British couple’s dream Thailand trip turns into a nightmare filled with rubbish and half-finished buildings

[webfact]

WHAT A RUBBISH HOLIDAY 

Couple’s dream Thailand trip turned into a nightmare filled with rubbish and half-finished buildings

 

The couple spent £3,000 on the trip to Koh Lipe in the Andaman Sea - dubbed the 'Maldives of Thailand' - after falling in love with pictures of turquoise seas and golden beaches

 

BY ELLIE FLYNN

 

Image: The SUN/SWNS

 

LONDON: -- THESE holiday snaps from hell show how a couple’s dream island getaway turned into a nightmare – filled with rubbish and half-finished buildings.

 

The couple spent £3,000 on the trip to Koh Lipe in the Andaman Sea – dubbed the ‘Maldives of Thailand’ – after falling in love with pictures of turquoise seas and golden beaches.

 

But the pair, who wish to remain anonymous, were stunned to find mountains of rubbish, building sites, a digger on the beach and dozens of half-finished hotels.

 

They even had a building site and green swamp at the back of their £80-a-night beachfront resort – and fires raging on the beach just 150 metres away.

 

Full story: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1855607/couples-dream-thailand-trip-turned-into-a-nightmare-filled-with-rubbish-and-half-finished-buildings/

 

-- The SUN 2016-09-29

[trogers]

They fell in love with 30-year old photos...

 

The last time had a vacation in Koh Samui was the early '90s and I could cross the road with my eyes closed.

[clockman]

Trust me, we are Thai.

[BKKBrit]

There's a great charity that depends on the enthusiasm of people to help make the world a little more pleasant to live in - Trash Hero.  They have just undertaken a clean up in Koh Lipe - 

Do you support and lend a hand, also? Give it a go - and yes, it would be better to educate but these guys do this and more by example. 

 

 

[daveAustin]

Cynicism aside, but if they'd have researched it properly, they'd see that it's a popular backpacker place and was 'turned' a long time ago. 'Idyllic' in Thailand nowadays really requires a boat ride to a secluded island/beach.

[phetphet]

I thought it was part of a National Park. How do they get away with all this unlicenced construction?

15 years ago it was pretty much deserted. Only three or four small resorts. Another beautiful place destroyed in the name of money.

[BKKBrit]

2 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Nice sentiment but you are breaking the law if you assist without a work permit.

 

 

Are you serious?! 

 

[LPCustom69]

How long does the Trash Hero's trash sit bagged until something is done with it?

[HoboKay]

20 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Of course.

 

As a foreigner you require a work permit for any work including unpaid volunteer work.

 

21 minutes ago, BKKBrit said:

 

Are you serious?! 

 

More often than not the pains of getting a proper work permit without additional fees or hoop jumping puts any decent person off the endeavour.

 

If you do succeed, one would have already benefitted from the experience of dealing with and surviving the local bureaucratic nightmare, now you're one step closer to volunteering and being a better person and bettering others. 

 

I wish you the best.

Edited September 29, 2016 by HoboKay

[zaphod reborn]

18 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Of course.

 

As a foreigner you require a work permit for any work including unpaid volunteer work.

 

Except cleaning up a beach on your own isn't "unpaid volunteer work".  You can't work for a volunteer organization without a work permit, even if it's unpaid.  However, if you're just engaging in a past time, like restoring cars, building models or cleaning a beach, without remuneration, it is not considered work under the labor code. 

[clockman]

Third world and always will be.!

[BKKBrit]

45 minutes ago, LPCustom69 said:

How long does the Trash Hero's trash sit bagged until something is done with it?

 

They had PP Electric picking it up and dispose of it properly. Nice to see local businesses getting involved, too. I saw on their FB that Trash Hero are at the Expat Fair this weekend in Sukhumvit 36 if you want to sign up to help them out. 

[johncat1]

Next place on the PMs hit list ? 

[smedly]

1 hour ago, BKKBrit said:

There's a great charity that depends on the enthusiasm of people to help make the world a little more pleasant to live in - Trash Hero.  They have just undertaken a clean up in Koh Lipe - 

Do you support and lend a hand, also? Give it a go - and yes, it would be better to educate but these guys do this and more by example. 

 

 

support and lend a hand ????????

 

people don't book go on luxury holidays to clean up trash

[smedly]

14 minutes ago, BKKBrit said:

 

They had PP Electric picking it up and dispose of it properly. Nice to see local businesses getting involved, too. I saw on their FB that Trash Hero are at the Expat Fair this weekend in Sukhumvit 36 if you want to sign up to help them out. 

 

1 hour ago, LPCustom69 said:

How long does the Trash Hero's trash sit bagged until something is done with it?

isn't it Koh Samui (or perhaps all the islands) that have huge dump sites that are becoming a massive problem, this is typical of Thailand, they have been reaping in huge tourist revenue for decades but are unwilling to spend any of it on infrastructure - health and safety - building standards etc etc etc, get it in pocket as fast as possible spending little to nothing on improvements - they only have their greedy selves to blame when people take their business elsewhere

[blackcab]

 

It's a very worthwhile cause, however shouldn't the effort be spent changing the social acceptability of littering?

 

Otherwise nothing changes.

[cornishcarlos]

1 hour ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Sure, but this is organised volunteer work, as detailed in the article posted above.

 

Well good excuse for you to stay on the couch or bar stool then....

 

I don't know of anyone that has been hassled for doing a beach clean up, do you ??

[lemonjelly]

1 hour ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Nice sentiment but you are breaking the law if you assist without a work permit.

 

I didn't think Satun immigration will make an issue, it's not Phuket.

[ratcatcher]

1 hour ago, clockman said:

Third world and always will be.!

You've said that on so many posts, almost as often as "Trust us we are Thai"

[hiller]

1 hour ago, zaphod reborn said:

 

Except cleaning up a beach on your own isn't "unpaid volunteer work".  You can't work for a volunteer organization without a work permit, even if it's unpaid.  However, if you're just engaging in a past time, like restoring cars, building models or cleaning a beach, without remuneration, it is not considered work under the labor code. 

 

The law is:  what the BIB says when he walks in the door.  And remember, the first offer of accepting a bribe is the cheapest you will receive.

 

[Anthony5]

2 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

"The litter problem is crazy. Nobody seems to care where they throw their trash and they leave building waste lying around."

 

Welcome to Thailand.

 

 

The other day early morning I drive past the house of a neighbor right when she walks outside holding a large black garbage bag, presumable full of rubbish.

 

She walks past the large blue garbage bin, which gets emptied every night, and throws the bag on an adjacent empty plot which has large weeds growing on it.

[johncat1]

Next place on the PMs hit list ? 

[johncat1]

All the beach vendors should clean up the rubbish, after all they supplied it in the first place. If they refuse stop them selling on the beach  

[kannot]

52 minutes ago, johncat1 said:

Next place on the PMs hit list ? 

not if its  owned by his Brother

[kannot]

4 minutes ago, Anthony5 said:

 

 

The other day early morning I drive past the house of a neighbor right when she walks outside holding a large black garbage bag, presumable full of rubbish.

 

She walks past the large blue garbage bin, which gets emptied every night, and throws the bag on an adjacent empty plot which has large weeds growing on it.

welcome to the joy  of Thailand, watched a guy take a leak once at a  PTT station within 50 feet of the urinals

[elektrified]

2 hours ago, trogers said:

They fell in love with 30-year old photos...

 

The last time had a vacation in Koh Samui was the early '90s and I could cross the road with my eyes closed.

I was last in Koh Samui in 1986. You could walk down the beach for 2 hours and never see another person. I would never go again and instead, just cherish the memory. I would like to go to Koh Lipe though. A friend was there a month or two ago and posted beautiful photos, so the whole island doesn't look like place where the Brits stayed.

[gdgbb]

22 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

You've said that on so many posts, almost as often as "Trust us we are Thai"

 

and every time he's wrong.

[gdgbb]

Typical Sun over-exaggerated tripe.  This dopey couple knew there was a rubbish issue when they booked..." ”There were some warnings about a rubbish problem...".  So take that out of the story and there's not much left to complain about.

[mike324]

well, its pretty much like this all over thailand, not just koh lipe, no surprises here. 

[williamgeorgeallen]

still warmer and cheaper than england. go home winging poms.