A thousand good reasons to go diving in Thailand!

[Quero]

Oh, guys.... leave her alone. She's just a kid (early 20's, maybe still in college) and as such probably feels passionately about stuff and sees the world in black and white. It's her right, and she'll grow up one day and see that nothing is as black and white as it might appear from a verbal snapshot like a blog or a newspaper article.

(Though if she dislikes Thailand so much, it seems odd that she'd spend time reading this forum.)

 

[Quero]

Reason # 28: Veggie food is easy to come by. And very, very aroy.

 

[Moonglow]

I dived off Phuket for two weeks with a group of college students and had a blast, and just four years after the tsunami; that area of the world is as beautiful as any other.

I only opened this thread because it was in line under New Posts. Quero is right, I am female, 24 years-old and a graduate student - and I do see certain human behavior in black and white terms.

 

[vladimir]

I dived off Phuket for two weeks with a group of college students and had a blast, and just four years after the tsunami; that area of the world is as beautiful as any other.

I only opened this thread because it was in line under New Posts. Quero is right, I am female, 24 years-old and a graduate student - and I do see certain human behavior in black and white terms.

I doubt anybody here condones prostitution, especially with the element of coercion that the linked article cites. And certainly no decent person condones coercion and trafficking of minors. What can we do about it? Abandoning Thailand to the sex tourists doesn't seem to me to be a winning strategy. You know they'll be there, despite your efforts. It may be that legitimate tourists--people who travel to Thailand to dive, sightsee, etc.--help create an atmosphere and incentives that are less hospitable to prostitution and corruption. Laws in the US and I believe in the EU against sex tourism by their nationals are a positive step as well.

 

[Bowmouth]

Reason 29: Thailand is beautiful.

 

[Bowmouth]

I dived off Phuket for two weeks with a group of college students and had a blast, and just four years after the tsunami; that area of the world is as beautiful as any other.

.....I am female, 24 years-old and a graduate student - and I do see certain human behavior in black and white terms.

I am glad you had a blast in Thailand and think of it as a beautiful place.

What you saw/heard or read about Thailand and didn't like can be found anywhere in the world and definitely in the USA. In Thailand it's more in the open than in other countries and easier to find if you look for it.
That does not mean it's therefor worse than other countries. It's just more visible and some westerners do not cope with that very well. Asia is still fairly "raw" and not as sanitized as western society. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing; it's just different.

 

[Bowmouth]

Reason 30: Most dive sites are suitable for both beginners and advanced divers.

 

[Bowmouth]

Reason 31: There's wall diving.

 

[Bowmouth]

Reason 32: There's wreck diving.

 

[Bowmouth]

Reason 33: There's deep diving.