Bangkok Diaries » Tourist Life

Hindu Temple in Bangkok: Sri Maha Mariamman Temple

thaistory — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:48:48 +0000

Hindu Temple in Bangkok: Sri Maha Mariamman Temple 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.

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple is one of the two most revered temples by Indians and Thai Indians who live in Bangkok.

The temple is located on Silom Road on the corner of Thanon Pan (opposite Silom Soi 20). It is anly a 15 minutes walk from the Chong Nongsi BTS Skytrain station.

Read a full presentation of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple here.

No related posts.

Finding Snus in Bangkok

Admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:41:15 +0000

Finding Snus in Bangkok 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.

Snus is a tobacco product similar to chewing tobacco though snus generally comes in measured portions rather than being loose like chewing tobacco. Although many people find chewing tobacco or snus to be “disgusting” it is a nice alternative to smoking. That’s especially true on long-haul flights or when you work in an environment where slipping out for a smoke might be prohibited or inconvenient.

But snus isn’t widely available in Thailand. It can be found if you know where to look though.

The two main providers of snus in Bangkok are easily located but not common knowledge. The first is on Sukhumvit Soi 8 called the Stable Lodge. It’s a good 100 – 150 meters down the soi so it’s a good walk on a hot or rainy day. Right past Stable Lodge is a bar/restaurant called Det5 so if you hit Det5 you’ve gone a little too far. You can usually just walk into the reception area of the hotel and ask “Snus?” and they’ll take you to the back of the reception area where they have a refrigerator where they keep it.

The second option is on Soi 22 at D’Pelican Inn. This one is harder to find because it’s on a side street off of the main soi. If you’re walking down from Sukhumvit it will be the side street just before you get to Larry’s Dive. If you walk into that courtyard area you’ll see D’Pelican off to your left past the massage parlor. Again, just walk in and ask any of the staff “Snus?” In fact, D’Pelican recently put a sign on their front door saying “Snus available here,” so you’ll know you’re in the right place.

Both establishments have people who bring the snus in for them so it’s not like walking down to your local shop and having a selection of many different brands. Typically they’ll have one or two sleeves of snus and if that’s not your particular brand you’re out of luck. They are often completely out of stock so it usually makes sense to pick up a little more than you need just in case they’re between shipments and out of stock.

Brands that are generally available are:

General (portions)

Goetborgs Rape (portions and loose)

Ettan

Grovsnus

On a few rare occasions I’ve also seen stock American-style Copenhagen and Skoal Long Cut Straight but if those are your brands they come in so rarely that you’ll likely have to pick one of the above as your regulars and treat a shipment of Copenhagen or Skoal like an early Christmas present.

Both establishments are pretty good about notifications too. If they’re out of stock they’ll usually have a shipment coming in within a few days. You can ask that they ring you when it arrives. I would estimate that 70% – 80% of the time they actually make the phone call.

No related posts.

Dancing Fools

Richard — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:05:50 +0000

Dancing Fools 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.

Another two beers.Another barely concealed look of contempt from a waiter wanting a Twenty Baht tip as he slouched away empty handed. It was midnight at The Bamboo Bar-Pattaya. The place was packed. As the band launched into Hands Up, the old disco favourite, Farangs at the elasticated waistband stage in life flocked to the dance floor with their homely looking forty something Thai girls.

“Hands up
baby hands up
give me your heart
gimmee gimmee
your heart”

Everyone sang along, hands raised at the appropriate moment. It’s a happy scene. As sandwiched as we are at our table, between giant Russians, Sai couldn’t resist and was up on her feet beside me dancing along. I knew that she’d like to be up there on the dance floor with me. I’d seen her earlier through a mass of people, as she made her way back from the toilet, stopping to dance alone on the fringes of a crowded dance floor for a couple of songs.

“You not shy okay”, she said,

As she tried to persuade me to get up and join her. It’s not something I’ve ever really been able to bring myself to do. Not something that i’ve ever been comfortable with. Too self conscious, too English, too late to change now. I wish that i could. As the chorus came around once more Sai was ready and sang along

“hand job
baby hand job”,

Complete with her own hand gesture. The nearest Russian came close to getting showered in beer as i almost choked on the mouthful I’d just taken. I laughed until i cried. Through blurry tear filled eyes I looked at Sai as she danced and laughed. I shouted over the music,

“Sai, it’s hands up not hand job”, holding my arms up in the air as I tried to explain.

“Oh, I think hand job” she replied.

I dissolved into fits of the giggles again and, of course, what else could I do as the chorus came around again but sing along

“hand job
baby hand job”,

Complete with that special hand gesture.

As we wandered back to the hotel along Beach Road i suggest we cross between the nose to tail songthaews to be nearer the sea.

“Why you want walk here?” Sai asked.

“It’s more romantic”, I say, pointing at the lights reflecting on the water out in the bay.

“Lomantic”, she scoffed, as we weave our way between the working girls and mongers.

“Farang ba”,(crazy) she adds, as i knew she would.

It’s about as romantic as a stroll around The Nana Hotel car park at 2.00am except that it’s by the sea, but no less entertaining.

“Sanuk maak”, Sai says of the evening as we sit on the edge of the bed.” Why you not dance with me”? she asked, still puzzled.

“I know, I’m sorry Sai”, I reply, unable to explain.

I find a music channel on the TV that’s playing something I could dance to, if a loaded gun was put to my head, if you could even call it dancing. That sort of late night shuffle as the evening winds down at some function or other and people pair off. A scene that i inevitably observed from the sidelines in my youth when i thought that it mattered. It was never me up there in some smoochy intoxicated embrace. Though i wished that it was i always somehow felt detatched from it. The memories of all those disappointing parties from the past, that I pretended to enjoy, came flooding back as i pulled Sai up from the bed and held her close. As we shuffled around the floor i really expected her to break away and dismiss it as more “lomantic” old tosh but she didn’t. It was me that pulled away and i was surprised to find that she wanted it to continue.

“Again again” she pleaded, with one arm tightly around my neck and a hand on my shoulder,

“I want you teach me”, she said, enjoying this new experience of a slow dance rather than what she was used to.

I laughed, “Sai there’s nothing really to teach”, I said, as we moved around slowly shifting our weight from the left to the right in time to the music.

“Sai qua sai qua”(left right left right) she repeated to herself clinging on tightly with a big smile on her face.

It was all in rather sharp contrast to about sixteen hours earlier when a fast taxi from Bangkok had dropped me off on Beach Road. Sai had been out of touch for several months while I’d been back in England. Her number went out of use so I couldn’t call her, and she didn’t contact me until a couple of weeks before i was due to return to Thailand. She had fucked up big time and was now, it seemed, hiding out in Pattaya too frightened to stay in Bangkok. She wouldn’t go into detail over the phone.

“When I see you I tell you,” she had said.

Though she never believed that i would make the trip to Pattaya to see her,

“I think you not want see me again”, she’d said several times, no matter how many times I assured her I would.

I called her from Beach road and checked in to a hotel that we’d used once before. She arrived in the back of a songthaew about half an hour later with a baseball cap pulled so low over her face I didn’t notice her at first as I waited under a shady palm. She was all smiles to begin with but once in the room she buried her face into my chest and cried, great shuddering sobs that soaked the tears and snot into my shirt. I sensed that it was a mixture of relief that i had actually turned up as promised, and of regret over what she had done. Sai, I knew, was not one to turn on the waterworks at will. I’d only ever seen her cry once before when, after a few drinks, she had told me a little of the poor Issan background she came from. Even with her limited grasp of English she’d painted a scene so vividly of the time she had given birth to her daughter that it still stays with me to this day. With her parents long gone, and a husband who’d left her several months before, she delivered the baby alone.

“Have nobody help me”, she had said as tears streamed down her face.” Mama Papa tai laew (Mother and Father had died) husband pai laew” (husband had gone)

“I stay alone when baby come out”, she continued.

When the words weren’t there she mimed the cutting of the cord and holding the baby that, somehow, said more than words ever could.

Slowly the reason she was laying low in Pattaya began to unfold. One evening, back in Bangkok, she happened to hook up with a girl she didn’t know that well but ended up trawling around Sukhumvit with anyway looking for business. As she tells it they were eventually beckoned up, from a window, to a room either in a hotel or an apartment, I’m not sure which, by a punter.

“Him smoke yaa ba”, she said.

As time moved on it seemed he had no real interest in Sai though she was free to stay while the other girl smoked with him. Somewhere along the line the girl dropped something into his drink and sure enough he was out for the count soon after. Sai, unaware that this was what her “friend” had had in mind, nevertheless split a few thousand Baht 50/50 and left. The other girl it appears stayed on to get whatever else she could. Later the next day Sai recieved a call from a girl who, as it turned out, happened to be staying in the same building. She warned Sai to keep well away from the place and advised her to steer well clear of Sukhumvit altogether. Understandably the bloke who’d been turned over had been to the police. They were now in possession of cctv footage from the building that clearly showed Sai’s face. Sai had had her hair tied back at the time, the other girl it seems had made sure that her hair was covering her face.Sai then demonstrated how this girl had untied her hair, as they entered the building, and bought it all down over her face. Although Sai noticed it at the time the reason why had never occurred to her. Why would it? She wasn’t going in with the intention of robbing anyone, the other girl obviously was.

“She know what she do”, Sai emphasized.

Having been drugged and robbed myself in the past I wasn’t sure how i was feeling about this up until that point. It had certainly fucked me up at the time. As with many other girls it’s all about survival, it’s just that Sai always seems closer to losing that battle more than any other girl i know. The opportunity presented itself and she took the money, I’d say that a lot of girls would when placed in the same situation. The intention to steal it wasn’t there when she went to the room, which i guess counts for something, though i wouldn’t want to rely on that as my defense in a Thai court. When I was caught out the girl had had every intention of doing what she did to me.

The problem, as Sai now sees it, is not going to go away anytime soon. Sukhumvit is where she works, it’s what she knows, it’s where her friends are. As splintered as their existence can be I’ve always been struck by how the girls will help each other out moneywise if they can, even if it’s just Twenty or Thirty Baht so a girl down on her luck can eat. Sai, I know, has both helped others and received helped herself. Now, unable to remain in that area, the fragile safety net she might have had is no longer there. The one thing now that she can’t risk is being picked up by the police in one of their frequent night-time sweeps along Sukhumvit. It’s an occupational hazard to girls like Sai that costs each of them B1000 to get out of Lumpini police station jail. I know because the last time i was in Bangkok I bailed Sai out myself (see my story Mook,Sai and a Sexy Thai Virgin).The fear of being hauled in, as part of the usual routine, and the police matching her up either by accident or design with the cctv footage, or any photo they might have made from it, was too much. Unfortunately she is a familiar face to the boys in brown at Lumpini.A few hours there she can handle, a few years in one of the bigger jails she couldn’t. Whether they could put two and two together or not I couldn’t say. Unwilling to take that chance Sai was on the next bus to Pattaya.

Though i never saw the room she’d found for herself there the description she gave was enough. “An tarai mak maak”(very dangerous) she had said of a small mosquito infested place on a Soi populated with drunks, junkies and snarling dogs. Staying at the hotel came as a welcome relief to her from all that. Though we had an enjoyable time I’m not over keen on Pattaya myself and after a few days i was eager to get back to Bangkok. The thought that I’d return alone I knew would be too much for Sai, even though i promised I’d be back to see her before I flew back to London.The idea of me being somewhere without her I know drives her mad. She made an excuse to return with me saying she had to pick some stuff up from her room in the city. To scared to go anywhere near lower Sukhumvit, and unable to persuade me to leave Soi 8 where I stay, we parted company at Ekamai with the promise that I’d return to Pattaya. I didn’t hear from her for a couple of days after that. She’d said she’d be going straight back but sure enough she called me from Bangkok. She arrived at my hotel on Soi 8 later that evening. I’d persuaded her to come right up to the door in a taxi so she wouldn’t have to walk anywhere around Sukhumvit. As thunder rolled across the city, and lightening flickered like a faulty neon light above, I lent in to pay the taxi driver as Sai got out. She was through the hotel doorway and in the lift up to my room before I’d even received my change. Over the next couple of days i witnessed the genuine fear that she had of just being in that area. During the day she’d reluctantly walk the length of Soi 8 to the skytrain,or to jump in a taxi if we couldn’t get one on the Soi, with her baseball cap pulled way down over her face. But after dark it was a different matter. Walking from the skytrain back to the hotel at dusk one time had got her so scared she didn’t want to leave my room again that night. She was seeing unmarked police cars and plain clothes police everywhere.

“You Farang you don’t know” she said,

after i thought she might be being just a little bit paranoid. She then told me of a time she’d been pulled into an unmarked car once before while just waiting at a bus stop. Strip searched by some sleazy cop for “yaa ba” he then took B500 off her because she wouldn’t have sex with him before letting her go. Over reaction or not I couldn’t say but the paranoia was infectious and I was seeing figures in the shadows myself before i talked her into going back to Pattaya. If she had been picked up while she was with me i would never have forgiven myself for talking her into staying on Soi 8.

“You see crazy lady?”, Jan asks the next day as we meet for some afternoon delight. She always refers to Sai this way though they’ve never met each other.

“Why you want to see her?” she enquires, after i tell her the latest tale, her nose wrinkled a little as she asks.

I have to confess that i don’t know. She’s not the first one to ask. It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times. She makes me laugh yet drives me to despair in equal measure. Whereas Jan provides the perfect GF experience Sai wouldn’t pretend that she even knew how to. For reasons that i can’t explain there’s something that links us together. I guess for now the dance will continue.

No related posts.

The Art of Walking in Thailand

Admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:38:52 +0000

The Art of Walking in Thailand 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.

As I exited the plane in Heathrow for a business trip I was immediately struck by something. I couldn’t put my finger on it at first but then it suddenly hit me. These people seemed in a hurry. Several even seemed like that had a purpose. I guess I had been in Thailand so long I forgot what it was like when the point of walking is to quickly and efficiently get from Point A to Point B.

In Thailand and especially in Bangkok, walking is a window into how many Thais live their lifestyle. You will never see the hustle and bustle of other major cities like London, New York, Hong Kong, or Paris. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Instead of people pushing and shoving to get from one place to another as quickly as possible the Thai style lacks even a destination let alone a hurry to get there.

The first thing you have to learn about walking in Thailand is to slow down! The second thing you have to learn is that it is your duty to slow others down. You’re doing them a favor. How can one possibly expect to embrace the true Thai experience moving quickly?

What I will outline here are some simple rules for helping you get by in Thailand and how to share the laid back lifestyle with others.

The Mobile Telephone

If you don’t have one . . . scratch that. If you’re in Thailand you obviously have one. You were born with one.

Now that you have your mobile, you should be aware how it works. When you are on the device speaking with someone on the other end you are magically transported to a dimension where nothing else exists but you and the person on the other end of the phone. It’s sort of like reaching total enlightenment in that you are able to shut out all distractions and be at one with the other person.

The importance of understanding this is that in this other dimension you can pause on a crowded street, stand in a doorway or other narrow passageway, or slow your forward progress to a speed that can only be captured on time-lapse photography. In your dimension all of the people you are preventing from getting to where they need to go don’t exist.

Texting and Operating Your Mobile

The second best thing to being on the telephone is to be texting with it or in some other way be operating your mobile phone. This is usually best done in crowded areas where you can impede as many people as possible. For instance, during times of heavy traffic on the BTS or MRT immediately start texting your friends to tell them you’ve arrived at the station after only taking two steps off of the train.

The people that you are blocking getting onto and off the train will appreciate your reminder that they should slow down and not take life too seriously.

Arrows are for Followers, Not Leaders

Speaking of the BTS and MRT, those yellow and black arrows indicating the optimal flow of traffic for people getting off and boarding the trains are merely suggestions. Don’t ever feel the need to follow convention. If the arrow clearly shows that this is the path people will be exiting the train from and suggests that you stand to the side to allow this to happen, don’t assume it to be true. Maybe the train will miss its mark and everyone else will be wrong.

The same can be said for places like BTS walkways. Just because people on the right are moving in one direction and people on the left are going the opposite direction doesn’t mean it’s right. Challenge them to question the meaning of life by going against the direction of the traffic. They will thank you for this.

I’ll Make That Decision When I Come to it

If you ever find yourself about to go up a flight of stairs, enter a building, or take an escalator, now is the time to decide if that is really the best choice for your life. You don’t want to make a rash decision so give yourself time to think. It will also give the people behind you time to reflect on the meaning of life.

Oh, and speaking of escalators, when you are exiting them, always remember to stop and think if this is where you thought it would take you. The people behind you will appreciate the realization that sometimes we are not in control of our own destinies and life will take us where it wants to even if that means being forced to ram into you because the escalator is pushing them forward.

Straight Lines are Boring

One thing that is absolutely imperative about walking in Thailand is to never walk in a straight line. It’s so ingrained in the lifestyle that the police can’t even use it as a sobriety test since many people have grown unable to perform the task.

It’s much better to drift from one side of the sidewalk to the other. The narrower the sidewalk the better. You’re like a NASCAR pace car. You make sure that none of the people behind you can pass which reminds them to slow down and take things easy.

If your drifting becomes too predictable and someone threatens to pass, switch up mid-drift. Start to drift right and when you catch someone trying to pass you on the left simply start drifting left again.

The ultimate drift move though is the look and drift. Maybe you’re caught by surprise and you suddenly hear footsteps coming up behind you on your right. Simply look over your right shoulder and start drifting into their oncoming path. It’s so effective because when you stare someone in the eyes while blocking their path they will be shamed by the fact that they were violating the Thai walking etiquette.

The Carrot and the Stick

If people need extra convincing not to pass you, remember, when walking the proper arm movement is side to side, not back and forth. This way if someone tries to inappropriately pass you the threat of catching one of your flailing arms in the groin will dissuade them. It also helps if you randomly make wild sweeping gestures with your arms as those wearing athletic supporters (which they started wearing the last time they took a shot to the testicles) now have the fear of getting inadvertently whacked in the face.

This is also a very effective move if you’re carrying huge shopping bags of any sort. Sure, a flailing hand to the gonads hurts but taking a can of baked beans to this soft region will stop all but the most foolhardy.

Never Be Afraid to Correct a Mistake

Let’s face it, we all make mistakes. Sometimes you think you were going somewhere and then you remember that you were going somewhere else. It happens to all of us. Just the other day I was about to get on the train for Mo Chit but decided to go to On Nut. Whoops.

But rather than cautiously looking around for an opportunity to right yourself, abruptly stopping and/or doing a blind u-turn is always the right answer regardless of how crowded things are. The other people will understand (we’ve all done it) and nobody will be annoyed or think lesser of you (save face).

Stop and Smell the Roses

Street vendors spend a lot of time and effort setting up their little stalls around Bangkok and it seems unfair for someone to simply walk by and not show the respect of admiring their work. After all, they’ve gone to all the work to narrow the sidewalk down to a single lane why can’t you be bothered to look at their goods?

It doesn’t matter if you walk this path every day and know exactly what they sell or if they have the same exact goods as thirty other vendors on the same street. A simple pause at each stall as you walk by lets the vendors know that people appreciate their hard work. It also reminds those behind you that they should show their gratitude as well.

Group Outings

Groups have a special duty to protect the art of walking in Thailand. Anytime one or more people are walking together they are obliged to create as large an obstacle as possible.

If only two people are together, holding hands and then walking as far apart from each other is the acceptable formation. Nobody can pass between or on the sides of you (remember to swing those arms).

Larger groups take more practice but it will soon become natural as everyone learns their part. First, you must learn to stagger your formation similar to a military patrol. Here’s a six person example.

|A  B           |
|         C  D  |
| E  F          |

This allows you to completely block off anyone coming from behind. The leader is usually in the A or B position and should from time to time need to communicate with C,D,E or F slowing down and tightening up the formation because it is easy to become spread out which would allow others to snake their way through the formation.

Street Vendors and Bystanders

Just because you’re not traveling anywhere doesn’t mean you don’t have an obligation to slow people down as well. Street vendors already have a good start since they’ve blocked off a good portion of the sidewalk with their stalls. But you can certainly do more.

One of the most effective ways to share the art of walking in Thailand is to randomly cross the footpath in such a way as to force people to either stop or ram into you.

For instance, if you’re a vendor on lower Sukhumvit where the stalls line both sides of the footpath, simply decide to go stand on the other side of the footpath as people are approaching. Pretend to adjust something or look at your merchandise and then cross back again.

A true master at this maneuver can do it with their eyes closed. In fact, that is part of the mastery. As you hear someone approaching – with your back to them – just shoot out in their way without bothering to look. I mean, it’s a crowded sidewalk with thousands of pedestrians passing daily; how can anyone blame you for just shooting out onto an active walkway? It’s your store!

Another variation on this is instead of shooting out into the on comer’s path simply gesture wildly with your arm to the other side of the pathway thus nearly decapitating anyone foolish enough to come within arms length of you.

Another effective method is grossly overstaffing your stall. If you’re making 4 or 5 sales a day you should at least have seven family members working for you. And the more unruly children you have around the better. There’s nothing like a small child landing his head in someone’s balls to remind them to take notice of the small things in life.

Conclusion

Walking around in Thailand is not something that should be done with the intention of getting anywhere. Life is too short for that. You should take the opportunity to meditate on life and if possible share this gift with others by showing them the benefits of slowing down, contemplating life, and living in the moment. Believe me, they’ll thank you for it.

No related posts.

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 6

Admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:07:32 +0000

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 6 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.

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 5 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 5 is a...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4 is a...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 is a post from:...

TAT’s Desperate Move to Lure Tourists

Admin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:02:47 +0000

TAT’s Desperate Move to Lure Tourists 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.

I stumbled across this video shot in April 2009 that supposedly shows why Thailand is such a great place to visit even when there is political turmoil going on.

I was here when PAD shut down the airports and when friends and family frantically emailed asking if I was safe I told them I hadn’t even seen a single demonstrator. Everything was safe.

But isn’t it a tad bit desperate to shoot a video that showcases the political turmoil and basically says, “Hey, don’t pay attention to those crazy rioters . . . visit Thailand”? Or is it such a ringing endorsement when the one guy tells the interviewer that Thailand is better than Mexico? Is that going to be Thailand’s new sales pitch “Visit Thailand. At least it’s better than Mexico!”

Don’t get me wrong, I love Thailand. But instead of trying to convince people that they should still come despite the problems . . . why not fix the problems!!!!

Best and Worst Dressed Sex Tourists on Soi Cowboy Best and Worst Dressed Sex Tourists on Soi Cowboy is...

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 5

Admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:14:21 +0000

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.

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.

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4 is a...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand is a post from: Bangkok...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 is a post from:...

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4

Admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:42:10 +0000

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand – Episode 4 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.

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

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2 is a post from:...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 is a post from:...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand is a post from: Bangkok...

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3

Admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:40:03 +0000

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 3 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.

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

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2 Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2 is a post from:...
Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand is a post from: Bangkok...
Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes is a post...

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2

Admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:04:05 +0000

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand-Episode 2 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.

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

Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand is a post from: Bangkok...
Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes Phuket acts to clean up jet-ski woes is a post...