Signs of the times

[sambum]

Almost every day headlines like this on ThaiVisa:-

 

Foreign tourist brutally attacked by Walking Street thugs

Gang of ladyboys attack foreign man on Walking Street, Pattaya

 

Where are all the police when this is happening? You never seem to see any of them out "on foot patrol".They usually arrive after all the carnage has been done, and recently I saw a Thai man floor a farang pensioner with a punch to the side of the head while he was trying to explain a "road rage" incident to a policeman,and the policeman did absolutely NOTHING - didn't even bat an eyelid.

 

Until the police actually have a constant live presence on the streets - especially in places like Walking Street, these thugs are literally get away with attempted murder, and the more times they get away with it, the more times it is going to happen.

 

It makes it very difficult for TAT to promote the likes of Pattaya as a "family resort", when the opposite seems to be the norm, but I suppose they'll just adjust the tourist figures accordingly, and the violence will continue, usually when the Thais outnumber their opponents.

 

To be honest, these type of headlines are losing their "shock" appeal to me - familiarity breeds contempt I suppose! 

Edited March 21, 2018 by sambum

[observer90210]

Many good points from the OP.

 

Many ministries of Foreign Affairs in various foreign countries are already issuing warnings to their citizens to avoid the jetski rentals in Pattaya or Phuket due to the mafia racket scams and extorsion towards unwary foreigners.

 

Quite a few major insurance companies in Europe are now refusing holiday accident coverage for road accidents in Thailand (unless you pay extra), due to the reckless and lawless thai driving habbits.

 

Currently, the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla are not covered by any insurance here in Europe and many foreign ministries have already issued warnings for their citizens to boycott these areas.

 

And tomorrow ? .....What if nations recommend it's citizens to avoid Pattaya,  if foreigners are openly bashed up on the pavements, no matter what the reason and the police just watch the fun ?

 

And what if Bangkok is next ? .... Then what ?

 

No amount of stats meddling by the TAT will change, as the reality of Mathematics will catch up and the economy will just doom, as news catches up fast nowdays and  tourists will suddenly start to avoid the areas on recommendation of their respective governments - recommendations by friends - news of foreigner bashings on social media etc. etc.

 

If that's what Thailand 4.0 is aiming for ?...once it's too late, it will be hard to catch up......well then just carry on the good work in "tat" case !!

Edited March 21, 2018 by observer90210

[sambum]

16 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Many good points from the OP.

 

Many ministries of Foreign Affairs in various foreign countries are already issuing warnings to their citizens to avoid the jetski rentals in Pattaya or Phuket due to the mafia racket scams and extorsion towards unwary foreigners.

 

Quite a few major insurance companies in Europe are now refusing holiday accident coverage for road accidents in Thailand (unless you pay extra), due to the reckless and lawless thai driving habbits.

 

Currently, the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla are not covered by any insurance here in Europe and many foreign ministries have already issued warnings for their citizens to boycott these areas.

 

And tomorrow ? .....What if nations recommend it's citizens to avoid Pattaya,  if foreigners are openly bashed up on the pavements, no matter what the reason and the police just watch the fun ?

 

And what if Bangkok is next ? .... Then what ?

 

No amount of stats meddling by the TAT will change, as the reality of Mathematics will catch up and the economy will just doom, as news catches up fast nowdays and  tourists will suddenly start to avoid the areas on recommendation of their respective governments - recommendations by friends - news of foreigner bashings on social media etc. etc.

 

If that's what Thailand 4.0 is aiming for ?...once it's too late, it will be hard to catch up......well then just carry on the good work in "tat" case !!

I agree with what you are saying, and it would seem that the general Thai male population in Pattaya especially has a sort of "death wish" as far as tourists are concerned! "Only when the horse has bolted will they think to close the stable door" so they can "kill the goose that laid the golden egg" etc etc etc 

[champers]

The bulk of tourists getting involved in these incidents are what you would describe as Western. I don't think tourist numbers will be hit by these incidents.

It would be a different matter if Chinese or Korean tourists were fighting in the streets on a regular basis but, apart from the occasional Korean headcase, this does not happen.

[saakura]

17 minutes ago, champers said:

The bulk of tourists getting involved in these incidents are what you would describe as Western. I don't think tourist numbers will be hit by these incidents.

It would be a different matter if Chinese or Korean tourists were fighting in the streets on a regular basis but, apart from the occasional Korean headcase, this does not happen.

True. Unlike western single male tourists, retirees and sexpats, the Chinese, Indians, Koreans etc are not here for the alcohol and prostitutes, a heady mix that invites violence. They are more likely to come with family or friends and cram as many tourist sites as possible into their 7 day itinerary and take selfies to post on facebook.

[observer90210]

26 minutes ago, saakura said:

True. Unlike western single male tourists, retirees and sexpats, the Chinese, Indians, Koreans etc are not here for the alcohol and prostitutes, a heady mix that invites violence. They are more likely to come with family or friends and cram as many tourist sites as possible into their 7 day itinerary and take selfies to post on facebook.

You have sensible points. I do not mean to play smart ass here or discredit your post, but when I was mongering in Bangkok , Indians (amongst farangs and others) flocked Nana Plaza area and Bamboo Bar near Raja Hotel area on the prawl, while the Chinese and Koreans flocked the Thermae Bar and certain venues on Sukhumvit like the Levels Club or Soi 11...perhaps one does not see that many of them in the regular girly bars, but believe me, when the hormones catch up, all are on the prawl...just not all that visible.... Have a nice evening.

[torrzent]

2 hours ago, sambum said:

recently I saw a Thai man floor a farang pensioner with a punch to the side of the head while he was trying to explain a "road rage" incident to a policeman,and the policeman did absolutely NOTHING - didn't even bat an eyelid.

Was this your version of the story about the aggressive farang guy who attacked the other guy with the machete first and then got KO'd, or is this a different one?  Provide a link if you have it, rather than a scaremongering rumour.

Edited March 21, 2018 by torrzent

[torrzent]

57 minutes ago, saakura said:

Unlike western single male tourists, retirees and sexpats, the Chinese, Indians, Koreans etc are not here for the alcohol and prostitutes, a heady mix that invites violence.

Have you ever been to Thaniya Plaza?

[scoutman360]

With the insurgence of Chinese tourists flooding the country, I don't think the BIB will care for a moment about a few beat up western tourists.

[sambum]

21 hours ago, torrzent said:

Was this your version of the story about the aggressive farang guy who attacked the other guy with the machete first and then got KO'd, or is this a different one?  Provide a link if you have it, rather than a scaremongering rumour.

No, it's the same one, so it' not a "scaremongering rumour"but I think the farang attacked the guy's car, as the Thai appeared to be completely uninjured. I am not condoning the use of a machete, but only commenting that the Thai guy flattened the farang with a "sucker' punch from the side, and the cop did nothing.

 

However, how do you feel about the other comments in my post, which you conveniently chose to ignore?

[sambum]

19 hours ago, scoutman360 said:

With the insurgence of Chinese tourists flooding the country, I don't think the BIB will care for a moment about a few beat up western tourists.

They will when they are not here to be beaten up! 

With the UK alone accounting for more than 1 million tourists in 2016, I would have thought that the BIB would be a little bit more concerned about the welfare of Westerners, who on average spend much more than the average "tour bus" type of Chinese

Edited March 22, 2018 by sambum

[doggie1955]

Almost every day headlines like this on ThaiVisa:-
 
Foreign tourist brutally attacked by Walking Street thugs Gang of ladyboys attack foreign man on Walking Street, Pattaya   Where are all the police when this is happening? You never seem to see any of them out "on foot patrol".They usually arrive after all the carnage has been done, and recently I saw a Thai man floor a farang pensioner with a punch to the side of the head while he was trying to explain a "road rage" incident to a policeman,and the policeman did absolutely NOTHING - didn't even bat an eyelid.   Until the police actually have a constant live presence on the streets - especially in places like Walking Street, these thugs are literally get away with attempted murder, and the more times they get away with it, the more times it is going to happen.   It makes it very difficult for TAT to promote the likes of Pattaya as a "family resort", when the opposite seems to be the norm, but I suppose they'll just adjust the tourist figures accordingly, and the violence will continue, usually when the Thais outnumber their opponents.   To be honest, these type of headlines are losing their "shock" appeal to me - familiarity breeds contempt I suppose! 

If you ever need a cop...just go to any Gold shop.

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