First Tourist Court to Open in Pattaya Tomorrow

Bamrung Amnatcharoenrit
The Nation

PATTAYA: -- Thailand's first tourist court will open tomorrow in the popular beach resort city of Pattaya as part of the government's move to reassure travellers of their safety while visiting the country.

From 4.30pm to 8.30pm, foreign tourists can come and lodge complaints, especially over unfair services and personal security. Consideration of cases will be cut to one day for uncomplicated disputes from the usual six months, Wirat Chinwinigkul, secretary-general of the Judiciary, said yesterday.

The specialised court will encourage negotiations between parties. Most of the cases are about consumer protection, so it is easier to reach a compromise. If it's a serious issue, the case will be transferred to the regular court. There will be capable officials speaking foreign languages to help.

Six more night courts are planned - Pathum Wan district for the Silom area and Dusit district for khao san in Bangkok, Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Those tourist destinations have faced various problems, especially cheating by operators.

The Pattaya court would be a pilot project. It is expected to take up speedboat services, which is one of the serious issues corroding the country's tourism image. It's also related to criminal cases.

Yesterday, four parties - police, prosecutors, the courts of justice and the Tourism Ministry - signed an agreement to set up the court and work together to help take care of foreign holidaymakers.

The court will also be responsible for looking after Thai tourists and scrutinising the role of tourism operators in providing fair services to tourists.

The ministry should set up a department to handle cases because some tourists have to go home before a ruling is handed down, he said.

In the future, Thailand should enact legislation to regulate the industry, like in France, because tourism is an important industry strengthening the national economy. It has grown rapidly, but existing laws cannot keep up, he added.

Tourism Minister Somsak Pureesrisak said it's a good sign for the country's tourism industry. The night court would help secure the industry's role in the long term, especially in achieving the target of Bt2 trillion in tourism revenue in 2015.

The ministry has made a big effort to standardise the industry, launching measures and regulations to crack down on scams. Especially Phuket needs a clean-up. The resort island is overrun by illegal services and gangsters.


-- The Nation 2013-09-04

Thailand to require foreign tourists to buy health insurance

Published: June 28, 2013 at 6:04 PM from UPI.com

 BANGKOK, June 28 (UPI) -- Lawmakers in Thailand say they want all foreign tourists to be required to purchase travel and health insurance before arriving in their country.

Thailand's Public Health Ministry Wednesday proposed the measure during a meeting with representatives from the Airports of Thailand, Royal Thai Police and other government ministries, the Bangkok Post reported.

The health ministry has suggested the cost of health insurance coverage might be included in visa fees, Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong said at the meeting. 

Those visiting Thailand without visas would be required to buy insurance at immigration checkpoints or the fees could be added to the cost of airline tickets.

After the meeting, Pradit said all of those involved agreed to set up a subcommittee to work on the proposal.

The health ministry set up the meeting after Thailand's government asked it to address concerns about the financial burden on the country's state hospitals, which are required to provide foreigners with free medical service, Pradit said.

Phuket Video Report: More than 100 tourists rescued from sinking ferry

The boat carrying about 100 tourists was damaged by heavy waves and started taking on water. All on board were safely rescued. Photo: Bob from Bob's Sailing Booze Cruise

 PHUKET: More than 100 people were rescued from a tourist boat that started sinking while returning from Phi Phi Island to Phuket this afternoon after being damaged by big waves.

No injuries were reported.

The ferry, Puean Foong II, was near Chicken Island (Koh Kai), about 15 nautical

miles from Phuket, when it took on water, said Phuket Marine Police Inspector Chatchai Sakdee.

“When we received the report at 4:10 this afternoon, we sent a Marine Police vessel to rescue everyone,” Col Chatchai said.

However, by the time the Marine Police boat arrived, the passengers and crew had been picked up by another tour boat, the Pichamon, which was traveling from Phuket to Phi Phi. The crew saw the ferry in trouble and stopped to help.

“Pieces of the floor came flying off,” one of the rescued passengers, wet and still wearing his lifejacket on board the Pichamon, reported.

“Water was gushing in, and we realized, ‘get some life jackets’,” he said.

The Pichamon continued on to Phi Phi with the rescued passengers and was expected to arrive at 7:30pm this evening.

Phuket Gazette, Kritsada Mueanhawong

People not allowed to splash water down from pickup trucks during Songkran

BANGKOK, 29 March 2013 (NNT) – The Ministry of Interior aims to ban the practice of carrying water containers on pickup trucks and splashing water down from the trucks, for the upcoming Songkran water festival.

 File photo. Source: Wikipedia.org

An Interior Ministry meeting to discuss reducing road accidents and casualties during Songkran holiday has set April 11-17 as days when tight control on the road will be implemented.

Aiming to increase road safety during the period of water play, the meeting agreed to switch from the previous model of using a central command center that issued guidelines to provincial officials to a model that allows provincial administrators to adjust their methods to best fit their localities.

Under the new model, provincial governors must lay down measures and guidelines for districts, municipalities and other local administrative bodies to follow and implement.

Every province must establish zoning for Songkran water play.

People on pickup trucks will be banned from splashing water on public roads, in order to reduce the risk of accident occurring.

 
-- NNT 2013-03-29

Authorities in Thailand WILL BE RESTRICTING alcohol sales during Songkran

According to "Coconuts Bangkok" the decision has been made to set up alcohol free zones...parts of Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket to be affected.

Included in these dry spots (an ironic designation during Songkran) will be Bangkok’s Khao San, Rama Nine and Silom roads.
Parts of Pattaya and Phuket will be subjected to the dry spell as well.

Deputy national police chief Ruangsak Jaritek said on Monday that revelers will be allowed to enter these areas, but only if they park their vehicles outside of the safe zones’ boundaries. Anyone caught driving or riding in a car while under the influence of alcohol will be subject to six months’ imprisonment or a THB30,000 fine.

These strict measures have been undertaken in an effort to increase road safety during the “seven dangerous days” of the Songkran holiday.

Police will set up roughly 12,000 security checkpoints throughout Thailand in order to help curtail drunk driving and push this year’s count of road-related fatalities downwards.

The Bangkok Post reports that last year, police countermeasures reduced traffic accidents during Songkran by 5%, though an accident reduction target has not been set for this year.

Thailands tourist destinations suffering from poor infrastrcture

Thailand's infrastructure continues to suffer from poor planning and under estimated growth.  

You see it everytime a new road is cut. They are typically 6-8 meters wide and this is supposed to support 2-way traffic with parking. Small roads with land on either side being purchased for major condo and housing developments with no thought on how to support the wave of coming traffic. 

According to an article in The Nation newspaper today this can be largely blamed on private sector investment not being matched by government spending...

1. " The key issues are the same as in Phuket and all of Asia's resort destinations at present. Private-sector investment fuelled by booming economies is not being matched by government spending on infrastructure," said Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks, a Phuket-based hotel and residential consulting firm. "Also, Thailand's resort destinations are no longer simple idyllic destinations but are becoming urbanised, with issues now of population growth, traffic, waste disposal and crime. Local government does not have the support for this growth."

     2. "This has especially held true for Koh Samui  "Its tourism numbers are restrained by the lack of capacity, and it cannot attract broader charter flights and low-cost carriers. This is not entirely a bad thing, as the hotel market has stabilised and positioned the island at the top end of the market, but longer-term it will impair the growth cycle. The airport, roadways, water and electricity are key priorities for the government," he said.

Pattaya's Theppraya road was a classic example of this. 10-12 years ago it was a small deserted 2 land road with littole mom pop shops lining it selling gasoline, plants, and a few mini marts. With a rapid expansion the citys of Pattaya and Jomtien were forced to put together a project to widen the road to support the new massive development. It took over 6 years to complete and has turned out fairly nice. 

Fortunately city officials carried this construction out from Hanuman Cove in Jomtien Beach all the way out to soi Chaiyapreuk. Figuring out where to put the u-turns could prove to be another difficult challenge with already most of the traffic on this new road heading the wrong way down the street.

Another issue is the number of tour buses on the roads now. It seems like there are at least 10 times more buses around town than just a few short years ago. These tour buses wind their way down narrow sois to try and bypass the traffic problems the bigger roads can no longer support. This clogs up sois locals use, mostly on small motorbikes, to negotiate the congestion on larger roads. Check out this video below and take a ride down Jomtien Beach Road!

Weather in Pattaya is just perfect right now!

You simply could not ask for better weather in Pattaya or most of Thailand for that matter. 

Daytime temps have been averaging about 30-31c or roughly 85f with relatively low humidity. Skies have fluctuated between hazy sunshine and clear blue! Nights have been very pleasant at around 23c or 73f.

  
This is my favorite time of year here in Thailand. With virtually no rain and comfortable temperatures i find myself taking far more bike rides somtimes making them into full day trips. Also spend more time enjoying the beaches not so much here in Pattaya but taking a ride down to Bang Sarae or heading off to Koh Larn. Nights are perfect to hang out with friends at outdoor bars and enjoy a few -- not usually quiet -- drinks together.

Bangkok has been averaging around 32c or 87f during the day and 25c or 75f at night. Chaing Mai has been very mild at night around 18c or 65f and warming up nicely to around 32c or 88f. Phuket and Koh Samui have also been sunny and mild


Good news is this weather is supposed to stick around a while. With a rainy season that lasted well into December, Thailands old man winter took a little longer to arrive and according to this article i read it looks like the cold season should last until the end of February with a possible exception for the south of Thailand where temps in Koh Samui, Krabi and Phuket may warm up a bit earlier.

If you ever wanted to get an idea of how big of an area Pattaya covers you should check out his video i found on You Tube taken from a Cessna 172 Sightseeing tour

Thailands major airports and tourist destinations ready for record high season!

Thailands 6 major airports are gearing up for high season and numbers are expected to well exceed double digit increases in tourists coming through. Somewhere between 13.5% and up to as much as 60% according to an article in todays Bangkok Post.

Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkoks main international airport could see figures rise to as much as 142,000 passengers per day up over 19% from the average 119,000. Tourists flying into bangkok easily access not only Bangkok but other popular tourist destinations such as Pattaya, Jomtien Beach, Ayutthaya as well as serving as a gateway to many of Thailands wonderful tourist spots. DonMueang, Bangkok's hub for Air Asia and other low budget carriers, should see as much as 50 more flights per day.

Phuket's international airport will also be seeing nice increases in arrivals up almost 24% with the number of flights increasing from 163 per day to 178.

Chaing Mai, Chaing Rai, and Hat Yai are all looking forward to projected increases ranging from 14% to 27%. A good portion of this increased traffic will be coming from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports via Thai Airways as well as the fore-mentioned low budget carriers in addition to international arrivals.

Thailands 90 day check in...Mail it in!!

The fine for failure to file the 90-day report on time is up to 2,000 baht set at the discretion of immigration officer who discovers the fact. You are NOT charged with an Overstay for failure to file the report on time unless you overstay your visa.

Police Colonel Chusak summoned Police Lieutenant Jakkid Kidmeekiatdee who is in charge of all 90-Day reporting for the Chonburi Immigration offices located in Pattaya, Sriracha and Koh Srichang.

Here are the steps to take every 90-days to avoid having to go in person to the Immigration office to report your address: Read more...