210 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
210 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
travel
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travelnews
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8418356
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# Thailand floods: stranded tourists criticise lack of information
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## As rescue efforts get underway in flood-hit Thailand, Michelle Jana Chan
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speaks to tourists caught up in the chaos.
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![Thailand floods: stranded tourists criticise lack of information][1]
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Tourists outside a hotel in Koh Samui Photo: AFP
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By Michelle Jana Chan 11:42AM BST 31 Mar 2011
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[Comments][2]
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The pictures caught on their camera phones were not what they had been
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expecting to show off after a holiday in Koh Samui, one of Thailand's most
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popular tourist destinations. Instead of golden beaches and romantic sunsets,
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stranded visitors were sharing photographs of flooded hotel lobbies and
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landslides.
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Stephen Chun and Justin Smith, from the United States, showed me video footage
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of a taxi ride from their flooded hotel to local shops. "People were walking
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their mopeds and bikes through a metre of water," Smith said. "You needed a
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pick-up truck more than a taxi."
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With confirmed seats on a flight to Bangkok, the pair were two of the lucky
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ones. On Thursday morning the standby queue at Koh Samui's airport was snaking
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around the terminal. A week of torrential rain and strong winds has left at
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least 21 dead in the country's southern region, and thousands of tourists are
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stranded after flights and ferry services were cancelled or disrupted. On Koh
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Samui there were power blackouts, fuel shortages, and increasing concerns
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about depleting food and water supplies.
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Without mains electricity the Banyan Tree hotel had been operating on a
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generator for days and rationing supplies to guest rooms. "I have never seen
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conditions like this," said Fredrick Arul, the hotel's general manager. "Nor
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have my staff, some of whom have been unable to get to work."
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## Related Articles
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* [The Songkran festival][3]
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13 Apr 2011
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* [Floods in Thailand][4]
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31 Mar 2011
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Andy and Catherine Browne, from the village of Crookham in Hampshire, had come
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to the hotel to celebrate Catherine's birthday. "We had planned a banquet on
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the beach but it's been cancelled nine nights in a row," Andy said. "I've been
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in a typhoon in Hong Kong and a hurricane in the US but I've never seen rain
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like this."
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Although there was severe flooding in Koh Samui as recently as November last
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year, wet weather in March and April is highly unseasonal.
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"It is not what you expect when you come in the dry season," said Lauren
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Allington, 23, on holiday with her boyfriend, James Marshall. "And we haven't
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even had a phone call from our tour operator to tell us what's going on," he
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added.
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A lack of information was the overwhelming complaint among stranded tourists.
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Michael Hancock, Bangkok's British Embassy Consul who arrived on the island on
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Wednesday night, said they were trying to improve communication between the
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airport and passengers.
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"The (display) screens are not working and airline staff are only holding up
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signs written in Biro," he said. "They need a thick marker pen for a start."
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The British Embassy had set up a colourful stand inside the airport strewn in
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Union Jack flags and manned by six staff from Bangkok. Most people stopping by
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were only seeking advice or reassurances but Hancock said they had managed to
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find seats for a few desperate passengers, one with septic mosquito bites who
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needed hospital treatment and one family with a severely-handicapped son
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running out of medication.
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As he explained the situation to me, a cheer went up in the terminal at the
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rumbling sound of an aircraft taking off. "I've not seen any signs of anger,"
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Hancock said cheerfully. "People are being very patient and understanding -
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and are resigned to wait."
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**Latest Foreign Office (FCO) advice**
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The FCO is advising against all but essential travel to Koh Phangan and Koh
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Tao. Electricity and communication are disrupted in the provinces of Krabi,
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Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Surat Thani (including the islands of Koh Samui, Koh
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Phangan and Koh Tao), Phattalung, Chumphon, Trang and Satun. There is a
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continued risk of mudslides and flash flooding in these areas. Check with your
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airline or tour operator before you travel.
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There are power cuts and food and water shortages in some parts of Koh Samui.
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Transport around the island is disrupted, and ferry services between the Koh
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Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and the mainland are not operating. Nakhon Sri
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Thammarat is currently closed.
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See [www.fco.gov.uk][5] for more information
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* Share: [Share][6] [ ][8] [ ][9]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8418356/Thailand-floods-stranded-
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tourists-criticise-lack-of-information.html
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Telegraph
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## [Travel News][11]
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* ### [Travel »][12]
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* ### [News »][13]
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* ### [World News »][14]
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* ### [Asia »][15]
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* ### [Thailand »][16]
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Related Partners
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In travel
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[![Rock climbing with tents: climbers hang off the sides of vertical cliffs
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sleeping in tents][18] ][19]
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[![Sign Language: week 153][22] ][23]
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### [Sign Language][23]
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[![The Big Picture photography competition: round 153][24] ][25]
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### [The Big Picture: round 153][25]
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[![][26] ][27]
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### [Ten reasons to travel in June][27]
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][7]
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Share:
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* [ ][6]
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* [Tweet][10]
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![][28]
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