"Ghouls Rush In" : Tsunami Tourists Sunbathe On Beach

[Michele 1]

I thought this absolutely abhorrent.

NY Times Article, "Ghouls Rush In"

"On Patong Beach and Kata Beach - where hundreds died or disappeared four days ago - the smell of suntan lotion wafted from the shore as a new influx of tourists determinedly ignored the carnage around them, frolicking in the surf or reading under umbrellas.

An indignant Russian who arrived at the Novotel Phuket Resort on the day after the tsunami loudly complained that there was no champagne reception.

Other guests have pestered the hotel's grieving staff with complaints that their rooms lack good views."

I looked around, and sure enough, it seems to be true.

Here's another article about it:
Tourists Return To The Beach

"PHUKET, Thailand (AP) - Six days after one of the worst natural disasters in decades, foreign tourists were back on the beaches of this Thai resort island Saturday, frolicking in the gentle waves of the Andaman Sea, riding jet skis, posing for snapshots and sunbathing topless on the sand."

Now, I am all for keeping their economy moving. But to sunbathe on a beach where 1500+ people are still missing from? To swim in the identical water where bodies, refuse, and sewage may be floating just under the surface? To play on the same sands that mothers were torn apart from their children? Not me.

If I were there, I'd be one of those people who go out and help, somehow. Join up with a group and sweep debris from streets; put on a mask and search (should that be possible, me being untrained). volunteer with an organization to help distribute the goods being brought in. Something - anything - other than sunbathing on the beach.

I would not be hanging out on the beach. I don't dance on caskets, either.

Ciels-
Michele

(Edit: typo in title)

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[TheAnvil 0]

Sickening. I've spend a lot of time in Southeast Asia and Phuket in particular and just can't believe what has happened. What a horrid thing to happen to such a wonderful and magical place.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[shropshire 0]

I cannt belive that people can be so insensitive...

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[lawrocket 3]

Even worse, think of how many people there are who are "disaster tourists." I'm sure there are plenty of people who have booked themselves trips to tour the devastation so they could say, "I saw the carnage of the tsunami, and it was COOL, DUDE!"

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Michele 1]

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Even worse, think of how many people there are who are "disaster tourists." I'm sure there are plenty of people who have booked themselves trips to tour the devastation so they could say, "I saw the carnage of the tsunami, and it was COOL, DUDE!"

Yeah, no kidding.

It's just so distasteful...such an enormous tragedy - expected dead over 150,000, not including resultant disease and/or starvation - and people treat it as if it's "just another day at the beach" or a tourist attraction.

Horrid.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[masterrig 1]

So, their rooms lack good views! DUH... the freakin' tsunami blew the view away! There are thousands of dead people as a result of the storm and they want a view? People in hell want ice-water too! That's cold-blooded, self serving, arrogant and pea-hearted! They shouldn't be looking for the 'usual amenities' in this situation and maybe, be a little understanding of the situation.

Chuck

[shropshire 0]

what sort of holiday company would transport them anyway?

Sick

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[rehmwa 2]

Devil's Advocate -

You don't make much money, so you save and save and save and plan this trip months ago. Maybe your only vacation in years and was supposed to be this great trip for you and your (family, SO, kids, etc). All the tickets are non-refundable. Ditto the hotels won't waive your reservations because they can't afford to.

What do you do?

Also, don't those hotels need business to recover?

edit: of course complaining about the view is pretty insensitive even if it is understandable to have actually gone

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Ron 10]

Question for you.

If your vacation was planned for last week to say Europe. Would you have gone?

If no, what if the agency would not allow you to reschedule, or refund your money?

While I agree that going on vacation there right now seems in bad taste. Some might have had that trip planned for years, so I am not going to blast them without more info.

There is always more than one side to the story. And I doubt these people planned the trip there after the disaster.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[shropshire 0]

Hi,
You make a good point ..... but it's too early IMHO. The tragedy only occured a week ago and is still on going and there is an awful lot of of awful work still to be done (and will be for a long time to come and at some stage local bussiness will need to be rebuilt etc..)
But it seems to me calous to be lounging on the very beaches that killed so many, so recently.
Many of the local holiday workers are in grief and many still searching for loved ones - they need time.
As for the holiday makers - I'm sure that their insurance would cover such an evetuality and reinburse them.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[ladyskydiver 0]

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As for the holiday makers - I'm sure that their insurance would cover such an evetuality and reinburse them.

Assuming they purchased travel insurance.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[shropshire 0]

Then I suggest that they would be foolhardy.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

counter point to your devil's advocate:

If you had a trip to Lake Wales planned a week after the hurricane wipped out the town and dz, would you still have gone? Would you still have demanded the same level of service that was usually provided pre-hurricane? Now imagine that at 1000x the damage and death.

Also, would you want to vacation in a spot where you not have access to clean, running water (or take the limited water away from those that needed it to stay alive). Don't forget the good chance of catching a disease from swimming in water that is full of waste and dead bodies. Then there is the health concern from being around dead bodies out in the sun.

Plus the fact that close to five million people in the entire region are homeless and suffering (and most don't have access to clean water or food). Why would you let a little thing like that ruin your vacation?

Would I cancel my trip even if it meant losing out on cash? Yup. In fact almost had to do that when a hurricane was headed to a vacation spot of mine about two years ago (I would have lost $200)

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[slug 1]

A reporter was quoteing a cab driver that had just dropped off a load of Russians for their "Holiday" in the sun.

His statement was something like "the Russians are used to it".Very little fazes them.

The other tourists that are going most everyone who was there that isn't helping has left. Why go there and expect to be pampered after all that pain and suffering

Goofy

R.i.P.
R.I.P.

[rehmwa 2]

1 - would I have gone? it's situational, can't answer
2 - demanded the same service? of course not
3 - $200 for a vacation that you 'almost' cancelled? Based on this statement you think you can put yourself in another's shoes and judge them? An international trip can be thousands of dollars.
4 - health concerns - good point

Ron said it - more info is needed before self-righteous condemnation of total strangers is justified.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Ron 10]

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But it seems to me calous to be lounging on the very beaches that killed so many, so recently.

Ever been on a DZ after a bounce? Large DZ's don't stop flying.

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As for the holiday makers - I'm sure that their insurance would cover such an evetuality and reinburse them.

Not without holiday insurance.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[unformed 0]

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Then I suggest that they would be foolhardy.

I have never bought travel insurance in my life. The only thing that will ever make me miss a vacation is me or a close family member being in the hospital, in which case I'll have more things on my mind than the price of the ticket.

This ad space for sale.

[ladyskydiver 0]

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Then I suggest that they would be foolhardy.

I have never bought travel insurance in my life. The only thing that will ever make me miss a vacation is me or a close family member being in the hospital, in which case I'll have more things on my mind than the price of the ticket.

Same here.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[unformed 0]

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counter point to your devil's advocate:

If you had a trip to Lake Wales planned a week after the hurricane wipped out the town and dz, would you still have gone? Would you still have demanded the same level of service that was usually provided pre-hurricane? Now imagine that at 1000x the damage and death.

Yes, I would still go, my plans would be somehwat changed; i'd end up somewhere else in florida, but i'd still go. I wouldn't expect any decent amount of service, but then again, I tend to stay in the cheapest hotels. (We had no running water for three days straight in some hotel in Peru.)

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Would I cancel my trip even if it meant losing out on cash? Yup. In fact almost had to do that when a hurricane was headed to a vacation spot of mine about two years ago (I would have lost $200)

Not all trips only cost $200. A trip to Thailand, from the states, would cost a good chunk of change.

$200 may also be very expensive for some people; they may have had that trip planned for ages.

Life goes on.

This ad space for sale.

[Ron 10]

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If you had a trip to Lake Wales planned a week after the hurricane wipped out the town and dz, would you still have gone?

People did.

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Would you still have demanded the same level of service that was usually provided pre-hurricane?

I would not, but I am not everyone.

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Would I cancel my trip even if it meant losing out on cash? Yup. In fact almost had to do that when a hurricane was headed to a vacation spot of mine about two years ago (I would have lost $200)

Almost? Thats not did.

200? That is nothing. Just tickets to that area are around 1,000 bucks.

Imagine if you had saved up for YEARS to go somewhere you really wanted to go. Finally you got the time off and the money at the same time and bought your tickets.

Then all hell broke loose.

You would lose your money (really cheap trip for two would be around 5 grand).

Disney World was closed for one day, and that was during the Hurricane.

Plus there is the fact that tourists will bring money to spend. That area needs help, but it also needs to build its industry back.

Would *I* go? No. But I am not going to blame someone without more info.

Now if they went to see the damage? They planned the trip AFTER the disaster? They would be low lifes IMO.

Your take on the sanitary reasons is good. But some don't care.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[kelpdiver 2]

"Ghouls rush in" suggested that people were flocking with cameras to take pictures of bodies. There's nothing ghoulish about taking a vacation. While I might change my itenary, I'm not going to cancel a trip because last week a disaster took lives. My actions do not cause nor support the conditions that lead to what happened.

Returning the region to normalcy as soon as possible is respectiveful to the dead. And tourist dollars now will do a lot to help do so. If everyone instead stayed away, the various hotels would have to wait for Thai and foreign aid to start repairs, and those efforts are still directed at finding the dead and dealing with the big infrastructure concerns.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

My initial reaction was the same. Fact remains that the best thing for Phuket and Thailand at this time is for tourists to keep coming. The worst scenario would be people not going on their trips.

My uncle runs a very successful diving business from Phuket. Please read his updates and experience Here

For those watching CBS news tonight. That is his boat they are on reporting on the status of the coral reefs.

The best thing for Phuket, Phi Phi Island and Thailand as a whole is for people to go on vacation there..........

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Well, I have canceled an international trip and lost thousands, it wasn't connected to a tragedy however. It was a three month trip planned for four of us.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[rehmwa 2]

Sucks to give up $$$$

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[ladyskydiver 0]

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Well, I have canceled an international trip and lost thousands, it wasn't connected to a tragedy however. It was a three month trip planned for four of us.

I so would not lose that kind of $$$. I'd see if I could take a penalty and reschedule for another time/location or something.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.