Filthy Beaches in Paradise City

[caller]

Interesting to see that trip advisor has 7 reviews of the beach and only one is negative - and I can't read it!

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction ... a_Hin.html

[margaretcarnes]

Beach cleaning and environmental awareness should be school projects and part of the curriculum/education system. As Spitfire said, any finances allocated for community clean ups are likely to end up in some 'officials' pocket.[/quote]

Agreed that environmental awareness should be part of school curriculae (is that the correct plural?) But I think I would be pretty p..d off if I had children at a school where they were spending valuable - and in Thailand much needed - class time cleaning up beaches which other folks have messed up.
Granted it might make them more aware of the real issues. But does the ordinary Thai on the street really care about a bit of mess?
Which is maybe one more reason for designated cleanup money going astray. They simply don't see why it matters. Tourists will always come - no matter if they never return - there's always a new batch.
I don't think anything short of an enforced government initiative will work. Give resorts the machines and make the job of driving them something of a status thing. EVERY DAY!

[hhfarang]

Tourists will always come - no matter if they never return - there's always a new batch

True Margaret, that does seem to be the prevailing attitude with officials and many Thai (and some Farang) owned businesses here. They don't strive for customer service to get return business, just get as much as you can from each customer and don't worry about how the customer feels. There'll always be new ones so repeat business does not seem to be a goal with many. That's why I go out of my way to go back to the places that do seem to care about customer satisfaction.

[buksida]

But I think I would be pretty p..d off if I had children at a school where they were spending valuable - and in Thailand much needed - class time cleaning up beaches which other folks have messed up.
Granted it might make them more aware of the real issues. But does the ordinary Thai on the street really care about a bit of mess?
Which is maybe one more reason for designated cleanup money going astray. They simply don't see why it matters.

This is exactly why it needs to be ground in at school age, Thailand is a beautiful country with a lot of natural resources - if they don't care about that or want to protect it, their country will rapidly end up looking like ours. Only the next generation of kids can make that change.

I'd have no problem with my kids doing a bit of clean up at the weekend, I actively encourage it in Bangsaphan and am trying to get more locals on board. There seems to be a 'Thai gene' for littering and even though the trash on the Hua Hin beach pics has come from the storm, someone somewhere has thrown it into the sea in the first place.

The ocean is not a rubbish tip for humans!

[lomuamart]

I have seen the beach in a pretty poor state, rubbish wise, before especially after Loy Kratong and events such as The Jazz Festival. I must say that I've generally been impressed with the clean-up afterwards - it normally is complete within a day or two.
But those situations are man-made and cleaning up is probably part of some contract after the event - especially the Jazz one. The detritus after a storm is another matter and no-one's specifically responsible for it.
I'm not sure I'd agree with you, Mags. School kids should be taught to be environmentally clean and I was years ago as my school sent some of us down to the the town meadows every Thursday afternoon to clean it up and keep the tributaries free of weeds. It was a "civic duty". (Definitely beat CCF - Combined Cadet Force on that afternoon).
I couldn't agree more with the posters who point out that huge amounts of rubbish on the beach, nine days on, is unacceptable. 13 years ago, there were large swathes of beach that hotels and condos didn't front on, so no-one had any interest in cleaning up. But that isn't the case now as practically the whole 7km to Khao Takiab is developed and the rubbish can be a blight on HH as a tourist destination.
There's also a big difference between "natural" debris being washed up after a storm and rubbish being thrown overboard by careless fishing vessels. as buksida pointed out. I was "told off" on the forum a number of years ago for chucking cigarette ends away as I was walking. I don't do it anymore.
Posts have been added as I was composing this.

[Lung Per]

A "TV watchdog programme"!!!!!
None such in Thailand - or???

[E-Dork]

This is exactly why it needs to be ground in at school age

And it is....but only in decent schools where they give a shit. Until the Thai teachers at the lower end government schools and temple schools have come from a proper education themselves nothing will change. There is a reason they earn similar wages to a factory worker.

[Big Boy]

My grand daughters attend a 'lower end government school', and one day each week is assigned to community work, which includes beach cleaning. However, the extent of the beach debris resulting from the November storms would have required a lot more than a few well intentioned school kids.

[Jaime]

I was "told off" on the forum a number of years ago for chucking cigarette ends away as I was walking. I don't do it anymore.

Good boy! *Pats head*

[Spitfire]

Afraid this topic is all academic really, no interest from the local authorities I reckon, they see money for this sort of stuff like free candy. As said, on this subject and ironically many others, it has to be the next generation that is targeted and needs to be propergated to them at a young age in school.

However, the education system here is like the rest of the public system and officials, ie not up to the challenge and only too happy to perpetuate the status quo. The education system breeds incompetent graduates through institutional failures that take positions of importance because the colleges/universities that they attended run "No fail" policies and a degree is no different than walking into a 7-11 and asking for, then paying for, a pack of chewing gum..........pay the money, get the product.

I could go on and on and on.

[JoeSchmoe]

Wow that is awful, they really do need to do something about those beaches, because in America I have never seen a beach looking like that!