Farang man wins praises for collecting litter

[Thaivisa News]

Pattaya, Chon Buri: An unidentified farang man has won a lot of praises from Thai Facebook users for collecting garbage littered on the Pattaya beach on Monday.

A popular Facebook page for Pattaya residents, "We love Pattaya checkpoints", has posted four photos of a western man collecting garbage on the beach.

The community Facebook page posted the photos on Monday, saying the photos came from a member called Chokchai Sai-lee. The admin of the page asked for one “like” for the farang man.

[Photo credit: We love Pattaya checkpoints Facebook page]

So far, the post has won more than 82,280 likes and has been shared over 1,700 times.

Chokchai did not identify the farang man. Many Pattaya residents said the pictures were taken after the late Songkran festival in Pattaya, which is called Wan Lai Pattaya. The Pattaya Songkran celebration was held from April 16 to 20.

Many Facebook users commented on the post that Thais should be ashamed of themselves for littering so much garbage on the beach. Others thanked the farang for expressing his love for Pattaya. Some said although Pattaya is a popular tourist destination seaside town, it is very dirty.

“Thais only want to have fun. They forgot about the beauty of the country,” Thip Natchaya Ngandee commented.

“It’s very embarrassing that Thais made the country dirty and a farang tried to clean it,” Nunok Indy commented.

Jakkrit Chainok said Thais have been raised this way so no one should be blamed. He added that Farang has been taught the otherwise.

Pornthana Kitti said the man apparently could not stand seeing the dirty beach because he flew from a far away land to visit it.

[Mcffee]

He not got arrested for working without a work permit? That's quite amazing. Great guy, he is a perfect sample for his host country and it's people who don't give a shti.

[MAJIC]

Judging by the state of the other beaches in Thailand,this Guy could have an unpaid job for life!

[Aforek]

I have seen several times a farang doing the same in Cha am, but not on the beach ; he picked up much garbage in plastic bags !

[NongKhaiKid]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

[selftaopath]

“It’s very embarrassing that Thais made the country dirty and a farang tried to clean it,” Nunok Indy commented.

Jakkrit Chainok said Thais have been raised this way so no one should be blamed. He added that Farang has been taught the otherwise.

Thainess vs Western ways.

[useronthenet]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

[asdecas]

Bloody foreigners, no sooner does one start doing something than the whole lot are at it. Thailand for Thainess, I say.

[hungryINbangkok]

"Jakkrit Chainok said Thais have been raised this way so no one should be blamed"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[inwardglee]

I live at Wongamat Beach. Once in five or six months I dare to do a walk along the beach, just to find the sight so disgusting yet again to stay away from it for the next few months again. It annoys me to see the city administration spending billions of Thai Baht on enlarging the beach road, to soon later see the beach there washed away by just one downpour of rain, while they could not spend some few dimes to have Wongamat Beach clean. It is only clean if a fine tower borders it, and right afterwards the sight is full of plastic bags and bottles again. The rocks on the cliffs are ownergrown with moss, showing how overfertilized the sea is, by human sewage. The new pipes that have been built just recently have broken apart again, and I get the bizarre sight of tourists wading and bathing in the water next to a pipe that is broken and dispenses a black stinking cocktail of human sewage and all what gets flushed down the sinks of all those fine, towering condos and hotels. In the news I regularly read the blabla of the city admininstration they would turn the town into a family and sports destination. Wongamat Beach would be the finest and nicest beach of Pattaya for a noise and smoke free walk, and the only place where a longer nice walk in that big city could be done, yet the chance is not taken. My daughter who sometimes comes on visits from Europe has just recently written in a message to me: "I hate Pattaya like the plague", and yes, everybody who has eyes and a nose must understand her. So if she is here again, I need to run away from Pattaya, she is okay anywhere, but not here.

Edited April 22, 2015 by inwardglee

[kerrysum]

"Jakkrit Chainok said Thais have been raised this way so no one should be blamed"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Depends where you have been and what you have seen, just my opinion of course.......

[gemguy]

Funny how the Thais seem to not mind the garbage.

I guess they think it is someone else's problem as you see loads of garbage thrown away just about anywhere and near everywhere.

I think the mentality is based on seeing garbage on the ground and thinking, because there already is garbage on the ground then they are not the only ones throwing their garbage on the ground ...so no concern throwing more garbage on the ground.

Some places you see garbage that has been there for probably a decade or more while people just keep on throwing more on top of more.

I think the problem can be somewhat resolved by way of a sense of personal responsibility practiced by more people where they actually look for a place to discard their personal garbage rather than just dropping it near anywhere that is convenient.... at the time.

It would help if the local administration has lots of obviously placed trash bins and some signs ( big signs ) asking people to do their part and try to find a garbage container rather than just throw it on the ground.

Cheers

[janpharma]

In a small village where I lived, a retired teacher used to pick up 2 children from school every day and bring them back home. Every time those 2 got a drink in a plastic cup and just before entering the village by motorbike they throw away their garbage alongside the road. It's all about education...

[marko kok prong]

One would hope that this may make Thai people think twice about tossing garbage around,but of course it won't.

[jossthaifarang]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

Surly this cannot be defined as work, technically he would have to gain an income to class it as work. It's more like volunteer, what's the requirement for that? Do volunteer's require work permits?

[TheWizardofRnR]

Long ago in Phuket at a Meeting of Thai Administrators and Business owners of tourist & local places , they asked the Meeting's English speaking members , How to write a Sign that said something like this :

" Please Help Us Keep Our Beaches and Roads Clean "

Tom MacNamara of Baan Rim Paa was the first to speak up , Tom simply said :

" Have it Written in Thai !"

Tom and Tommy are both missed , Nuff said !

[klauskunkel]

Thais are just decorating the country they love so much...

[smedly]

clearing litter or cleaning house ?

maybe the smell was keeping him awake

sorry for the cynical comment but he has either

- run out of medication

- run out of money

- on something

- smoking something

- looking for a free pass from his 2 years overstay

or (remote possibility) and still questionable sanity

is a genuine person annoyed with the tremendous amount of dirt and garbage that Thais (and falangs) create were there is total ignorance to prevent it or clean it

[MickGC]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

Surly this cannot be defined as work, technically he would have to gain an income to class it as work. It's more like volunteer, what's the requirement for that? Do volunteer's require work permits?

Yes they do. Refer to post #7 regarding foreign Tsunami volunteers for example.

[wirat69]

Reminds me of my day on Petchaburi Road waiting for a bus. I noticed a white plastic flutter to the ground from a girl student who was about to eat a yoghurt. I picked it up, tapped her on the shoulder and held it out to her. She said, "No, thank you" and her friend looked strangely at me. I responded "2,000 baht!" and shook the packet again.

The student who dropped it seemed completely unawares, but her friend was not so stoopid... her friend thumped her on the shoulder, whilst uttering two friendly but abusive sentences in Thai and the offender almost choked on her yoghurt!!~!!

[soalbundy]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

Surly this cannot be defined as work, technically he would have to gain an income to class it as work. It's more like volunteer, what's the requirement for that? Do volunteer's require work permits?

yes

[yogavnture]

I was in ko tao for a month swimming in garbage for a month. a lot of fishing lines. cmon thais. lets get this garbage thing addressed. god gave us the sea and beach. we need to take care of it..every body can lend a hand like the dude pictured. don't throw garbage into the sea! or cig butts. its amazing how many people smoke in asia. and all those cig butts in the sea. shameful how we treat the earth

[xavierr]

I wish in Asia there would be a religion telling its followers not to foul their environment.

[Equalizer]

I live at Wongamat Beach. Once in five or six months I dare to do a walk along the beach, just to find the sight so disgusting yet again to stay away from it for the next few months again. It annoys me to see the city administration spending billions of Thai Baht on enlarging the beach road, to soon later see the beach there washed away by just one downpour of rain, while they could not spend some few dimes to have Wongamat Beach clean. It is only clean if a fine tower borders it, and right afterwards the sight is full of plastic bags and bottles again. The rocks on the cliffs are ownergrown with moss, showing how overfertilized the sea is, by human sewage. The new pipes that have been built just recently have broken apart again, and I get the bizarre sight of tourists wading and bathing in the water next to a pipe that is broken and dispenses a black stinking cocktail of human sewage and all what gets flushed down the sinks of all those fine, towering condos and hotels. In the news I regularly read the blabla of the city admininstration they would turn the town into a family and sports destination. Wongamat Beach would be the finest and nicest beach of Pattaya for a noise and smoke free walk, and the only place where a longer nice walk in that big city could be done, yet the chance is not taken. My daughter who sometimes comes on visits from Europe has just recently written in a message to me: "I hate Pattaya like the plague", and yes, everybody who has eyes and a nose must understand her. So if she is here again, I need to run away from Pattaya, she is okay anywhere, but not here.

Report sightings of a ghost walking the beach and take a photo shop edited picture of a Thai ghost in a long white dress, slightly see through and upload it to the Pattaya Thai face book page. Within a week you will have the cleanest beach in Thailand.

[Shiver]

If I were to drop a cigarette butt on the floor in BKK and get fined 1000 baht, do you think if I could collect rather than drop 100 of them a day, I could buy a new house every month (that I could own rather than just pay for)? It would cover the costs of work permit surely.

No? Oh well, I'll get my coat then.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Shiver

[ravip]

This is a fantastic act done by a foreigner.

It brings in to light some important points.

• Something good is appreciated by Thais.
• The same situation hyper activates the Thai bashers who do nothing but spend their time casting insulting and racist remarks and STILL living in the same country, with the same people and some even married/having families with it's filthy people - (as someone seems to consider Thai people as).

​Would these attitudes ever endear such aliens to the locals?

Would not the gap keep widening?

Where could the problem be?

Isn't it oblivious, although impossible to admit?

[playbgnow]

Many people come on holiday and expect certain things, like full service and cheap prices and happy people.

This is a false way of thinking. If you want to be a part of a happy environment and people to respect you and give you good service (that they are willing to) it is only natural that one would expect holiday makers to partake in cleaning the garbage they create. This makes everyone happy.

[empireboy]

Easy fix? Get the 10's of thousands of monks to go out and really earn some merit each morning!?

[ravip]

I wish in Asia there would be a religion telling its followers not to foul their environment.

And another religion for the other parts not to destroy countries?

[JimHuaHin]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

Surly this cannot be defined as work, technically he would have to gain an income to class it as work. It's more like volunteer, what's the requirement for that? Do volunteer's require work permits?

Yes, volunteers require work permits.

I was approached a few years ago, just before I retired here to live, by two government officials who heard that I was a university professor from Australia, who had also briefly taught social sciences at a Thai university near Bangkok, and asked if I would be willing to teach English at two local government schools. I replied that I did not want to teach English, but will be willing to volunteer to run conversation some English classes for senior high school students.

I then consulted the local immigration office and was informed that I needed a work permit. I then went to the immigration web site, located the appropriate inormation and documentation and fowarded the same to the two Thai officials, asking them to approach the schools concerned, and complete the appropriate documentation.

In the end, the senior education officials who had to sign the appropriate documentation indicated that they could not approve the required documentation ....

Mai pen rai.