dailymail.co.uk/news/article … oning.html
Gosh, never heard of such a thing. Another thing to worry about when travelling in 3rd world countries.
Eh, Tommy, first of all, beg bugs is a First world problem. Tourists bring them along to and from hotel rooms all ove rteh world, and those same tourists bug and complain whne they find them in their rooms. And those pesticides banned if First World countries are sold to 3rd and 4th world countries by First world countries’ companies.
I know bed bugs can be everywhere ,even five star hotels get infested but the worry is the use of banned pesticides. Scary.
Haven’t checked the food lately, Tommy? You don’t want to know what’s in your veggies/cereal/burgers…
Edit:
tommy has every right to be concerned, and he wasn’t blaming anyone. He was just posting about a news item that could be relevant to people who travel.
don’t joke about this one guys, a young kiwi girl died tragically and her friends were badly ill due to the hotel’s incompetence/negligence. Plus other travellers. Now it’s being covered up by Thai authorities. Really sad for the families involved. 
I’m very sorry, Kea. I apologize for my inappropriate post. I know this is no excuse: but my intent was to point out an absurdity by the use of irony.
no sweat, just pointing out the reality of the situation. Her father-and other family members are trying very hard to research everything, and to push different authorities to get some redress/improvement of standards. I’d hate for him to come across this thread by chance.
Straight to temp?
Since I don’t have any control over whether it gets Temped, I’ll edit my post.
There, is that better?
Duly noted. But using banned substances is not a prerogative of 3rd world countries. Most of the time, it is the only choice, attached to the money you ask in loan to survive. I resent the tone in Tommy’s OP.
Tourism is the lifeline of many poor countries, so while I do not approve, I’ve seen many governments cover up anything that happens to tourists, especially deaths. It is aknee jerk reaction, truly tragic in this situation. A bit of responsibility would not only give closure to the families but also prevent that tragedy from happening again. Information is the only protection you have as a tourist.
Resent the tone? I used to travel to Bangkok for biz. I would be worried now about the use of such a deadly poison anywhere. No doubt the users had no clue to its potency. They werent trying to kill people but, ignorance can and does and did kill.
Thailand IS a third world country, whats wrong with that tone?
You took a flippant attitude to a deadly problem that killed several totally innocent people who didnt deserve to die. They simply stayed at ,looks like a very nice hotel that you and i would stay at, and died for it. Because of the use of a banned and deadly pesticide through ignorance of the authorities.
A lot of latin america is a third world too, so what. This isnt about third worldism (heck many things on the wan is third world…just met with a fellow forumosan last nite here in the bay area talking about America being third world…berkeley first world then going to third world richmond).
Its not a rant against thirdworldism. Its a rant against the use of deadly poison.
You did say “information is the only protection as a tourist” thats what im doing giving ya all information. And the more people know bout this case the authorities in Thailand will crack down. Tourism is their major money earner as a country.
p…s I Aint got no beef against Thailand. I always enjoyed my visits. And want to visit again. Hence this article is of personal interest.
Actually, Tommy, though I agree with you in sentiment regarding those young lives on an avoidable issue, I resent the label of 3rd world very much. There are a lot of circunstances leading to such an incident and calling people backward is not helpful, either. It is far more complicated than that. So is the categorization of 3rd worldism: it has long been replaced, and technically speaking, it would be 4th world: no oil.
Think of this: someone had to spray that poison: do you think anyone told those people about the consequences? Will anybody speak for them when they get sick/die/pass genetic defects as result of that poisoning to their kids? Those girls are lucky to have someone who cares about them and raises hell. Someone along the line knew and profited, and that person is sitting pretty far, far away from Thailand.
[quote=“Icon”]Actually, Tommy, though I agree with you in sentiment regarding those young lives on an avoidable issue, I resent the label of 3rd world very much. There are a lot of circunstances leading to such an incident and calling people backward is not helpful, either. It is far more complicated than that. So is the categorization of 3rd worldism: it has long been replaced, and technically speaking, it would be 4th world: no oil.
Think of this: someone had to spray that poison: do you think anyone told those people about the consequences? Will anybody speak for them when they get sick/die/pass genetic defects as result of that poisoning to their kids? Those girls are lucky to have someone who cares about them and raises hell. Someone along the line knew and profited, and that person is sitting pretty far, far away from Thailand.[/quote]
When I was growing up on Taiwan, I thought TAiwan has got to be the shittiest place on planet Earth. IT was indeed very much 3rd world. And much of it remains 3rd world. But heck my love for the place runs deep. Its a hecka lot better now in many ways. Still remains 3rd world in some ways.
IM not against 3rd worldism. Much of the world is. The whole of latin america pretty much is. Thats a fact. Its not a criticism. LIfe is a bitch. LIfe is a bitch for many in 1st world countries too.
Every country wants to advance. Better govt does help a lot. Not laughing at 3rd world countries here. But appreciating that 1st world nations USUALLY take more steps in public health. Look at China? Definitely 3rd world in much of it, and yet 1st world in economic strength. Massive pollution problems, public health problems, etc. But hopefully they will muddle thru.
Anyway the Original posting is bout a tragedy that killed a number of people who are like you and me. Perhaps it wasnt necessary to repeat that Thailand is a third world country to allow this to happen. But it happens to be true. And im mad at Thailand for this, not against icon growing up in a 3rd world country. So did I…in Taiwan.
Yes, dear but you did say “another thing to worry when traveling into 3rd world countries”. It’s overgeneralization. True, the sign of a developed country is accountability, but even in developed countries they may have trouble with that. Same as they have bed bugs: not everywhere, but sign of something dirty. And very, very hard to get rid of.
Let’s agree it is a very sad event, for young people to be killed while on vacation. Now, let’s go one step further: how can we tell if a pesticide has been used in our room, so we will not suffer the same fate? How can we stop this from happening again?
PUBLIC ATTENTION AND VERY MUCH OF IT is the only protection. The milk scandal in China killed many people , again out of greed and ignorance. But bringing the attention the country and the world is changing that problem in China.
I used to live in Chiang Mai. Been by that hotel dozens of times, and have stayed at its partner hotel, The Empress, on many occasions. The Empress in particular is a very nice hotel, and I’m surprised this chain has had these issues. It’s very sad. And as others have pointed out, several (perhaps 7 or 8) people have lost their lives in CM because of this issue, partly because it was covered up and a proper investigation was never done after the earlier deaths. There have been unexplained tourists deaths in other hotels around the country where the victims died of the same symptoms, and I understand they are looking to see if those deaths were by the same cause. I truly hope that changes are made and that this doesn’t happen there again. There are enough dangers in Thailand without having to worry about dying in your bed of accidental poisoning.
As a tourist, I really don’t know what you could do to prevent such a death, other than refusing to stay in a room that smells like chemicals?
Killed this lady too, but she wasnt in that hotel, maybe other hotels in the area were using the same exterminator :
contracostatimes.com/top-sto … ck_check=1
[quote=“tommy525”]Killed this lady too, but she wasn’t in that hotel, maybe other hotels in the area were using the same exterminator :
contracostatimes.com/top-sto … ck_check=1[/quote]
tommy, your link didn’t fully embed. This should work:
Well, a Thai govt. investigation has found that the girls, and others as well, were likely poisoned by pesticides as suspected already-but denied by the restaurant and other Thai officials. Poor girls, glad there hasn’t been a complete cover-up, and I hope the family gets some sense of relief from this result.
news.yahoo.com/thais-toxic-expos … 04960.html
[quote]BANGKOK (AP) — An investigation into the mysterious deaths of five foreign tourists and a Thai tour guide in hotels in northern Thailand suggests a link to toxic chemical exposure but has failed to determine exactly what killed them, the government said Tuesday.
The victims included tourists from New Zealand, France, the United States and Britain staying at three different hotels in the popular northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Three other tourists fell ill but recovered.
No one has been declared responsible in the spate of deaths, which came in January and February.
“The specific agents that caused the deaths and illnesses in these events cannot be identified, and it cannot be determined exactly how people were exposed to them,” the Department of Disease Control said on its website.
[/quote]
Will anyone receive punishment for this?
Another possible case of this:
cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/st … iland.html
Read the comments; I’m also surprised the article doesn’t mention the possibility.
Keep alert out there.