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

[anotheruser]

8 hours ago, sambum said:

 

It seems that a lot of people don't appreciate sarcasm, and in some later posts you are being taken seriously in your first 2 paragraphs!  Or maybe you are being serious? 

 

Yeah, the amount of times I have said something so obviously sarcastic and get taken seriously is pretty funny. 

[ClutchClark]

2 hours ago, anotheruser said:

 

Yeah, the amount of times I have said something so obviously sarcastic and get taken seriously is pretty funny. 

 

Not too mention all the times we thought you were being sarcastic and you were actually serious.

[roo860]

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

4 pages before that sort of comment, that's a first.

[samsensam]

On 29/09/2016 at 5:43 AM, 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.

 

early 1990s samui was lovely

[trogers]

15 hours ago, Wilsonandson said:

Whilst browsing tripadvisor.com on the interweb for clues to another more recent article on koh Lipe. I came across these photos.

The rubbish collection was behind the hotel and infront was this beautiful picture of the beach and a boat.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

 

 

Like looking at a beauty queen doing her toilet...

[williamgeorgeallen]

5 hours ago, roo860 said:

 

 

4 pages before that sort of comment, that's a first.

 

 

i moved to australia in 1997. first week i was there i watched a tv show called winging poms. they were complaining about the noises the birds make and how aussies love big steaks on the barbie but dont care about how tender they are.

great joke on that show i still remember almost 20 years on. when a plane lands at sydney airport how do you know its full of poms?  the engine shuts down but the whining  continues.

[BlindMagician]

8 hours ago, anotheruser said:

 

Please take your sarcasm meter into the shop for fine tuning.

Are you being sarcastic?

I'm not.....am I?

[joeyg]

On 9/29/2016 at 0:15 PM, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Of course.

 

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

Been coming here since 1971.  And what you say is true.  However it seems the enforcement of the work permit is being dramatically relaxed.  I remember 15 years ago friends of mine who owned bars or restaurants would not allow me to pick up a case of beer or soda and were quite serious about it.

 

Now I have friends with similar businesses carrying things in from the curb and asking me to give a hand. More striking though is the amount of Farang musicians that openly play at regular shows and some of the biggest galas.  There are huge advertisements for  large local Expat groups and charity events, that will remain unnamed,  plastered all over town and on the internet.  With faces and names of the Farang performers.

 

How do you explain that?

 

I ask them all how is it that you don't have a problem with immigration?  The answer.  We stay under the radar.

 

The local police and immigration obviously know what's going on but don't seem to care, anymore.

 

[joeyg]

On 9/29/2016 at 0:35 PM, HoboKay said:

 

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.

Additionally several years ago a colleague and myself were sponsored to come to Thailand and participate in pediatric HIV/AIDS research and treatment. Technically we were paid by grants from two pharmaceutical companies.

 

We would bring 12 to 16 first-year med students from UCSD with us. In the morning we would do lectures and in the afternoon we would see patients in the local clinic at the facility we were staying at.  

 

I asked one of the administrators there about us needing permits to volunteer. We were told no problem. This organization also has a large first class hospital associated with them in Bangkok.

 

One afternoon while we were in clinic seeing patients in the patient care unit we got a visit from the local police in Rayong.  All we got were smiles and nods from the police this went on for three years at this particular location. We never had any permits and we would also go to do rounding at Bangkok Rayong hospital. No one ever brought up the topic of volunteer work permits. A couple of our patients were police officers that have been in accidents. Interesting I know.

 

Please note:  I am not endorsing or condoning illegal activities in Thailand.  On the contrary, I am commenting on historical facts that occurred 3 years ago.

[joeyg]

1 minute ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

I think the opposite is true.

Much more difficult to get a visa and work permit at the moment.

Not to mention the ongoing crackdowns on migrant labour and the new overstay laws.

I wouldn't be risking any illegal work at the moment given the current climate, which will be considerably exacerbated when a certain event happens.

 

I understand but how do you explain foreigners plastering of billboards all over Pattaya and on the Internet with their faces and names describing the biggest events to take place in town that they were headlining.

 

Also at the last one there was a top city official and top police official in attendance.  Just saying I was there.

 

[HoboKay]

4 hours ago, joeyg said:

I understand but how do you explain foreigners plastering of billboards all over Pattaya and on the Internet with their faces and names describing the biggest events to take place in town that they were headlining.

 

Also at the last one there was a top city official and top police official in attendance.  Just saying I was there.

 

Greased the right palms, I guess?

 

 

[sambum]

14 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

i moved to australia in 1997. first week i was there i watched a tv show called winging poms. they were complaining about the noises the birds make and how aussies love big steaks on the barbie but dont care about how tender they are.

great joke on that show i still remember almost 20 years on. when a plane lands at sydney airport how do you know its full of poms?  the engine shuts down but the whining  continues.

 

And we all know where the Aussies originated, don't we?

[joeyg]

9 hours ago, HoboKay said:

Greased the right palms, I guess?

 

 

Yep.  That's what I figured.

 

[JetsetBkk]

On Saturday, October 01, 2016 at 9:20 AM, BlindMagician said:

Stop blaming the Thais? Open your eyes. The national attitude to littering is awful. Yesterday I saw a plastic water bottle thrown out of the car in front of me on a highway. Not only littering, but dangerous. Just one data point out of a many.

 

Or out of a sam-lor:

 

 

[williamgeorgeallen]

6 hours ago, sambum said:

 

And we all know where the Aussies originated, don't we?

yea. you can bet the boat loads of criminals did not stop winging on their way to oz.

[roo860]

yea. you can bet the boat loads of criminals did not stop winging on their way to oz.

5 star service, all inclusive!

[outsider]

Just waiting for some 'farangs' to clean up the place, at which point most Thais will forget their xenophobia for a bit, go all gooey and misty-eyed and give the do-gooder some fluffy nicknames. Can't be @rsed to clean up their own crap, can they?

[Think2Mutt]

On 29/09/2016 at 5:49 AM, 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. 

 

 

Illegal in Thailand under their strict employment laws unfortunately!

[Think2Mutt]

Koh Tip-py?

[Think2Mutt]

On 29/09/2016 at 1:04 PM, Wake Up said:

You know my definition of a loser is someone who lives in a place and every day wakes up and trashes it on TV. Just saying swampy is available to fly to your Utopia. ✈️?

Mine is someone who has nothing more inventive to say than 'Go home'!