Welcome to Koh Chang and the Land of Smiles - that will be 320,000 baht please

[Puccini]

41 minutes ago, Thian said:

How does it work when you're on a cruise and they make a stop in Thailand? Will they also have to pass immigration ?

 

Then they also should pay the 500 baht like every other tourist does.

 

What fee of 500 Baht does every tourist arriving in Thailand pay?

[moe666]

why are you people ragging on Thailand the staff onthe boat should have done a much better job of researching the cost. Just like airlines pay to land and use the airport ships and there passengers pay a disembarkation fee. Jump on the crew not the Thais on forgot the posters of any reason to complain about Thailand.

[dotpoom]

8 hours ago, robblok said:

No quite normal every foreigner pays to enter Thai national parks (though I was not aware Koh Chang was one of those as i never paid to enter it)

 

Why would big spenders be exempt from paying the National park fee ?

I never paid it either....been there many times.  Koh Samet....yes.

[Puccini]

13 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

I never paid it either....been there many times.  Koh Samet....yes.

 

What about Ko Chang Noi? Did you pay there?

 

 

[mikiea]

when you think small you tend to be greedy . tat will never see a return of this ship or any other one for that matter to that port of call ., word spreads quickly that Thai's just love other peoples money . kinda sad , and you just know they are delighted in being so "clever" . this is the thinking that will keep them at the bottom of the pole in Asia . Burma at the ready of overtaking Thailand on many fronts . Thais  fail to see tomorrow in anything . 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

40 minutes ago, moe666 said:

why are you people ragging on Thailand the staff onthe boat should have done a much better job of researching the cost. Just like airlines pay to land and use the airport ships and there passengers pay a disembarkation fee. Jump on the crew not the Thais on forgot the posters of any reason to complain about Thailand.

 

Your post makes the assumption that the fee that was charged against the ship was a legitimate one that the cruise ship and its staff could/would have anticipated.... as opposed to an opportunistic, seat of the pants money grab by the local Thais there.

 

AFAIK, the answer to whether there was a legitimate fee that deserved to have been legitimately charged there at that specific location remains an open question.

 

[Maestro]

7 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

...AFAIK, the answer to whether there was a legitimate fee that deserved to have been legitimately charged there at that specific location remains an open question.

 

On the contrary. The news report that the fee was paid to the National Parks Office makes it look very much like an official national parks fee, due for visiting Ko Chang Noi as mentioned in an earlier post in this topic.

 

From the OP:

Quote

It appeared that the 320,000 was paid in a lump sum to the National Park office on the island...

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Maestro, maybe I've missed something, but I haven't seen anyone here authoritively establish that EVERYONE visiting Ko Chang Noi is being charged the Thai national parks fee.

 

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post.

[Maestro]

7 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Maestro, maybe I've missed something, but I haven't seen anyone here authoritively establish that EVERYONE visiting Ko Chang Noi is being charged the Thai national parks fee.

 

 

Regrettably, RBOP did not give the source of the information he posted, but I see no exception mentioned in that information.

[dieseldave1951]

same old sh1t 320.000 as apposed to 2.4 million, ok these tourist got stung,just another short sighted-ness to go along with thai-ness enjoy the 320.000 and i hope that any further tourist's that go there say no to disembarking there 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

Regrettably, RBOP did not give the source of the information he posted, but I see no exception mentioned in that information.

 

Maestro, RBOP's post simply recounts the entry fee list for Koh Chang National Park.

 

But whether the cruise ship disembarked its passengers actually into the park itself, as opposed to some nearby area, likewise doesn't seem to have been established.

 

I don't know the specific geography there. But among those posting on the subject here, some have suggested the park's location/boundaries is not necessarily where the cruise ship's passengers would have landed.

 

Clarifying that point would go a long way toward helping resolve whether the fee was legitimate or not. I keep waiting/watching for someone to clearly settle that issue.

 

 

 

[MobileContent]

You rip off that cruise ship once but next time they will not offload their passengers to Koh Chang.

 

Short term thinking for a quick buck.

 

Welcome to the Land of Smile

[anotheruser]

4 hours ago, true blue said:

cruise ships visit patong on a regular basis,Wonder what they pay there.

 

I don't know ask the US Navy who was blockaded by tuk tuks.

[MobileContent]

35 minutes ago, mikiea said:

when you think small you tend to be greedy . tat will never see a return of this ship or any other one for that matter to that port of call ., word spreads quickly that Thai's just love other peoples money . kinda sad , and you just know they are delighted in being so "clever" . this is the thinking that will keep them at the bottom of the pole in Asia . Burma at the ready of overtaking Thailand on many fronts . Thais  fail to see tomorrow in anything . 

 

Agree with you but give Burma another 2-3 years time and they will be able to fill the gap and take some serious money away from Thailand.

[bristolgeoff]

if the liner company paid that fee,then that will be the last time I feel.they know they were robbed.something like 6500 pound before they  can get of the boat.even before they  explore the town.the shop keepers will have increased their prices by 300 percent or more.welcome to koh chang or Thailand,land of smiles and rip off the farang.if it was a reasonable price to let the ship stop there ok but not rip off prices.these tourist are not stupid and know when they are being robbed blind

[anotheruser]

5 hours ago, true blue said:

cruise ships visit patong on a regular basis,Wonder what they pay there.

 

double post

[Maestro]

The OP does not mention that the cruise ship passengers visited the Mu Ko Chang National Park, but the source given for it, an article in Thai in the Thairath, appears to mention this park with the Thai name อุทยานแห่งชาติหมู่เกาะช้าง twice. 

 

[Puccini]

13 minutes ago, bristolgeoff said:

if the liner company paid that fee,then that will be the last time I feel.they know they were robbed.something like 6500 pound before they  can get of the boat.even before they  explore the town...

 

What town is there on Ko Chang Noi? This web page gives a visitor's review of the island: http://goo.gl/vzdTGs

[hobobo]

9 hours ago, robblok said:

No quite normal every foreigner pays to enter Thai national parks (though I was not aware Koh Chang was one of those as i never paid to enter it)

 

Why would big spenders be exempt from paying the National park fee ?

National park fees don't come to US$40! Not in Thailand

[Guy360]

$6.00 per high end tourist is nothing.  However, it is the ship's fault for not posting the fee prior to disembarking.  Many countries have a "port fee" for ships who are unloading its passengers.

[Puccini]

There doesn't seem to be much on Ko Chang Noi on which to spend money: http://goo.gl/vzdTGs

[Maestro]

This map of shows the area covered by the the Mu Ko Chang Marine National Park. There is no legend, but obviously the very light grey areas framed with orange outlines are those that are not part of the national park area.

 

[Siamwhiteelephant]

So the Trat Tourism office thinks it's acceptable to openly be so crass as to demean tourisits to the level of walking ATMs and virtually nothing else. Its all about money and no apparent genuine welcome and respect for all law-abiding tourists, however little spending cash some tourists may have. 

[Maestro]

1 minute ago, Siamwhiteelephant said:

So the Trat Tourism office thinks it's acceptable to openly be so crass as to demean tourisits to the level of walking ATMs and virtually nothing else. Its all about money and no apparent genuine welcome and respect for all law-abiding tourists, however little spending cash some tourists may have. 

 

You've got a good point there. If anybody, it should be the Ministry of Commerce or the Ministry of Finance (balance of payments) to talk about the money spent by tourists, not a provincial branch of the Tourist Authority of Thailand, which is part of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

[chickenslegs]

4 hours ago, Puccini said:

 

 

The tourists from the cruise ship went to Ko Chang Noi, not Ko Chang.

 

The photographs of the tourists in the Thairath article are Ko Chang, so I think you may be mistaken.

[loongmal]

11 hours ago, robblok said:

No quite normal every foreigner pays to enter Thai national parks (though I was not aware Koh Chang was one of those as i never paid to enter it)

 

Why would big spenders be exempt from paying the National park fee ?

there is no charge for KC

[Puccini]

19 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

 

The photographs of the tourists in the Thairath article are Ko Chang, so I think you may be mistaken.

 

Google Maps does not show where Ko Chang Noi Bay is but I consider it safe to assume that it is on the shore of Ko Chang Noi Island. Personally, I don't think that the cruise ship would shuttle passengers from anywhere off Ko Chang Noi all the way to the town on the south side of Ko Chang island. Newspapers often take archive photos to illustrate an article.

 

On the other hand, the Pacific Eden mentioned in the news article is a P&O ship and one of the photos is a P&O ship. Rather puzzling. But the article does mention the National Park, twice, but you would need to get it translated to know in what context. The northern end of Ko Chang island is very close to Ko Chang Noi.

[loongmal]

2 hours ago, moe666 said:

why are you people ragging on Thailand the staff onthe boat should have done a much better job of researching the cost. Just like airlines pay to land and use the airport ships and there passengers pay a disembarkation fee. Jump on the crew not the Thais on forgot the posters of any reason to complain about Thailand.

people are ragging on, because there is no charge to step foot on KC.  Your point about disembarkation fees is a seperate point. The local TAT idiots were charging for walking on the island, true thainess.

 

[Puccini]

6 minutes ago, loongmal said:

there is no charge for KC

 

There is obviously no national park entrance fee for those parts of Ko Chang island that are not part of the Mu Ko Chang National Marine Park.