Jonathan Fairfield Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Tourist fervour takes toll on traffic in Thailand THRONGS of Thai holidaymakers spent their three-day long weekend that began on Friday heading to mountainous attractions. The controversial attraction at Phu Tub Berk in Phetchabun province also attracted many visitors, seriously jamming traffic flow towards the "tallest mountain of Phetchabun". Many turned off their engines and waited helplessly while some decided to just walk instead. At press time yesterday, the bumper-to-bumper line-up of vehicles still persisted. It was reported that up to 20,000 tourists were heading to the attraction. More than 100 police and volunteers were called in to tackle the congestion, while a pit stop was arranged at Ban Doi Nam Piang Din to keep away the visitors' vehicles. Phu Tub Berk recently made headlines after authorities alleged forestland encroachment and land misuse by resort operators in the area. So far, 10 resorts have been deemed by court orders to be violating the law and their occupants have been told to leave before the structures would be demolished. A total of 57 resorts were accused of forestland encroachment or misuse of land plots that had originally been allocated to hilltribes for agricultural use. As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled. The minister's team was scheduled to have a morning meeting with affected resort operators and community leaders to solve the problem of regulating Phu Tub Berk land use. Meanwhile, many holidaymakers yesterday exposed themselves to the chilly weather and the fog over the Dong Yai Forest-Banthat mountain range from the top of Pha Daeng rock cliff, which is located between of Sa Kaew province's Ta Phraya district and Buri Ram province's Noen Din Daeng district. President of the Lam Nang Rong sub-district administrative organisation in Noen Di Daeng Boontham Kongsukmak said his office would seek a budget to develop this spot as a provincial tourist attraction and link it with other nearby places such as a three-tier waterfall and a bat cave. The three-day holiday period and the festive spirit ahead of the end of the Buddhist Lent period reportedly brought as many as 10,000 visitors a day to Loei's Chiang Khan district. Tourists enjoyed the view of the sunset above the Mekong River while shopping for goods on Chai Khong Road where the province also arranged musical performances. Many resorts and homestays placed signs saying "fully booked". Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Tourist-fervour-takes-toll-on-traffic-30271528.html -- The Nation 2015-10-25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toybits Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Tourisys who exposed themselves must be arrested immediately for public indecency! ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NongKhaiKid Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 No one likes traffic jams except maybe the Minister of Tourism who will be wetting herself with excitement at ' all her own work ' since she extols the virtues of domestic tourism. On Monday standby for a TAT release on how many people were on the move and how much was spent. Amazing how, a la last Songkran, exact figures can be produced before a holiday is actually over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiddlesticks Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Tourist fervour takes toll on traffic in Thailand uh . . . em. . . . poor road and highway planning and design, a 'me first' mentality and piss poor driving skills takes toll on traffic in Thailand. Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?!?!?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaltsc Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) "More than 100 police and volunteers were called in to tackle the congestion..." Have you ever seen police on traffic duty? They constantly blow their whistles with no idea what its purpose is. They are supposed to blow the whistle to stop traffic flowing on one direction and alert the traffic in the opposite direction to start. What they do makes no sense unless it's to show off that they have a brand new whistle and you don't. I have noticed that traffic flows better when the police stay out of the process. All they do is create more congestion. Edited October 25, 2015 by jaltsc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexRRR Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Tourist fervour takes toll on traffic in Thailand uh . . . em. . . . poor road and highway planning and design, a 'me first' mentality and piss poor driving skills takes toll on traffic in Thailand. Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?!?!?!? I think you don't know where you are....be realistic and stop bagging an emerging nation, I've been caught in a long weekend drive from BKK to Hua Hin been to several things like the Motor show in BKK...i have learned to take notes oh holidays and stay close to home and keep my mouth shut...the TGF don't like me rubbishing her country...you could learn something to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Ahhh...a 3-day long weekend. I am taking a REAL holiday... I am staying at home in Bangkok. I cannot imagine how others could call it a holiday muddling in thick traffic for hours... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Ahhh...a 3-day long weekend. I am taking a REAL holiday... I am staying at home in Bangkok. I cannot imagine how others could call it a holiday muddling in thick traffic for hours... BKK is great now, no traffic jam at all. Can't wait for the next holiday when they all move upcountry. It will be around 5 december i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praematura Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 In similarly relevant news my cat took a dump, full report at 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gandalf12 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Back in the UK never went out over a holiday period, same as here too much traffic and hassle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcatcher Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled." Well, the police are useful after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled." Well, the police are useful after all. I can understand that they did not like it.. had to wait even longer while an so called important person was led through. Why not let them suffer the same fate, maybe then something will be done about traffic by making better roads (not that you can totally eliminate congestion during peak points) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NongKhaiKid Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled." Well, the police are useful after all. What a dedicated public servant speeding to work on an official holiday with no thought of taking time out to join the happy tourists enjoying their vacation traffic jam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "More than 100 police and volunteers were called in to tackle the congestion..." Have you ever seen police on traffic duty? They constantly blow their whistles with no idea what its purpose is. They are supposed to blow the whistle to stop traffic flowing on one direction and alert the traffic in the opposite direction to start. What they do makes no sense unless it's to show off that they have a brand new whistle and you don't. I have noticed that traffic flows better when the police stay out of the process. All they do is create more congestion. Frankly your comments apply to police involvement in just about any activity in this country Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled." Well, the police are useful after all. I can understand that they did not like it.. had to wait even longer while an so called important person was led through. Why not let them suffer the same fate, maybe then something will be done about traffic by making better roads (not that you can totally eliminate congestion during peak points) Better roads? The roads to Khao Kor are brand new and very good, loads of motorbikes go there for the roads only, and the view of course. It's similar to Switzerland now there. But that minister can wait as well i'm thinking. Why doesn't she have a chopper if she's so important. Bet she is sitting in a VW-bus just like a constructionworker back in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTuner Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) There's your domestic tourism. Stuck in traffic until you make a U-turn and return home to start working again. This country is starting to run out of places that aren't full of cars. Luckily Myanmar is opening up and they still got space. I'm seriously starting to get annoyed by that tourist minister's mug being on display at every corner. Anywhere she goes, a heavy stench of BS follows. Edited October 25, 2015 by DrTuner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled." Well, the police are useful after all. I can understand that they did not like it.. had to wait even longer while an so called important person was led through. Why not let them suffer the same fate, maybe then something will be done about traffic by making better roads (not that you can totally eliminate congestion during peak points) Better roads? The roads to Khao Kor are brand new and very good, loads of motorbikes go there for the roads only, and the view of course. It's similar to Switzerland now there. But that minister can wait as well i'm thinking. Why doesn't she have a chopper if she's so important. Bet she is sitting in a VW-bus just like a constructionworker back in Europe. Havent been there.. you obviously have so I take your word for it. I just looked at the picture and i saw a unpaved road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "As visitors were struggling on the road yesterday morning, officials cleared the way for an entourage of Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul to pass through, which left many tourists even more disgruntled." Well, the police are useful after all. I can understand that they did not like it.. had to wait even longer while an so called important person was led through. Why not let them suffer the same fate, maybe then something will be done about traffic by making better roads (not that you can totally eliminate congestion during peak points) Better roads? The roads to Khao Kor are brand new and very good, loads of motorbikes go there for the roads only, and the view of course. It's similar to Switzerland now there. But that minister can wait as well i'm thinking. Why doesn't she have a chopper if she's so important. Bet she is sitting in a VW-bus just like a constructionworker back in Europe. Havent been there.. you obviously have so I take your word for it. I just looked at the picture and i saw a unpaved road. When Thai make new roads they always leave some unpaved sections so they can come back there. But really the roads are great there now, drove there some months ago. But there aren't enough parkingplaces so they all park on the road which causes congestion. Of course the local somchai's all start selling something and take the best places for that. Nothing is regulated there so why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyNo4 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Tourist fervour takes toll on traffic in Thailand uh . . . em. . . . poor road and highway planning and design, a 'me first' mentality and piss poor driving skills takes toll on traffic in Thailand. Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?!?!?!? I think you don't know where you are....be realistic and stop bagging an emerging nation, I've been caught in a long weekend drive from BKK to Hua Hin been to several things like the Motor show in BKK...i have learned to take notes oh holidays and stay close to home and keep my mouth shut...the TGF don't like me rubbishing her country...you could learn something to. Emerging nation? They've been around for a thousand years just like England. The previous poster was correct...they havent a clue. Any decent infrastructure in the country has been developed by foreigners. Their system doesnt foster learning & development it fosters me me me and you know your place and stay down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55Jay Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Didn't realize it was a 4 day holiday weekend when we left Patts late Friday morning. Took 8 hours to reach Korat. It was bumper to bumper crawl from outer ring road, through Saraburi until we got up the mountain near Pak Chong area. There were quite a few morons cutting in and out of lanes, just making it worse. The real geniuses were sprinting ahead in the occasional U-turn lane, only to force their way into right lane again at the end. Retarded. IMO though, Thailand is not as bad as some places I've lived and/or visited, I'm sure others could testify to that. I still appreciate that Thais do not drive with their horns. They avoid confrontation, bottle up their rage for years until one fine day, they explode and shoot someone in the face with a 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "More than 100 police and volunteers were called in to tackle the congestion..." Have you ever seen police on traffic duty? They constantly blow their whistles with no idea what its purpose is. They are supposed to blow the whistle to stop traffic flowing on one direction and alert the traffic in the opposite direction to start. What they do makes no sense unless it's to show off that they have a brand new whistle and you don't. I have noticed that traffic flows better when the police stay out of the process. All they do is create more congestion. I see it all the time. Lots of intersections that would be gridlocked if they weren't there to control things. But you just go on with your Thai bashing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloghead Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) There's your domestic tourism. Stuck in traffic until you make a U-turn and return home to start working again. This country is starting to run out of places that aren't full of cars. Luckily Myanmar is opening up and they still got space. I'm seriously starting to get annoyed by that tourist minister's mug being on display at every corner. Anywhere she goes, a heavy stench of BS follows. Surely you're not referring to the esteemed Ms KornKob No wonder she was in a hurry--can't let those fat brown envelopes (from all the resort owners) get cold... Edited October 25, 2015 by cloghead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyNo4 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Here's one simple rule that might help....give way to the right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhizBang Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Last week I made the mistake of booking a trip to Pattaya leaving Friday, returning Sunday. I was not aware that this was a holiday weekend. What is normally a 1.75 hour trip turned into a 3.5 hour nightmare. And I departed at 9am on Friday. I have since told my driver and hotel, that should I book and they know it is a holiday, to tell me, so I can reschedule to a different (non-holiday) day. Fortunately, my return Sunday morning (left Pattaya 9am) was ok. Heavyish traffic out of Pattaya to Chonburi, but once on the Bangkok Chonburi motorway, traffic was pretty much normal, and even light in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55Jay Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Last week I made the mistake of booking a trip to Pattaya leaving Friday, returning Sunday. I was not aware that this was a holiday weekend. What is normally a 1.75 hour trip turned into a 3.5 hour nightmare. And I departed at 9am on Friday. I have since told my driver and hotel, that should I book and they know it is a holiday, to tell me, so I can reschedule to a different (non-holiday) day. Fortunately, my return Sunday morning (left Pattaya 9am) was ok. Heavyish traffic out of Pattaya to Chonburi, but once on the Bangkok Chonburi motorway, traffic was pretty much normal, and even light in Bangkok. I left there about 11am on Friday. You must of been in that 3 mile queue I saw on the #7 motorway trying to make a left or a right onto Pattaya Sukhumvit. There were similar tail backs at the toll gates coming down the 7 from BKK. It was a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKASA Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I told the wife years ago we will not leave home on holidays it is unsafe. With all the holidays they have in Thailand I m saving one ton of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCC1701A Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hua Hin was a mess. Some areas can only be accessed on a small narrow road. Had to walk as near total gridlock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I told the wife years ago we will not leave home on holidays it is unsafe. With all the holidays they have in Thailand I m saving one ton of money. We do the same and also don't go to the malls at the end of the month when the Thai all had their payday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now