Travelers who have been to Thailand know how picturesque the country is. There is no doubt why many adventurers include this rich land among their stops in Asia. However, if you’re eyeing to visit the place, make sure that you are not a litter-bug.
Although the country is welcome to travelers from all around the globe, the citizens are quite strict when it comes to littering. In fact, they are stern about teaching tourists a lesson if they caught them throwing their garbage in scenic spots.
Recently, some campers who went to the quaint Khao Yai National Park left trash in the spot. This is inarguably wrong – plus, they disgraced a tourist destination that is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As such, government officials wanted to stress how serious Thailand is of keeping the area clean by returning the garbage to those who threw them. They sent a bag filled with plastic water bottles and chip bags back to the owners with a note reminding the culprits that they left some of their belongings in the Khao Yai National Park, which is around 100 miles northeast of Bangkok.
The country’s minister of natural resources and environment told the public to take their trash with them when they depart the destination because leaving garbage could harm animals that are looking for food. In a Facebook post, the official already warned travelers that if they didn’t follow the protocol, he would personally put it in a bag and send it to them as a souvenir.
Park execs record tourists through camping equipment rental forms. As for the pieces of trash that were found lying around, the prescription bottle with the name was a dead giveaway.
The official kept true to his words a day after the announcement when he photographed a box containing garbage. More than this, violators may be slapped up to $16,000 in fine and/or up to five years behind bars.
Recovering
As with the rest of the world, Thailand had to close its park to tourists when the pandemic erupted. Officials said this was a time for the scenic spot to recover from the damage brought about by tourism.
As it opened in July, the rule kept in place was a way to help maintain the cleanliness of Thailand. A limited number of travelers can visit the Khao Yai National Park through a reservation system.
Apart from face masks and temperature requirements, the speed limit was lowered to accommodate roaming animals. Needless to say, Thailand really does value wildlife and the environment.