After many years here, I can’t help but feel like the number of rough and dodgy characters in Thailand has grown. With the influx of Russians and Chinese, plus the ease of buying cheap cannabis and the temptation to traffic it out, the place feels heavier with criminals than it used to.

 

Back in the day, there were always shady types, seemingly more in Pattaya than Bangkok, but it didn’t feel so widespread. Then Covid cleared a lot of them out for a while, but since the borders reopened it feels like they’ve come back stronger. Add into it the rise of Africans running drugs, scams and other dodgy business, and it seems like the landscape has shifted further.

 

Maybe it’s just perception. More media coverage, more stories online, and more people sharing their experiences could make it seem worse than it really is. For all I know, things could actually be better now than twenty years ago. Hard to really say with certainty.

 

Anyone who’s been around a while has probably thought about this too, from time to time. Though no way to be sure if Thailand’s underbelly is actually growing, or if we have just become more acutely aware of it now. 

Whats thailands immigration policy, good guys in bad guys out? Thai people arent great at judging someones character ive noticed with the types they let in. Add to that the countrys location, they got a bad draw. At least the fruit is good

When I first came to Thailand in 2009 my first expat pals were 4 Brit bank robbers spending their downtime in Chiang Mai. A Brit distributor of cocaine in London, and a Scots distributor of cocaine and heroin in Europe.

These were real serious criminals.

 

Now it's all tattooed thuggish Russians/Brits/Aussies, poor Chinese and Poor Indian tourists.

I don't mix with that sort so I cannot comment.  I would agree the influx of Chinese and Russians have brought some serious criminals to the kingdom. It's low season, but in BKK the punters on lower Sukhumvit are a mix of tourists, brokies and tattooed petty criminals. They all dress like sh*t and smell like cigarettes and sour sweat.

 

Thai government really needs to get a handle on Chinese and Russians. Serious stuff damaging Thailand's image. 

11 hours ago, TonmaiYai said:

I don't mix with that sort so I cannot comment.  I would agree the influx of Chinese and Russians have brought some serious criminals to the kingdom. It's low season, but in BKK the punters on lower Sukhumvit are a mix of tourists, brokies and tattooed petty criminals.

 

So you've noticed an increase in BOTH petty and serious criminals?

 

Underbelly ... LOL 

 

 

10 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

So you've noticed an increase in BOTH petty and serious criminals?

 

Underbelly ... LOL 

 

 

 

I didn't use the term underbelly. Yes, the Chinese organized crime is often written about on Thai Examiner, Khaosod and even BKK Post. It's serious involving networks, drugs, illegal businesses,  gambling, trafficking, kidnapping and extortion. The Russians. .. just read about the big stuff, but this is more just drunken thugs on a lark and snatch grab petty criminality. Petty, but violent.

 

A massive concern as of late that media and government have glommed onto is the lack of safety here. They've done nothing and guaranteed it's affected Japanese, Chinese numbers. Malaysians as well.

 

The typical petty UK criminal both holiday goer and others living the dream here selling whatever, making porn, running scams. Bodies full of sad tattoos like some tragic bar girl

 

* Some Taiwanese drugs and scam centers as well 

Yeah, sounds scary. 

 

48 minutes ago, angryguy said:

Whats thailands immigration policy, good guys in bad guys out? Thai people arent great at judging someones character ive noticed with the types they let in. Add to that the countrys location, they got a bad draw. At least the fruit is good

 

I'm always blinkered when I see neck and especially face and especially full facial tattoos. Like WTF. .why? Why let this scum in your country? They obviously don't have money and advertising their criminality on their faces ffs

2 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Yeah, sounds scary. 

 

 

It's scary enough to keep women and families away. That seems to be concrete fact looking at media and tourism numbers. 

 

For myself, I won't go to central south America. Too risky. Why I want to bother and risk..for a holiday and cultural exchange lol? These tourists thinking exactly same. Why Thailand? Risk being kidnapped, extortion. At best jet ski scam or get run over by jet ski or motorcycle...

 

Countries never recover from unsafe reputations. Tourists just move on

1 hour ago, Harry Tuchas said:

After many years here, I can’t help but feel like the number of rough and dodgy characters in Thailand has grown. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Hairy Touchass said:

 

After many years here, I can’t help but feel like the number of rough and dodgy characters fake online user accounts in Thailand has grown... 

 

55 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

When I first came to Thailand in 2009 my first expat pals were 4 Brit bank robbers spending their downtime in Chiang Mai. A Brit distributor of cocaine in London, and a Scots distributor of cocaine and heroin in Europe.

These were real serious criminals.

 

Now it's all tattooed thuggish Russians/Brits/Aussies, poor Chinese and Poor Indian tourists.

How lucky you are, that all 6 of these people opened up and told you all about their criminal activities. Have you read about the boy, the sheep and the wolf lately?

11 hours ago, TonmaiYai said:

Risk being kidnapped, extortion. At best jet ski scam or get run over by jet ski or motorcycle...

 

Biggest risk is being ridiculed on an internet forum in Thailand.

 

Then you need to start over and create a new fake account whose sole purpose is to make Thailand look bad.

 

Best of luck. And I agree being run over by a jet ski is a high risk these days. 

 

1 minute ago, save the frogs said:

 

Biggest risk is being ridiculed on an internet forum in Thailand.

 

Then you need to start over and create a new fake account whose sole purpose is to make Thailand look bad.

 

Best of luck. And I agree being run over by a jet ski is a high risk these days. 

 

 

Well, I certainly have no interest in making Thailand look bad, but the reality is what it is. I only read English media. Imagine Thai media discussing the Chinese, Russians far worse than what's stated here 

 

This forum isn't important to anyone. Certainly not Thai government, Chinese/ Russian tourists lol

 

The biggest problem in Thailand is it's overarching inability to self correct... to devise a plan and carry it out especially with any success.  It's haunted the nation since 2006

1 hour ago, Harry Tuchas said:

Back in the day, there were always shady types, seemingly more in Pattaya than Bangkok, but it didn’t feel so widespread.

Been saying this for a while now 

 

Prepare yourself for a bombardment of harassment from the PRO foreigners (Thai bashers) on this forum 

10 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

 

1 hour ago, Hairy Touchass said:

 

After many years here, I can’t help but feel like the number of rough and dodgy characters fake online user accounts in Thailand has grown... 

 

 

What is a fake online user?

 

A bot?

1 minute ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Been saying this for a while now 

 

Prepare yourself for a bombardment of harassment from the PRO foreigners (Thai bashers) on this forum 

 

Always a sunny place for shady people, but it's very different now. Usually, minimal crime here... they were just sort of laying low.

 

If active in Thailand just petty crimes selling drugs, making porn, scams like travelers checks, cigarettes from Cambodia

1 hour ago, Harry Tuchas said:

Maybe it’s just perception. More media coverage, more stories online, and more people sharing their experiences could make it seem worse than it really is.

Have you gone outside to have a look?

1 hour ago, Harry Tuchas said:

For all I know, things could actually be better now than twenty years ago. Hard to really say with certainty.

Some areas are better than it was twenty years ago and some places are worse.

1 hour ago, Harry Tuchas said:

Though no way to be sure if Thailand’s underbelly is actually growing

The number of criminals tend to increase as the population increases.

1 hour ago, Harry Tuchas said:

or if we have just become more acutely aware of it now. 

It’s known as instant news, turn it off and things will start getting better.

25 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

the boy, the sheep and the wolf lately?

Commonly referred to as 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'.  It is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index and has no bearing on the story you are trying to ridicule.

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

When I first came to Thailand in 2009 my first expat pals were 4 Brit bank robbers spending their downtime in Chiang Mai. A Brit distributor of cocaine in London, and a Scots distributor of cocaine and heroin in Europe.

These were real serious criminals.

 

Now it's all tattooed thuggish Russians/Brits/Aussies, poor Chinese and Poor Indian tourists.

Parties would have been a hoot! Did you cater the snacks & the girls for banging?😀🙃🙃

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

When I first came to Thailand in 2009 my first expat pals were 4 Brit bank robbers spending their downtime in Chiang Mai. A Brit distributor of cocaine in London, and a Scots distributor of cocaine and heroin in Europe.

These were real serious criminals.

 

Now it's all tattooed thuggish Russians/Brits/Aussies, poor Chinese and Poor Indian tourists.

Do you know who i am....lol

Thailand is no longer attracting very many Western tourists for a dozen good reasons. One could argue that these are relatively low quality tourists, in terms of the amounts of money that they spend. Sure you have a few wealthy Russians and some  wealthy Chinese, but most are lower to middle income Malaysians, Arabs, Russians, and Indians, and don't spend alot. 

 

Thailand suffers from an impossible level of smugness and arrogance, and a persistent belief that they are truly the center of the universe and the best thing in the world. They don't have a clue. Sometimes it feels like the fact that the nation was never colonized was a leading factor in this hubris and inability to see the world for what it is. The severe inability to adapt, improve, and reform, has hurt their prospects. 

 

It's all good. Far less tourism would make Thailand far more comfortable for the tourists who come, and for the expats, and would likely lead to better attitudes amongst people in tourism. They simply would need to be creative in figuring out ways to make up for the lost billions in revenue. 

 

This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

 

And now they have invited in the Bratva, by opening up the country to all Russians. Quantity over quality only works if you are selling $2 items at a swap meet. Dumb and dumber. 

 

10 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Thailand is no longer attracting very many Western tourists for a dozen good reasons. One could argue that these are relatively low quality tourists, in terms of the amounts of money that they spend. Sure you have a few wealthy Russians and some  wealthy Chinese, but most are lower to middle income Malaysians, Arabs, Russians, and Indians, and don't spend alot. 

 

Thailand suffers from an impossible level of smugness and arrogance, and a persistent belief that they are truly the center of the universe and the best thing in the world. They don't have a clue. Sometimes it feels like the fact that the nation was never colonized was a leading factor in this hubris and inability to see the world for what it is. The severe inability to adapt, improve, and reform, has hurt their prospects. 

 

It's all good. Far less tourism would make Thailand far more comfortable for the tourists who come, and for the expats, and would likely lead to better attitudes amongst people in tourism. They simply would need to be creative in figuring out ways to make up for the lost billions in revenue. 

 

This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

 

And now they have invited in the Bratva, by opening up the country to all Russians. Quantity over quality only works if you are selling $2 items at a swap meet. Dumb and dumber. 

 

Very in-depth analysys that has been posted hundreds of times, but you forgot to mention the dozen reasons from your first paragraph. I only (sort of) counted 4. Thanks.🙃🙃

15 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Thailand is no longer attracting very many Western tourists for a dozen good reasons. One could argue that these are relatively low quality tourists, in terms of the amounts of money that they spend. Sure you have a few wealthy Russians and some  wealthy Chinese, but most are lower to middle income Malaysians, Arabs, Russians, and Indians, and don't spend alot. 

 

Thailand suffers from an impossible level of smugness and arrogance, and a persistent belief that they are truly the center of the universe and the best thing in the world. They don't have a clue. Sometimes it feels like the fact that the nation was never colonized was a leading factor in this hubris and inability to see the world for what it is. The severe inability to adapt, improve, and reform, has hurt their prospects. 

 

It's all good. Far less tourism would make Thailand far more comfortable for the tourists who come, and for the expats, and would likely lead to better attitudes amongst people in tourism. They simply would need to be creative in figuring out ways to make up for the lost billions in revenue. 

 

This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

 

And now they have invited in the Bratva, by opening up the country to all Russians. Quantity over quality only works if you are selling $2 items at a swap meet. Dumb and dumber. 

 

What are the dozen good reasons?

50 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

Parties would have been a hoot! Did you cater the snacks & the girls for banging?😀🙃🙃

The bank robbers owned a bar in CM. Nice blokes but you wouldn't want to Cross them.

 

Oddly enough I picked my wife out of the girls working their bar. She was also a gang member involved in extortion/drugs/blackmail/protection.

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

How lucky you are, that all 6 of these people opened up and told you all about their criminal activities. Have you read about the boy, the sheep and the wolf lately?

 

Naah, lowlifes and criminals always know how to find each other.

29 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

Very in-depth analysys that has been posted hundreds of times, but you forgot to mention the dozen reasons from your first paragraph. I only (sort of) counted 4. Thanks.🙃🙃

1. Lowering luxury taxes to attract wealthy tourists who like to spend while in vacation and can get the identical item elsewhere for 60% less. 

2. Lowering wine taxes for affluent tourists, who are used to consuming a bottle every night with dinner and may pay $100 for that bottle at home and are completely unwilling to pay $600 if they can even find that same bottle here. 

3. Cleaning up the air and the waters.

4. Making the highways safer and beefing up the highway patrol so they actually pull over reckless drivers.

4. Allowing more private air travel, and helicopter travel making it far easier to move around.

5. Getting serious about high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

6. Dealing effectively with the taxi scammers.

7. Dealing with the many other scammers. 

8. Getting serious about public safety and better monitoring of boats and ferries. 

9. Figuring out a way to keep crime in Pattaya out of the news. Perhaps by bringing the crime committed against tourists under control. 

 

I could go on and on. 

2 hours ago, TonmaiYai said:

I don't mix with that sort so I cannot comment.  I would agree the influx of Chinese and Russians have brought some serious criminals to the kingdom. It's low season, but in BKK the punters on lower Sukhumvit are a mix of tourists, brokies and tattooed petty criminals. They all dress like sh*t and smell like cigarettes and sour sweat.

 

Thai government really needs to get a handle on Chinese and Russians. Serious stuff damaging Thailand's image. 

I agree with you if you would not make exceptions. Many visitors are like

"mix of tourists, brokies and tattooed petty criminals. They all dress like sh*t and smell like cigarettes and sour sweat."

No matter, where they are coming from.

Im away from the tourist/expat scene nowadays.

 

I remember back in 85 drinking with the aussie owner of a small beachside bar next to patong beach bungalows in phuket 

 

He left around lunchtime saying he was heading to bangkok for a flight home.

 

Next morning the girls were all sad. He'd been caught drug smuggling on his way out at Don Mueang 

38 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The bank robbers owned a bar in CM. Nice blokes but you wouldn't want to Cross them.

 

Oddly enough I picked my wife out of the girls working their bar. She was also a gang member involved in extortion/drugs/blackmail/protection.

Brilliant. "Minder" has got nothin' on you. Similarly, I was still bar bouncing in 2008 & came across some seedy suspects. 2025 appears to be tame by comparison.🙃🙃

Some Thai underbelly is as good as it gets.