FOR THE EXPAT IN ALL OF US! ISSUE 417 17th February 2017
ABSENT WITH OUT LEAVE IN THE LAND OF SMILES
FREE
EVERY FRIDAY SINCE 2008
THE ORIGINAL AND BEST!
GET RACING FROM ONLY 400 BAHT! OPEN EVERYDAY 10.30AM - 7PM
Call 032 547 199 (Office) or 081 817 3000 (Mobile) Located on Soi 2, Phetchkasem Road opposite Hua Hin Airport
www.gokarthuahin.com info@gokarthuahin.com
Victor’s
OPEN 24/7
WIDE RANGE OF ROOMS IN THE HEART OF HUA HIN A/C, LCD TV, DVD player, fridge, free premium wifi, cable TV victorguesthouse@gmail.com 032 511564 60 Naresdamri Road, Hua Hin
P A N AMA BAR
Good Times Every Night A DJ To Save Your Life
SEA DUMP
GIANT GARBAGE ISLAND A THREAT TO SEA LIFE AND A PREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCE OF CARELESS LITTERING
••
PRACHUAP KIRI KHAN The discovery and attempted clean up of a huge ‘garbage island’ off the coast of Prachuap Kiri Khan has highlighted a problem that most foreigners have been aware of in Thailand for years, namely the appalling habits of many Thais in dealing with rubbish properly. The floating eyesore is estimated to be around 8,000 square metres in area, with a mass of 100 tonnes, and has been drifting from where it was originally discovered about 12 kilometres offshore from Bang Saphan to an area near Koh Talu, although strong winds and waves have broken some of it away, and some has been deposited along the coastline. A large quantity of the rubbish is said to be plastic, particularly bags, which are particularly dangerous for sea creatures as they can be mistaken for food but cannot be processed in their systems, leaving their stomachs full and the creatures unable to eat leading to their deaths. A clean up operation was put together at the weekend and had begun, but the strong winds firstly hampered and then caused a delay to the efforts by the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, but hopefully the work will have been able to recommence by the time AWOL is published. Experts have been quoted as blaming the huge garbage island on debris from water draining into the sea after the recent floods, and while this may well be the case, the real problem is the amount of litter discarded thoughtlessly on a daily basis by everybody - it is a common site to see all sorts of rubbish thrown out of car windows, tossed carelessly aside by motorcyclists or simply dropped on the pavement by pedestrians. The obsession with plastic bags and the lack of a public education campaign on the dangers and poor aesthetics of littering have also helped lead to the current situation. Will lessons be learned and long term solutions be instigated? Your guess is as good as ours....