Rental Umbrellas and Foam Mats back on Kata Beach

[KarenBravo]

A certain news source that shall remain nameless is reporting that different beaches are enforcing laws differently depending on the beach.

These officials just haven't got a clue......

[LivinLOS]

A certain news source that shall remain nameless is reporting that different beaches are enforcing laws differently depending on the beach.

These officials just haven't got a clue......

And yet I do see that as being a more practical solution..

Mass tourists want this service, if Thailand wishes to be competitive in offering the people what they want some form of sunbeds and shade needs to be offered at some places.. Its borderline pathetic that something so simple as a beach use concessions, cannot be administered fairly and transparently.

Also some beaches should or could be preserved in a more natural state.. Some visitors are looking for that..

Rather than a one size fits all solution, as you cant please all the people all the time.. Offering different experiences at different beaches does allow people to make the choice.

[NamKangMan]

@ pcliff069

So, if Pattaya is a "shitehole" and you are leaving Phuket after 18 months, what's that make Phuket?

[NamKangMan]

A certain news source that shall remain nameless is reporting that different beaches are enforcing laws differently depending on the beach.

These officials just haven't got a clue......

And yet I do see that as being a more practical solution..

Mass tourists want this service, if Thailand wishes to be competitive in offering the people what they want some form of sunbeds and shade needs to be offered at some places.. Its borderline pathetic that something so simple as a beach use concessions, cannot be administered fairly and transparently.

Also some beaches should or could be preserved in a more natural state.. Some visitors are looking for that..

Rather than a one size fits all solution, as you cant please all the people all the time.. Offering different experiences at different beaches does allow people to make the choice.

"offering the people what they want some form of sunbeds and shade needs to be offered at some places" - "Offering different experiences at different beaches does allow people to make the choice." - how will they inform tourists which beaches have sunbed and umbrellas, and which beaches are natural, and do not?

How are tourists going to get to their chosen beach?

Remember, it's 400 baht up / down the coast in a tuk-tuk, and 400 baht back (minimum) - then, 200 baht for each sunbed and umbrella.

That's a 1000 baht for a single person, just to get to and from the beach, and lay under an umbrellla, at a time when many currencies are struggling against the baht. Now consider the cost for a family of 4 - that's at least 1600 baht.

Your idea has some merit, but not with the pathetic transport system here. It really is damaging Phuket's tourism industry.

Phuket's issues are not so much the beaches, or what's happening on them, it's the infastructure and services surrounding them.

Edited February 4, 2015 by NamKangMan

[pcliff069]

@ pcliff069

So, if Pattaya is a "shitehole" and you are leaving Phuket after 18 months, what's that make Phuket?

a very good question and not one I really have a good answer for - my experience of Phuket is limited mainly to the Rawai / Naiharn area.

At it's best it's brilliant at it's worst it's terrible.

Good beaches

Good food

Good restaurants

Bad beaches

bad food

bad restaurants

The difference between high and low season.

The other thing is that I feel that over the next few years Phuket will pay a huge price for corruption -

[KarenBravo]

a very good question and not one I really have a good answer for - my experience of Phuket is limited mainly to the Rawai / Naiharn area.

At it's best it's brilliant at it's worst it's terrible.

Good beaches

Good food

Good restaurants

Bad beaches

bad food

bad restaurants

The difference between high and low season.

The other thing is that I feel that over the next few years Phuket will pay a huge price for corruption -

What are you talking about? Your post doesn't really make much sense.

Are you saying that when the season changes, suddenly the good restaurants with good food start serving bad food?

There are bad restaurants everywhere. People don't eat at them and they go out of business.

What do you mean by good/bad beaches? You talking about the flotsam that comes ashore during the SW monsoon?

[stevenl]

Apparently sunbed and umbrella vendors are being fined at Karon Beach.

[LivinginKata]

Apparently sunbed and umbrella vendors are being fined at Karon Beach.

I wonder who is doing the fining and were the money goes ? Not hard to guess.

[beechbum]

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

^^Where to?

probably a bit harsh on Pattaya there - I do have some good friends in Pattaya but the ones who aren't are the problem.

Either Hua Hin or Krabi - with Hua Hin favourite -

Not a fan of krabi at all, cant stand the place myself, hua hins nice though(IMO)

[pcliff069]

a very good question and not one I really have a good answer for - my experience of Phuket is limited mainly to the Rawai / Naiharn area.

At it's best it's brilliant at it's worst it's terrible.

Good beaches

Good food

Good restaurants

Bad beaches

bad food

bad restaurants

The difference between high and low season.

The other thing is that I feel that over the next few years Phuket will pay a huge price for corruption -

What are you talking about? Your post doesn't really make much sense.

Are you saying that when the season changes, suddenly the good restaurants with good food start serving bad food?

There are bad restaurants everywhere. People don't eat at them and they go out of business.

What do you mean by good/bad beaches? You talking about the flotsam that comes ashore during the SW monsoon?

OK so

Beaches

The two beaches near me:

Yanui

High season - lovely little beach. Good for swimming, snorkelling and a lovely little restaurant across the road. Unlike Naiharn they do appear to be making some effort to maintain the beach.

Low season - beach closed.

Naiharn - good water but the beach is generally falling into disrepair. I go most days and do actually enjoy the water.

Don't spend any time on the beach at all.

Low season - 90% of the beach is closed.

When I say closed there is nothing to stop you going swimming on either. But I would suggest you are either on suicide watch or from a former Soviet bloc country on your fourth Chang.

Restaurants - no people here and no customers. Hence no food turnover. Some close - some go to crap. A few (like Lucky 13 and breakfast Hut) maintain a high standard but generally speaking it's fairly ordinary.

[pcliff069]

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

^^Where to?

probably a bit harsh on Pattaya there - I do have some good friends in Pattaya but the ones who aren't are the problem.

Either Hua Hin or Krabi - with Hua Hin favourite -

Not a fan of krabi at all, cant stand the place myself, hua hins nice though(IMO)

When I say Krabi I'm talking Ao Nang. It's probably the opposite of Phuket - good infrastructure with crappy water - Phuket has (high season) good water crappy infrastructure (all seasons there)

(Even had footpaths in Ao Nang).

I found Ao nang to be very expensive,

[KarenBravo]

a very good question and not one I really have a good answer for - my experience of Phuket is limited mainly to the Rawai / Naiharn area.

At it's best it's brilliant at it's worst it's terrible.

Good beaches

Good food

Good restaurants

Bad beaches

bad food

bad restaurants

The difference between high and low season.

The other thing is that I feel that over the next few years Phuket will pay a huge price for corruption -

What are you talking about? Your post doesn't really make much sense.

Are you saying that when the season changes, suddenly the good restaurants with good food start serving bad food?

There are bad restaurants everywhere. People don't eat at them and they go out of business.

What do you mean by good/bad beaches? You talking about the flotsam that comes ashore during the SW monsoon?

OK so

Beaches

The two beaches near me:

Yanui

High season - lovely little beach. Good for swimming, snorkelling and a lovely little restaurant across the road. Unlike Naiharn they do appear to be making some effort to maintain the beach.

Low season - beach closed.

Naiharn - good water but the beach is generally falling into disrepair. I go most days and do actually enjoy the water.

Don't spend any time on the beach at all.

Low season - 90% of the beach is closed.

When I say closed there is nothing to stop you going swimming on either. But I would suggest you are either on suicide watch or from a former Soviet bloc country on your fourth Chang.

Restaurants - no people here and no customers. Hence no food turnover. Some close - some go to crap. A few (like Lucky 13 and breakfast Hut) maintain a high standard but generally speaking it's fairly ordinary.

OK, thanks. That's a lot clearer.

[NamKangMan]

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

^^Where to?

probably a bit harsh on Pattaya there - I do have some good friends in Pattaya but the ones who aren't are the problem.

Either Hua Hin or Krabi - with Hua Hin favourite -

Not a fan of krabi at all, cant stand the place myself, hua hins nice though(IMO)

When I say Krabi I'm talking Ao Nang. It's probably the opposite of Phuket - good infrastructure with crappy water - Phuket has (high season) good water crappy infrastructure (all seasons there)

(Even had footpaths in Ao Nang).

I found Ao nang to be very expensive,

"Ao Nang. It's probably the opposite of Phuket - good infrastructure with crappy water" - get a longtail boat over to Railay Beach. Very nice there.

[beechbum]

The army did a swoop on nai harn in the morning, about 1hr later the pick-up with a load of blue mattress's from sunbeds turned up and unloaded, also saw a marque set up there for something.

[steelepulse]

I was at Kata yesterday, there were more umbrellas and mats out. Not out of hand yet, but I foresee the umbrella and mat crew claiming more territory daily. From beechbum's post above, sounds like nai harn will also be taken back by the vendors.

[beechbum]

A couple of cops at Nai Harn chatting away with the vendors this morning, checking their investment maybe!!

[steelepulse]

Those Nai Harn vendors are fully set up. No removing their stuff at the end of the day and keeping it on the beach( I thought everything had to be removed each day supposedly for the "compromise"). BTW, it sure looked like more than 10% of the beach is being controlled by these guys.

[pcliff069]

at Naiharn today and yesterday and there was no sign of the return of the plastic chairs and mats that seemed to have total occupancy of the beach (pre c days).

Vendors are set up every so often where you can hire umbrellas and mats or you can BYO.

A win/win situation.

Next move would be to clean up the beach but not holding breath on that one.

[steelepulse]

Down by the lagoon at Nai Harn there are two separate groups of mats and umbrellas, pretty much taking up most of the desirable real estate. On the trash cleaning up, I did see them collect rubbish from "their" area, but they certainly did not walk one metre out of their area to pick up the plainly visible rubbish.

[pcliff069]

Yep sounds like a positive start