Some partying like nothing happened in Thailand

[Mao Tse Tongue]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/01/world/main664219.shtml

Hard to believe there are people this insensitive..

Happy New Year to all those affected. The world is praying for you.

 

[WhOiSyOdAdDy?]

"Yodkaew, a Swede who has lived here for years with her Thai husband, said she felt angry at the tourists indulging in the sort of fun Phuket was famous for before the waves hit.

"I just figure if everyone uses about an hour of their holiday time (to help clean up), this would help a lot for the locals," she said.

But she acknowledged that the sooner more tourists return to the resort island's fabled beaches, the sooner her husband's sailboard and catamaran rental business will be able to start making money again.

Tourists are the lifeblood of this beautiful island in southern Thailand and this is the peak season for overseas visitors, Thailand's warm, dry season coinciding with the depth of northern winters"



Many many of the people, celebrating New Years Eve could have spent a portion of their holiday helping out in some way.

Actually, by being in Thailand and spending money, they are helping out.

BTW.. if I was in Thailand last night, I proably would have partied it up pretty good.

 

[Mao Tse Tongue]

BTW.. if I was in Thailand last night, I proably would have partied it up pretty good.

Well, you'd be an idiot in my books. All that death and misery around you--hey, let's party like it's 1999! Wo hoo!

But hey, can't account for other people's insensitivity, after all.

 

[Malibook]

Hard to believe there are people this insensitive..

I can understand how people will have greatly differing opinions on how to mourn and for how long but this just blows me away.
The gruesome recovery is still in it`s infancy.
The stench of death is still fresh in the air for fuck`s sake.

https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72952

I really can`t fathom the new arrivals.

 

[Malibook]

In my view, if you're going to Thailand right now it better be because the Thai government asked you or your government for help to recover. If you're there for any other reason you're probably just getting in the way.

Do you mean Phuket and the other affected areas or the entire country?

 

[WhOiSyOdAdDy?]

Re: Re: Some partying like nothing happened in Thailand

I really can't fathom the new arrivals.

There are travel insurance companies who will not allow people who have bought cancellation insurance to cancel their trips to Thailand.

These people paid for their trips with their hard earned money.. why should they not be able to enjoy themselves, for even a small portion of their time over there as people vacationing elsewhere?


Sorry Mao.. but the whole world is not praying for the people over there.. I feel badly for what those people are going through, but I do not pray

 

[Malibook]

Re: Re: Re: Some partying like nothing happened in Thailand

There are travel insurance companies who will not allow people who have bought cancellation insurance to cancel their trips to Thailand.

These people paid for their trips with their hard earned money.. why should they not be able to enjoy themselves, for even a small portion of their time over there as people vacationing elsewhere?

Really?
Which companies are these?

Personally, I find it very distasteful to discuss holiday fees with regards to this epic tragedy but let's take a logical look at this aspect.

Regardless of their normal policies, any company who would stick it to their customers will likely not survive the ensuing publicity and backlash.
Even if they have no morals it does not make any business sense.

The travel companies should all be offering a reasonable period of time up to which customers can freely book to go elsewhere or reschedule their existing trips.
Many will probably offer cash refunds as well.

I am referring to the affected areas and not the entire country.

 

[keenez]

Hours after the 9-11 tragedy .... Starbucks was charging for their water to help workers and victims. Yet there really hasn't been that big of a backlash.

 

[keenez]

My personal opinion is to each their own. After a near-death experience or tragic event, you tend to want to live life to its fullest and the party may have been part of the healing process.

 

[Malibook]

Huh?

Hours after the 9-11 tragedy .... Starbucks was charging for their water to help workers and victims. Yet there really hasn't been that big of a backlash.

So Starbucks did not choose to give away free water.

Many businesses did not start providing goods and services for free.

What is your point?
I fail to see the connection here?

 

[keenez]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Some partying like nothing happened in Thailand

Just responding to your post that a company can stick it to their customers with no backlash.

Really?
Which companies are these?

Personally, I find it very distasteful to discuss holiday fees with regards to this epic tragedy but let's take a logical look at this aspect.

Regardless of their normal policies, any company who would stick it to their customers will likely not survive the ensuing publicity and backlash.
Even if they have no morals it does not make any business sense.

The travel companies should all be offering a reasonable period of time up to which customers can freely book to go elsewhere or reschedule their existing trips.
Many will probably offer cash refunds as well.

I am referring to the affected areas and not the entire country.

 

[Malibook]

I did not state that it is impossible for any company in any circumstance to stick it to it's customers and face no backlash.

My comments were regarding a specific situation to which your reply has absolutely no relevance.

 

[KBear]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/01/world/main664219.shtml

Hard to believe there are people this insensitive..

Happy New Year to all those affected. The world is praying for you.

In the article, it says the area where the tourists are back on the beach was not badly damaged. At first glance it does seem insensitive, but my question would be, what else would you have these people do?

If there, I would probable be looking for some way to help out, but the reality is that anything I could do would likely just be getting in the way. So to go lie on the beach would be staying out of the way, and would not be using up precious resources. It would also be showing that the area is back in business, something that the area's economy relies on.

The faster things can get back to normal, the better it is for the economy, and the survivors in the area. The tourist who stuck it out and carried on with their vacation are doing more for the local people then the people who bolted. Assuming the resort the tourists were on was not damaged in any real way. To cancel a planned vacation would be the worst thing that you could do, perhaps even insensitive.

 

[keenez]

Yes, you only said it's unlikely that a company will not survive the backlash. I was just providing an example of company that did. As to the relevance .... since the affects of the current tragedy on businesses who stick it to their customers will be unknown for some time, one can only rely on historical evidence. Historical evidence is based on similar circumstances and, in my opinion, these circumstances are similar.

 

[KBear]

If the resort was not damaged, why would the travel agency be returning money?

 

[WhOiSyOdAdDy?]

If the resort was not damaged, why would the travel agency be returning money?

Exactly!!!

However if you did go.. Some people on here think that you should spend 100% of your time there, on your vacation, helping fish bodies out of the debris.

that is what the relief agencies, armed forces & governments are for.

 

[zzap]

In my view, if you're going to Thailand right now it better be because the Thai government asked you or your government for help to recover. If you're there for any other reason you're probably just getting in the way.

It just kills me when I read comments like this. I've been to Thailand many times and I'm still going there next month (Bangkok & Pattaya). To be telling people to stay away from the whole country will only hurt them even more. The country and the people there heavily rely on tourist dollars and this is high season for them right now. The tragedy really only affected Phuket Island. Look at this map and you will see that Bangkok and Pattaya are not even close to Phuket.... there not even on the same Sea (Indian Ocean) but on the other side of the county with a shore lining the Gulf of Thailand.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/south_east_asia/thailand/thailand.htm

I plan to spend even more money there just to help out. Girls, Bars, big tips to hotel employees, buy lots of stuff! This money goes into there economy and the more you spend the more it will help.

 

[KBear]

Sort of like the people that did not come to Canada because of SARS, our movie industry may never recover. And the people who stopped eating Canadian beef because of one mad cow. Hoping that the tourist that are going on vacation in that area are braver/better informed then the tourist that refused to come to Canada.

zapp, have a great time!!

 

[WhOiSyOdAdDy?]

our movie industry may never recover.

No chance of the movie industry recovering with an 80 cent Canadian dollar.

 

[thecoolguyms72]

I love it when self-righteous people spout of because they believe their ideals are more nobel than others, yet rarely think past them to understand the greater and longer term effects. Tourism is good for Thailand (and many of the other affected areas). Cancelling trips is bad for tourism. Therefore, cancelling trips is bad for Thailand (and many of the other affected areas).

Sure it is arguable that some of the tourists could be helping out some, but how much would be enough? Perhaps some of the people which were reported about just finished cleaning up debris, and perhaps they didn't? Perhaps the business of the husband of the lady who was quoted has benefited from these people, positively affecting the economy? And perhaps we should do what we can by donating to the red cross, helping out if in the region, then moving on with life as we always do getting things back to normal?

But I don't think the answer is to stop, lament the losses forever and cripple the local economies causing more harm.