 by beechbum

[Mooner]

No trash bins anywhere in Thailand. They think if they don't put in bins nobody will throw trash away. They neglect to understand that people will throw the trash on the ground and it will cost more to hire someone to pick, it up and dispose of it. Short sided thinking I think. Thainess I guess.

On the other hand they will sweep up leaves religiously. Go figure.

[Bogan Koori]

NKM wrote: "Phuket no longer represents a value for money product"

That's a fair call IMO, have heard that from a few visitors as well.

I should have mentioned they were Australians that said it, they've been going to Bali for a long time and renting upscale villas, will probably return there by the sounds of it.

Bali is a lot cheaper than Phuket. But drugs and crime are rife there. The beaches in Bali are nasty

[NamKangMan]

NKM wrote: "Phuket no longer represents a value for money product"

That's a fair call IMO, have heard that from a few visitors as well.

I should have mentioned they were Australians that said it, they've been going to Bali for a long time and renting upscale villas, will probably return there by the sounds of it.

Bali has well and truly recovered from the bombings.

I was there about 18 months ago. Around 80% of venues on the main strip were rammed with customers, and there are some big venues in that area. Eg. Bounty Disco

Most of the crowd were Australian, so, I would say there is some truth to the Australia people's comments they made to you.

I found Bali to be considerably cheaper than Phuket, and with the Australian dollar taking a nose dive, I can see many Australians chosing Bali over Phuket for their holidays, in the future.

[simon43]

..and with the Australian dollar taking a nose dive,

I checked this morning and many currencies are nose-diving against the THB. One of the few currencies riding high is the Chinese RMB, whichg is good news for me as a hotel owner and good news for those who don't care about the rubbish on the island...

[LivinginKata]

..and with the Australian dollar taking a nose dive,

I checked this morning and many currencies are nose-diving against the THB. One of the few currencies riding high is the Chinese RMB, whichg is good news for me as a hotel owner and good news for those who don't care about the rubbish on the island...

Not only the AUD, also the UK pound, the Euro, the SGD(Singapore) taking a dive against the Baht. Only the US$ is holding strong.

But we are going way off the topic.

[simon43]

Only the US$ is holding strong.

Edit: (sorry - repeating myself - slow brain day...)

And the RMB

Edited January 25, 2015 by simon43

[beechbum]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

NKM wrote: "Phuket no longer represents a value for money product"

That's a fair call IMO, have heard that from a few visitors as well.
I should have mentioned they were Australians that said it, they've been going to Bali for a long time and renting upscale villas, will probably return there by the sounds of it.

Bali is a lot cheaper than Phuket. But drugs and crime are rife there. The beaches in Bali are nasty

Whats nasty about the beaches, unless you only go to Kuta and even then that's cleaner than beaches here, drugs and crime are rife if you hang in the areas that attract it.

[ianbardon]

Ranong is where I first saw a blue beach, so rancid I could hardy breath when I went on a visa run, those who have been there will bear me out,but to be fair its not a tourist beach, a rabid dog would not want to be there but just shows you how thing can deteriorate if left unchecked

[LivinLOS]

Its kinda ironic you have the lower sukhumvit cops, dishing out 2000 baht fines for a single dropped cigarette butt in the city.. As its littering.

And yet on its beaches ???

[hansgruber]

I want to naiharn today and the grassy sandy area behind the beach under the trees is just full of cigarette butts. I despise smokers generally but they can take their trash shit habit with them and not subject the area with such pollution.

[BernieOnTour]

Please help me to understand this:

"Over the past few days, (in my TPV role), I've been visiting all the beaches in Phuket to hand out multi-lingual advice signs to the lifeguards, hopefully helping Russian and Asian tourist to understand the dangers of rip currents etc, and the need to heed the advice of the lifeguard."

TPV - is that a Tourist Police Volunteer ?

So you

- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

- in the richest province of Thailand with the highest per capita income -

- go from beach to beach in the burning sun to hand out leaflets to paid employees of Thai companies

???

Doing a job, which the local authorities should organize and pay for and which would be dirt cheap, considering the salaries for such jobs in Thailand?

And tomorrow, if they ask you, you start to clean their dirty beaches, or what?

... I better stop short of elaborating, what I think of you ...

Edited January 26, 2015 by BernieOnTour

[Toknarok]

He goes to beaches handing out leaflets in many languages to tourists instructing them where to swim so that they don't drown He is trying to SAVE LIVES.

[pagallim]

Please help me to understand this:

"Over the past few days, (in my TPV role), I've been visiting all the beaches in Phuket to hand out multi-lingual advice signs to the lifeguards, hopefully helping Russian and Asian tourist to understand the dangers of rip currents etc, and the need to heed the advice of the lifeguard."

TPV - is that a Tourist Police Volunteer ?

So you

- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

- in the richest province of Thailand with the highest per capita income -

- go from beach to beach in the burning sun to hand out leaflets to paid employees of Thai companies

???

Doing a job, which the local authorities should organize and pay for and which would be dirt cheap, considering the salaries for such jobs in Thailand?

And tomorrow, if they ask you, you start to clean their dirty beaches, or what?

... I better stop short of elaborating, what I think of you ...

Sad post, I'm guessing that you don't have a great deal of knowledge of Phuket in particular, and Thailand in general?

[hansgruber]

Simon has done more for Phuket and others in the community than the rest of us combined.

Don't question his resolve.

[Pakaty]

I despise smokers generally but they can take their trash shit habit with them and not subject the area with such pollution.

Agreed! I can't stand people that think the world is their own personal ashtray.

[beechbum]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Please help me to understand this:

"Over the past few days, (in my TPV role), I've been visiting all the beaches in Phuket to hand out multi-lingual advice signs to the lifeguards, hopefully helping Russian and Asian tourist to understand the dangers of rip currents etc, and the need to heed the advice of the lifeguard."

TPV - is that a Tourist Police Volunteer ?

So you
- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand
- in the richest province of Thailand with the highest per capita income -
- go from beach to beach in the burning sun to hand out leaflets to paid employees of Thai companies
???

Doing a job, which the local authorities should organize and pay for and which would be dirt cheap, considering the salaries for such jobs in Thailand?

And tomorrow, if they ask you, you start to clean their dirty beaches, or what?

... I better stop short of elaborating, what I think of you ...

Put your dunces hat back on and go stand in the corner.

[simon43]

So you
- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

etc etc etc

Some people get it and some don't

I just read on this forum today about the Chinese tourist who drowned at Racha Island whilst snorkeling. The circumstances are not clear. Perhaps he couldn't swim, perhaps he didn't know how to snorkel (don't breathe in when your breathing tube is underwater etc)

Perhaps he was just a dumb &lt;deleted&gt;

Whatever the reason, no-one should finish their holiday in a coffin, no matter how stupid you are. Imagine how his wife feels right now.

I do this volunteer work (and so do the many other good volunteers on Phuket), because if we don't do it, then no-one else is going to step into that space, even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work.

Yes, I do not like walking up and down a hot beach when I could be drinking a cold beer But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc.

And if anyone wants to mock my own efforts, I'll not lose one second of sleep over it

[NamKangMan]

So you

- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

etc etc etc

Some people get it and some don't

I just read on this forum today about the Chinese tourist who drowned at Racha Island whilst snorkeling. The circumstances are not clear. Perhaps he couldn't swim, perhaps he didn't know how to snorkel (don't breathe in when your breathing tube is underwater etc)

Perhaps he was just a dumb <deleted>

Whatever the reason, no-one should finish their holiday in a coffin, no matter how stupid you are. Imagine how his wife feels right now.

I do this volunteer work (and so do the many other good volunteers on Phuket), because if we don't do it, then no-one else is going to step into that space, even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work.

Yes, I do not like walking up and down a hot beach when I could be drinking a cold beer But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc.

And if anyone wants to mock my own efforts, I'll not lose one second of sleep over it

A good reply Simon43.

My only comments are:

"even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work" - if we leave morality aside for a moment, what from a business perspective?

They are so worried about anything that "tarnishes Phuket's image" yet they do not care about the amount of people killed here.

"But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc." - once again, where is all the money going????

When corruption is allowed to degrade essential Government services, such as police, ambulance etc - something is seriously wrong.

It's a disgrace that a wealthy province, such as Phuket, has to rely on volunteers to save lives.

Anyway, if your efforts save just one life - it's a job well done, and good luck to you.

Edited January 27, 2015 by NamKangMan

[Rimmer]

Off topic troll post removed

[simon43]

..once again, where is all the money going????

Indeed, in my case,. it would be nice to know where the money that the Tourist Police receive for each foreign TPV goes... cos I've never seen any of it, (either in cash or kind).

Off-topic! I'll shut up now

[Rangsitreppin]

big toilet

[Valentine]

So you

- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

etc etc etc

Some people get it and some don't

I just read on this forum today about the Chinese tourist who drowned at Racha Island whilst snorkeling. The circumstances are not clear. Perhaps he couldn't swim, perhaps he didn't know how to snorkel (don't breathe in when your breathing tube is underwater etc)

Perhaps he was just a dumb <deleted>

Whatever the reason, no-one should finish their holiday in a coffin, no matter how stupid you are. Imagine how his wife feels right now.

I do this volunteer work (and so do the many other good volunteers on Phuket), because if we don't do it, then no-one else is going to step into that space, even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work.

Yes, I do not like walking up and down a hot beach when I could be drinking a cold beer But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc.

And if anyone wants to mock my own efforts, I'll not lose one second of sleep over it

A good reply Simon43.

My only comments are:

"even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work" - if we leave morality aside for a moment, what from a business perspective?

They are so worried about anything that "tarnishes Phuket's image" yet they do not care about the amount of people killed here.

"But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc." - once again, where is all the money going????

When corruption is allowed to degrade essential Government services, such as police, ambulance etc - something is seriously wrong.

It's a disgrace that a wealthy province, such as Phuket, has to rely on volunteers to save lives.

Anyway, if your efforts save just one life - it's a job well done, and good luck to you.

Money & resources dispersed from central government to Phuket is based on the official population numbers, I think about 350,000, which in reality is about a 1//3 of the actual population. Remember the recent governor who tried to encourage people from other provinces living & working here to register as Phuket locals. The current system does not work for Phuket which has always been a good money spinner for those higher up the food chain.

[Felt 35]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

So you
- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

etc etc etc

Some people get it and some don't

I just read on this forum today about the Chinese tourist who drowned at Racha Island whilst snorkeling. The circumstances are not clear. Perhaps he couldn't swim, perhaps he didn't know how to snorkel (don't breathe in when your breathing tube is underwater etc)

Perhaps he was just a dumb <deleted>

Whatever the reason, no-one should finish their holiday in a coffin, no matter how stupid you are. Imagine how his wife feels right now.

I do this volunteer work (and so do the many other good volunteers on Phuket), because if we don't do it, then no-one else is going to step into that space, even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work.

Yes, I do not like walking up and down a hot beach when I could be drinking a cold beer But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc.

And if anyone wants to mock my own efforts, I'll not lose one second of sleep over it

A good reply Simon43.

My only comments are:

"even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work" - if we leave morality aside for a moment, what from a business perspective?

They are so worried about anything that "tarnishes Phuket's image" yet they do not care about the amount of people killed here.

"But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc." - once again, where is all the money going????

When corruption is allowed to degrade essential Government services, such as police, ambulance etc - something is seriously wrong.

It's a disgrace that a wealthy province, such as Phuket, has to rely on volunteers to save lives.

Anyway, if your efforts save just one life - it's a job well done, and good luck to you.

once again, where is all the money going????

To worship personal status. So much could be done for here for so little but easy and reasonable community systems do nothing for personal face value.

[NamKangMan]

So you

- as a foreigner with no residential rights in Thailand

etc etc etc

Some people get it and some don't

I just read on this forum today about the Chinese tourist who drowned at Racha Island whilst snorkeling. The circumstances are not clear. Perhaps he couldn't swim, perhaps he didn't know how to snorkel (don't breathe in when your breathing tube is underwater etc)

Perhaps he was just a dumb <deleted>

Whatever the reason, no-one should finish their holiday in a coffin, no matter how stupid you are. Imagine how his wife feels right now.

I do this volunteer work (and so do the many other good volunteers on Phuket), because if we don't do it, then no-one else is going to step into that space, even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work.

Yes, I do not like walking up and down a hot beach when I could be drinking a cold beer But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc.

And if anyone wants to mock my own efforts, I'll not lose one second of sleep over it

A good reply Simon43.

My only comments are:

"even if it is the moral responsibility of the local government/authorities to do that work" - if we leave morality aside for a moment, what from a business perspective?

They are so worried about anything that "tarnishes Phuket's image" yet they do not care about the amount of people killed here.

"But Phuket does not have enough salaried police officers to look after both locals, expats and tourists - hence the existence of volunteer police, volunteer civil guards, volunteer ambulance etc etc." - once again, where is all the money going????

When corruption is allowed to degrade essential Government services, such as police, ambulance etc - something is seriously wrong.

It's a disgrace that a wealthy province, such as Phuket, has to rely on volunteers to save lives.

Anyway, if your efforts save just one life - it's a job well done, and good luck to you.

Money & resources dispersed from central government to Phuket is based on the official population numbers, I think about 350,000, which in reality is about a 1//3 of the actual population. Remember the recent governor who tried to encourage people from other provinces living & working here to register as Phuket locals. The current system does not work for Phuket which has always been a good money spinner for those higher up the food chain.

"Money & resources dispersed from central government to Phuket is based on the official population numbers," - you make a good point, Valentine.

On that basis, Issan should be a very wealthy province.

[glegolo]

No trash bins anywhere in Thailand. They think if they don't put in bins nobody will throw trash away. They neglect to understand that people will throw the trash on the ground and it will cost more to hire someone to pick, it up and dispose of it. Short sided thinking I think. Thainess I guess.

It is a little bit the same I guess all over Thailand, only difference is that here in Isaan, nobody ever picks up the plasticbags,, they are just starting a fire, leave it burning, and voila´ black land but no plastic, hahaha

''

Glegolo

[robertthebruce]

Thailand in General is Dirty, Trash thrown everywhere, People have no pride in there country and there surroundings, which is sad to see...

[Old Croc]

"Money & resources dispersed from central government to Phuket is based on the official population numbers," - you make a good point, Valentine.

On that basis, Issan should be a very wealthy province.

Issan is a region consisting of about 20 provinces.

[LivinLOS]

"Money & resources dispersed from central government to Phuket is based on the official population numbers," - you make a good point, Valentine.

On that basis, Issan should be a very wealthy province.

Issan is a region consisting of about 20 provinces.

Bangkok gets 80% of the national budget..

Per head of population bangkok gets 35x the spending per person than a comparative Isaan person. Bangkokians get 16x the medical spending per person and bangkoks children get 4x the educational spending per head.

And they then have the cheek to say Isaan people are demanding of handouts and are freeloaders.

[Keesters]

It's not just the beaches that are filthy, it's the whole country. Plastic bags thrown anywhere except in their own personal space. Out of sight out of mind. Many showers a day but just sweep your house out into the public street. Dogs let out to crap in the public street. Dump your empty drink container on the street kerb. The list of messes that people make in Thailand is endless.