News Forum - Recent crimes in Phuket are damaging its reputation

[hondo]

phuket went for decades being not too concerned about repeat business  because a plane load of new marks was arriving every 15 minutes.  if you complained about getting ripped off,  you got ignored or laughed at. eventually the planes will start arriving again and it will be business as usual.

[AussieBob]

8 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Phuket is still one of the more prettier places in Thailand, if you get outside of Patong 

For me, when I 1st planned a trip to Thailand and wanted to be involved in the p4p scene, I just had no desire to go to Pattaya because it felt like just a sec holiday

And even though I would be getting up to the same things in Phuket, it was like combining a beach holiday that you can't get in Pattaya

Pattaya's Beach is nasty as hell 

I never understood how Thailand marketing has been able to portray itself as having great beaches. What a load of bull excrement. If you want great beaches then Australia is the place to come - including idillic islands with real fantastic corals a short goat trip away - some even within swimming distances. Same Maldives and Fiji - Thailand does not compare except it is/was cheaper.  Thailand has many great things - but beaches - and islands - nuh. 

[Lowseasonlover]

It was damaged 20 years ago, Has this happened to anyone else? I arrived at Phuket airport one evening alone bye the way, Get a taxi to take me to the holiday inn Patong half way along the bypass road the driver says he has to stop at his office the next thing a woman come out to the car asking me where Im staying, maybe we can get you a better hotel, Im not interested tell the driver to get back in the car and take me to the holiday inn she was being persistent she wasn't taking no for an answer, 

[Guest1]

52 minutes ago, AussieBob said:

If you want great beaches then Australia is the place to come

Yeah, just what do I need a nice beach, if I cant go for a swim at all times? Thailand is not having great whites or crocs.

Aside that Australia is another 6-8 hours of flying time, from Europe, plus no direct or charter flights.(Yet?) Families with kids?

Also much strikter immigration rules, law  enforcing law enforcers, ....! ;-)

Not to forget, accomodation prices are a lot more, in Aussi country.

I like the east coast, done that, been there, from cairns down to sydney. Really like Brisbane and the greater Sydney area. Missed it, to climb Ayers Roc..., eh, Uluru. Oh, and that was b/c getting there would have cost me, from the east coast, about as much, as getting from europe to Australia. Plus: skyrocking accomodation prices on all of the route.

[Soidog]

8 hours ago, Stonker said:

As long as it's equal and fair for the things we want, which is paying the same as the locals !

Who cares about anything else! 

Well you may not care about anything else but money, but I do. I’d like to be treated equally and fairly by the police. I’d like to be treated fairly and equally when I’m being served at the bank and a local feels they can just interrupt the person serving me. Beyond that, I’d like to be able to own land and property and own my own business. But let’s start with a few basics shall we. 

[francoa]

17 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Farang abuse?

You guys are out of your mind and just make shit up in your heads, I swear

You guys all just want to feel special

And when you aren't made to feel extra special in Thailand,  you make up some weird farang abuse 

News flash, none of you are special 

No, I dont feel special. But I know personally too many people who were forced to bribe police in many occasions. People who are randomly stopped and illegally searched for drugs they dont have, asked to piss into container on the street. People stopped on their motorbikes, surrounded by 8 cops and harassed. And me walking by, stopping to see what is going on immediately pissing them off and now I was the target of them too, just for looking. People who actually bought a bag of weed from a police paid provocateur to end up being asked thousands dollars to let go…and the list goes on. So dear smartass, no, we just want to be approached normally, not as a milking money cow or some target of their hate towards us.

 

I have lived years in many asian countries and what Police is doing here to foreigners is the worst I have seen. And as I said and you ignored, to own people as well;)

 

You seem to be some pro-police troll too lol

Edited February 14, 2022 by francoa

[ozvenision]

17 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Farang abuse?

You guys are out of your mind and just make shit up in your heads, I swear

You guys all just want to feel special

And when you aren't made to feel extra special in Thailand,  you make up some weird farang abuse 

News flash, none of you are special 

I'm special.. I used to get the yellow bus to school every day 

[MikeV]

I've been coming to Thailand for years. I've never been to Phuket and have no plans to. It's had a bad reputation since I first heard of it. There are much better beaches  to visit.

[Grumpish]

1 hour ago, Lowseasonlover said:

It was damaged 20 years ago, Has this happened to anyone else? I arrived at Phuket airport one evening alone bye the way, Get a taxi to take me to the holiday inn Patong half way along the bypass road the driver says he has to stop at his office the next thing a woman come out to the car asking me where Im staying, maybe we can get you a better hotel, Im not interested tell the driver to get back in the car and take me to the holiday inn she was being persistent she wasn't taking no for an answer, 

That has been going on for many years, it was just a normal part of "the service". It always happened with the shared minibus service as well. 

[MikeV]

2 hours ago, AussieBob said:

I never understood how Thailand marketing has been able to portray itself as having great beaches. What a load of bull excrement. If you want great beaches then Australia is the place to come - including idillic islands with real fantastic corals a short goat trip away - some even within swimming distances. Same Maldives and Fiji - Thailand does not compare except it is/was cheaper.  Thailand has many great things - but beaches - and islands - nuh. 

They do. Most foreigners go to about 3 places in Thailand and have no clue where the good anything is 

[DWiener]

18 hours ago, dj230 said:

I will admit, I was thinking of eventually travelling to Phuket but probably won't now, not just from the shooting but overall what I learned from just reading about Phuket in the past month or so.

Sounds like a tourist trap, I have no clue why people go there. 

I've been there (sandbox and a week on a friend's yacht). It is as hideous as you expect. Not quite as bad as the Pattaya (the armpit of Thailand) but definitely second on the list of Places To Avoid In Thailand. 

[BongoBongo]

Thailand was a great tourist destination when it was cheap, because you could overlook the scams, but it's quite expensive for a lot of things now yet the service is no different from before. I'm not a tourist, but if I was then Thailand would not get a repeat visit. I honestly don't understand why people come back here when there are so many other places. 

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, AussieBob said:

I never understood how Thailand marketing has been able to portray itself as having great beaches. What a load of bull excrement. If you want great beaches then Australia is the place to come - including idillic islands with real fantastic corals a short goat trip away - some even within swimming distances. Same Maldives and Fiji - Thailand does not compare except it is/was cheaper.  Thailand has many great things - but beaches - and islands - nuh. 

Yes Aussies know much better beaches in their homeland than Thailand has 

 

But many of the tourists that visit Thailand don't have beautiful beaches like Australia 

 

And I would say Thailand has the best beaches in Asia besides the Philippines 

 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Lowseasonlover said:

It was damaged 20 years ago, Has this happened to anyone else? I arrived at Phuket airport one evening alone bye the way, Get a taxi to take me to the holiday inn Patong half way along the bypass road the driver says he has to stop at his office the next thing a woman come out to the car asking me where Im staying, maybe we can get you a better hotel, Im not interested tell the driver to get back in the car and take me to the holiday inn she was being persistent she wasn't taking no for an answer, 

Yes but after that 1st time I always tell the desk when I am booking a car that I do not want to stop at the office

And they always listen and don't stop 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, francoa said:

No, I dont feel special. But I know personally too many people who were forced to bribe police in many occasions. People who are randomly stopped and illegally searched for drugs they dont have, asked to piss into container on the street. People stopped on their motorbikes, surrounded by 8 cops and harassed. And me walking by, stopping to see what is going on immediately pissing them off and now I was the target of them too, just for looking. People who actually bought a bag of weed from a police paid provocateur to end up being asked thousands dollars to let go…and the list goes on. So dear smartass, no, we just want to be approached normally, not as a milking money cow or some target of their hate towards us.

I have lived years in many asian countries and what Police is doing here to foreigners is the worst I have seen. And as I said and you ignored, to own people as well;)

You seem to be some pro-police troll too lol

I don't condone any of that

I had a gf that had to flee Phuket over police harassment

 

But people go to a developing and then are shocked when it isn't like a Western country

 

Should probably stay home in Europe or Australia, etc

[Marc26]

22 minutes ago, DWiener said:

I've been there (sandbox and a week on a friend's yacht). It is as hideous as you expect. Not quite as bad as the Pattaya (the armpit of Thailand) but definitely second on the list of Places To Avoid In Thailand. 

It was super relevant that you made sure to include you stayed on your friends yacht   

[BongoBongo]

I've never seen a beach that wasn't covered in litter. In Brazil the local authorities drag a rake behind a tractor and make the beach beautiful every night around 11pm. Much nicer beaches. I remember Koh Samui 30 years ago and it was already past it's best days. Now it is a concrete monstrosity. I'm assuming Phuket has had the same trajectory. 

[Marc26]

6 minutes ago, BongoBongo said:

I've never seen a beach that wasn't covered in litter. In Brazil the local authorities drag a rake behind a tractor and make the beach beautiful every night around 11pm. Much nicer beaches. I remember Koh Samui 30 years ago and it was already past it's best days. Now it is a concrete monstrosity. I'm assuming Phuket has had the same trajectory. 

The issue with Thailand is they have no eye for aesthetics 

They just build with zero regard on what the outcome will be as a whole 

 

So places like Samui, you can't even see the beach

 

Or they put no planning on what the town will look like

 

Tulum Mexico is way over built compared to 20-30 years ago

But they still gave the foresight to limt how high you can build on beach rd so that the jungle stays partly intact so it's not a concrete jungle 

[Lowseasonlover]

8 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

The issue with Thailand is they have no eye for aesthetics 

They just build with zero regard on what the outcome will be as a whole 

So places like Samui, you can't even see the beach

Or they put no planning on what the town will look like

Tulum Mexico is way over built compared to 20-30 years ago

But they still gave the foresight to limt how high you can build on beach rd so that the jungle stays partly intact so it's not a concrete jungle 

I feel like Ive lived on a building site for 20 years

[MikeV]

14 hours ago, lukas said:

first of all i dont get it why anyone would come to phuket. ok, you have a family so is convenient for you, that i can understand. all places (especially islands) that have airports are horrible. its my first time in phuket and i have been coming for my work (and pleasure) in thailand for 19 years. i would NEVER come to phuket if there wasnt fkn sandbox programme and i needed to come for my work. patong is horrible. ok, now that i rented a motorbike is a bit better. whats gonna kill thailand is greed in the end. paying 50 baht for plain rice in asia? or the longtail boat that i was paying 50 baht 18 years ago in koh phan ngan now up to 400. yeah right, the tourists are gonna keep coming. we dont all come from england, norway or france where everything is expensive. somebody here said thailand is sometimes more expensive than some places in spain and greece. right. i also come from mediteranian country. many of my friend who came to visit this beautiful country complained about prices. dont get me wrong, they love to spend money but of course they gonna notice. i mean 3 euros for a small  beer is more than i am paying home. the price of decent basic meal cant be almost same in europe and thailand. i have been to thailand more than 30 times and see how the greed is becoming more obvious (dont get me wrong there is destinations in europe with the same problem). but i guess lot of us are coming to thailand because we love it but also because its cheaper than where we are coming from

I'm dumbfounded by where you are going in Thailand to pay this much for things. Are you extrapolating the prices in Phuket to make comments about prices in Thailand overall? How many places in Thailand have you been other than obvious tourist traps?

If you are paying what you claim you are obviously doing it wrong and literally only visiting the traps.

If you spend time here surely you have made some Thai friends. Ask them for advice on nice places to go.

Edited February 14, 2022 by MikeV

[TSS]

at least (according to B Barnett) Bangkok is roaring back to life

[Lowseasonlover]

10 minutes ago, MikeV said:

I'm dumbfounded by where you are going in Thailand to pay this much for things. Are you extrapolating the prices in Phuket to make comments about prices in Thailand overall? How many places in Thailand have you been other than obvious tourist traps?

If you are paying what you claim you are obviously doing it wrong and literally only visiting the traps.

If you spend time here surely you have made some Thai friends. Ask them for advice on nice places to go.

50 baht for plain rice, they saw him coming

[Stonker]

11 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Litteraly millions of people

Actually I'd say literally 100's of millions of people over decades 

People who have never stepped into a girly bar or agogo

Almost every person I know in my industry in Hong Kong, married with kids, go to Phuket at least once a year for holiday 

Agreed ... millions of Chinese people - they also go to Pattaya for the same reason.

[Stonker]

10 hours ago, Fundok said:

, the extra test on day 5,

ALL arrivals do it - Thais as well as foreigners.

... and if you're that worried about paying a few baht extra for the occasional tourist attraction maybe you need to go to a poorer country.

[Stonker]

4 hours ago, Guest1 said:

 

Also much strikter immigration rules, law  enforcing law enforcers, ....! ;-)

Not to forget, accomodation prices are a lot more, in Aussi country

 

No !

Seriously, while I agree with @AussieBob about Aus's beaches and islands, it does have its drawbacks and Thailand plenty of other attractions as you rightly say.