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I arrived in Chumpon yesterday late in the evening to discover the fares to KT, KP and KS have rocketed!
Chumpon to KT 600 baht.
Chumpon to KP 1,000 baht. WTF!!!!!!!!
Chumpon to KS 1,100 baht. as above!
This was my last trip using them, I think it is disgusting that they are more than doubling their fares without considering those who live on the islands. I am aware there is a resident's discount card, but unless the discount is more than 50% their pricing is ludicrous!
Oh yes, my apologies to the owner of the guesthouse who quoted me this price at 1:00am - in my defence I had been in transit from PP for 25 hours. Sorry for my reaction. :-)
And to Lomprayah - my purchase of a ticket to KT (and illegal onward travel) was the only protest I could muster. Screw you anyway, I will never use your services again. Greedy pigs.
Topics I've Started
Chumpon Police "Dog Squad"
2011-12-23 13:30:50
A real show of force at the Chumpon Lomprayah ferry pier this morning; glittering little generals accompanied their elite "dog squad" to the end of the pier to sniff out all the bad tourists carrying who-knows-what...
What an hilarious sight to behold; two black Labs and an Alsatian cowering behind the legs of their "handlers" while every person on the pier and those on the boat had a good laugh
Try as they may, they could not persuade the "sniffer" dogs to take a whiff of anything... Tails firmly between their legs they refused to budge an inch. Classic!
Little men with big egos making fools of themselves - what a great start to the day!
Ironical - it is not the tourists who bring anything to the islands in the first place...
What an hilarious sight to behold; two black Labs and an Alsatian cowering behind the legs of their "handlers" while every person on the pier and those on the boat had a good laugh
Try as they may, they could not persuade the "sniffer" dogs to take a whiff of anything... Tails firmly between their legs they refused to budge an inch. Classic!
Little men with big egos making fools of themselves - what a great start to the day!
Ironical - it is not the tourists who bring anything to the islands in the first place...
Beware Using Lomprayah/Nok Air Connection
2011-04-30 15:49:55
On Thursday April 28 my wife and I travelled to Nakhon Sri Thammarat, a trip we have made many times in the past few years. Usually, we travel with Raja ferries and catch a govt minibus from Donsak but this time we decided to splash out the extra and try the Lompraya service as their vessels are far superior. Little did we know we were in for the ride of a lifetime...
The ferry trip is a pleasure from KP to KS then Don Sak. However, the unmarked minibus we caught in Donsak turned out to be by far the worst experience I have ever had as a passenger - ever. Let me stress that I am not an overtly nervous passenger; in my lifetime I have done some crazy things at speed that make me cringe till today - but I was alone when doing these things and roads (motorways) were usually empty. This young driver was in a different world; Playstation world...
To describe everything the lunatic did wrong would take too much effort and space. Suffice to say he was driving at 110%, accelerating through every gear until the (brand new) minibus was screaming and then breaking hard at the very last minute when approaching heavy vehicles, turning cars, etc. He overtook on blind rises, double yellow lines, you name it. At one point we were centimetres away from a car in front who had dared to overtake us - doing about 70 approaching an intersection where cars were stationary!
Even after loudly voiced complaints (three times - the last shouted very loudly from the rear after we hit a 'ledge' at high speed where a bridge was under repair) this guy did not care about the road works on many damaged bridges - he saw these as opportunities to overtake!
When we stopped at NST airport some of the passengers confronted him: in response he asked my wife why 'farang are so nervous' and stated that he 'wasn't weaving' so no problem... My normally quiet wife was furious! To make it worse the guy's eyes were a lovely reddish yellow colour - he looked out of it.
The final straw was when I noticed the plates on the bus were red (I have a photo; licence no 1548) - so unless I am misinformed this means the vehicle is not even insured to carry passengers!
I would like a response from Lomprayah as to the following:
1. Why do you allow an uninsured vehicle to carry your passengers?
2. Why is no check made to ensure your drivers are not under the influence of drugs?
3. Why is no check made on the driver's capabilities to safely transport passengers - does he have a real licence?
So travellers, take care when using a ferry service linked with a transfer; if they use their own staff and vehicles I think the drivers have a vested interest in keeping their jobs. If, as it appears in this case Lomprayah is using a third party then the driver may not be properly licensed or capable of carrying ten people to their destination in comfort and safety. I feel the responsibility lays with the ferry company as they sell the ticket for the entire journey.
I am not going to expect a response, but my wife knows a senior Lomprayah employee so she will be making her own complaint - I will advise if anything interesting happens. Not holding my breath though...
The ferry trip is a pleasure from KP to KS then Don Sak. However, the unmarked minibus we caught in Donsak turned out to be by far the worst experience I have ever had as a passenger - ever. Let me stress that I am not an overtly nervous passenger; in my lifetime I have done some crazy things at speed that make me cringe till today - but I was alone when doing these things and roads (motorways) were usually empty. This young driver was in a different world; Playstation world...
To describe everything the lunatic did wrong would take too much effort and space. Suffice to say he was driving at 110%, accelerating through every gear until the (brand new) minibus was screaming and then breaking hard at the very last minute when approaching heavy vehicles, turning cars, etc. He overtook on blind rises, double yellow lines, you name it. At one point we were centimetres away from a car in front who had dared to overtake us - doing about 70 approaching an intersection where cars were stationary!
Even after loudly voiced complaints (three times - the last shouted very loudly from the rear after we hit a 'ledge' at high speed where a bridge was under repair) this guy did not care about the road works on many damaged bridges - he saw these as opportunities to overtake!
When we stopped at NST airport some of the passengers confronted him: in response he asked my wife why 'farang are so nervous' and stated that he 'wasn't weaving' so no problem... My normally quiet wife was furious! To make it worse the guy's eyes were a lovely reddish yellow colour - he looked out of it.
The final straw was when I noticed the plates on the bus were red (I have a photo; licence no 1548) - so unless I am misinformed this means the vehicle is not even insured to carry passengers!
I would like a response from Lomprayah as to the following:
1. Why do you allow an uninsured vehicle to carry your passengers?
2. Why is no check made to ensure your drivers are not under the influence of drugs?
3. Why is no check made on the driver's capabilities to safely transport passengers - does he have a real licence?
So travellers, take care when using a ferry service linked with a transfer; if they use their own staff and vehicles I think the drivers have a vested interest in keeping their jobs. If, as it appears in this case Lomprayah is using a third party then the driver may not be properly licensed or capable of carrying ten people to their destination in comfort and safety. I feel the responsibility lays with the ferry company as they sell the ticket for the entire journey.
I am not going to expect a response, but my wife knows a senior Lomprayah employee so she will be making her own complaint - I will advise if anything interesting happens. Not holding my breath though...
