Thailand: A Safe Destination

[HorseDoctor]

With the "Ambassador Program" where foreign tourism industry leaders and various public servants were shown around Thailand on the public dole to show them protests are in no way dangerous to tourists, The question arises ; Is Thailand as safe as it's advertised? Is it worse than any other country ?

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

And better than in many other countries (toward foreigners;)

Random violent crime, muggings rape ( at least toward foreign women though this could be due to low population. I suspect Thai women are raped more frequently than stats may report ) Police abuse. Protest and demonstrations casualties .

I'd also like to discuss hospital experiences, good or bad particularly medical tourism in Thailand. Is it regulated sufficiently?

[Soutpeel]

With the "Ambassador Program" where foreign tourism industry leaders and various public servants were shown around Thailand on the public dole to show them protests are in no way dangerous to tourists, The question arises ; Is Thailand as safe as it's advertised? Is it worse than any other country ?

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

And better than in many other countries (toward foreigners;)

Random violent crime, muggings rape ( at least toward foreign women though this could be due to low population. I suspect Thai women are raped more frequently than stats may report ) Police abuse. Protest and demonstrations casualties .

I'd also like to discuss hospital experiences, good or bad particularly medical tourism in Thailand. Is it regulated sufficiently?

A rather cheery subject for a Saturday, I must say...

I the one item you state I believe you have wrong is medical treatment in Thailand, certainly private hospitals.

I have have had cause to have medical treatment in the following countries and my personal opinion hereafter:

Thailand - Excellent (private hospital)

South Africa - Very good, good prices (private hospital), Poor goverment hospital

UK - Slow, waiting lists - Service, So So - NHS, Private - Over priced, Service Ok

USA - Over priced and generally poor service (Private)

So based on my completely unscientific survey, personally I feel Thailand has some of the best medical services in the world at a reasonable price.

[Mattchu9999]

As a Veteran of the US military, having to deal with the VA Hospitals, I'm almost 100% sure I could get better more through care visiting a blind and deaf shaman in a remote Ugandan village.

Any country where one can bribe the police is much safer than not.

[dumball]

As regards to safety , i would say that is a matter of being in the wrong place at the right time (or vice-versa), i never felt unsafe at any time of the night or day, but times have changed .

Medical treatment at the right hospital is , in my opinion , excellent .

Getting ripped off , buyer/user beware .

[bendix]

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

Don't forget all the other hazards that are rampant in Thailand. The risk of choking on a chicken bone, for example, or tripping on an escalator. Sunstroke is a killer too. I personally feel that I take my life into my hands every single time I walk through the automatic doors of a 7-11 store - imagine if it closed early and sliced me in two. And don't get me started on the number of fatalities caused by trapping your hand in the letter box as you post your mail.

[Maigo6]

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

Don't forget all the other hazards that are rampant in Thailand. The risk of choking on a chicken bone, for example, or tripping on an escalator. Sunstroke is a killer too. I personally feel that I take my life into my hands every single time I walk through the automatic doors of a 7-11 store - imagine if it closed early and sliced me in two. And don't get me started on the number of fatalities caused by trapping your hand in the letter box as you post your mail.

LOL.....

Classic Bendix response.

[DP25]

at least toward foreign women though this could be due to low population.

What makes you think there is a low population of foreign women? ~40% of the 15 million tourists per year are female. There is not a low population. Except in a few certain areas...

[Mosha]

He forgot the hired gunmen/pissed up policemen

[Maigo6]

He forgot the hired gunmen/pissed up policemen

And the pissed up Farangs driving their SUV's at breakneck speed, or trying to ride their superbikes like Valentino Rossi after having swilled back 16 bottles of Chang.

[dumball]

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

Don't forget all the other hazards that are rampant in Thailand. The risk of choking on a chicken bone, for example, or tripping on an escalator. Sunstroke is a killer too. I personally feel that I take my life into my hands every single time I walk through the automatic doors of a 7-11 store - imagine if it closed early and sliced me in two. And don't get me started on the number of fatalities caused by trapping your hand in the letter box as you post your mail.

LOL.....

Classic Bendix response.

Typical response from Bendix , but i do believe the OP was more intersted in actual problems that can and do occur to the less sheltered of us , fore warned is fore armed .

[MKAsok]

Don't forget all the other hazards that are rampant in Thailand. The risk of choking on a chicken bone, for example, or tripping on an escalator. Sunstroke is a killer too. I personally feel that I take my life into my hands every single time I walk through the automatic doors of a 7-11 store - imagine if it closed early and sliced me in two. And don't get me started on the number of fatalities caused by trapping your hand in the letter box as you post your mail.

You forgot to mention the entry/exit gates on the BTS. What's really needed is more clever foreign investigative journalists to come here and uncover these horrors, publishing their findings in hard-hitting exposés. Something like: THAILAND: THE TERRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT LIES BEHIND THE SMILES.

[a2396]

With the "Ambassador Program" where foreign tourism industry leaders and various public servants were shown around Thailand on the public dole to show them protests are in no way dangerous to tourists, The question arises ; Is Thailand as safe as it's advertised? Is it worse than any other country ?

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

And better than in many other countries (toward foreigners;)

Random violent crime, muggings rape ( at least toward foreign women though this could be due to low population. I suspect Thai women are raped more frequently than stats may report ) Police abuse. Protest and demonstrations casualties .

I'd also like to discuss hospital experiences, good or bad particularly medical tourism in Thailand. Is it regulated sufficiently?

A rather cheery subject for a Saturday, I must say...

I the one item you state I believe you have wrong is medical treatment in Thailand, certainly private hospitals.

I have have had cause to have medical treatment in the following countries and my personal opinion hereafter:

Thailand - Excellent (private hospital)

South Africa - Very good, good prices (private hospital), Poor goverment hospital

UK - Slow, waiting lists - Service, So So - NHS, Private - Over priced, Service Ok

USA - Over priced and generally poor service (Private)

So based on my completely unscientific survey, personally I feel Thailand has some of the best medical services in the world at a reasonable price.

Agreed. The OP is way off base. Pollution is worldwide, depending on where you go. USA drivers are way more agressive & dangerous than Thailand. USA healthcare unaffordable for many & the waits long for certain types of care. Many places understaffed & also refusing to take Medicare the gov't healthcare for seniors. Arrogant dick-head nit-picking police with time to bust lap dancers & massage parlors, ambush motorists going 5 mph over the speed limit, etc, etc. Try muggings, car jackings, armed home invasions, street drug dealing, in most USA getto neighborhoods. I'll take Thailand any day.

[sylviex]

I must say that running one's eyes over the headlines in the "Pattaya News" subforum can be sobering.

We don't see headlines like that coming from any one town in Australia.

[bendix]

Typical response from Bendix , but i do believe the OP was more intersted in actual problems that can and do occur to the less sheltered of us , fore warned is fore armed .

It would be easier to give credence to the OP's imagined list of hazards were it not for the fact that every single post he or she has made has been tinged with his or her bitterness about their Thai experience.

Context is a wonderful thing, baby

[way2muchcoffee]

Agreed. The OP is way off base.

I disagree.

Pollution is worldwide, depending on where you go.

There are very few places in the US as polluted as BKK. Trash is everywhere here, and throughout the rural areas as well. Much less so in the US.

USA drivers are way more agressive & dangerous than Thailand.

You are way off base on this. About half of US drivers practice defensive driving, the other half practice offensive driving. In Thailand only about 2% of the drivers drive defensively.

USA healthcare unaffordable for many & the waits long for certain types of care. Many places understaffed & also refusing to take Medicare the gov't healthcare for seniors.

Fair points. Agreed.

Arrogant dick-head nit-picking police with time to bust lap dancers & massage parlors, ambush motorists going 5 mph over the speed limit, etc, etc.

Again I must disagree. The police here are far more nitpicking. Heck, Thai police will even make you pay for doing nothing at all. Whenever I drive to Pattaya/Jomtien there is a very good chance of having to pay 500 bt for the privilege of driving on the road. Once I was hit for 1000 over 2 days for doing absolutely nothing wrong. It would never happen in the US. As far as lap dancers and massage parlors in the US, I wouldn't know.

Try muggings, car jackings, armed home invasions, street drug dealing, in most USA getto neighborhoods. I'll take Thailand any day.

I've been mugged here and hacked up with a machete here in Thailand. Never happened back home. Street drug dealing happens in every low-income neighborhood here. Home invasions are very common here. I haven't heard much about car-jackings, perhaps it hasn't caught on yet in Thailand. Car and motorcycle theft is extremely common in Thailand, sometimes by police gangs.

I'll take Thailand any day.

Me too! Lived here for 7 years and don't intend to leave. Just have to take the good with the bad.

Edited November 1, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[dumball]

Don't forget all the other hazards that are rampant in Thailand. The risk of choking on a chicken bone, for example, or tripping on an escalator. Sunstroke is a killer too. I personally feel that I take my life into my hands every single time I walk through the automatic doors of a 7-11 store - imagine if it closed early and sliced me in two. And don't get me started on the number of fatalities caused by trapping your hand in the letter box as you post your mail.

You forgot to mention the entry/exit gates on the BTS. What's really needed is more clever foreign investigative journalists to come here and uncover these horrors, publishing their findings in hard-hitting exposés. Something like: THAILAND: THE TERRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT LIES BEHIND THE SMILES.

Actually i got caught by those gates , put my bag ahead of me and the gate slammed into my hips , had a terrible bruise as a consequence , lived to tell the tale though .

[jdinasia]

Typical response from Bendix , but i do believe the OP was more intersted in actual problems that can and do occur to the less sheltered of us , fore warned is fore armed .

It would be easier to give credence to the OP's imagined list of hazards were it not for the fact that every single post he or she has made has been tinged with his or her bitterness about their Thai experience.

Context is a wonderful thing, baby

Cracked sidewalks! OMG ---- say it isn't so ... but didn't the OP say 'she' was packing up and moving (in the 'cop kiked my cat thread'?)

[MKAsok]

Cracked sidewalks! OMG ---- say it isn't so ... but didn't the OP say 'she' was packing up and moving (in the 'cop kiked my cat thread'?)

Wasn't it in the 'I prefer horses to people' thread?

[BigSnake]

Some of the concerns on your list are indeed Valid however for the most part Thailand is fairly safe. Good medical care(ie get what you pay for) yes bad cops, bad roads, BAD DRIVERS, the bottom line here is to enjoy just beware here as well as anyplace you are on holiday at. CHEERS!! enjoy.

[HorseDoctor]

As for drivers, I find S African drivers are the worse that Thai. Drive fast AND talk on the phone with one hand.

Americans are eating .

British are expert drivers but impatient

At least here most people do have their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel . And turn signals are almost always used.

My experience with the Bangkok Hospital in Phuket was having hemorrhaging, sporadic fever and nausea initially diagnosed as uterine cancer.

When I called my OB GYN practitioner sister in US she said " um, sounds like Dengue . "

Turns out cacausians with Dengue can have different symptoms from Asians, like sporadic fever .

Something a 5 star hospital in a major tourist destination should know about . Or was it a ruse to get a bunch of expensive tests done?

There was a guy last year writing the papers about gene therapies not being certified or safe in some way ..

Anyone remember that ?

Edited November 1, 2008 by HorseDoctor

[Soutpeel]

Not going to argue with what you are saying, but surely the Thai hospitals are not the only ones in the world which mis-diagnose aliments, or do illegal or semi-illegal things.

Do Thai hospitals appear to conduct too many tests ?, yes I agree, but some of the other hospitals I have been in the world do the exact same thing

Edited November 1, 2008 by Soutpeel

[TATTOO1967]

Hi I have used Thai Hospitals twice excellent service , only people who have gave me any sort of problems here are from my own country ( uk ) when they cannot handle there drink in take , please note I was only standing / sitiing in bars doing nothing , road safety, What road safety. The Thais have never threatened me with violence .

[Soutpeel]

As for drivers, I find S African drivers are the worse that Thai. Drive fast AND talk on the phone with one hand.

/quote]

You forgot to add to this one...and read a map on the steering wheel at the same time...

[HorseDoctor]

Not going to argue with what you are saying, but surely the Thai hospitals are not the only ones in the world which mis-diagnose aliments, or do illegal or semi-illegal things.

Do Thai hospitals appear to conduct too many tests ?, yes I agree, but some of the other hospitals I have been in the world do the exact same thing

And I'm not arguing that doesn't happen elsewhere. I'm just trying to get a sense of whether Medical tourism is all it's racked up yo be here.

I mean safety isn't a priority, human life really isn't held in the same regard - family of 5 on a scooter, yes I know- economics, but really !

Are hospitals in Thailand any more safety conscious than...well, anything else?

Edited November 1, 2008 by HorseDoctor

[Maigo6]

I mean safety isn't a priority, human life really isn't held in the same regard - family of 5 on a scooter, yes I know economics but really !

Then buy them a nice safe car, I'm quite sure they won't use the motorcyle again for carrying 5 people after you have purchesed them a car.

No................... you can't do it for financial reasons ? Well guess what Jacko, Nor can they !

Edited November 1, 2008 by Maigo6

[HorseDoctor]

I mean safety isn't a priority, human life really isn't held in the same regard - family of 5 on a scooter, yes I know economics but really !

Then buy them a nice safe car, I'm quite sure they won't use the motorcycle again for carrying 5 people after you have purchesed them a car.

No................... you can't do it for financial reasons ? Well guess what Jacko, Nor can they !

Well I was using that as an example on safety in Thailand ,

Plenty of poor all over the world don't subject their children to accidents .

Plenty of poor would rather walk or take a bus than to put 2 todders and an infant on their lap while riding a motorcycle .

It's perfectly acceptable here, which argues my points- safety is not of paramount importance . Why would hospitals be any different?

So you think Thailand is as safe as say, your home country? And hospital care, have you had any experiences w that?

Edited November 1, 2008 by HorseDoctor

[Soutpeel]

I mean safety isn't a priority, human life really isn't held in the same regard - family of 5 on a scooter, yes I know economics but really ! Are hospitals in Thailand be any more safety conscious than...well, anything else?

Again I can only speak from personal experience, but the service and care I received in hospital far exceeded that I have ever received anywhere else, granted private hospital, being paid for by a international medical scheme, so you are paying for the service, but have been in this situation in other hospitals worldwide and they didnt come close to Thailand.

As regards your comments about safety, human life not being held in high regard, will relate a story, which maybe slight off topic,

In China many years I was working on site were another expat worker had two of his fingers cut off while working, everyones reaction on site was grab his fingers and send him off to a Hong Kong hospital, the rational was the medical treatment had to be better than in China at that time. The guy was put in a Chinese goverment hospital and they actually flew one of the top chinese micro-surgeons down from Bejing to re-attach his fingers (sucessful) and the guy said himself he would have not got better care and service anywhere in the world - Grand total medical bill - US$200, he even offered more money and they refused.

The point I am trying to illustrate, China even today has a reputation as not caring about human life, 5 on bike etc, doing some crazy things when it comes to safety, but just because of the things that go on, it doesnt mean automatically that medical care or service you are going to get is going to be of a lessor standard than so-called western countries.

[Lancelot]

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

I take it you've never experienced the joys of expat life in Bangladesh

[HorseDoctor]

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

I take it you've never experienced the joys of expat life in Bangladesh

I understand it's horrendous, but it's not touting itself as a world class, safe destination .

I'm just looking for opinions on safety in Thailand ,

Do you generaly feel safe? Have you had an experience with a hospital?

[HorseDoctor]

Let me repost my topic please .

Note it's in 2 parts , where I think T land safety is worse than other countries and where I think it's better.

>>With the "Ambassador Program" where foreign tourism industry leaders and various public servants were shown around Thailand on the public dole to show them protests are in no way dangerous to tourists, The question arises ; Is Thailand as safe as it's advertised? Is it worse than any other country ?

Just a list of hazards foreigners are at risk from where I believe it to be worst;

Fatalistic drivers, threat of electrocution, sidewalks cracked or blocked , airlines unregulated, trucks and cars unroadworthy.

Hospital staff ill trained and /or unsanitary. Polluted rivers and oceans.

And better than in many other countries (toward foreigners;)

Random violent crime, muggings rape ( at least toward foreign women though this could be due to low population. I suspect Thai women are raped more frequently than stats may report ) Police abuse. Protest and demonstrations casualties .

I'd also like to discuss hospital experiences, good or bad particularly medical tourism in Thailand. Is it regulated sufficiently?>>>>