Koh Samet: No mafia here say operators as tourist arrivals tumble

[lucky11]

1 hour ago, siam2007 said:

As any goods, services and accommodation on Samet are so ridiculously overpriced and the quality delivered miserable, this is a crystal clear indication that a Mafia is running the show

 

 Not exactly a good business model!!

[sandgroper2]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You would no doubt LOVE Penang beaches!

Second honeymoon there, resort, right on the beach, very nice beach, pure white sands, azure seas, and, i dont care who the owner was.

[Mickmouse1]

Last year I spent couple of nights in a nice resort but I found the entire experience "uninviting to return"

 

[sandgroper2]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Even if they can't get rid of the resorts, I hope the publicity makes enough tourists stay away as to bankrupt the owners.

And the 300bt a day workers. (plus tips)

[sandgroper2]

2 minutes ago, Mickmouse1 said:

Last year I spent couple of nights in a nice resort but I found the entire experience "uninviting to return"

 

Where i stayed was $300 US  a night, very reasonable, if you paid much less, you get what you pay for.

[impulse]

16 minutes ago, MikeTexas said:

They are right about one thing. Name names and prosecute. 

 

More likely it would be "name names and get sued for defamation".

[sandgroper2]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

 

More likely it would be "name names and get sued for defamation".

Good to see someone else researches the subject instead of just posting whatever comes into their mind. "Name and shame", go directly to jail, do not pass go.

[sendintheclowns]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So why were the 80 officials removed? And why did takings in August rise dramatically once they were moved out? No word of course about the corrupt officials being prosecuted though. That would be a step too far I suppose.

 

ah - ''the first step cuts the deepest'' (with apologies to Cat Stevens). It is pretty obvious, from the formal style of representations made, that the established resort owners are moving fast to protect their interests. If legit use of land, no problem. Surely, the army came bring in some whatchamacallthems and survey who's taken over what  land? as for the lower end of the food chain;, the vendors, and even the accursed jetski operators are always subject to blackmail by someone. The island needs an independent beach management organization, which controls licensing and garbage removal, coupled with 'green' volunteer groups (which are starting to pop up in many tourist beach areas. 

[Jimbo2014]

Reminds me of road runner when caotI dressed up as a roadrunner with a lemonade stand ????

[Emster23]

"Nobody here but us chickens"

And "A turd by any other name would smell as bad..." Sorry Will

[sandrabbit]

4 hours ago, impulse said:

On an aside, are the jet ski scams as prevalent on Samet as they are (were?) by Mike's in Pattaya?

I've always found the jetski operators to be quite reasonable on Samet and in fact quite relaxed.

[BlackJack]

no need as Section 44 and other laws are used

 

move on folks

[dcsw53]

Has it occurred to these people that they may be the reason tourist numbers are down.

 

I went two years ago with my teenage kids who were terrified by the way boats and jet skis were driven there. I would not go back if given a free holiday and know many people who share my view. We love white knuckle events, but not the sort of day when you are just glad to be alive at the end of it.

 

Mafia there may be, and they are a good peg to hang this excuse on. Jellyfish and the wrong kind of sand have been lined up for next year.

[thequietman]

They claimed the governor of the province Surasak Jaroensirichot agrees with them and said that he and other officials have been working hard over the last few years to rid the province of dark figures involved in corruption.

 

Just contradicted themselves, Yes? No Mafia here now, but there was before !

To rid the province, so not 'totally' rid the province. Maybe telling fibs, are we?

[sandrabbit]

3 minutes ago, dcsw53 said:

Has it occurred to these people that they may be the reason tourist numbers are down.

 

I went two years ago with my teenage kids who were terrified by the way boats and jet skis were driven there. I would not go back if given a free holiday and know many people who share my view. We love white knuckle events, but not the sort of day when you are just glad to be alive at the end of it.

 

Mafia there may be, and they are a good peg to hang this excuse on. Jellyfish and the wrong kind of sand have been lined up for next year.

Some of the speed boat drivers do approach the beaches way too fast and I think a French woman was run over swimming at night on Wong Duen beach. Also the idiots riding the jetskis could stay away from people swimming in the shallows.

[ujayujay]

Off course not............

[lvr181]

Ok, no mafia. Only corruption at all levels and just as much illegal activities. And how about the Governor comes out with his own spoken statement direct to the news media? 

 

No? I thought not.

[Bangkok Barry]

Not quite as good as when a government minister took a walk through Pattaya a few years ago and declared there was no prostitution there, but not a bad effort.

[NickJ]

The only way to get rid of the Mafia here would be to sink the entire island........ even if it was a leper colony they would still be here.

[MaxLee]

1 hour ago, mcfish said:

Suuuuck it boys. You feeling ripped off? Just ask how the tourists felt when you charged them 20k for that jet ski scratch.

Happy dayz!

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk
 

 

Well, on the other hand, it could end LETHALLY for upcoming tourist, as these types of "Claim-To-Be-NO-Mafia-operators and their henchmen" are a master of releasing their anger at innocent personalities,...... if you know what I mean......

[bark]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So why were the 80 officials removed? And why did takings in August rise dramatically once they were moved out? No word of course about the corrupt officials being prosecuted though. That would be a step too far I suppose.

Forget about asking the Parks Officials. Tell them to ask the army.

[catman20]

so here goes, time to put the prices up as the number of tourist are dropping, hit the tourist harder that do go, thats the way to do it, NOT

[kennw]

1 hour ago, sandgroper2 said:

I still enjoy Samet, why should i worry who owns the resort, and of course they are there to make money. To say otherwise rediculous. The land the resort it built on? Doesnt affect my stay there one bit. The bars, the beer is just as cold no matter if mafia owns the place , or not. Loosen up. We are a long time dead.

Very selfish attitude Typical  F - u- jack I'm ok.  

[ianf]

When the military toured the bars in Central Chiang Mai soon after the coup, they asked the bar owners to whom and how much were they paying the various police interests. To a man (or woman) they all answered "nothing" when in reality they were paying thousands each month to 4 different police operations. Too scared to tell the truth. Same at Samet??

[mcfish]

I still enjoy Samet, why should i worry who owns the resort, and of course they are there to make money. To say otherwise rediculous. The land the resort it built on? Doesnt affect my stay there one bit. The bars, the beer is just as cold no matter if mafia owns the place , or not. Loosen up. We are a long time dead.

Pathetic.

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Kru Baa]

"No mafia here" says the mafia

[jlwilliamsjr18]

This too, shall pass.  It's just irritable bowel syndrome.....that too is a metaphor. 

[monkeyofdoom]

Used to be a great island with fun beach bars that would stay open until the party ended. Seemed like no police on the island, so whatever nightlife laws existed on the mainland to close early were not observed. Last time I went, a year ago, bars shut down at 11:30pm, since they needed half and hour to clear out all guests before the stroke of midnight. That's when a patrolboat would sail along the coast, noting any bars with lights still on, for fines etc. 

 

So now the fun nightlife is finished, and I think that has a lot to do with the arrivals plummeting. I think a lot of regulars just gave up on the island after the parties got crippled.

[williamgeorgeallen]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

So why were the 80 officials removed? And why did takings in August rise dramatically once they were moved out? No word of course about the corrupt officials being prosecuted though. That would be a step too far I suppose.

army want army friendly officials running the show. corrupt or not the old ones had to go. hard to believe anything will really come of this but i guess there is hope.

[itsuptome]

The main thing I wonder when I read a story like this is how these Thai journalism outlets manage to stay in business when they don't even appear to have heard of the concept of investigative journalism.

They parrot these absurd claims being made by random jetski operators and make zero effort to do any actual research into the validity of said claims.

Who would pay for this junk?