Why I will never date a Thai guy ever again is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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Before I begin..

This is based on my experiences and those of some of my friends. This is by no means the definitive guide to Thai men and I am not so ignorant that I don’t recognise that there are good and bad men and women in all cultures. I know, as I’ve dated my fair share of the bad western ones! So I’m hoping many western women have had wonderful relationships with Thai men and have not experienced any of the issues commonly found in Western/Thai unions that I am about to discuss. I haven’t any of these women in my 2 years here, but I live in hope!

So this is why I personally wouldn’t I date a Thai man again! Take it as you will.
I’d watched so many friends get burnt before by Thai guys, I’d listened to their stories and never thought I’d leave myself open to such madness. But I did. They are very good at hiding their crazy ways.

Fake
The most fake of all fakers I have ever known was my Thai man. I’d known him for 4 years on and off as a friend and he seemed like such a sweet, kind, thoughtful man with the biggest smile I’d ever seen and a good understanding of western culture. Truth was that he knew just enough about western culture to exploit it. If you think you’ve found the rare Thai guy that seems to have a western sense about relationships and how to treat a woman, do your homework and make absolutely sure he’s for real or you may get burned. Like I did! And remember I knew the guy for 4 years previously! Goes to show you never really know people.
First off… meeting a Thai guy in a bar is a huge big no no.. This just shows that he most likely has a drinking problem (which is rather common and extremely hard to deal with) and also that he has learnt enough English to try to grab himself a trophy farang to show off to his mates. In a drunken stuper my Thai guy told me that this is exactly what it was about. Learn a bit of English and sweet talk the western girls. Kind of a sport they like to play, maybe perhaps because gambling is illegal here.
They will tell you romantic comedies are a favourite of theirs and learn how to romance you by studying the cheesy movies girls just love! How cheesy, but we fall for it, god dam Hollywood.

I was bombarded with sweet messages in broken English, fruit and flowers magically appeared on my doorstep, he’d giggle like a school girl around me and watched my every move in a group situation making me feel like the only one in the room. They sure know how to stir up some chemistry and they also know how to spot the weak girls that have their guard down. Perhaps like me their previous western relationship hadn’t worked out (I’d been cheated on) and it leaves you feeling a little insecure and venerable to attack.
Don’t be that weak girl.  You’re like a sitting duck.
Once operation romance is complete and they get into your panties, things make a dramatic change.  It took about 1 month before he was discussing the possibility of a ring!! The only ring I could think of was that of alarm bells.
Suddenly they want to OWN YOU.
Now this does not usually come to light until a bit later in your Thai relationship. It seems that at the beginning of most relationships you spend as much time as possible together.
It’s when you’ve grown tired of the language barrier and need some mother tongue chat (usually when you start speaking Tinglish and missing out words) that the true Thai nature explodes like dynamite and if you are not careful you could be battered by the blast.

Jealousy
Most Thai’s (in my opinion) suffer from extreme jealousy. Not just the men but women also. Its pretty hard to build a friendship with Thai girls with boyfriends because they are insecure and highly suspicious of you. They will send you “back off” vibes and then because you don’t want to keep trying to be friends with someone that thinks badly of you, they see your lack of friendliness as cementing their suspicion which makes them think they were right and you really were trying to steal their man. You really can’t win.

In my experience with my jealous Thai guy, if I so much as smiled near another man I would spend hours trying to explain something I didn’t even remember doing. I was given the cold shoulder for days after he would sting me with some hurtful, spiteful comment but stubbornly refuse to tell me what was wrong.  Understandably this gets frustrating. One time I was ignored because I was asked directions by a western male  backpacker. Another time I got an automated sales call in Thai and hung up just as he walked into the room. He was convinced it was my ex even after I showed him the phone and I received another cold shoulder day.
Jealous Thai men and friendly western backpacker women … DO NOT MIX
Which brings me to a previous point.

The language barrier.
Now it’s hard enough communicating with someone from your home town in a relationship, so having a boyfriend who’s English is limited creates chaos.

Oh it seems so cute at first, but then the most innocent of conversations turns into a constant battle to be understood properly.  This takes a phenomenal amount of patience, understanding and trust. 3 things in my experience many men (of all cultures) don’t have.
One very fine example is the word “funny”. Now we (native English speakers) all know that funny has more then one meaning depending on the context right. If I say “Its funny that in Thailand the Thai first name has no link at all to their nick name”.
I meant that it is strange to me being a westerner as mostly our nicknames are an abbreviation of our real name.
A Thai will hear this as “the way Thai people make up nick names is a joke!”
This happened to me and I was again brutally ignored, and received spiteful, hurtful comments. I had no idea what I had done that so deeply offended and he refused to give me any clues.
2 days of this and I finally find out what the matter was and laughing (as its so silly really) I went on to explain that I would never intentionally laugh at anyone’s name and went on to further explain that “funny” can mean strange/weird or that its something that makes you laugh. You know funny ha ha and funny strange.
4 Days later after total torture and repeating the same thing over and over, I can’t take anymore. I tell him that clearly he thinks I’m a rude nasty western b**ch and maybe it’s best we go our separate ways.  Only then, when the fear of loosing you and loosing face come into play, only then do they give in. So along with the language barrier came the stubbornness to see something for what it is and the reluctance to listen. Instead choosing the more destructive path of thinking he knew everything (he said this a lot) making things up himself and rolling with some wild story using it as an excuse to be purposefully rude, spiteful and hurtful. He could have just asked and discussed like adults. No chance. He loved the drama too much and wouldn’t back down as this means loosing face.
Common sense , stubbornness and loosing face

I forget sometimes that what westerners see as common knowledge might not have yet reached the masses.

A good example is nutrition. Kids are taught this in school back home. We know its bad but exercise free will as to whether we want to eat it or not.

I once made the mistake of exercising my free will, not to be force fed his Granma’s home made, crispy, deep fried, pig fat. He became instantly angry saying that he basically lived off them as a child and he was fine. (Never mind his weight problem) I explained that test’s have shown that deep fried anything is bad for your heart and cholesterol. He wasn’t interested in my explanation and I quickly understood the total lack of nutritional knowledge in Thailand and that I was at risk of making him feel defensive and dumb. I was right and his anger and ego made him see it as a direct attack on his ole Gran. I did try to explain that this was unknown years ago so his Gran would have had no idea. But alas, it was too late. I’d rolled on those egg shells again! Another 2 days of spiteful and rude behaviour for no real reason.

His fear of loosing face really took the fun element out of the relationship. You have to be on your best behaviour and be very careful what you say in case they misunderstand. Should you slip up in front of someone and your man looses face, you have just crushed the persona they worked so hard to create for themselves. Anyone even jokingly making fun of them is on their poo list. Loosing face is something I really struggle to understand. Why pretend to be something your not and then go nuts when someone calls you on it?

Which brings me to my next point…

Hypocrisy.

My Thai guy was such huge great big hypocrite. And he didn’t seem to understand what it means or how unfair and misleading this feels.

Thai’s like their chilli. I am western so 20 chilli’s is about 18 too many for me. But my guy refused to change his chilli addiction and then became deeply offended when I couldn’t eat the food he made. Saying that he won’t bother anymore, that I should cook my own things, how ungrateful I am and that I should just eat what I’m given. Then when I cook a roast dinner, pasta or other yummy western dish, he lets it go cold while he fries a damn egg to put on it. Then declares how horrid it is pulling a face and going off to cook his own dish.  This was highly annoying.

Hypocritically impatient

Now most men know that girls take longer to get ready then guys. Well in my case I could be ready in 5 minutes although that never seemed quick enough. (they are extremely impatient) So while I’m being impatiently rushed (even though he said we were leaving in 15 minutes) I panic, forget things and end up taking longer and feeling a little stressed out by the time we leave ready for a long silent bike ride to town.
Now I am an incredibly patient person. I wait around for as long as he needs to talk to his army of Thai friends, get himself sorted, or most annoyingly when they leave you somewhere while they “pop off for a minute” for over an hour to “sort some things out” (they will never tell you what) while you are expected to sit there smiling at their Grandfather who speaks not a word of English and can’t hear you even if you did happen to speak fluent Thai. Yes this happened to me.

But if I take 1 minute too long logging off of the internet I get the “you need to think about me and my time and what I need to do” lecture. Yeah I can think of over 1000 things I could have done rather then feel awkward around Grandpa while your off doing Buddha knows what.
But if you were to do the same, all hell breaks loose. The lack of anger control is terrifying to say the least. Clearly the meditation he was taught when he was 14 when he spent 3 compulsory months at the temple, really didn’t help him.  And this terrifying temper mixed with alcohol? Well this is something all cultures share. But my Thai man hid his true self behind his smile and religion. Just because he studied the teachings of Buddha didn’t mean he practiced it. In fact the most he would do is give an offering to Buddha and consider his sins forgiven. Much like the Catholics and confession. Like western culture he knew enough about Buddhism to exploit it.

He was very much the “do as I say, not as I do” variety.  We already mentioned the jealousy but that mixed with hypocrisy is baffling. He would accuse me of taking a shine to every man out there, while he would drive around shouting “hey sexy” to a friend of a friends girlfriend” and happily shagging half the town safe in the knowledge that they have you tucked away at home, far away from the men like them.

Cheating

Most Thai men cheat. It’s just the way things are here and you’d best be prepared for it. Ask any Thai girl. They don’t seem to be able to help it, maybe they see it as their right as a man. This is something I have seen time and time again much to the sorrow of my poor Farang friends who dish out all their backpacking money, only to end up going home with their tail between their legs wondering why he didn’t love them when they get caught out with some other unsuspecting backpacker. But you have to admire their acting and lying skills.  Most Farang never find out till it’s too late.
So, you’re at home while they are out and when you want some freedom it can turn into a battle. “Where are you going?, when will you be back?, who are you going out with?”

Controlling

Wow my guy needed to control a woman and he didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word trust.  Word of warning! It’s the ones that can’t trust and who get jealous that are like that because they can’t trust themselves. This applies to all cultures.

But you are not allowed to ask any questions at all when they go out. Women can’t control men in man world. Why they think they can control a western free spirited woman is anybodies guess. Most of the controlling mothers we are now half a world away from can vouch for that. Try to control most western women and you are left controlling your frustration when they leave you.

It can get so bad that they may even start to try to dress you and style your hair. Now I have a deep respect for other cultures and at my age I don’t prance around in mini skirts and boob tubes. So you can imagine my surprise when we go to the market and I have unintentionally employed a personal shopper who hasn’t the foggiest idea what I like.
Annoying.  I began to feel like a little dolly being dressed up and shown off to his friends.

Whenever I tried to say anything I was told I talked too much!

Thai men still to a degree view women as inferior, no matter how much they make you feel like a goddess in the early stages when they are trying to get into your panties. This is why we struggle to mix well with them. I mean there was no bra burning going on over here.  Western ideas on equality in relationships are slowly creeping in but the men appear to still fight it. We’ve come a long way in the western world but Thailand, beautiful as it may be, still has it’s darker side if you decide to sample what the men of this country have to offer.

After all, was it not Buddha himself that said that women can only hope to be reincarnated as a man because only men can be enlightened? Says a lot doesn’t it!

Final word

My experience ended with me fleeing like a fugitive amid death threats when I refused to return to such madness. I vowed never to return to a place that I loved, as I wasn’t about to find out if the death threats were empty or not. Unsurprisingly Thai guys have lost all appeal to me.

I was still being harassed and receiving threats daily by email (his only way to get in touch) months later and I was forced to change my email address and loose contact with good friends for fear that he will track me down somehow. Even though I seemed to annoy him and make him crazy jealous, he strangely thinks he loves me and we have to be together forever! Very fatal attraction and I seriously feel he would benefit from a stay in a mental hospital. Of course I understand that this should be a rare story and that maybe I was just unlucky, but when I moved into my new neighbourhood and shared my story I discovered my little hiding place had been a safe house for many other western girls fleeing their crazy Thai ex’s.

So apart from the misunderstandings, the hypocrisy, the drunkenness, the cheating, the spitefulness, the death threats and the controlling side of my Thai man. I can highly recommend them.

But this one was way too spicy for me.

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Sappy Brit Charged With Murder is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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Wow, just ran across this update the other day. Seems that Phil the weepy-eyed Brit who caught his Thai wife in a lie isn’t exactly a prince either.

Seems good old Phil beat the crap out of the Thai gal and when police investigated they took his DNA which turned up an arrest warrant in Germany where his accused of raping and murdering a Germany lady.

I guess he’s the one who should have been given the lie detector test.

A Briton accused of raping and killing a housewife in Germany was trapped six years later when he had a violent row with his girlfriend in Britain and police took his DNA.

Philip McNally had been arrested by Welsh police following an argument with his girlfriend at Ynys Yr Afon in Neath, South Wales, in February this year.

As is routine with violent crimes, detectives in Wales ran Mr McNally’s sample through Interpol’s DNA database and a match with the unsolved crime in Germany came up.

Police discovered McNally was wanted for throttling Helga Pfirsching, 45, and drowning her in the bath at the family home in Worms, Germany in 2002.

Read the full story

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Scammed For 1000 Baht – A Sad Tale is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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First off, let me say that the amount I just got ripped off for is – to me – pocket change. I am not writing this out of anger about the money but to warn others.

There’s a gal who works Tilac named TT (not her real name). She doesn’t dance or even really work there but she hangs out and “helps.” I’ve known her for about 8 months. She’s always good for conversation and claims to have been married to an American for 8 years and a Brit for 1 and says she’s lived in both counties so her English is dead-on.

I always buy her a drink when I stop in and if we chat much that could turn into two, three, or more drinks depending on the conversation. Just to be clear, I have zero sexual attraction towards her. It’s just refreshing to be able to sit on Soi Cowboy and not speak in broken English and to hear a point of view about the world from someone who doesn’t think the world ends at the Thai border.

Last night was similar. We chatted outside and I made sure her Sang Som and cola never ran dry.

Near closing time an Brit starts inserting himself in our conversation from time to time and eventually sits with us and joins in. It’s obvious she knows him but she knows most of the regulars so it doesn’t seem anything unusual.

When she suggested the three of us hit Soi 22 and try to find a bar that was still open (cops shut down Cowboy at 1am) it seemed like a fellow booze-hound talking than any sort of romantic invite so I agreed.

When I mentioned I was going to Soi 22 with TT to one of the waitresses who I’ve known for 5 or 6 years she looked at me very strangely and asked “are you sure?” It struck me as odd at the time but I didn’t know what I was supposed to be sure about so I dismissed it thinking she might be acting a little jealous because I hadn’t kept her glass as full as I would normally.

With the recent police crackdown most of the bars were closed but we found a place still serving and ordered a round. TT said she wanted to show me something cool and said she needed a 1000 baht note. I gave it to her knowing she was going to do some lame origami and figured my worst-case scenario was getting back a badly crumpled 1000 baht note.

I know some might say I was stupid to do this but I’ve known this girl for quite awhile and I not only know where she works but where she lives.

The police were being especially vigilant and the owner asked everyone to go outside. So everyone cleared the bar and we sat outside but could keep ordering as much as we wanted.

TT had turned my 1000 baht note into a ring and was showing it off to everyone. After an appropriate time had passed I tried to politely ask for it back but she jokingly refused. When the joke became old I became stronger in my request for the note back and she finally agreed and slipped an origami ring on my finger.

The only problem was that when I looked at the ring it was made from a 100 baht note and not the 1000 baht I gave her.

Around this time she suggested we head back up to Soi Cowboy because there was an after-hours party going on. The Brit declined and said he was heading home. He left alone.

About 20 minutes later TT asked me if I wanted to go but I told her that first she had to give me my 1000 baht back. She joked around some more and then said she had to go to the toilet.

I waited there for about 10 min before checking out the toilets and discovering that not only was there not anybody in there but that it had another entrance/exit one row of bars over.

I figured she pissed off to the after-hours party and stormed up Soi 22 trying to decide whether to write it off as a loss and confront her the next time at the Tilac or to crash the party and demand my 1000 baht back. Fortunately I only had to walk two blocks before I saw her sitting in a bar with the Brit.

I walked up to her and demanded my 1000 baht. She claimed she didn’t have it and she had given it to some Thai girl with curly hair who said she had slept with me before. Seeing as how I had never even met any of the girls at the last bar I wasn’t buying it and called her a liar in front of the people she was with.

One lady came to her defense and said she’s known TT and her husband (pointing at the Brit) for years and she’s an honest person. Now the fact that this random guy who I’ve been chatting with a good portion of the night and has been pretending to be just some random Tilac bar customer turns out to be her husband should raise some suspicions.

Her defender told me that she owns a bar and that if I came in tomorrow night she would buy me a drink. I said, “She stole 1000 baht and you will give me a 100 baht drink? Thank you for the offer but I want my 1000 baht back and I’ll buy 10 drinks.”

TT said she could prove her story to me so we marched up Soi 22. She kept trying to grab my arm and my hand but I pulled away and told her “Don’t even try it.” Of course that sparked a typical bar girl response that if I was going to be like that that she wouldn’t come. I told her to shut the fuck up and led her back to the bar.

When we got back to the bar they had braved up and had gone back inside not fearing any further police visits. Two of the girls from the bar were leaving and she told her story to them in Thai.

Neither girl could remember a curly haired Thai other than one specific girl who worked there and they offered to take us to her since she was still in the bar. Suddenly her story changed from Thai to a farang girl with curly hair. I was content keeping silent and listening to her dig herself a hole because I could understand enough Thai and read the body language to mean that even they weren’t buying her story.

They kept asking her questions trying to clarify things that didn’t make sense and her responses became more and more agitated. When she finished I asked one simple question, “If this curly haired girl approached you in the toilet then why didn’t you come out and tell me?”

She said she did come out but I was already gone. Both Thai girls scrunched their noses in confusion/disbelief because they knew I had waited there for 10 or 15 min and they never saw her return from the bathroom.

When she had ditched me I stood right near the exit of the bathroom waiting and several of the bar staff kept asking me why I was standing alone. They told me to come over and join the group but I declined. It was starting to make sense to them why I stayed where I did. And it was even more obvious she had never come out that bathroom exit as there was no way she could have exited without running into me.

When she saw that the Thais weren’t buying it she said that she was afraid and she left the other way because she was concerned the curly haired girl might do something to her.

Only problem was that both Thais said that the only farang lady was with 3 guys and they all left together and nobody could remember the falang going to the toilet. That’s because she didn’t. The falang lady and her 3 friends left a good 15 or 20 minutes before she had pulled the “I have to go to the bathroom” trick.

And you have to keep in mind that this little lass has been working the bar scene off and on since she was 19. She’s now in her mid 30’s and has a mouth on her like a sailor. If a two meter tall lady built like a body builder demanded a 1000 baht from her in the bathroom people in Chiang Mai would hear her screaming bloody murder. She’s small but she’s scrappy and says whatever she wants to whoever she wants so the whole idea that she timidly handed over 1000 baht and ran out the back exit trying to avoid a confrontation is such a ludicrous proposal that anybody who has known her for more than 10 minutes wouldn’t even be able to imagine such a thing.

Thais never turn on Thais when a farang is involved but you could tell that they weren’t buying her story. They both saw her showing off the 1000 baht ring, they saw me standing outside the toilet, and they knew the farang gal never went near the toilet. Not one single aspect of her story made any sense if you were there.

I turned to TT and asked “Are you done telling your lie? So, I ask you for my 1000 baht back five different times and you don’t give it to me. But you go into the bathroom and give it to some woman who says I’ve slept with her? Why didn’t she ask me? How did she know where you got the money from? How did she know your husband didn’t give you the 1000 baht? Look at you right now fighting with me but you gave her 1000 baht and ran away to a different bar without saying anything? I don’t believe it. They don’t believe it.”

I turned to the two Thai staff and said, “I’ve been very calm. You know the things I’ve said are true. First it was a Thai lady with curly hair and then it was a farang lady. Then she comes out of toilet this way and now she go the other way. She changes her own story because she is a liar. She is not my girlfriend. If someone asks you for 1000 baht in toilet because your friend go with her before do you give it? Do you run away and hide in another bar after you pay? If she is telling the truth why worry? But if she stole . . . then she has a reason to hide. If she is telling the truth then she should say she is sorry for giving away my money. But she’s not sorry. She only gets angry because nobody believes her bullshit story.”

I walked to the nearest taxi, looked at TT and said, “I hope you enjoy the 1000 baht you stupid cunt.”

She stood there on the sidewalk screaming “Fuck you you mother fucker”

Epilogue

Before I could get around to post this, a friend rang me and asked if I wanted to meet up and watch him shoot pool in his pool league. We met up at Larry’s Dive on Soi 22 and grabbed some tacos and beers.

Out of the corner of my eye I see someone who looked like the Brit from last night walk past. My friend asks if I want to chase him down and I tell him “Nah, I’m not mad. I just think it’s pathetic. I’ve known this girl long enough that if she just asked me for the 1000 baht I would have given it to her with no expectation of ever being repaid. But to steal it and lie . . . it almost makes me feel bad to know that such sad, pathetic fucks like that are out there.”

After a few beers we head to the venue for pool. Guess who is there and playing on the opposing team? Yep, the Brit from last night.

After the match we do a little bar hopping and I was telling last night’s tale to a friend when the bar owner said, “Oh, was that XXXXX?” I’m like WTF?!? How did he know that that was the guy’s name? (I only remembered his name from when they put his name on the whiteboard at the pool tournament)

The owner explained that all the bar owners know about this guy. According to him, XXXX is a deadbeat with no job and he pimps out his girlfriend to get by. According to the bar owner he’s also well known for being a scam artist.

He also told us that what XXXX is mainly known for is running up a big bar tab and then trying to get people to bet whether or not he can set his dick on fire for 10 seconds. Yes, I just said that he sets his dick on fire!!!! He offers the bar a backend on the bets and hopes to get enough action to cover his tab.

After that news I happened to walk by the bar we were at last night and one of the ladies who had attempted to arbitrate our dispute was standing outside. I went over and apologized for getting her involved but before I could get out a full apology she stopped me and said, “No problem. We know that girl is a liar. Everybody saw you asking for the money and she wouldn’t give it. Everybody saw her go into the bathroom and not come back. There is no girl in the bathroom. We know. You are okay. Mai ben rai.”

I wanted to give TT the benefit of the doubt before hearing all this confirmatory information. Of course, I didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt but I wanted to because I couldn’t fathom why she would commit such a petty crime. I mean, I bought her at least 5 drinks that night at Tilac so that’s 500 baht. And I paid for the first round at the afterhours place which was another 200 and change if you exclude my own drink. In just one night that’s 700 baht I willingly gave to her and her bf/hubby. Why screw up that kind of easy money for a measly 1000 baht? And I’ve freely bought her similar numbers of drinks countless other nights as well.

I mean, if she was going to rip me off for a large amount of money then the risk-reward ratio makes sense. But for 1000 baht? Just how desperate do you have to be to dig so low?

And it seems so much more pathetic when you think about the planning that went into it. The Brit pretending to be just another customer. She made two origami rings for doing the switch on me. Him pretending to go home so when she disappeared out the back that he would be long gone and I wouldn’t put 2+2 together. Planning their meet-up a few blocks away.

This isn’t a crime of opportunity. It’s not like I left my wallet sitting on the bar and she helped herself to a little cash or she shorted me on the change when I paid my bill. This was a full-blown con. For a measly 1000 baht!!

I meant what I told my friend; I would have happily just given her the money had she asked. The whole scamming thing was so unnecessary.

In all the time I’ve lived in or been coming to Thailand I’ve managed to avoid most scams. Sure, an extra drink added here or there or being overcharged but nothing egregious. Nothing stolen from my room. No picked pockets. No gem scams. No sick water buffalo payments. No impromptu police fines. Nothing.

So I’ll write this off as a lesson learned and move on.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Names have been removed or altered as this is just one person’s side of the story.

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Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 6 is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 5 is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

Thank you for reading Bangkok Diaries. If you have a post or a story you would like to share please send us your submissions.

Looking to meet someone in Thailand? ThailandFriends is the premier English-Language Social Network of Thailand. TF offers all members a unique online experience (dating or otherwise) complete with access to dating and social networking functions such as chat rooms, private messaging, forums, journals, partys & events and whole range of services to help you meet the most compatible Thai singles.

This episode seemed a little more focused on the downside of drunken behavior in Pattaya and the Full Moon Party. Though they did have the Brit who is doing a long sentence in the Bangkok Hilton for possession of ecstasy with the intent to sale. I really have a difficult time feeling sorry for these knobs. I mean, how hard does it have to be beat into your head that Thailand is not a place to try to become a drug kingpin? I almost had to laugh when he said he thought someone he knew ratted him out in order to get all of his money and possessions while he was locked up. Duh! When you life involves hanging out with regular drug users you’re usually associating with scumbags. It shocks you that one of them might have looked at getting you banged up as a nice little payday? If you’re really that stupid it does sort of explain why you would come to Thailand and think dealing drugs is okay. You’re retarded!

EDIT: I forgot to mention the documentary filmmakers who got caught trying to film inside of a go-go bar and then go to the cops to complain when the owner swiped the camera and threatened to kick their ass. As it gets explained to them, people do get the crap kicked out of them for filming inside of go-gos and they’re actually quite lucky the owner didn’t have them beaten and is agreeing to return the camera (minus the film). It’s happened enough times that most intelligent people know not to do it. But just like the drug dealer above . . . somehow they don’t think the rules actually apply to them.

And then he has the balls to say “This place is advertised internationally as a sex tourism haven yet somehow it’s not okay to show that.” Guess what moron? Las Vegas is advertised as a gambling mecca but you can’t walk around inside the casinos filming. Everywhere you go in the world there are places that for whatever their reasons choose to enforce a no-photography policy. The only difference is that here in Thailand kicking your head in for violating the policy will probably be seen by the police as just punishment.

And last but not least . . . those freaking Indians kill me. They go and complain that they paid a whopping 300 baht to see a “sexy show” and never saw the show. When they are taken back and are talking with the management they admit they watched the show but they didn’t like it and want their money back.

This is why I view every negative thing written or said about Thailand, Thai people, Thai police, etc under a very careful microscope if it sounds even the slightest bit suspicious. People tend to lie and exaggerate a lot of stuff and they often leave out incriminating bits of their own behavior to amplify the injustice they suffered. I’m sure if those Brit documentarians were telling their story on Stickman, ThaiVisa or some other site they would be claiming the camera had just been in their bag with no film in left in it as they had been out filming all day and they were threatened and intimidated by the staff and then when the police came the police basically sided with the owners demonstrating once again what a total land of scams Thailand is.

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Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4 is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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The hits just keep on coming. In this episode:

Plane crash in Koh Samui
Songkran Road Accidents
Drug Crackdown on the Border
Manchester Kid Busted for Smuggling

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Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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For those of you who have been enjoying Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand here comes episode three.

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Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2 is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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Here is episode two of the Bravo program that is causing so much controversy.

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 1
Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes

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Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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The other day I posted some links to the first episode of Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand. Well, it appears that Thai officials saw the program too and they’re none too happy. Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob has written to embassies trying to explain that the reason they haven’t cracked down before is because they never could get any proof it was happening. But now with video proof they are going to come down hard on offenders.

Now, to say that they could never gather any proof is a joke. Really. Everyone and their mother knows about this scam. Even the guy who came to the soldier’s aid said he gets these complaints all the time.

But you really can’t complain if something makes the Thai police and government actually protect and serve. As Phuket’s economy is decimated by the global financial meltdown they can’t afford any more black eyes. While some tourism has bounced back Bangkok and Pattaya, Phuket hasn’t been as lucky.

Police have arrested the jet ski operator JJ who pulled a gun on the soldiers. I couldn’t help but laugh when I read that because he tried to be such a bad-ass in the video. He was a big showoff for the cameras. Now he can spend a few months or years in jail for his stupidity.

By the way, there has been much speculation that the JJ scene was staged or that it wasn’t even real. The producer/director of this series spoke out on The Farang Speaks 2 Much claiming that none of the footage is scripted or staged. He’s even offered to allow people to view the unedited footage.

I had heard of jet ski scams – a fight that took place and was captured on camera in Chaweng, Samui – and I asked JJ if he would take part in our filming to tell his side of the story. I explained that we wanted to show both sides, that undoubtedly in my view foreign tourists must damage jet skis, there must be genuine cases. Based on this understanding JJ agreed to take part in our programme. He also understood that our primary focus was British tourists in Thailand. JJ agreed to call us when he had a case which would illustrate that not all jet ski hire outfits are scam artists. That case turned out to be the Royal Marines who we’d also been following around Phuket during the visit of their ship HMS Bulwark. And when the call came JJ even sent a motorcycle and sidecar to pick us up. I have the photo of me in transit. We had a good working relationship with both the Royal Marines Military Police and JJ. In the end – when JJ called our fixer with the case – the two parties ended up coming together, and the rest is, well, all over Bravo and the internet. I simply filmed what unfolded (albeit with flair and agility

If anyone is still of the opinion that the scene with JJ is faked then I will today provide links to the raw, uncut footage from the events of that day and our full interviews with JJ – before and after. If JJ must face trial by TV then at least let it be as fair as possible. For those who seem to profess a knowledge of the reality of ‘reality’ TV production – and I’ve lectured at university in it – comparing the unedited material with the broadcast version will be illustrative.

Here is the full story from The Nation regarding the crackdown on jet ski operators and what has since happened to JJ.

Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes
By SALINEE PRAB
THE NATION ON SUNDAY
Published on September 13, 2009

Video footage posted on YouTube showing a jet-ski rental operator threatening a British tourist with a gun would tarnish Thailand’s reputation, whether the incident was real or fake, Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob said yesterday.

Wichai said he had written to embassies of several countries whose tourists complained about jet-ski operators in Phuket, to try to explain the problem.

Police have arrested a man seen with a gun in the video clip, but it is not yet clear if the incident was real or a stunt for a reality show in a foreign country.

Wichai said provincial authorities had received several complaints about jet-ski operators extorting money from foreign tourists from China, Japan and Australia, as well as some Thais, even before the YouTube footage.

He said they were trying to solve the problem but there was no clear evidence until the video emerged. Officials worked with police to arrest the person shown in the footage and he was now in custody at Kathu police station. He was reported to have confessed.

“The man’s action, whether it’s real or set-up for a show, is not right, especially if it was a set-up because it can be considered an intention to severely damage Phuket and Thai tourism,” the governor said.

Officials called a meeting of jet-ski operators in Phuket and related agencies last week to set rules for jet-ski renting services. They plan to register and record the work history of jet-ski operators.

They will limit the number to jet-skis to 219 and try to get operators to have insurance to prevent problems in the event of rented jet-skis getting damaged.

Some 40 jet-ski operators and insurance companies were invited to try to set conditions for insurance next week, Wichai said, noting that this was a preferred solution.

“I’m not against them making a decent living out of this sport, but they must do it right and get into the insurance system. They can charge the insurance fee in the renting fee, say the usual Bt1,500 per 30 minutes could rise to Bt1,600.”

Officials would also look into reports that some operators use Burmese workers as jet-ski boys.

Phuket had sent a letter explaining the problem to various embassies, initially focusing on countries whose citizens had filed complaints about jet-ski operators in Phuket such as the UK, Australia, China and Japan, Wichai said.

They would check with people who wrote complaints to see if the arrested man was the same person who extorted money from them. Officials would discuss the situation with legal experts about what they could do.

He hoped that efforts by the province and local agencies would restore tourists’ confidence.

“This problem had been here a long time but the lack of evidence deterred authorities from doing anything much about it until now. This is the first time the allegation materialised,” he said adding that they would seek the maximum penalty for offences – to warn others not to try such acts.

There were similar problems with car and motorbike rental businesses and some people’s illegal acts were hurting honest business operators, he said.

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Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand is a post from: Bangkok Diaries

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Looking to meet someone in Thailand? ThailandFriends is the premier English-Language Social Network of Thailand. TF offers all members a unique online experience (dating or otherwise) complete with access to dating and social networking functions such as chat rooms, private messaging, forums, journals, partys & events and whole range of services to help you meet the most compatible Thai singles.

I know some people may have already seen this but I thought it was interesting and wanted to share it with you. Basically, the show is about what a mess Thailand is for tourists. From the old jetski scam to getting banged up for drugs the program shows Thailand in the worst light possible.

On one level it does seem somewhat sensationalized which is to be expected of anything you watch on television but on another level this stuff does happen. The jetski rental guys are crooks. Dumb ass tourists take drugs in Thailand despite the ample warnings everywhere. Idiot drunks get themselves in trouble and get the crap kicked out of them by locals. So on that level, all of this stuff happens. The big question is whether it happens as frequently as portrayed in the program.

Shows like this or Cops are like those funny spots they do when they try to prove how stupid Americans or Brits or ?? are and they go around on the street and ask them simple questions to which they show an endless stream of idiots who are clueless as to the answer. “Where is Iraq on this map,” the man asks as the village idiot points to Brazil. Well, this is sort of like that. They film and film and film and then they pull out what they think will get people to watch. Just like the comedy bit where they don’t show the people who answered the questions correctly, here you won’t see all of the boring interactions where everybody is having a good time and nothing exciting has happened.

Is Thailand dangerous? Well, I’m more worried about getting clobbered by a drunk foreigner in a bar than I am about a Thai ever putting his hands on me. Violence and aggression are simply not the Thai norms. That doesn’t mean that if you do something stupid you won’t get a good ass beating or you may run into the wrong guy on the wrong night but you’re probably safer in a nightclub filled with Thai mafia gangsters drunk off their asses than you are in a pub in England after a football match. In terms of physical violence against farangs in Thailand you generally have to go looking for trouble. Back in the world trouble often comes looking for you.

The one thing I never, ever, ever, ever, ever understand are these idiots who get banged up and can’t even produce the most trivial of bribes to pay off the police. For instance Annice Smoel, the Aussie who recently got banged up for stealing a bar mat, it took her AND her friends several days to put together $3000 bail. And the gal in this video is asked to pay off the cops 70,000 baht which is like $2000. Not only do neither her or her boyfriend have the ability to put together that kind of money but he says her parents don’t have that kind of money either. For fuck sake people, it’s $2000 USD to keep your ass out of a Thai prison. You can’t beg, borrow, or steal $2K?

I’m sorry, maybe I’m at a different place in life financially but I just can’t imagine not being able to get my hands on that trivial amount of money when I’m looking at possible prison time in Thailand. I have friends who I haven’t seen in 10 years who would spot me that kind of cash if I told them I was in trouble.

So what does it really say about these individuals?

Allow me to offer the following advice to people thinking of coming to Thailand on holiday:

1. Don’t do drugs in Thailand
2. If you are stupid enough to rent a jetski on the beach, bring your camera and photograph it from every possible angle, and then give the camera to a friend who is staying onshore or put it in a waterproof case and take it with you.
3. Don’t do drugs in Thailand
4. Don’t invest your entire net worth into coming to Thailand on holiday. That’s doubly true if all your friends and family are as broke as you are.
5. Don’t do drugs in Thailand

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