Staying Safe in Thailand

By: Alan Reeder-Camponi

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

About five years ago I wrote an e book, “Maybe You Should NOT Move to Thailand” and in it was a chapter titled “Thailand is More Dangerous Than It Appears.” At that time, I said I thought Thailand was a safer country than the USA. Since then it appears to me that Thailand has become a more dangerous place for foreigners. Whether or not this is true, and why or why not this is the case, is not the primary focus of this book. I believe Thailand is potentially unsafe for foreigners because they make incorrect assumptions while in Thailand. As an example, let’s take a look at the recent murders of a couple of young British tourists on a beach on Ko Tao. Two young men from Myanmar have been tried and convicted of the killings. Initially, the young men confessed to the killings saying they had been walking on the beach late at night, drunk, when they came upon the young couple having sex on the beach. The men said they saw the couple having sex and they became aroused. Aroused, they then went on to rape the woman and kill both of the young tourists. Later, the men said they gave this confession only because the police tortured them. They said they were innocent. This incident got much media attention because people reading the details of what happened prior to, and immediately after, the murders thought another explanation seemed much more plausible. The popular counter explanation was that the young girl of the murdered couple interacted with a Thai man at a bar on the night of the murders. There she did, or said, something that offended him. Then, either he or his accomplices, or both, followed the young couple, as they left the bar, and killed them on the beach. What is interesting to me about both explanations is that, given both happened (depending on which version you believe) in Thailand, both seem entirely possible. Both explanations show a number of incorrect assumptions about Thailand on the part of the British couple: -the young couple assumed it was safe to walk on a Thai beach late at night when there were no other people around -the young couple assumed other people would not be affected by seeing their public display of affection -the young woman assumed it was safe to talk to, and possibly verbally offend, a Thai man In short, the British couple possibly thought they could behave as they might in England. Perhaps they bought into the image of Thailand as the land of fun and frolic. The Japanese I see everyday have definitely not bought into the carefree image of Thailand. What I see, where I live, is the Japanese associating pretty much only with other Japanese. The Japanese have, as I will describe later, found a way to act as if they were ghosts and to treat you as if you (a non Japanese) were also a ghost (do not really exist). Going back to the Ko Tao murders, the prime minister of Thailand got some media attention when he said something to the effect that the British woman had put herself in danger by both being so attractive and by dressing in such a revealing way. Some foreigners thought he was off base with his comment. They objected, saying the woman had the right to dress as provocatively as she wanted. And, she certainly should not be blamed for being attractive. Well, the Japanese women I see in Bangkok are not concerned with their rights to dress, or not dress, provocatively. Their standard dress code is long loose fitting tops that show as little skin and as few curves as possible. Japanese women acknowledge the reality of Thailand. You can come to Thailand and ignore the reality of Thailand … if that is your choice. Be aware, however, that if you do, you are rolling the dice. It’s my intention in this e book to share with you my view of the reality of Thailand … and hopefully entertain you along the way. Do I feel safer in Thailand than I did in the USA? Absolutely. Why? Because I do not act in Thailand as I did in the USA. Thailand is a unique place.