webfact Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 No, it's not Thailand anymore: The world's new party destinationsBy Ben GroundwaterKoh Pha-Ngan has been done. Unfortunately the Thai island that hosts the world-famous Full Moon Parties was long ago swamped by tourist tack, turning it from what used to be a spontaneous, adventurous and pretty wild experience into the sort of place where package tourists walk along the beach taking photos of the revellers like they're animals on safari.Not my idea of a good time. But the world changes – the party moves on. Some of the classic destinations are still there, the likes of Ibiza, Berlin, Koh Samui, Lagos and Las Vegas, but there are also new hotspots popping up all the time. These are some of the latest.Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamThose communist-turned-capitalist metropolises – Moscow, Shanghai etc – sure know how to party. And Ho Chi Minh City is no different.Full story: http://www.traveller.com.au/no-its-not-thailand-anymore-the-worlds-new-party-destinations-gq8ton-- Traveller 2016-07-20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob13 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Thailand's gain is HCMC's loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbrock Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Good. Shut the door on your way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baboon Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Getting considerably older than I was in the 90s doesn't help, but the fun factor has been noticeably lacking since the early 2000s. I remember the times when you would decline goods at the market/services of touts and all was fine. More often than not these days you get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baboon Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Good. Shut the door on your way out.A smaller pool of tourists does not miraculously transform the rest of us (old) farts into Jagger, I'm afraid. It does however have a very negative impact on the livelihoods of a good number of Thais battling to make a living... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTuner Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 First the backpackers go, then the sex tourists, followed by the curious, followed by expats, followed by family tourists and then that place is destroyed by tour buses, then the backpackers go .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldroj Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 TAT needs a new ad campaign aimed at the Chinese! Red-moon parties should be a real draw card for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob13 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 First the backpackers go, then the sex tourists, followed by the curious, followed by expats, followed by family tourists and then that place is destroyed by tour buses, then the backpackers go .. More like they run off all the broke backpackers making room for Chinese tour groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbrock Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Getting considerably older than I was in the 90s doesn't help, but the fun factor has been noticeably lacking since the early 2000s. I remember the times when you would decline goods at the market/services of touts and all was fine. More often than not these days you get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it... Good. Shut the door on your way out.A smaller pool of tourists does not miraculously transform the rest of us (old) farts into Jagger, I'm afraid. It does however have a very negative impact on the livelihoods of a good number of Thais battling to make a living... While I can certainly empathise with the good number of Thais battling to make a living - perhaps if you, I—and many many others—didn't get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it, the tourists wouldn't be going elsewhere? If you choose to earn your money in a sales or service enterprise in a tourist area, as some of my family do, but can't get past your Thai exceptionalism or adhere to modern business practises and ethics, then you can't cry foul when the people you have been ripping off for decades decide to go elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baboon Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) ^^ Certainly a valid point. I would be interested in opinions of when it started to become like this and why... Over the last 2-3 years I have been flying to the UK every 4-6 weeks. Naturally you end up having a bit of a natter with other passengers. In the 90s the conversation was primarily Thailand, how great it was and how every moment spent away from the place was abject torment. Quite often what I have been hearing of late is 'Yeah, 'Salright I suppose. When am I coming back? Dunno, plenty of other places to visit...' That would have been unthinkable back in the day, so clearly something is up... Edited July 20, 2016 by baboon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai3 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 people on here actually went to this party? not something i'd like to admit to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puukao Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I really enjoyed Vietnam, but I do like to use my bicycle and there are 74457235734572058942524057485 motorbikes on every corner. I also prefer the Thai language over Vietnamese. But Vietnamese food is great, the people are great but sometimes a little too pushy, and the women attractive. HCMC is a great place to visit, but it's weird when all the electricity goes out.......but good energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NongKhaiKid Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Isn't the Minister of Tourism and the anti-alcohol lobby doing their best to shut Thailand down to partying ? I'm sure this will be more than compensated for by quality tourists forsaking Paris, Rome, NYC etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsonandson Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) Isn't the Minister of Tourism and the anti-alcohol lobby doing their best to shut Thailand down to partying ? I'm sure this will be more than compensated for by quality tourists forsaking Paris, Rome, NYC etc. She's doing a great job in my opinion. Far too much partying going on these days.Why do young people these days love "partying"? The current youth generation all seem obsessed with spending their Friday/Saturday nights attending parties or 'whore-houses' as they should be known drinking like there is tomorrow and showing zero respect for the bodies of themselves or others. I'd like to know why young people do this to themselves. Why does socializing for them have to involve turning into wild animals and shattering ones moral compasses. These young people should have more dignity and pride in themselves. Instead they are ruining their future by spending their weekends attending whore houses. Why is this young people? Why can't you just go to the cinema/shops/restaurant or try lawn bowling like I do? It's a great way to let of steam! Edited July 20, 2016 by Wilsonandson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwdrwdrwd Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) Young people have enjoyed 'partying' for many generations, in fact people in general have enjoyed 'partying' for thousands of years. Some might consider it a shame you never realised this. It's great you enjoy 'lawn bowling', but it's not necessarily so much fun for everybody else. Edited July 20, 2016 by rwdrwdrwd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Getting considerably older than I was in the 90s doesn't help, but the fun factor has been noticeably lacking since the early 2000s. I remember the times when you would decline goods at the market/services of touts and all was fine. More often than not these days you get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it... Good. Shut the door on your way out.A smaller pool of tourists does not miraculously transform the rest of us (old) farts into Jagger, I'm afraid. It does however have a very negative impact on the livelihoods of a good number of Thais battling to make a living... While I can certainly empathise with the good number of Thais battling to make a living - perhaps if you, I—and many many others—didn't get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it, the tourists wouldn't be going elsewhere? If you choose to earn your money in a sales or service enterprise in a tourist area, as some of my family do, but can't get past your Thai exceptionalism or adhere to modern business practises and ethics, then you can't cry foul when the people you have been ripping off for decades decide to go elsewhere. Strongly disagree with the points made here. Nobody forces you to buy their goods here - try going to Vietnam, Cambodia or China where they are much more forceful and seemingly more likely to "take a swing at you" than in Thailand. Absolute nonsense what has been mentioned here - I've never had a problem walking away though if I'm actually interested in buying something then most likely I'll buy it. However, if I'm not interested I've never had anyone chase me or act aggressively asking me to buy their product - this happens in other countries not in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Thailand's gain is HCMC's loss. I think you mean HCMC's gain is Thailand's loss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I agree with the article. Koh Rong in Cambodia, even places not mentioned like Nha Trang in Vietnam are definitely more places to chill than Thailand these days. Actually, you could even include Siem Reap and to a lesser extent Phnom Penh given both places offer cheap beer and late night bar and nightclub options. At 3 or 4am, the pub street in Siem Reap is still full of life, whereas Khao San road in Bangkok is dead after 2am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PremiumLane Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) Isn't the Minister of Tourism and the anti-alcohol lobby doing their best to shut Thailand down to partying ? I'm sure this will be more than compensated for by quality tourists forsaking Paris, Rome, NYC etc. She's doing a great job in my opinion. Far too much partying going on these days.Why do young people these days love "partying"? The current youth generation all seem obsessed with spending their Friday/Saturday nights attending parties or 'whore-houses' as they should be known drinking like there is tomorrow and showing zero respect for the bodies of themselves or others. I'd like to know why young people do this to themselves. Why does socializing for them have to involve turning into wild animals and shattering ones moral compasses. These young people should have more dignity and pride in themselves. Instead they are ruining their future by spending their weekends attending whore houses. Why is this young people? Why can't you just go to the cinema/shops/restaurant or try lawn bowling like I do? It's a great way to let of steam! Can't decide if this is top-notch, comedy gold satire, or the poster is just nuts? Edited July 20, 2016 by PremiumLane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGareth2 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Young people have enjoyed 'partying' for many generations, in fact people in general have enjoyed 'partying' for thousands of years. Some might consider it a shame you never realised this. It's great you enjoy 'lawn bowling', but it's not necessarily so much fun for everybody else. particularly in the dark even with a white jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsonandson Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Young people have enjoyed 'partying' for many generations, in fact people in general have enjoyed 'partying' for thousands of years. Some might consider it a shame you never realised this. It's great you enjoy 'lawn bowling', but it's not necessarily so much fun for everybody else. Hey, I can party. Why not come join me one evening. I'll show you how to party. I might be old but I know a few tricks. But don't come on Thursday's, it's half day in my village so the dance hall shuts early. We could go for bingo if you like? Now did I remember my routine. Oh dear, now you've got me all flustered. Um, take two green and yellow capsules or was it red and yellow. Cheerio O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dageurreotype Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 people on here actually went to this party? not something i'd like to admit to Okay. I'll put my hand up. Many years ago took the ferry from Samui to give it a look. Island was packed out but managed to secure a mattress in a chicken hut for 500 baht for just the one night. As darkness fell and the melodic strains of techno started to fill the air I took myself off to the beach, took one look at a scene not dissimilar to something out of Apocalypse Now on meth, and went straight back to my hut and a book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heybruce Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 What is "Traveller", is it a magazine or just a website, and who is Ben Groundwater, described as Traveller's globetrotting backpacker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nasrullah Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I agree with the article. Koh Rong in Cambodia, even places not mentioned like Nha Trang in Vietnam are definitely more places to chill than Thailand these days. Actually, you could even include Siem Reap and to a lesser extent Phnom Penh given both places offer cheap beer and late night bar and nightclub options. At 3 or 4am, the pub street in Siem Reap is still full of life, whereas Khao San road in Bangkok is dead after 2am. you shouldn't be up that late anyway old fella..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dageurreotype Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Thailand's gain is HCMC's loss. An influx of Westerners may very well get them to rethink their dog meat restaurants though. Silver linings (for the dogs) and all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotheruser Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 No, it's not Thailand anymore: The world's new party destinationsBy Ben GroundwaterKoh Pha-Ngan has been done. Unfortunately the Thai island that hosts the world-famous Full Moon Parties was long ago swamped by tourist tack, turning it from what used to be a spontaneous, adventurous and pretty wild experience into the sort of place where package tourists walk along the beach taking photos of the revellers like they're animals on safari.Not my idea of a good time. But the world changes – the party moves on. Some of the classic destinations are still there, the likes of Ibiza, Berlin, Koh Samui, Lagos and Las Vegas, but there are also new hotspots popping up all the time. Okay so the article title says it isn't Thailand anymore, the article continues to say that Koh Pha-Ngan has been done yet classics such as Koh Samui remain. This makes me wonder if the author has actually been in Thailand or knows where Koh Samui is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baboon Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Getting considerably older than I was in the 90s doesn't help, but the fun factor has been noticeably lacking since the early 2000s. I remember the times when you would decline goods at the market/services of touts and all was fine. More often than not these days you get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it... Good. Shut the door on your way out.A smaller pool of tourists does not miraculously transform the rest of us (old) farts into Jagger, I'm afraid. It does however have a very negative impact on the livelihoods of a good number of Thais battling to make a living... While I can certainly empathise with the good number of Thais battling to make a living - perhaps if you, Iand many many othersdidn't get the impression they would love to take a swing at you if they thought they could get away with it, the tourists wouldn't be going elsewhere? If you choose to earn your money in a sales or service enterprise in a tourist area, as some of my family do, but can't get past your Thai exceptionalism or adhere to modern business practises and ethics, then you can't cry foul when the people you have been ripping off for decades decide to go elsewhere. Strongly disagree with the points made here. Nobody forces you to buy their goods here - try going to Vietnam, Cambodia or China where they are much more forceful and seemingly more likely to "take a swing at you" than in Thailand. Absolute nonsense what has been mentioned here - I've never had a problem walking away though if I'm actually interested in buying something then most likely I'll buy it. However, if I'm not interested I've never had anyone chase me or act aggressively asking me to buy their product - this happens in other countries not in Thailand. 'So if planes crash as you claim, how come I have never been in one?' Great line of reasoning there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbrock Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 ^^Certainly a valid point. I would be interested in opinions of when it started to become like this and why...Over the last 2-3 years I have been flying to the UK every 4-6 weeks. Naturally you end up having a bit of a natter with other passengers. In the 90s the conversation was primarily Thailand, how great it was and how every moment spent away from the place was abject torment.Quite often what I have been hearing of late is 'Yeah, 'Salright I suppose. When am I coming back? Dunno, plenty of other places to visit...' That would have been unthinkable back in the day, so clearly something is up... I don't really know when it started, I haven't really been around Thailand long enough to know a time when it wasn't like this. (Granted, I did choose to live in Samui, so I was exposed to the scams, rorts, and attitudes that are so pervasive in tourist areas from day one, and from then on a daily basis.) I agree with your observations about the lustre appearing to wear off. Being back here in Oz, of all the people I know who have been to Thailand, only a minority speak of going back there; the idea that there are plenty of other places to visit trumps any exotic appeal that once had people returning again and again... Of course the figures show that people are still coming, but now they're a different type of people. Strongly disagree with the points made here. Nobody forces you to buy their goods here - try going to Vietnam, Cambodia or China where they are much more forceful and seemingly more likely to "take a swing at you" than in Thailand. Absolute nonsense what has been mentioned here - I've never had a problem walking away though if I'm actually interested in buying something then most likely I'll buy it. However, if I'm not interested I've never had anyone chase me or act aggressively asking me to buy their product - this happens in other countries not in Thailand. 'So if planes crash as you claim, how come I have never been in one?' Great line of reasoning there... One can't disagree with another person's personal experience, calling these personal experiences nonsense without accusing that person of lying. One can state they have never experienced the same thing themselves, but that in no way means it doesn't happen at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nausea Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Time to move on then, goodnight Thailand - "Good Morning Vietnam". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enoon Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Isn't the Minister of Tourism and the anti-alcohol lobby doing their best to shut Thailand down to partying ? I'm sure this will be more than compensated for by quality tourists forsaking Paris, Rome, NYC etc. She's doing a great job in my opinion. Far too much partying going on these days.Why do young people these days love "partying"? The current youth generation all seem obsessed with spending their Friday/Saturday nights attending parties or 'whore-houses' as they should be known drinking like there is tomorrow and showing zero respect for the bodies of themselves or others. I'd like to know why young people do this to themselves. Why does socializing for them have to involve turning into wild animals and shattering ones moral compasses. These young people should have more dignity and pride in themselves. Instead they are ruining their future by spending their weekends attending whore houses. Why is this young people? Why can't you just go to the cinema/shops/restaurant or try lawn bowling like I do? It's a great way to let of steam! "I'm going to bed, father - why don't you have a Cydrax?" Peter Cook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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