Report Viral Video Highlights Tourist Chaos, Raises Phuket Safety Concerns

[snoop1130]

Pictures courtesy of Amarin TV

 

A video capturing a drunken brawl between foreign tourists on Phuket's infamous Soi Bangla has gone viral, amplifying concerns over the persistent issue of alcohol-fuelled violence in Thailand’s bustling party scene. Shared by Facebook user Kim Wan, the video surfaced on May 7 and shows a brief but heated altercation from the early hours of May 6 in Patong subdistrict, Kathu district.

 

The 20-second footage depicts a visibly intoxicated man in a white shirt aggressively confronting another man similarly dressed. As fists fly, a third tourist, wearing a black shirt, attempts to intervene and diffuse the situation by pushing the aggressor away. Undeterred, the instigator tries to resume the confrontation but is once again restrained.

 

The video’s poster admitted to local media that the fight’s cause remains unknown, yet he observed the man in white persistently provoking others involved. “The group that pushed him seemed to want to avoid hurting him, but he wouldn’t back down,” the witness noted, highlighting a reluctance to engage in violence despite provocation.

 

Such scenes are all too familiar in this nightlife-heavy district, with locals reporting that drunken scuffles among tourists occur frequently. While police occasionally intervene and escort disorderly individuals to Patong Police Station to sober up, many altercations dissipate without any official action being taken.

 

For years, Phuket police have faced the challenge of managing unruly behaviour in hotspots like Soi Bangla, notorious for its all-night bars and binge drinking. The viral nature of such videos raises questions about safety and the potential impact on Phuket’s reputation as a serene holiday destination.

 

As these incidents continue to unfold and circulate online, conversations are intensifying around the need for stricter enforcement and effective measures to control the escalating nightlife chaos. The future of Phuket’s party scene hangs in the balance as stakeholders contemplate sustainable solutions to maintain both safety and the island’s allure.

 

VIDEO: https://web.facebook.com/reel/699017475975155

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-05-07

 

 

[ozz1]

I've been traveling and living in thailand for 30 years but it seems since they have let so many Russians and others in permanently in the last few years its got bad especially in phuket and pattaya  there never used to be any fights years ago maybe im getting old

[Dmitry2222]

4 hours ago, ozz1 said:

I've been traveling and living in thailand for 30 years but it seems since they have let so many Russians and others in permanently in the last few years its got bad especially in phuket and pattaya  there never used to be any fights years ago maybe im getting old

Objectively, Australians and Britons are the ones who most often appear in such news.

Did not have to wait long: 
Irishman Busted After Pattaya Night Out Turns Violent

 

[Will B Good]

They are not Russian or Irish or English or Israeli or Chinese......they are morons.

[ignore it]

This white shirt on white shirt violence must be stopped. 

[ronster]

All starting to have the same look of zee french we see in lots of videos lately boxing , driving bikes like idiots  ! 

[Phill61]

15 hours ago, ozz1 said:

I've been traveling and living in thailand for 30 years but it seems since they have let so many Russians and others in permanently in the last few years its got bad especially in phuket and pattaya  there never used to be any fights years ago maybe im getting old

Totally agree. Until covid I was spending 3 months of the year in Thailand, mainly Patong. Exceptionally rare to see a fight, now they are common place.

[hunkidori]

They look like Arabs to me, probably French

[Owiee]

15 hours ago, ozz1 said:

I've been traveling and living in thailand for 30 years but it seems since they have let so many Russians and others in permanently in the last few years its got bad especially in phuket and pattaya  there never used to be any fights years ago maybe im getting old

No, l 100% agree with your comments, l have been travelling and living here on and off since the early 80’s and in the 80’s l can’t recall ever seeing a fight break out likewise in the early to mid 90’s

[Rickman66]

Yeah cheap flights and easy visas are bringing all these morons from Europe and the UK who would normally have thier cheap Charlie holidays in Spain or Majorca and ruin those places are coming to Thailand now just look at the popularity of the disgusting greasy English breakfast being served up in all the little restaurants 

[rumeaug]

15 hours ago, ozz1 said:

I've been traveling and living in thailand for 30 years but it seems since they have let so many Russians and others in permanently in the last few years its got bad especially in phuket and pattaya  there never used to be any fights years ago maybe im getting old

Yes, fact. I went there  in 2011 for the first time. Nowdays is just worlds appart from even 6 or 7 years ago (i dont count covid tumes). Those 2 places, mainly, have turned into an open air  dumpster for subhumans. Pathetic. 

[Woke to Sounds]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The 20-second footage depicts a visibly intoxicated man in a white shirt aggressively confronting another man similarly dressed.

 

'You copied me, beeeeatch!!!'

 

BOOF

 

WHAMMO

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, ozz1 said:

I've been traveling and living in thailand for 30 years but it seems since they have let so many Russians and others in permanently in the last few years its got bad especially in phuket and pattaya  there never used to be any fights years ago maybe im getting old

The result of inviting in millions of cheap tourists to bolster the GDP, these are unsustainable numbers.

Places are packed to the rafters with almost 24/7 drinking.

What do they expect, choir boys?

[BerndD]

11 hours ago, Will B Good said:

They are not Russian or Irish or English or Israeli or Chinese......they are morons.

Like the one on your avatar...  😉

[wensiensheng]

Soi Bangla is quite a short street really. What’s so hard about policing it? It’s a known trouble spot, surely a consistent large police presence plus bars being instructed to not serve overly intoxicated people, would contain things.

 

of course, allowing late hour opening has made things worse. It extends the amount of time that requires policing and gives extra time for drunks to get even more drunk.

[Kenny Boy]

11 hours ago, Dmitry2222 said:

Objectively, Australians and Britons are the ones who most often appear in such news.

Did not have to wait long: 
Irishman Busted After Pattaya Night Out Turns Violent

 

What part of Australia is Ireland in ? 

[Kenny Boy]

10 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Soi Bangla is quite a short street really. What’s so hard about policing it? It’s a known trouble spot, surely a consistent large police presence plus bars being instructed to not serve overly intoxicated people, would contain things.

 

of course, allowing late hour opening has made things worse. It extends the amount of time that requires policing and gives extra time for drunks to get even more drunk.

Thai police only react to problems, they don’t like to patrol areas

[stevenl]

21 minutes ago, Rickman66 said:

Yeah cheap flights and easy visas are bringing all these morons from Europe and the UK who would normally have thier cheap Charlie holidays in Spain or Majorca and ruin those places are coming to Thailand now just look at the popularity of the disgusting greasy English breakfast being served up in all the little restaurants 

Cheap flights? Visa for Europeans haven't significantly changed.

[Gottfrid]

Diaper boys fighting again. Brave men! After that they go home to wife saying yes mam, I am sorry I am drunk.

[lavender19]

12 hours ago, Dmitry2222 said:

Objectively, Australians and Britons are the ones who most often appear in such news.

Did not have to wait long: 
Irishman Busted After Pattaya Night Out Turns Violent

 

Don't be calling an Irishman a Brit or an Aussie.

[Grumpy one]

12 hours ago, Will B Good said:

They are not Russian or Irish or English or Israeli or Chinese......they are morons.

Trumps relatives ?

[kiwikeith]

1 hour ago, hunkidori said:

They look like Arabs to me, probably French

I wonder what they fight about , girls, drugs or just plain drunken idiots wanting to fight I prefer the latter.

And the poster is right, never used to see this, many forms of drugs around now , meth , cocaine and the illustrious dope shops selling unchecked medical weed, that god knows the THC content off.

Maybe they could isolate a designated area for these animals , call it Dope street and have boxing rings instead of pole dancers.

 

[shackleton]

Yes Pattaya and Phuket are getting the reputation world wide as  the places to come and get drunk fight drugs and so on 😱

Agree looks like the Brit  hooligans have moved on from Spain to Thailand 

Thailands proud reputation as a world family Tourist country is slowly going down the tubes 

[roo860]

1 hour ago, Rickman66 said:

Yeah cheap flights and easy visas are bringing all these morons from Europe and the UK who would normally have thier cheap Charlie holidays in Spain or Majorca and ruin those places are coming to Thailand now just look at the popularity of the disgusting greasy English breakfast being served up in all the little restaurants 

Full English breakfast, certainly beats that foreign sh!te 😏 

 

[ikke1959]

This is typical for the greed of Thailand... Open the bars and entertainment venues till 4 am and see what is happening, and than blaming the drunk people.. Why not open till normal hours till 2 am.. Time enough to get drunk and prevent a lot of problems.. 

[jwl53]

1 hour ago, Rickman66 said:

Yeah cheap flights and easy visas are bringing all these morons from Europe and the UK who would normally have thier cheap Charlie holidays in Spain or Majorca and ruin those places are coming to Thailand now just look at the popularity of the disgusting greasy English breakfast being served up in all the little restaurants 

What's your choice of breakfast? Cock and balls down your throat

[roo860]

13 hours ago, Dmitry2222 said:

Objectively, Australians and Britons are the ones who most often appear in such news.

Did not have to wait long: 
Irishman Busted After Pattaya Night Out Turns Violent

 

Geography wasn't your favourite subject at school?