Killing the Khaosan goose

[thesetat2013]

thanks.. finally someone read and understood what all the fuss is about... you failed to mention though that all of these street vendors and locals walking around pushing their goods on the tourists do not actually make much money during daylight hours.. or that adjacent street offer shops on the streets cheaper during the day. or that these late night partiers actually sleep late in the day so no need for vendors to open so early.  

The big fuss must be about some deeper issues.. perhaps by opening later it means the vendors lose out on a space or must rush to set up shop.. 

I have been there many times during the day and is almost always empty of tourists. 

[newatthis]

1 hour ago, lanista said:

It doesnt matter what  ' big fat whitey'  thinks.  The Thai army  will run Thailand like a boot camp because thats what the army do.

One way or the other  Gen Prayuth will be gone next year  along with all his gangster friends.

Sorry. That is a pipe dream.

[AsiaHand]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

Thailand does "get it" , you dont understand that Thailand doesnt want it .

Thailand doesnt want dirty streets and dirty back-packers drinking buckets on the streets until morning time .

   Some people may indeed want "raw" , Thailand doesnt want that

The ignorance of the " ones  in charge" shows that they don't have a clue of what to do about what got them here..The back packers and U S military brought Hugh amounts of money and publicity for future tourist to come here. Other then a good times with areas open all night and cheap,good hotels should most people come  to  a place run by the military that is over run in gang robberies and killings ,,death by traffic accidents because of no proper use of the police to enforce the  laws .The third most corrupted government in Asia with coups every few years.A capital that because of the corruption has no money to keep their capital from flooding every year .With a very flawed education system that seems designed so as to keep the average citizen in the dark so that they can't find ways to change their type of military government. Any more ?

[Rally123]

Fake news. The authorities are just clearing the sellers off of the footpaths and smartening up the area.

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

I can tell you that they don't like the direction Thailand is heading.

And which way is that, please tell? You must know a lot of Thais  to be of that opinion.

[FritsSikkink]

3 hours ago, mok199 said:

well then ...they will have empty malls and beaches filled with power boats to shuttle the budget tour Chinese and Indians to and from once beautiful prestine islands,  .. the diversity of travelers and expats in over...now it is just a steady flow of budget tourists as Thailand is just a cheap'' holiday machine''..and Thailand owns this absolute F%^k up

The malls are pretty busy and the money spend in KSR is peanuts. They want quality tourists not budget ones.

[connda]

The junta will go down in the annals of history as The Cabal That Killed Khaosan. 

[cyberfarang]

Thailand like many other countries is trying to take it`s tourism industry upmarket. Whereas during the past there were options for both the higher end tourists and for those on budgeted holidays, big business is now muscling in and phasing out budgeted tourism in Thailand. It`s all about big business that wants control and the lion`s share of profits from tourism. Street vendors, local bars, privately owned guest houses and drinking establishments are for them considered bad for business that are taking profits out of the controls of companies. Similar has happened in London over the last 25 years as it has in other countries.

 

Everything now is becoming commercialised, with laws and policies created or used to benefit big business that are deliberately pushing out the small people from the tourist industries. This is what this is all about and I speak from experience.

[mommysboy]

I can't believe this is not deliberate policy; nobody could possibly make such an incredibly dumb mistake.  Hmmm...there again!

 

 

[captainhornblower]

56 minutes ago, CGW said:

Exactly! how many of these stall owners pay taxes. Governments are corporate run affairs, they will make money ?

As to people wont come to Thailand anymore, that has been said for years and remains untrue!

Do I personally like what is happening? No, but "governments" do what they are elected to do ? 555

 

What elected government? Do you actually live in Thailand - it has been under Military rule since May 2014!

[CGW]

17 minutes ago, captainhornblower said:

 

What elected government? Do you actually live in Thailand - it has been under Military rule since May 2014!

O dear, sarcasm ? 555? 

[FitnessHealthTravel]

There are bigger issues than this that need to be addressed. Thailand has an image it doesn't want and this is the start of trying to change it...might take a few decades or more.

[mommysboy]

Today's backpacker is tomorrow's father on a family holiday, and then possibly thereafter the 5 star tourist they seem to regard as the holy grail.  From a business perspective it stinks.

 

This is one small and very iconic street in Bangkok that really doesn't need to change.  If the more official businesses aren't doing well, maybe there is an over supply, or maybe they are in the wrong location.

 

 

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Wonder how the backpackers feel now.   This junta is killing Thailand. 

Cry me a river.  The change-money the backpackers are spending in Thailand will not alter the income from tourism one bit.

[TSF]

Not really unexpected, happens a lot everywhere I think, same thing happened in S'Pore, like Bugis St. In the next few years Pattaya Walking Street will not be like it is today, and I bet that Soi 6 will have vanished. I've lost count of the fantastic natural beach-fronts around Thailand that have long gone and been replaced by shopping malls. It's sad to see but that's how it is. 

[mok199]

43 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Thailand like many other countries is trying to take it`s tourism industry upmarket. Whereas during the past there were options for both the higher end tourists and for those on budgeted holidays, big business is now muscling in and phasing out budgeted tourism in Thailand. It`s all about big business that wants control and the lion`s share of profits from tourism. Street vendors, local bars, privately owned guest houses and drinking establishments are for them considered bad for business that are taking profits out of the controls of companies. Similar has happened in London over the last 25 years as it has in other countries.

 

Everything now is becoming commercialised, with laws and policies created or used to benefit big business that are deliberately pushing out the small people from the tourist industries. This is what this is all about and I speak from experience.

the problem with that is Thailand is lawless and shamlessness ,laws are just ignored, broken or bent,with the people enforcing said laws at the wheel.. balance and compromise cannot be achieved ,its ''all or nothing''..entitlement breeds emboldenment combined with lawlessness its a just a cycle of failure...but the good news is ''Thailand has he most honest taxi drivers in the world''

[yimlitnoy]

BMA is destroying the touristic Bangkok.  From Khaosan road to Sukhumvit road to the Old Fort, it will be all shopping Malls.  As if other countries have no shopping Malls.  My Thai wife is now visiting our son in Canada and she cannot believe the prices of everything, cheaper than in Thailand.  In canada we do not have a 300% tax policy which only encourage fake goods, Thailand is a paradise for those fake goods.  Soon a bowl of rice on the street will be the same price of a good clean meal in my country. 

 

The Governor of Bangkok is destroying the Capital of Thailand with his heritage.  Why is he doing that? 

[JTXR]

4 hours ago, mok199 said:

Sad as everything most of us loved about this Kingdom is getting a poor quality chrome and polish ...when most of us just want '' old thailand'',not another new shopping mall...Thais just don't get it...

Seriously?  Thais "don't get" how they should run their country for the benefit of tourists, especially the low-spending backpackers that aren't anyone's idea of desirable tourists anyway?  How sad.

[shackleton]

Khao San Road was the backpackers place of choice  over 20-30 maybe more years ago 

Now days its more of a tourist trap  selling  trinkets  and the social bar  scene 

how many days would a Back packer spend there now as I mentioned before its more of people saying when I was in Thailand I went to Khao San Road 

when I was in Laos a few months ago saw plenty of back packers on bicycles taking in the scenery 

try that in Thailand 

[ratcatcher]

1 hour ago, connda said:

The junta will go down in the annals of history as The Cabal That Killed Khaosan. 

Not meaning to be pedantic, but.........................

"The junta will go down in the anals of history as The Cabal That Killed Khaosan. 

[hotchilli]

Bangkok will survive without KSR, the vendors will find somewhere else to set-up, the back-packers will find them & all will be ok in the end !!

Another KSR will emerge somewhere...

[mommysboy]

18 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Khao San Road was the backpackers place of choice  over 20-30 maybe more years ago 

Now days its more of a tourist trap  selling  trinkets  and the social bar  scene 

how many days would a Back packer spend there now as I mentioned before its more of people saying when I was in Thailand I went to Khao San Road 

when I was in Laos a few months ago saw plenty of back packers on bicycles taking in the scenery 

try that in Thailand 

Have you checked out the guest houses/hostels in forming this opinion?  Sure, it's not purely backpackers, but there are lots of ex-backpackers, maverick tourists, and even families, who often book in for a week or two.  Actually, I think the surrounding streets are more lucrative, but Khao san is the focal point, and is definitely renowned for its stalls.

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This whole episode is one of the stupidest public-policy fiascoes I have ever seen, and coming from someone who lives in Thailand, that says a lot.

 

Fundamentally, this is the difference between a military government which farms out policy to the bureaucracy and an elected government; the bureaucracy merely sees that the 'rules' aren't being followed and thus things must be changed/fixed while an elected person who communicates with their constituents would see hundreds/thousands of peoples' livelihoods and a prime tourist area. And, the elected person would leave it alone.

 

Khao San road is a tourist attraction in and of itself and has been for literally decades; just about every backpacker (millions of them, literally!) for the last 50 years has stayed there for at least a night, and it has been the 'gateway' to Thailand all that time. The reason for its popularity has been because it is a lively place; there is always something going on; hey bureaucrats, tourists, especially young tourists, like that. If you remove that which gives life to the place and turn it into just another stretch of concrete, people won't go anymore. Duh!

 

Bureaucrats simply looked at the place and, taking their cue from the Junta, saw that laws were not being followed and embarked on a fun-killing process. Why? Because it was there. Allowing bureaucrats (and I would bet huge amounts that the final decision-makers never even went there) to decide things like this leads to a sterile, non-fun environment that follows all the rules to the detriment of humanity and isn't "Sanook".

 

Khao San road wasn't broken. Khao San road isn't broken. Khao San road is "Sanook!"

 

Stop trying to "fix" what isn't broken or you will certainly ruin one of Thailand's greatest tourist attractions.

 

 

Street vendors have a livelihood to earn, and should be allowed to sell at all times, but there has to be compromise. They should never be allowed to block footpaths, that is not to say they should never be on them.

 

As long as people can walk on the footpath easily without having to step on to the road. I do think they should be given a wee bit extra on Khaosan Road because of the Cheap Charlie type of tourist, as long as no obstruction is caused.

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, sanemax said:

I am speaking about what the Government of Thailand want .

And they are the only people that matter , because they make the rules

That's true, but no different from most countries.

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

The malls are pretty busy and the money spend in KSR is peanuts. They want quality tourists not budget ones.

Yeah, who ever heard of a budget tourist buying an Elite Visa?

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Thailand like many other countries is trying to take it`s tourism industry upmarket. Whereas during the past there were options for both the higher end tourists and for those on budgeted holidays, big business is now muscling in and phasing out budgeted tourism in Thailand. It`s all about big business that wants control and the lion`s share of profits from tourism. Street vendors, local bars, privately owned guest houses and drinking establishments are for them considered bad for business that are taking profits out of the controls of companies. Similar has happened in London over the last 25 years as it has in other countries.

 

Everything now is becoming commercialised, with laws and policies created or used to benefit big business that are deliberately pushing out the small people from the tourist industries. This is what this is all about and I speak from experience.

Yes. Capitalism rules.?

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, Vacuum said:

Cry me a river.  The change-money the backpackers are spending in Thailand will not alter the income from tourism one bit.

You are misinformed.   Khaosan expands every year.  They are the more resilient tourists, not worrying about coups or floods.  They are also put more money into the pockets of local Thais, not wealthy ones.  Also given Thailand has very poor statics under the junta, facts are not kind to them or other repressive governments,  it is hard to tell.  When the so called 0 dollar tours "stopped", many Thai businesses were hurt by that. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/24/backpacker-travel-benefit-poor-countries

 

Khaosan was Iconic.  Now it is ruined thanks to an autocratic government full of idiots. 

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, mommysboy said:

Today's backpacker is tomorrow's father on a family holiday, and then possibly thereafter the 5 star tourist they seem to regard as the holy grail.  From a business perspective it stinks.

 

This is one small and very iconic street in Bangkok that really doesn't need to change.  If the more official businesses aren't doing well, maybe there is an over supply, or maybe they are in the wrong location.

 

 

So let them come back in 30 years when they have some money to spend.

[brain150]

A quick look at what this is all about is actually pretty simple:

 

The very definition of "Facism": [according to google]

 

1. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator

2. A capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls

3. Violent suppression of the opposition

4. Typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

 

1. check

2. check

3. check

4. check

 

... it's the ugly truth it seems [and obviously so !!!]

[natway09]

Samui Bodah,,,,,,,,,you got my vote

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Bangkok will survive without KSR, the vendors will find somewhere else to set-up, the back-packers will find them & all will be ok in the end !!

Another KSR will emerge somewhere...

And they will ruin that too.  Why take something that was loved and ruin it ?