News Forum - Recent crimes in Phuket are damaging its reputation

[Marc26]

8 hours ago, DWiener said:

Lol it WAS relevant because if he didn't have a yacht I never would have gone back to Phuket. Also it's a small yacht not big enough for any more than the 3 of them to stay on so we drove to where they were and spent the day on the yacht sailing up the west coast and they would drop us at a beach somewhere at night and then we had to deal with Grab vs The Taxi Mafia to get back to where our car was parked. 

^ was any of that detail necessary to make my point OTHER than the yacht being what it took to make me go back to Phuket? No. My mate teaches at an English school and the yacht is just sold for 1.8M baht. Hardly a fortune or a superyacht.

Sheesh, tough crowd

Just busting your balls   :)

 

Sounds pretty fun, actually.....

[Stonker]

29 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Usually you are argumentative, but pretty smart

This is just stupid..............

So in your view now, millions of Chinese don't go to Pattaya and Phuket with their families every year ... I see !

[Stonker]

20 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

My wife wanted to buy PTT OR stock on it's IPO

She was directed to go to Bangkok Bank to participate

She said all the old Chinese-Thai ladies were trying to cut her in line constantly, the whole time...........

I don't know your wife's nationality, so I've no idea if you're quoting me to agree that it happens to everyone or to disagree and suggest it only happens to farangs.

[Marc26]

7 minutes ago, Stonker said:

I don't know your wife's nationality, so I've no idea if you're quoting me to agree that it happens to everyone or to disagree and suggest it only happens to farangs.

Duh, my bad

It would have helped if I said my wife is Thai!

So yes, agreeing with you...........it happens to Thais as well

 

She was younger(only girl in her 30's) so they felt they could cut her in line

 

 

PS.....The old Chinese ladies do that to me in Chinatown here in Vancouver, I love the little line wars I play with them  :)

[JamesR]

On 2/13/2022 at 8:39 AM, 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 

They make me laugh with what they come out with.

It is really dangerous in Phuket they say,  my house has been empty there since August 2019 due to covid as I am staying in the UK for now as I can't be bothered with the paperwork and the tests or the possibility of being locked up for two weeks.

My car has been parked on the drive as well, no burglaries or thefts at all.

I have been going to Phuket for 30 years and never had a problem.

The reason serious crime stands out and is on the news is because it is rare.

[JamesR]

On 2/13/2022 at 8:53 AM, Soidog said:

But aren’t we customers? Shouldn’t the customer be made to feel special and treated with respect? It’s like any other business. You can say you value your customer and basically do nothing and take advantage. Or you can walk the talk and make your customer feel valued and special and continue to grow your brand and grown your revenues. 

Some people are just plain stupid and will always be ripped off.

You arrive at Phuket airport, go to the taxi desk inside the airport, they have huge boards with the price menu,  the prices are fixed, you pay the money the desk (last time it was 800 baht to Kathu 45 mind drive) get in the taxi and that is that no more costs.

In the tourist areas there are lots of cars on the side of the road with guys holding Taxi placards, you ask the price , it is fixed and that is that, if you don't like the price then go to the next one.

I will have to save up though in order to pay for my next massively expensive £17 taxi from the airport to my house in Phuket, I might have to mug someone there to pay for it. 

 

[JamesR]

On 2/13/2022 at 10:19 AM, vlad said:

Well, the nail has finally sunk in. I first came to Phuket in 2008. It was great no rip-offs or scams felt safe walking around or riding around from Patong to Rawai. I noticed it going downhill when JJ Naiman the Infamous Jet ski operator. Openly filmed holding a crew member from HMS Albion at gunpoint demanding thousands from him for damage that never happened. We then witnessed the Taxi Mafia moving in slashing tyres from tourists who parked on Patong beach rd. Many were assaulted in front of children but they were never prosecuted and it was known as a free for to assault and attack tourists because they argued or were being ripped off. Nothing was done incoming police chiefs were removed if they tried to tackle crime. I think it was Chan o Cha that said " well if you walk around in a bikini what do you expect if you get raped ". Now maybe 15 years later crime is rampant in Phuket and my opinion has driven tourists away due to the rip-offs, overpricing, our safety, and lack of Police protection. It is more expensive than some Spanish or Greek destinations.

Tourism has massively increased in Phuket since 2008, most of the girly bars have gone and have been replaced by shops, restaurants and hotels.

Crime it not at all rampant, just rampant in the heads of stupid people with an axe to grind.

These people can stay away as I do not go there to listen to them moaning into their beer.

Pattaya is a much better place for such people. 

[Marc26]

9 minutes ago, JamesR said:

Some people are just plain stupid and will always be ripped off.

You arrive at Phuket airport, go to the taxi desk inside the airport, they have huge boards with the price menu,  the prices are fixed, you pay the money the desk (last time it was 800 baht to Kathu 45 mind drive) get in the taxi and that is that no more costs.

In the tourist areas there are lots of cars on the side of the road with guys holding Taxi placards, you ask the price , it is fixed and that is that, if you don't like the price then go to the next one.

I will have to save up though in order to pay for my next massively expensive £17 taxi from the airport to my house in Phuket, I might have to mug someone there to pay for it. 

We usually stay in Kamala nowadays

But my wife likes to go to Patong for at least one night out

 

Some hotels we stay at have a free shuttle to Patong, then we take a taxi back

I am not paying 600baht to sit an uncomfortable tuk tuk back to Kamala

 

But we easily find a nice car that has a taxi sign on it, and it is usually 500-600baht, which is more than fine by me.......

 

Oh and the drivers are almost always extremely nice!

[dj230]

2 hours ago, Tim_Melb said:

You obviously haven't seen much of the country then. 

You're right I haven't, but partying and 'sex tourism' seems like its all over Thailand, at least it's quite common in the province I am in right now, Bangkok.

[Rangers]

2 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I agree with most of that, but Phuket can be quite expensive, compared to anywhere

But as you said, outside Patong, can be quite affordable as well

Bangla road area is maybe expensive if you think £2.75 is expensive for a beer. Personally I don't really, it's 2022. Thailand as a whole is a fantastic country though, I hate seeing the negativity on here. If people hate it that much, go post on a tenerife forum. 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Rangers

[oldschooler]

6 hours ago, AussieBob said:

Thailand has better beaches than Maldives or Indonesia or Malaysia - not.  Better marketed that is for sure, but not better.  As you say Philippines has far better beaches than Thailand - many better beaches.  

But nearly everything behind the beaches in Phil or Indo is shite..

[oldschooler]

9 minutes ago, Rangers said:

Bangla road area is maybe expensive if you think £2.75 is expensive for a beer. Personally I don't really, it's 2022. Thailand as a whole is a fantastic country though, I hate seeing the negativity on here. If people hate it that much, go post on a tenerife forum. 

You’re not really paying for the “beer” though in Bangla are you ?

Thats what you do at the grocery store

[oldschooler]

47 minutes ago, dj230 said:

You're right I haven't, but partying and 'sex tourism' seems like its all over Thailand, at least it's quite common in the province I am in right now, Bangkok.

Wrong. Outside tourist areas the country is very conservative. 

[oldschooler]

1 hour ago, Marc26 said:

We usually stay in Kamala nowadays

But my wife likes to go to Patong for at least one night out

Some hotels we stay at have a free shuttle to Patong, then we take a taxi back

I am not paying 600baht to sit an uncomfortable tuk tuk back to Kamala

But we easily find a nice car that has a taxi sign on it, and it is usually 500-600baht, which is more than fine by me.......

Oh and the drivers are almost always extremely nice!

Just don’t get this “Kamala” thing at all. wailing mosques, poor beach, nothing much there & dangerous road trip to & from Patong. Nowhere near anywhere else decent. Stay in Karon or Rawai.

[Marc26]

15 minutes ago, oldschooler said:

Wrong. Outside tourist areas the country is very conservative. 

The Thai local p4p scene is everywhere all over Thailand.......it is not as "in your face" as the neon farang p4p scene

 

But is is pretty out in the open, albeit in a less flashy way

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, JamesR said:

Some people are just plain stupid and will always be ripped off.

You arrive at Phuket airport, go to the taxi desk inside the airport, they have huge boards with the price menu,  the prices are fixed, you pay the money the desk (last time it was 800 baht to Kathu 45 mind drive) get in the taxi and that is that no more costs.

In the tourist areas there are lots of cars on the side of the road with guys holding Taxi placards, you ask the price , it is fixed and that is that, if you don't like the price then go to the next one.

I will have to save up though in order to pay for my next massively expensive £17 taxi from the airport to my house in Phuket, I might have to mug someone there to pay for it. 

One way of looking at life. I can afford to pay more than someone else and so I will. Seems fair and equitable.  Perhaps we should start charging people for taxis based on wealth?  Show us you bank balance and then we will set the meter accordingly. You are missing the point entirely  

[Marc26]

21 minutes ago, oldschooler said:

Just don’t get this “Kamala” thing at all. wailing mosques, poor beach, nothing much there & dangerous road trip to & from Patong. Nowhere near anywhere else decent. Stay in Karon or Rawai.

 Kamala has the best "on the beach" life of any beach in Phuket

 

I like staying directly on the beach and walking to things..........and Kamala and Bang Tao are the only beaches in Phuket that have that.......

 

I also think Kamala has the best walkable village

 

I do like, and lived briefly, in Karon

And I like Rawai a lot, but my wife likes to be closer to Patong

 

 

 

 

[Marc26]

2 minutes ago, Soidog said:

One way of looking at life. I can afford to pay more than someone else and so I will. Seems fair and equitable.  Perhaps we should start charging people for taxis based on wealth?  Show us you bank balance and then we will set the meter accordingly. You are missing the point entirely  

Isn't that how transportation works? Everywhere........

There are options based on price

[Soidog]

20 minutes ago, oldschooler said:

Wrong. Outside tourist areas the country is very conservative. 

Totally and utterly wrong. Prostitution and lewd behaviour is the norm in rural Thailand.  More places with curtains to pull over your parked car around rural villages than there are Ago-go bars in Pattaya. You have it totally wrong 

[dj230]

30 minutes ago, oldschooler said:

Wrong. Outside tourist areas the country is very conservative. 

Yea, I can't really say that's true, I know quite a few "bar girls" not really "bar" girls but "club" girls in Bangkok. If you're looking for sex tourism or partying in Bangkok there's plenty

Edited February 14, 2022 by dj230

[oldschooler]

7 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

The Thai local p4p scene is everywhere all over Thailand.......it is not as "in your face" as the neon farang p4p scene

But is is pretty out in the open, albeit in a less flashy way

Not at all your face in non tourist places but yes so integrated in Thai culture for hundreds of years that it’s part of traditional ( unspoken) culture here everywhere for locals……

[Soidog]

1 minute ago, Marc26 said:

Isn't that how transportation works? Everywhere........

There are options based on price

Nope. It works in a meter. It’s calibrated and sealed. The miles or kilometres you ride are the same for everyone. It’s not based on what the driver thinks or assumes you can afford. 
 

Come on Marc. Stop trying to defend unequal pricing and being ripped off just because you are use to paying £5 per mile. That’s not the point at all. Charge the going rate. If it’s more than you are use to, pay it. If it’s less then enjoy it. 

[Marc26]

Just now, Soidog said:

Nope. It works in a meter. It’s calibrated and sealed. The miles or kilometres you ride are the same for everyone. It’s not based on what the driver thinks or assumes you can afford. 
 

Come on Marc. Stop trying to defend unequal pricing and being ripped off just because you are use to paying £5 per mile. That’s not the point at all. Charge the going rate. If it’s more than you are use to, pay it. If it’s less then enjoy it. 

What I am saying is transportation has different pricing, everywhere

 

If I fly into NYC on my own dime(usually on biz) I don't take an Uber or Taxi, I take the train into Manhattan

 

In Phuket, you have options based on price, same anywhere else................

You can take the shuttle, metred taxi or private limo at the desk

[oldschooler]

5 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Totally and utterly wrong. Prostitution and lewd behaviour is the norm in rural Thailand.  More places with curtains to pull over your parked car around rural villages than there are Ago-go bars in Pattaya. You have it totally wrong 

Was saying it’s not open,  not that’s it’s not there, but unspoken. Thai discrete culture for hundreds of years.  

[ThaiFoodGuy]

On 2/13/2022 at 1:03 PM, Marc26 said:

In Phuket, stay in any of the areas besides Patong 

I've stayed in Rawai many times, never had any issues. You might need to speak rudimentary Thai from time to time, more often than in Patong or Kata or Karon, but it's much quieter, there is lots to do, and there is very little crime in general. Strongly recommend Rawai for anyone.