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I'm on the neighbouring island, Koh Lanta and there is a genuine, positive local push for better ecological policies. The country reached a tipping point with t

I'm on the neighbouring island, Koh Lanta and there is a genuine, positive local push for better ecological policies. The country reached a tipping point with the Maya Bay incident and there's a realisation now that the country will head to financial disaster if they don't keep their prized assets safe.

peteretep 8y ago
Also currently on Lanta. Lanta feels like a special case compared to the rest of the country, and it's interesting to speculate how it got that way. There's still an upsetting amount of trash on the island, but I've not seen organized grassroots trash pickups or free water fillups anywhere else in the country
ElCapitanMarkla 8y ago
I spent a week there about 10 years ago. Loved my time on that island.
madaxe_again 8y ago
My mother stopped by Maya bay yesterday on her boat, and had this to say: —— I was there yesterday, and was devastated to see that the new rules re beach/boat access are being broken. Several longtails/speedboats had tied to the buoyed demarcation line... which has been moved closer to the beach btw, and were inside the exclusion zone. Also, tour boats that were on mooring balls were belching filthy diesel exhaust fumes, leaving an oily film floating on the water. Add to that the plastic debris floating around, and it’s as disappointing as it has been for the 8 years I’ve known it. 2 boats actually landed on the beach, with the passengers walking around on the sand/in the water. Where were the rangers? Their boat was there, but not a ranger to be seen. They’re usually very quick to appear, to ask for the National Park payment. I’m happy to pay, although I have questioned before why the rubbish is in overflowing sacks on the small adjoining beach on Maya Bay. I think this is just a PR stunt, not a real effort. Come on Phuket/Krabi, you could do so much better. —— So, the ground truth seems to be that this is little more than a PR effort. For my part, I’ve seen the rangers just burning and/or just heaping up trash a few meters inland from the beach on multiple “pristine” islands.
- ataturk 8y ago
  It's Thailand, I don't expect a lot. We can't even keep the 1st World policed, what do you expect? Also, can someone explain to these ignorant Chinese tourists that a dumb movie is no reason to go there? Or that dumb superstitions are a really asinine reason to buy rhino horns and tiger penises? I mean, seriously, it's the 21st century. Get it together, China. US National Parks are another place where Chinese tourists show up in huge numbers and do annoying shit. I live near a lake that is busy in the summer months. I go out on my bike and pick up trash several times a year. I don't do it for anyone's approval, and I sure as hell don't think it below my station in life (I'm wealthy, I could hire teams to do it). I do it just because I want to do something, anything, to make things better.

peteretep 8y ago

Also currently on Lanta. Lanta feels like a special case compared to the rest of the country, and it's interesting to speculate how it got that way. There's still an upsetting amount of trash on the island, but I've not seen organized grassroots trash pickups or free water fillups anywhere else in the country

ElCapitanMarkla 8y ago

I spent a week there about 10 years ago. Loved my time on that island.

madaxe_again 8y ago

My mother stopped by Maya bay yesterday on her boat, and had this to say: —— I was there yesterday, and was devastated to see that the new rules re beach/boat access are being broken. Several longtails/speedboats had tied to the buoyed demarcation line... which has been moved closer to the beach btw, and were inside the exclusion zone. Also, tour boats that were on mooring balls were belching filthy diesel exhaust fumes, leaving an oily film floating on the water. Add to that the plastic debris floating around, and it’s as disappointing as it has been for the 8 years I’ve known it. 2 boats actually landed on the beach, with the passengers walking around on the sand/in the water. Where were the rangers? Their boat was there, but not a ranger to be seen. They’re usually very quick to appear, to ask for the National Park payment. I’m happy to pay, although I have questioned before why the rubbish is in overflowing sacks on the small adjoining beach on Maya Bay. I think this is just a PR stunt, not a real effort. Come on Phuket/Krabi, you could do so much better. —— So, the ground truth seems to be that this is little more than a PR effort. For my part, I’ve seen the rangers just burning and/or just heaping up trash a few meters inland from the beach on multiple “pristine” islands.

ataturk 8y ago
It's Thailand, I don't expect a lot. We can't even keep the 1st World policed, what do you expect? Also, can someone explain to these ignorant Chinese tourists that a dumb movie is no reason to go there? Or that dumb superstitions are a really asinine reason to buy rhino horns and tiger penises? I mean, seriously, it's the 21st century. Get it together, China. US National Parks are another place where Chinese tourists show up in huge numbers and do annoying shit. I live near a lake that is busy in the summer months. I go out on my bike and pick up trash several times a year. I don't do it for anyone's approval, and I sure as hell don't think it below my station in life (I'm wealthy, I could hire teams to do it). I do it just because I want to do something, anything, to make things better.