Thailand urged to tackle dark side of 'Land of Smiles'

[TotallyOz]

PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) - From jet ski scams to robbery, assault and even police extortion, for the millions of tourists who flock to Thailand each year the kingdom does not always live up to its reputation as the "Land of Smiles".

 

Now following a flurry of complaints, governments are urging the country to do more to protect the safety of the record numbers of foreigners visiting Thailand.

 

Its sun-drenched beaches, tranquil temples and libidinous nightlife have long been a magnet for tourists from around the world, but for some it is far from paradise.

 

Drink spiking in bars can be a problem and sometimes people wake up to find they have been robbed.

 

"There are a lot of people who get drugged here," said Wal Brown, an Australia volunteer with the Thai police who patrols the thronging streets of Patong on the island of Phuket, where crowds of tourists mingle with touts offering entrance to "ladyboy cabarets" or photo ops with endangered animals.

 

"A couple of years ago we had two Italians walk out of the bush. They couldn't remember anything for three days. All their money and clothes were stolen. They only had their jocks (underwear) on," he added.

 

For Full Story:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/18068975/thailand-urged-to-tackle-dark-side-of-land-of-smiles/

[Rogie]

Quite often around the world in cases like this the 'bad news' stories that make the headlines are an aberration, affecting only a handful of people at most. Phuket is different. The bad news stories are not an aberration at all, they recur with predictable frequency. That article quoted in the OP is quite good, it mentions many of the things tourists need to watch out for. That episode with the French tourists was an absolute disgrace. A new low in the register of Phuket's fall from grace. Most readers of GT are well aware of Phuket's shortcomings and can decide for themselves whether to visit or not, but to read about first-time tourists being abused in these ways is quite dispiriting to those of us who love the LOS. 

 

I am reminded of the saying:

 

Nice to touch,

Nice to hold,

But, if you break it,

Consider it soul'd!

 

OK, I changed the last word, but Phuket has lost its soul IMO.

[Guest fountainhall]

Hopefully the powers-that-be wil also do something about the deteriorating quality of Phuket's beaches. All were downgraded 3 years ago. On the scale of 1 to 5 stars, all Phuket’s major beaches now merit only 3 stars (1 has just 2 stars). The information below is from an official 2009 Report. I cannot find the later Reports, but I doubt if there has been much, if any, improvement.
 

PHUKET'S beaches, promoted by some as among the best in the world, have mostly declined to three-star quality on a five-star scale, according to a newly published document by the Pollution Control Department . . .

Three stars represented a percentage rating of between 50-70 percent, the officials said, with 13 beaches on Phuket rating three stars and Ao Por beach on the east coast rating two stars.

''This beach has two stars because it has garbage in the sea and on the beach,'' the report said. ''There is also garbage behind the beach, mostly from activities by tourists.

''Petrol was evident in the sea as well,'' the report said. ''There is no information about managing the quality of the water around this beach.''

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phukets-top-beaches-losing-quality-fast-13518/

And whilst they are at it, it would be nice if someone came clean about the box jellyfish situation. In November 2008, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post had a long article about the relatively recent appearance of these deadly creatures off Phuket. I wrote about it in the thread "This is Scary!" started on 5 November.
 

Two kinds of box jellyfish have suddenly appeared in the Andaman region, expanding their territory and turning up in numbers in places where they were previously unknown. While the jellyfish seem to prefer shallow tidal foreshores near mangroves, marine biologists, health officials and the entire tourism industry have become deeply concerned about what might happen next.

Virtually every day that researchers check, immature box jellyfish are being found near an east coast mangrove forest at Nam Bor Bay, about 4 km from the island's capital, Phuket City.

On Wednesday last week, three were caught up in small stake traps set by local fisherman. On Thursday, after heavy rain, there were 10 more in the traps . . . Local scientists don't yet know much about the jellyfish - first discovered off Phuket in July - including the scale of the infestation. But if two small traps net the jellyfish regularly, it's probable that thousands more are already in the water. "This is new to us," said Dr Somchai, who is now finding out all he can about the marine creature . . .

Unsurprisingly, the discovery of the box jellyfish has also raised concern about the reporting of drownings and marine attacks. As all three box jellyfish deaths reported in Thai waters since 2002 have been foreign tourists, speculation is rife that many more Thais might have died. Phuket's marine biolgists have raised the alert and are now handing out bottles of vinegar, the only effective treatment for box jellyfish stings, yet other local tourist officials have often proved keen not to alarm tourists.

http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic/3078-this-is-scary/?hl=jellyfish

When I was in Khao Lak in April, I made sure I had a small bottle of vinegar with me on the beach - just in case!!