Phuket, why I never go back

[Bowmouth]

Nice to hear you were there as well.

Maybe he's the one who took the money!!!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Asute judge of character there steve. Not. 25 years as a working expat in asia do give me some claim to being "worldly". You claim seem to be solely "wordy".

:huh: :w-t-f:

If you can clean this up so it makes sense I will agree to respond. If no response is needed, then leave the broken English.

 

[josh]

:huh: :w-t-f:

If you can clean this up so it makes sense I will agree to respond. If no response is needed, then leave the broken English.

I will slow down so you can follow. I have lived and worked in Southeast Asia for nearly 25 years, and so I have some realistic back ground behind my comments. I have probably spent more time in the immigration queue at Bangkok airport than you have in Thailand, so it is unlikely I would “would end up stuck in the Bangkok airport held hostange (sic)…….”

The simple fact is you are as likely, possibly even more likely, to end up as a victim of crime in any North American city as you are in any city in Thailand. Problems for foreigners are largely (although not entirely) “self inflicted”. There is almost always a compounding factor, be it alcohol, drugs or prostitution in one of its many forms.

Random violence against foreign tourists is largely unheard of, and tens of thousands, indeed even hundreds of thousands, of families come to Thailand each and every year and have a holiday of a life time.

Thailand by and large is a welcoming destination for foreign travelers. Many Thais WILL try and separate you from your money, but they will do so by offering goods, services, wonderful food and an enjoyable time, and not by sticking a gun or a knife in your face.

For the hundreds of thousands who come to Thailand for “other services” so to speak Thailand is still, by and large safe providing basic common sense is used. Being drunk out of your mind and waving a full wallet around is an inducement in ANY country, and Thailand is no exception.

I have (in my younger days) walked many, many times around Bangkok at 2, 3 or 4 am without any mishap, incidence or misfortune. Most of the people who are long term residents of Thailand will have similar experiences.

Keep away from excessive drink, drugs and dodgy company and you too will have no problems.

 

[lord khram]

The simple fact is you are as likely, possibly even more likely, to end up as a victim of crime in any North American city as you are in any city in Thailand. Problems for foreigners are largely (although not entirely) “self inflicted”. There is almost always a compounding factor, be it alcohol, drugs or prostitution in one of its many forms.

To a point Josh, I agree with what you are saying here, as I also have spent a considerable ammount of trouble free time in Thailand, and sensible precautions about this kind of incident usually suffice as they do in most countries.
However, and I am only speaking about the Pattaya area now but over recent times there has been a dramatic increase in the number of violent and random attacks / roberies not only on tourists but thai's also, (this includes 2 friends of mine) just check out the local media websites, there are many.
There are now several cases daily of people riding around on motorbikes stealing jewelery and belongings from other motorcycle riders, and some quite serious injuries have resulted.
This seems to be increasing, maybe coincidentally with the current lack of tourist income in the area. However I feel it would be foolish to be too complacent and ignore this dramatic increase in crime levels. Maybe you would feel different if you are unfortunate enough to become a victim of such a crime. Just remember, these type of incidents can happen to anyone.

Keep away from excessive drink, drugs and dodgy company and you too will have no problems.

Only the very brave, or foolish would make such a bold statement.

 

[josh]

Only the very brave, or foolish would make such a bold statement.

Or those with a grasp of statistics LK. Data I have seen said there were some 14.4 million international visitors to Thailand in 2008. Pretty sure the odds are on my side of the argument.

 

[lord khram]

Or those with a grasp of statistics LK. Data I have seen said there were some 14.4 million international visitors to Thailand in 2008. Pretty sure the odds are on my side of the argument.

As I have already agreed with you, yes the vast majority of tourists visit thailand problem free. But nothing stays the same, and I for one don't want to be caught out by my own complacency.
What does your quoted statistic prove? how many of these had crimes commited against them? Have these totals varied from previous years? A single figure like that is absolutely meaningless, yes we are all aware Thailand is one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations, most of us have been aware of that for a number of years.
All I am saying is that current trends in the Pattaya area show dramatic increases in violent and non violent crimes in various forms against Thai's and tourists alike. I for one like to be aware of these facts to enable me to make sensible informed decisions about what I do.
Also the frequency and the nature of some of these crimes does concern me a little. Also local Thai residents, Pattaya city hall and pattaya police are becoming very concerned about the current problems, again look at some of the local media websites and see for yourself.
But good old Josh 'scuba instructor' can tell you 'your trip WILL be problem free'.

 

[josh]

But good old Josh 'scuba instructor' can tell you 'your trip WILL be problem free'.

What a very strange thing to say. You have a problem with Scuba Instructors Khram?
You think the opinion of a scuba instructor is, in some way less valid than those of another person?

 

[lord khram]

What a very strange thing to say. You have a problem with Scuba Instructors Khram?
You think the opinion of a scuba instructor is, in some way less valid than those of another person?

No I dont have a problem with scuba instructors at all, but I do have a problem with people quoting a nonsenceical statistic and expecting me to believe it.
As I said before thailand is a very popular tourist destination, and a place I personally love, but now for various reasons is becoming less popular.
You stated the number of international visitors to thailand in 2008 (14 400 000), ask yourself, included in that figure, how many are there on business? How many are repeat visitors included several times in that figure? How many are people that are leaving and re entering Thailand on 'Visa runs'? How many expats live in Thailand and are maybe not even included in that figure at all. And what relevance at all does the total number of foreign visitors have to the current soaring crime levels?
If you want to quote me statistics at least please quote something that is relevant to the discussion and has meaningfull information within its content.
And yes the point I was making, when it comes to crime levels around Pattaya I will place far greater relevance to the opinions of local residents, local government and local police than that of a Scuba instructor that is making what are quite clearly very ill informed statements.

 

[josh]

You are a funny guy Khram. You would rather take anecdotal evidence, and cite that as as "proof" of your argument than a solid figure which at least gives (with caveats) a starting point for discussion.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Thanks so much for slowing it down for me Josh. Now I get it. You hear voices. Obviously you dreamed of making comments about anything to do with Thailand because this is the FIRST post that had any relevance to the topic. You just seemed interested in attempting to belittle other people. Too bad it backfired.

I have never said I have been to Thailand....in fact this November will be my first time. At no point did I imply that I had been OR that anything was going to happen to me because I showed an interest in this thread. In fact, if your grasp of the English written word was bettere than your crap attitude, then you would have seen that I did state in very clear terms that I actually do not buy the story (as written) by the OP.

Bottom line is, there is information out there on the many places around the world. Along with that, there are some people that are not interested in acting like idiots on Web Boards while they attempt to gather information on various parts of the world....you do not fit this categary.

After reading your posts, I believe it is now obvious that you are only here to argue which adds zero value to a thread so I will do both of us a favor and begin ignoring your posts. If you do the same of mine, maybe I can learn a bit about the places that I will be travelling.

I will slow down so you can follow. I have lived and worked in Southeast Asia for nearly 25 years, and so I have some realistic back ground behind my comments. I have probably spent more time in the immigration queue at Bangkok airport than you have in Thailand, so it is unlikely I would “would end up stuck in the Bangkok airport held hostange (sic)…….”

The simple fact is you are as likely, possibly even more likely, to end up as a victim of crime in any North American city as you are in any city in Thailand. Problems for foreigners are largely (although not entirely) “self inflicted”. There is almost always a compounding factor, be it alcohol, drugs or prostitution in one of its many forms.

Random violence against foreign tourists is largely unheard of, and tens of thousands, indeed even hundreds of thousands, of families come to Thailand each and every year and have a holiday of a life time.

Thailand by and large is a welcoming destination for foreign travelers. Many Thais WILL try and separate you from your money, but they will do so by offering goods, services, wonderful food and an enjoyable time, and not by sticking a gun or a knife in your face.

For the hundreds of thousands who come to Thailand for “other services” so to speak Thailand is still, by and large safe providing basic common sense is used. Being drunk out of your mind and waving a full wallet around is an inducement in ANY country, and Thailand is no exception.

I have (in my younger days) walked many, many times around Bangkok at 2, 3 or 4 am without any mishap, incidence or misfortune. Most of the people who are long term residents of Thailand will have similar experiences.

Keep away from excessive drink, drugs and dodgy company and you too will have no problems.