Please get your act together.

The REASON for Phuket currently not having life guards, is NOT that you have to go through a tendering process. The problem is, that is it not done in time.

The higher figures for drowning and traffic casualties are not, the people living an active life. The problem is the lack life guards and the lack of traffic law enforcement.

Stop the silly excuses and start solving the real problems.

Editor: Phuketwan's campaigns to improve safety on the roads and in the water have been widely supported and praised. When your campaign starts, please let us know. .

Posted by A Phuket fan on March 6, 2010 15:50

I am really fed up with these drownings. The ITB fair in Berlin seems a nice place to bring up the safety and rip-off issues.

"PHUKET, you want to drown?" or "PHUKET, tourists are prey, take a tuktuk."

"PHUKET, your cash is welcome."

@ A Phuket fan: seems to me, you are not a regular reader. Otherwise you would know better.

Posted by Lena on March 6, 2010 19:40

I wonder if all the jellyfish that have been in the water lately have anything to do with these deaths?

Posted by Anonymous on March 6, 2010 21:09

I have read nothing to suggest either of these people drowned; therefore to blame lack of lifeguards, and mention the number of drownings here is irrelevant.

Lena - re-read the articles. Who said either person drowned, or that a lifeguard would have somehow, miraculously, saved them?

Posted by Glenn on March 7, 2010 00:39

Let's not get pedantic about safety in the water. These are both tragic and possibly avoidable deaths. True, drowning may not have been the cause. Only an autopsy will reveal that. However, a trained and alert lifeguard nearby could have spotted the men in difficulty much earlier. And a lifeguard trained in applying cpr fast may have been able to save one or both lives, whether the cause was a heart attack, a stroke, or drowning.

Posted by Angelfire on March 7, 2010 06:23

This is Thailand!! How many can afford this lifestyle in your own countries?

All this whining about traffic laws and lack of police...Whaaaaaa. You want to pay third world prices - you're gonna live in a third world.

Posted by 3rd Worlder on March 7, 2010 09:50

@3rd Worlder - since when is PHUKET third-world priced. With exception of local food, everything is first word priced and higher in many cases. Look at transportation. Look at room rates(Not the low end), look at car prices, look at entertainment prices (water park), look at electronics, look at anything really and tell me how its "third-world priced"

Posted by chris on March 12, 2010 11:09

I was a friend of the German man who drowned at Kata Noi beach. His name is Alfred (no secret anymore) and a I feel really sorry for him. He was so happy in Phuket and was even considering to stay in Thailand for good. Why such a noble man like Alfred had to leave this world like this. May he rest in peace !

Posted by Lars on March 14, 2010 02:12