Farang Women

[tatom]

My sister has asked me if it is safefor a farang woman to go places alone in Bangkok or should she have a male companion. I dont know how to answer that.

I would guess it would not be a good idea at nighttime.

Any helpful advice?

[barky]

If she does not mind being considered a person of loose morals by most Thais ( especially the very low educated ones, and there's heaps of those) and she's got her wits about her then I would say OK. But, for goodness sake tell her to keep her guard up at ALL times.

[farangmal]

My sister has asked me if it is safefor a farang woman to go places alone in Bangkok or should she have a male companion. I dont know how to answer that.

I would guess it would not be a good idea at nighttime.

Any helpful advice?

Depends if you like your Sister or not!

I wouldn't let her on Her own in Thailand.

[chatette]

Bangkok is very safe to go about alone at night for women as well as men, assuming you take the same precautions you'd take anywhere.

[Boo]

this was covered a while bakc in the ladies section.

Bangkok, thailand is safe the same as London is safe if you use the same precautions as you would use there.

Don't dress & act up like a slag, don't get hammered/drunk so you don't know where you are, don't go off with a strange man, don't take drugs etc etc. Total common sense stuff. Carry keys in hand if walking alone in dark, if in a taxi text the licence number to a friend or if someone starts getting overly freindly then find a large group of women or go into a shop & ask for help. All the things you would do in any city to staty safe.

As for some of the other comments so far about not being safe or getting trouble from thai men, I can only presume they aren't western women mkaing them? I spent years travelling alone around thailand & have not once came accross any sort of situation. Unfortunatlky some women will but most crime in the street against women is opportunistic & they pick you cause you look like a victim (drunk, looking unsure of where you are going, walking a dark street alone etc)

[dougieboy]

My sister has asked me if it is safefor a farang woman to go places alone in Bangkok or should she have a male companion. I dont know how to answer that.

I would guess it would not be a good idea at nighttime.

Any helpful advice?

I think women walking alone in any large city in the world is at risk to some degree, take usual precautions such as stick to well lit, and frequented ares, carry personal alarm and mobile and be on your guard, not so different for a male traveling alone really lol. Good luck and stay safe.

[girlx]

As for some of the other comments so far about not being safe or getting trouble from thai men, I can only presume they aren't western women mkaing them? I spent years travelling alone around thailand & have not once came accross any sort of situation.

I am a western woman and I have had lots of problems from Thai men.... among them, a taxi driver who took me into the middle of nowhere and then climbed into the back seat to get on me. A man following me around in Chiang Mai (at 8p on a main street) with his d*** out masturbating and moaning at me. And twice I had Thai guys break into my house where I lived alone in the middle of the night. These things did not happen because I was dressed inappropriately, was drunk, or was victim-like, they happened because I was a white female alone.

It should NOT be understated that Thai men have a warped opinion of western females. They (especially lower class ones who don't have so much contact with foreigners to begin with) get most of their ideas about us from porn and from Hollywood films. They are just as bad as any other nationality and Thailand has plenty of sexual assaults. I find this country more dangerous than NYC where I lived for several years, and never had a single problem. At least in your own country your sexual availability won't be prejudged by your skin color.

Edited July 29, 2008 by girlx

[Boo]

Girlx, whilst not disregarding your expereinces I recall from the thread in the ladies section that yours were extreme & minority experiences. Many of us had been hassled by thai men in bars (same as some men in any bar in any country will hassle a women) but no one else had ever known of any to masterbate in the street. Some had had some bad experiences in taxies too but the point is, if you take care then you will usually be ok, same as if you take care in your own country.

That you have had bad experiences is unfortunate but I did say

but most crime in the street against women is opportunistic

. Which imo is true. The sitations you gave above say to me that the perpertators took an opportunity to harrass you probaby because to them you did look like someone they could control.

But lets face it the country can't be that dangerous cause you are still here & in Bangkok too and as the op is asking if it is generally safe for western women to go out alone in Bangkok, the answer, generally, is yes.

[girlx]

i don't believe i am that exceptional. i met a girl last week who is an english teacher in bangkok. twice in the past month she has been attacked by thai man who tried to hold her down and kiss her as she was walking home from work near wat po. another girl was also attacked by a taxi driver. another friend went to a party with a friend and some thai guys locked her in a bedroom and wouldn't let her out, demanding sexual favors. damien (who used to post on here and has since disappeared) also related several incidences, as did guesthouse.

the majority of crimes are opportunistic, but don't downplay the dangers in being a solo female here, they DO exist. i ened up being fine in all the cases i mentioned, but some might not be so lucky, and as it can be more difficult to see dangers coming here, girls need to be aware.

[scotwumman]

OP

I find Thai men to have become increasing menacing towards farang women in recent years. I would not travel there alone again.

The two previous posters Boo and girlx are both right and have been reassuring to me when I have had fears of my own as a tourist and expressed them on ThaiVisa. Having read their posts in the past however I need to remind myself that they both live there fulltime (something I used to dream of doing) and seem young and strong individuals with a clear insight into the Thai way of thinking.

Whilst there is no possibility due to my age that they (young Thai men) would purport the danger that was presented to girlx and friends, I got the feeling that they were resentful of the farang men (tourists) shelling out all sorts of money to the Thai girls. IMO they would quite like to get in on the act and are greedily looking for money (tips) even if only for giving directions to a farang.

Trouble is your sister will miss out on a lot i.e the climate, the atmosphere and beauty of the place. To stay safe she should travel with friends or family if at all possible. If not possible then she should pretend she is travelling with someone, always look as if she knows where she's going (annoying when you like to take in a place at leisure) and never use the taxis or tuk tuks even

[eek]

Ive gone around places a lot as a single western women, but I choose to be very safe, err on the side of caution, and keep my wits about me. I even wear a wedding ring, dont enter into chat too much with taxi drivers etc, talk on my phone often giving out the taxi number (in thai), and say things along the lines of "ok, will be there soon" or "pop gan mai" etc. When any man tries to engage in conversation and asks if im alone, i am polite, but always say things like "no, just waiting here for my husband", or "meeting my husband". Most times they leave fast after that.

I also dont like going out at night, especially in Bangkok. NOT that i am saying that it WOULD be dangerous, just that I mean i dont feel comfortable walking around alone in ANY major city or place im unfamiliar with. In Chiang Mai, as I know the area well, so i feel safer, but i still dont go around places at night on my own much. My experiences have not been as girlx, but i think i may be older than her which may mean im seen in a different light to western girls in their 20's, i also live a pretty quiet existence and live in a condo.

As mentioned by others, be as careful as you would be in any major city. (also read the section in the ladies forum too for extra info)

[girlx]

My experiences have not been as girlx, but i think i may be older than her which may mean im seen in a different light to western girls in their 20's,

i am actually 32 now but you might have a point. i think boo and others are also a bit older than i and it might have been awhile since they travelled alone here. i think things have gotten worse in recent years with the rise of nationalism amongst the thais in general, and negativity towards foreigners. i also think i attract trouble (since i was a very wee lass) because i am not a big strapping farang girl. i am pretty small, and quiet (deceptively so as i think it comes across as timid but i am not). i look younger than i am. i smile a lot (my thai nickname is 'nong yim'). a certain type of man seems to think on first glance they can get one over on me... but i can hold my own. i have travelled all over the world on my own. it is frustrating though, not just here, but in a lot of countries how ignorant people are towards women on their own. you would think most people would want to help a girl alone but it seems like the first instinct is actually to hurt her. a little education goes a long way i guess. i hate this idea that my country gives to foreign men that all american girls are drunken sluts. the actual drunken sluts all over the islands don't help either.

[YaiJung]

Personally I would do everything in my power to dissuade my sister (30-something attractive blonde) from going to Thailand alone. I know she can probably take care of herself, like girlx, but it still scares the crap out of me after what I've seen and heard about here in Thailand. In a group I wouldn't worry nearly as much, although I would make sure she was well informed of the dangers.

What some of the women on here have experienced, especially girlx, sounds horrifying. It must make getting around a real pain when you have to worry so much about the nut case taxi drivers raping you. A can of mace might be helpful. My dad's old friend Big Ed from the south side of Chicago says to go straight for the eyes if somebody starts trouble with u. Poke their freaking eyes out and they won't be much threat anymore.

My gf has several friends who have been brutally raped by strangers (they are all Thai).

Once I have caught the security guard at our hotel trying to break in while I was sleeping, he let himself in and unlocked the windows from the inside while I was out. Luckily i caught it as I tend to be very vigilant about such things and locked it again. Nearly clobbered him when I was woken by him trying to force the window open, but he ran away too fast. Next morning the Dutch owner denied the possibility of it happening and actually got upset with me for saying anything about it. Since I'm male the perp was just after my money, but still its scary when I think about all the single females that probably stay in that particular hotel in Ao Nang.

Another time I caught red-handed the son of a the bungalow owner (again in Ao Nang) masturbating while peeping in on my gf while she was showering. No real harm done, but creepy none-the-less.

I agree with the other posters who say that many Thai males resent us falangs. I have been spit on twice by groups of thai men and once a group of young men chased me and tried to run me off the road while shouting "glap bahn, go home". These incidents occured in rural thai settings and not in tourist zones. I suppose they had girifriends/wives who ran off to look for "rich" falang.

[donna]

gosh, some of you have had some terrible experiences. i lived in thailand for over 8 years and never had the trouble that some of you have had. the one time i was spied on in the shower was by a western bloke in sukothai.

i have never been hassled in a taxi, and used to have some pretty outrageous conversations with some of the drivers. i traveled alone a lot and was never hassled.

maybe i just have a 'dont f%&$ with me" look about me?

[Cuban]

FWIW:

My sister has asked me if it is safefor a farang woman to go places alone in Bangkok or should she have a male companion.

I would suggest the first response is, 'according to age and experiance'. I have I lady friend from the UK that visited Thailand, Burma and Cambodia earlier this year on her own - she is 66 years old on her first long haul trip out of Europe and had a brilliant time - looking to come back soon. She said that travelling independantly allowed much greater access to 'the real Thailand' (her words) than if she had been trapped in a tour party.

A man following me around in Chiang Mai (at 8p on a main street) with his d*** out masturbating and moaning at me.

And what did the other people on the street do, there is a Thai expression 'Ba Gamm' (Translated meaning that was explained to me - 'crazy old guy / sexually crazed man') And that might be applied in such a case - I would have expected that someone would have called the police. Did you (girlx) seek help? When I've been out and about and seen something happen that required 'offical' help (road accident) I called the police then hand my phone to a native Thai speaker and point at the problem - they can work it out quick enough.

As for the OP's sister, you mention BKK. Walking around the city and central areas IMHO is safe enough taken with the comments above. But I understand there are areas (which I don't know) that some Thais would not travel to or visit alone / or alone at night (?).

But isolated back Sois are seldom high on the list of places to go, so getting lost would be a risk factor to consider. Understanding radio booked taxis and the BTS system would be a good common sense first step.

HTH.

Edited July 30, 2008 by Cuban

[LivinLOS]

i don't believe i am that exceptional. i met a girl last week who is an english teacher in bangkok. twice in the past month she has been attacked by thai man who tried to hold her down and kiss her as she was walking home from work near wat po. another girl was also attacked by a taxi driver. another friend went to a party with a friend and some thai guys locked her in a bedroom and wouldn't let her out, demanding sexual favors. damien (who used to post on here and has since disappeared) also related several incidences, as did guesthouse.

the majority of crimes are opportunistic, but don't downplay the dangers in being a solo female here, they DO exist. i ened up being fine in all the cases i mentioned, but some might not be so lucky, and as it can be more difficult to see dangers coming here, girls need to be aware.

I would err on this side of the advice too..

My gf has several friends who have been brutally raped by strangers (they are all Thai).

And thats exactly why.. I dont know if its just farang women, tho admit they may stand out more and attract the crazy element, but my sister in law and previous wife would be extremely cautious picking a taxi, would do anything not to be on MB taxis after dark, and I know many rape stories and issues that never seem to be prosecuted or followed up. Reading between the lines if your a Thai woman of low social status then rape seemed to be a crime that was tolerated ?!?! The same sadly for family type child molestation, where the crazy uncle or some family member was known to chase the children. I have heard similar stories of 'running into the rice field' to play high stakes hide and seek being a couple of girls family situations. It blows my mind to hear these stories related as though its normal.

Another time I caught red-handed the son of a the bungalow owner (again in Ao Nang) masturbating while peeping in on my gf while she was showering. No real harm done, but creepy none-the-less.

I do hope he took a long time to recover from the broken jaw ??

[desi]

My sister has asked me if it is safe for a farang woman to go places alone in Bangkok or should she have a male companion. I dont know how to answer that.

I would guess it would not be a good idea at night time.

Any helpful advice?

I go around alone a lot, no prob. But like others here, I do take precautions, especially at night.

And while I might feel unsafe in the UK at night or in some places during the daytime, out here I'm quite comfortable. No stomach flutters as long as I avoid walking home from the BTS in the dark (and then my active imagination drives me crazy!)

The only time I've gotten into trouble was with an amorous neighbour (a peeping tom, he'd also try to fondle my boobs or bum if I was close by). Moving across town put an end to that scenario.

My former landlady apologised (she figured it out later as I wouldn't say anything). Said he'd been widowed recently and was acting strange as a result.

Knowing what I know now, I can see how it was mostly my fault. I did not know what to avoid in Thailand so was sending out the wrong signals.

• Do not entertain a Thai man alone (even for a cuppa).

• Do not sit next to a Thai man on a sofa (choose a one seater).

• Do not sit in the front seat of a taxi (it's within easy reach of boob territory).

• Do not sit close to a Thai man in a car or taxi (arrange to put purchases in between).

• Do not sit close to a Thai man in a tuk tuk (ditto on placing something in between).

This is assuming he's not cute as a bug and there's a green light from both sides...

(what a visual, yes?

As already mentioned, the ladies forum has the subject pinned so you'll find more there.