One really sad thing that is obvious in Thailand is the refuse & pollution everywhere. It’s overwhelming & something we did not expect here. Refuse is everywhere, whether it be city or countryside, town or beach. It really seems like the locals have no idea that they are being swamped by refuse. Everywhere we went, we saw tourists looking for dirt bins to dispose of their refuse. Yet, these are difficult to find & often just a refuse bag lying around somewhere has to serve the purpose. Even along the tourist beachfront strips, there is generally a stinking dump of accumulating refuse to be found.
It’s actually really sad as it seems that it’s up to the Western Tourists to educate the local people on the fact that this refuse is going to destroy the beautiful country they have on offer here. From various discussions with visitors that have been visiting Thailand for decades, it also seems that the changing tourist visitors that visit also have a influence as more Chinese and Russian tourists start to frequent Thailand with little regard for the environment, where this in general is of concern to the European & Western tourists who are far more aware of their responsibility in protecting & preserving this beautiful country they visit. The neglect & filthy canals & rivers flushing out the stench of city rubbish into the sea with each high & low tide change, was the one really disappointing part of our trip & something we would like to raise awareness of.
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