PHUKET: Meet Sarinporn Sa-ardlom, the tour company novice who decided she wasn't going to be intimidated by local taxi drivers and complained to Phuket police - against the advice of a passing patrol officer.
Showing the kind of backbone that appears to be mostly missing on Phuket, Khun Sarinporn, 26, stood up to the taxi drivers. For her trouble, she had a bottle and a chair slung in her direction, and was slapped across the face with a shoe by the angriest taxi driver.
It remains to be seen whether Phuket City police take action against the driver, named only as ''Ran.'' When Phuketwan visited Khun Sarinporn at the tour company offices where she works, there was an uneasy peace among the 10 drivers on the nearby taxi rank.
The incident took place near the public bus terminal in Phuket City about 12.30pm on Saturday. By chance Khun Sarinporn found herself in conversation with a couple, tourists who spoke English, just outside her office.
They wanted to know how to get to Phang Nga from Phuket and what to do there. When Khun Sarinporn told them she'd be back with a little more information and stepped into the office, the taxi driver swooped and sought to convert them as customers.
In the altercation that followed, Khun Sarinporn became the target of the taxi drivers' anger and they egged on ''Ran.''
A passing police patrol dropped by after Khun Sarinporn had been assaulted, and according to her the officers told her to forget it. Undaunted, she went to Phuket City police station to lodge a formal complaint.
''Ran'' was still there with the other taxi drivers yesterday. Khun Sarinporn told us she'd had small firecrackers tossed in her direction that morning.
Beside the taxi rank is a sign saying TOURIST INFORMATION. It usually leads unsuspecting visitors to end up paying far more for a taxi than they would for a minivan or bus at the station nearby.
Showing the kind of backbone that appears to be mostly missing on Phuket, Khun Sarinporn, 26, stood up to the taxi drivers. For her trouble, she had a bottle and a chair slung in her direction, and was slapped across the face with a shoe by the angriest taxi driver.
It remains to be seen whether Phuket City police take action against the driver, named only as ''Ran.'' When Phuketwan visited Khun Sarinporn at the tour company offices where she works, there was an uneasy peace among the 10 drivers on the nearby taxi rank.
The incident took place near the public bus terminal in Phuket City about 12.30pm on Saturday. By chance Khun Sarinporn found herself in conversation with a couple, tourists who spoke English, just outside her office.
They wanted to know how to get to Phang Nga from Phuket and what to do there. When Khun Sarinporn told them she'd be back with a little more information and stepped into the office, the taxi driver swooped and sought to convert them as customers.
In the altercation that followed, Khun Sarinporn became the target of the taxi drivers' anger and they egged on ''Ran.''
A passing police patrol dropped by after Khun Sarinporn had been assaulted, and according to her the officers told her to forget it. Undaunted, she went to Phuket City police station to lodge a formal complaint.
''Ran'' was still there with the other taxi drivers yesterday. Khun Sarinporn told us she'd had small firecrackers tossed in her direction that morning.
Beside the taxi rank is a sign saying TOURIST INFORMATION. It usually leads unsuspecting visitors to end up paying far more for a taxi than they would for a minivan or bus at the station nearby.
What a shining example Khun Sarinporn is to the rest of Phuket's apathetic masses. Well done, special girl.
Posted by helen on November 30, 2011 09:45