Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket.

[canathai8]

That's like divorcing one bar girl and marrying another

Pick yur poison

[KittenKong]

Phuket has some nice beaches and scenery, but apart from that I cant find anything positive to say about it at all. Certainly anything to do with public transport is an absolute nightmare there, and even if you have your own car you cant find anywhere to park it in town, assuming you can get through the traffic in the first place.

The word "scam" seems to have been invented for Phuket, and everything there seems to cost more than in Pattaya.

[sandgroper2]

Phuket, the best beach place where you have to drive 50kms to arrive on your "beach" after landing at airport.

I was thinking that only tourists who know nothing go there ?

When i go there, i dont stay at the airport, i stay near the beach, 50 to 100 mtr walk. You would have to be a mug to stay at the airport.

[Kaalle]

Its not paradise on earth but you have all the amenities and you can still rent and eat cheap. Why would you use Patong as a point of reference?

[quandow]

I got my TESOL in Phuket - six weeks there - and would never move there. Why not Jomtien? Quiet, laid back, plenty close to Pattaya for movies, night life, etc. Granted, I only swam once in Jomtien beach and will never make THAT mistake again.

[50baht]

Home is where you make it as the saying goes .

OP wants the action , ie Patong so he would have to live near by Patong.

All the happy people living in Phuket are NOT living in Patong.

Patong is a tourist trap so living there would not be a better experience than Pattaya but much worse.

I'd say within a 30 minute drive of Patong.

Weather seems pleasant up in the hills 1500 feet up ?

Pattaya just seemed so dirty after riding around Phuket.

wife commented she saw less ZOMBIES ie ready to die Farangs

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I got my TESOL in Phuket - six weeks there - and would never move there. Why not Jomtien? Quiet, laid back, plenty close to Pattaya for movies, night life, etc. Granted, I only swam once in Jomtien beach and will never make THAT mistake again.

I have lived in Jomtien for a long time. It was fairly quiet in the late 80s and 90s, but there is nothing "quiet and laid back" about it now. I have never lived anywhere with so much noise and people pollution. And now the beach area has been ruined by the insane promenade renovation that turned a green space into a freeway ramp with no shade or places to sit. Maybe Hua Hin would be a good choice.

[whitemouse]

I got my TESOL in Phuket - six weeks there - and would never move there. Why not Jomtien? Quiet, laid back, plenty close to Pattaya for movies, night life, etc. Granted, I only swam once in Jomtien beach and will never make THAT mistake again.

I have lived in Jomtien for a long time. It was fairly quiet in the late 80s and 90s, but there is nothing "quiet and laid back" about it now. I have never lived anywhere with so much noise and people pollution. And now the beach area has been ruined by the insane promenade renovation that turned a green space into a freeway ramp with no shade or places to sit. Maybe Hua Hin would be a good choice.

There must be some sleepy villages along the coast where to move if Jomtien is too much of a metropolis, Thailand has so much coastline.

Put up a cabin somewhere remote, miles away from nearest populated place.

I've never heard of a thing called 'people pollution'. What is it, please?

[Tolley]

I got my TESOL in Phuket - six weeks there - and would never move there. Why not Jomtien? Quiet, laid back, plenty close to Pattaya for movies, night life, etc. Granted, I only swam once in Jomtien beach and will never make THAT mistake again.

I have lived in Jomtien for a long time. It was fairly quiet in the late 80s and 90s, but there is nothing "quiet and laid back" about it now. I have never lived anywhere with so much noise and people pollution. And now the beach area has been ruined by the insane promenade renovation that turned a green space into a freeway ramp with no shade or places to sit. Maybe Hua Hin would be a good choice.

Quite a few of my friends are now starting to consider Hua Hin as an alternative to Patts and Phuket.

I think there is some merit in living there too.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I got my TESOL in Phuket - six weeks there - and would never move there. Why not Jomtien? Quiet, laid back, plenty close to Pattaya for movies, night life, etc. Granted, I only swam once in Jomtien beach and will never make THAT mistake again.

I have lived in Jomtien for a long time. It was fairly quiet in the late 80s and 90s, but there is nothing "quiet and laid back" about it now. I have never lived anywhere with so much noise and people pollution. And now the beach area has been ruined by the insane promenade renovation that turned a green space into a freeway ramp with no shade or places to sit. Maybe Hua Hin would be a good choice.

There must be some sleepy villages along the coast where to move if Jomtien is too much of a metropolis, Thailand has so much coastline.

Put up a cabin somewhere remote, miles away from nearest populated place.

I've never heard of a thing called 'people pollution'. What is it, please?

What is "people pollution?" Too much of something is often associated with pollution (e.g. too much garbage in the water = polluted water). So, people pollution is another way of saying "too many people" in a defined space......overcrowded. Too many people leads to all sorts of other types of pollution. People pollution also leads to stressful conditions for many people (some people do not seem to be bothered by it).

[bbi1]

Can't take the pollution of the tour buses and baht buses in and around Pattaya anymore.

Just got back from Phuket and I feel like a Million bucks. Went swimming in clear water without getting a rash for the first time in years.

Pollution in Pattaya? A walk down beach road with the breeze from the ocean the air smells quite nice and refreshing. Quite nice compared to the bad pollution from the vehichles in BKK and rubbish dumped outside and sewerage.

Chinese tourists - no problems, avoid the hoards of them taking up the whole street from side to side. Just go there after midnight when they're off to their hotels and hit up the clubs then

Edited March 5, 2016 by bbi1

[sandgroper2]

Op what do you think happens with sewage on Phuket and many of Thailands resorts?It runs in the sea and if the current and wind is right it floats back to land so basically one is swimming in ea de kaka. Good luck on avoiding that polution thing because you are in the wrong country concerning said topic.

You have no clue of that you speak

2fishin2. check your facts, Phuket waters are highly polluted. And in the wet season, waters are filled with filth runoff .

Unless you are a dive instructor, my fact is that I have spent more time in the waters around Phuket than you have spent in water in your entire life. I am a speafisherman and freediver. Its nothing for me to spend 5-6 hours straight in the water without ever setting foot on land. You guys who say water is "highly polluted" dont have a clue what pollution is. Want to experience pollution, look at the rivers and canals around BKK. If Phuket was so "highly polluted" don't you think there would be cases of sickeness reported? If it was so "highly polluted" how does the dive industry stay in business?

YOUR "facts" are wrong so please move on and troll in a thread where you know something about the "facts" you assume.

I have 35 years experience as a dive instructor and have held the SE/asian record for free diving. For the past 5 years i have been carrying out micro biological tests of the waters around Thailand for the American Institute of Water Studies.

[KittenKong]

Here's one comparison that pretty much sums it all up. Occasionally the gf likes to take a break from Thai food and enjoys a Subway sandwich. All over Thailand, except for the airports, a foot long veggie sub is ß149 and a 6" Chicken Teriyaki ß99. The prices were 100 baht more per sandwich in Patong. ß249 for the footlong veggie and ß199 for the 6-inch chicken sub.

That is indeed remarkable. Do they promote the "sub of the day" there? If so, at what price? It's 69B here and I've had them occasionally when I'm not very hungry.

I've eaten in national chains like Sizzler and with few minor exceptions I have found their prices and menus to be very similar in all the branches I have been to. I know that some places like Pizza Hut do promos in Bangkok that they dont do here (notably a pizza buffet at lunchtime: presumably all to do with local competition or the lack of it) but to just add 100B for the privilege of being in Phuket seems like a real rip-off.

[1BADDAT]

I just took a trip to Phuket two weeks ago....it took 1 3/4 hour to get from airport to Patong at noon on a Thursday. My friends arrived at 5 pm and their ride was 2 HR 10 min. I won't be going back for this reason and would never consider living there.

I went on this last Thursday at 2:00 pm and returned yesterday at 2:00 pm. Less than an hour each way.

[1BADDAT]

2fishin2. check your facts, Phuket waters are highly polluted. And in the wet season, waters are filled with filth runoff .

Unless you are a dive instructor, my fact is that I have spent more time in the waters around Phuket than you have spent in water in your entire life. I am a speafisherman and freediver. Its nothing for me to spend 5-6 hours straight in the water without ever setting foot on land. You guys who say water is "highly polluted" dont have a clue what pollution is. Want to experience pollution, look at the rivers and canals around BKK. If Phuket was so "highly polluted" don't you think there would be cases of sickeness reported? If it was so "highly polluted" how does the dive industry stay in business?

YOUR "facts" are wrong so please move on and troll in a thread where you know something about the "facts" you assume.

I have 35 years experience as a dive instructor and have held the SE/asian record for free diving. For the past 5 years i have been carrying out micro biological tests of the waters around Thailand for the American Institute of Water Studies.

It's funny that if you google "American Institute of Water Studies" nothing comes up that matches that....hmm

[2fishin2]

Sandgroper, Glad you let us know about your "SE/asian record for free diving" as it added a lot of information to the topic at hand. This topic and thread is entitled "Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket. If you want to do micro biological tests of dirty water, go to Pattaya and then compare them to Phuket.

Sooooooo....if the waters surrounding Phuket are so badly polluted as you are pointing out, why do you still come here? Do you teach here and if so, why are you teaching here if its that bad? If you teach here, are you warning your potential students of this? No, I didnt think so because if you did, they wouldn't dive here and pay your bills. If they are so polluted that you find you must bash Phuket, then move to cleaner waters.

Without doing any microbial testing of waters, common sense says that ocean waters are cleaner than inland seas.

Run off pollution happens all over the world. Every country dumps waste to include every boat you see. It won't change in a million more years. Dont single out Phuket. Put your public bashing in perspective and do some comparisons with beaches which really have problems. The beaches close to BKK are much more polluted than Phuket.

[Skeptic7]

Here's one comparison that pretty much sums it all up. Occasionally the gf likes to take a break from Thai food and enjoys a Subway sandwich. All over Thailand, except for the airports, a foot long veggie sub is ß149 and a 6" Chicken Teriyaki ß99. The prices were 100 baht more per sandwich in Patong. ß249 for the footlong veggie and ß199 for the 6-inch chicken sub.

That is indeed remarkable. Do they promote the "sub of the day" there? If so, at what price? It's 69B here and I've had them occasionally when I'm not very hungry.

I've eaten in national chains like Sizzler and with few minor exceptions I have found their prices and menus to be very similar in all the branches I have been to. I know that some places like Pizza Hut do promos in Bangkok that they dont do here (notably a pizza buffet at lunchtime: presumably all to do with local competition or the lack of it) but to just add 100B for the privilege of being in Phuket seems like a real rip-off.

Unfortunately didn't notice if they do the "Sub of the Day" there. The "sticker shock" of the regular prices was impairing my observation skills! We usually do go on Monday's elsewhere and get her Chicken-T for ß69. We made the best of the overpriced Tourist Trap and still had an enjoyable holiday, but NEVER returning again. It's an overpriced, overcrowded ZOO.

[sandgroper2]

2fishin2. check your facts, Phuket waters are highly polluted. And in the wet season, waters are filled with filth runoff .

Unless you are a dive instructor, my fact is that I have spent more time in the waters around Phuket than you have spent in water in your entire life. I am a speafisherman and freediver. Its nothing for me to spend 5-6 hours straight in the water without ever setting foot on land. You guys who say water is "highly polluted" dont have a clue what pollution is. Want to experience pollution, look at the rivers and canals around BKK. If Phuket was so "highly polluted" don't you think there would be cases of sickeness reported? If it was so "highly polluted" how does the dive industry stay in business?

YOUR "facts" are wrong so please move on and troll in a thread where you know something about the "facts" you assume.

I have 35 years experience as a dive instructor and have held the SE/asian record for free diving. For the past 5 years i have been carrying out micro biological tests of the waters around Thailand for the American Institute of Water Studies.

It's funny that if you google "American Institute of Water Studies" nothing comes up that matches that....hmm

Its military, highly classified.

[sandgroper2]

Sandgroper, Glad you let us know about your "SE/asian record for free diving" as it added a lot of information to the topic at hand. This topic and thread is entitled "Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket. If you want to do micro biological tests of dirty water, go to Pattaya and then compare them to Phuket.

Sooooooo....if the waters surrounding Phuket are so badly polluted as you are pointing out, why do you still come here? Do you teach here and if so, why are you teaching here if its that bad? If you teach here, are you warning your potential students of this? No, I didnt think so because if you did, they wouldn't dive here and pay your bills. If they are so polluted that you find you must bash Phuket, then move to cleaner waters.

Without doing any microbial testing of waters, common sense says that ocean waters are cleaner than inland seas.

Run off pollution happens all over the world. Every country dumps waste to include every boat you see. It won't change in a million more years. Dont single out Phuket. Put your public bashing in perspective and do some comparisons with beaches which really have problems. The beaches close to BKK are much more polluted than Phuket.

Teacher,no, ive got a proper job. Google phuket water pollution, ill say no more.

[sandgroper2]

Sandgroper, Glad you let us know about your "SE/asian record for free diving" as it added a lot of information to the topic at hand. This topic and thread is entitled "Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket. If you want to do micro biological tests of dirty water, go to Pattaya and then compare them to Phuket.

Sooooooo....if the waters surrounding Phuket are so badly polluted as you are pointing out, why do you still come here? Do you teach here and if so, why are you teaching here if its that bad? If you teach here, are you warning your potential students of this? No, I didnt think so because if you did, they wouldn't dive here and pay your bills. If they are so polluted that you find you must bash Phuket, then move to cleaner waters.

Without doing any microbial testing of waters, common sense says that ocean waters are cleaner than inland seas.

Run off pollution happens all over the world. Every country dumps waste to include every boat you see. It won't change in a million more years. Dont single out Phuket. Put your public bashing in perspective and do some comparisons with beaches which really have problems. The beaches close to BKK are much more polluted than Phuket.

Big stink ignored The Phuket Gazette on March 3 reported that about 83% of wastewater on the popular tourist island of Phi Phi Don is flowing directly into the ocean untreated. It says: "A stink...

Edited March 8, 2016 by Rimmer
BKK Post link removed

[1BADDAT]

Sandgroper, Glad you let us know about your "SE/asian record for free diving" as it added a lot of information to the topic at hand. This topic and thread is entitled "Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket. If you want to do micro biological tests of dirty water, go to Pattaya and then compare them to Phuket.

Sooooooo....if the waters surrounding Phuket are so badly polluted as you are pointing out, why do you still come here? Do you teach here and if so, why are you teaching here if its that bad? If you teach here, are you warning your potential students of this? No, I didnt think so because if you did, they wouldn't dive here and pay your bills. If they are so polluted that you find you must bash Phuket, then move to cleaner waters.

Without doing any microbial testing of waters, common sense says that ocean waters are cleaner than inland seas.

Run off pollution happens all over the world. Every country dumps waste to include every boat you see. It won't change in a million more years. Dont single out Phuket. Put your public bashing in perspective and do some comparisons with beaches which really have problems. The beaches close to BKK are much more polluted than Phuket.

Big stink ignored The Phuket Gazette on March 3 reported that about 83% of wastewater on the popular tourist island of Phi Phi Don is flowing directly into the ocean untreated. It says: "A stink...

Phi Phi Island is not part of Phuket.

"The Phi Phi Islands are in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the west Strait of Malacca coast of the mainland. The islands are administratively part of Krabi province."Wikipedia

[sandgroper2]

Sandgroper, Glad you let us know about your "SE/asian record for free diving" as it added a lot of information to the topic at hand. This topic and thread is entitled "Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket. If you want to do micro biological tests of dirty water, go to Pattaya and then compare them to Phuket.

Sooooooo....if the waters surrounding Phuket are so badly polluted as you are pointing out, why do you still come here? Do you teach here and if so, why are you teaching here if its that bad? If you teach here, are you warning your potential students of this? No, I didnt think so because if you did, they wouldn't dive here and pay your bills. If they are so polluted that you find you must bash Phuket, then move to cleaner waters.

Without doing any microbial testing of waters, common sense says that ocean waters are cleaner than inland seas.

Run off pollution happens all over the world. Every country dumps waste to include every boat you see. It won't change in a million more years. Dont single out Phuket. Put your public bashing in perspective and do some comparisons with beaches which really have problems. The beaches close to BKK are much more polluted than Phuket.

Big stink ignored The Phuket Gazette on March 3 reported that about 83% of wastewater on the popular tourist island of Phi Phi Don is flowing directly into the ocean untreated. It says: "A stink...

Phi Phi Island is not part of Phuket.

"The Phi Phi Islands are in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the west Strait of Malacca coast of the mainland. The islands are administratively part of Krabi province."Wikipedia

All my years in Phuket and ;i never knew where Phi Phi was. Get real.

[1BADDAT]

Sandgroper, Glad you let us know about your "SE/asian record for free diving" as it added a lot of information to the topic at hand. This topic and thread is entitled "Goodbye Pattaya, Hello Phuket. If you want to do micro biological tests of dirty water, go to Pattaya and then compare them to Phuket.

Sooooooo....if the waters surrounding Phuket are so badly polluted as you are pointing out, why do you still come here? Do you teach here and if so, why are you teaching here if its that bad? If you teach here, are you warning your potential students of this? No, I didnt think so because if you did, they wouldn't dive here and pay your bills. If they are so polluted that you find you must bash Phuket, then move to cleaner waters.

Without doing any microbial testing of waters, common sense says that ocean waters are cleaner than inland seas.

Run off pollution happens all over the world. Every country dumps waste to include every boat you see. It won't change in a million more years. Dont single out Phuket. Put your public bashing in perspective and do some comparisons with beaches which really have problems. The beaches close to BKK are much more polluted than Phuket.

Big stink ignored The Phuket Gazette on March 3 reported that about 83% of wastewater on the popular tourist island of Phi Phi Don is flowing directly into the ocean untreated. It says: "A stink...

Phi Phi Island is not part of Phuket.

"The Phi Phi Islands are in Thailand, between the large island of Phuket and the west Strait of Malacca coast of the mainland. The islands are administratively part of Krabi province."Wikipedia

All my years in Phuket and ;i never knew where Phi Phi was. Get real.

You picked the data point, not me. A remote island some 45 km away and a fraction of the size does not represent Phuket at all.

[Rimmer]

Give it a rest please, this is the Pattaya Forum

[Lumbini]

Cutting down all the trees on the beach with the stadium lighting at night along the beach and with the widening of Beach Road have taken away much from the city . It's not the same place as it was 5 or 10 years ago but has the girls . If it did not have the girls Pattaya would be a non event perhaps ?

[CoreanoOzzie]

I don't know what you jokers are on about. Sure, Phuket and Pattaya are good places for a short getaway but BKK is the best place to live in Thailand!

Edited March 9, 2016 by CoreanoOzzie

[HLover]

You say BKK is the best and everyone else are the jokers?

Thank you for the morning laughter, keep up the comedy efforts.

Edited March 10, 2016 by HLover

[BeefSlapper]

Go Samui even better

Sent from my SM-A800F using Tapatalk

[john1000]

Pattaya is what it is, and Phuket probably for beach oriented people more. Apples and oranges. Your preference will be different to everyone else's as we are all unique.

Beauty of choice.

[Lumbini]

Fewer used syringes hiding in the sand and floating in the water in Phuket I would imagine [emoji15]

Edited March 10, 2016 by Lumbini